In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by The Story Siren where we show what books have found a new home with us!
This week I got :
Virals by Kathy Reichs (I love her Temperance Brennan books so hoping to enjoy her first foray into YA)
Crossed by Ally Condie (Matched ended on such a cliffhanger, I need to know what happened to Cassia and Ky)
Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer (the final book of a trilogy I am loving)
Legacy by Katherine Webb (I am a sucker for books that deal with family secrets)
13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher (now if you follow my blog you will know I am not for dark books, but this has touched so many people and if the message is that powerful, I'm all for it!)
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (by one of my favorite authors, I can't wait to read this!)
Thanks to Scholastic Canada and Harper Collins. A huge thanks to Penguin Canada for a great night Wednesday and hosting the YA focus group. I met some fabulous bloggers! **waves Hi to Nicole, Jenn, Brenna, Gwenyth, Erin, Jackie and Bronwyn!**
What goodies did you get this week?
I also have two great giveaways going on this week:
If you are anything like me and enjoy a realistic love story with broken characters, ONE DAY is for you! It will make you laugh and cry, so be prepared with a box of kleenex. If you haven't read my review, you can check it out here.
I recently had the chance, along with a few other bloggers, to chat with David Nicholls . It was the chance of a lifetime as I absolutely loved One Day! Not only did David write the book, he also wrote the screenplay. I've already set a 'date' with my BF, Jackie, to see this movie which comes out next week (August 19th).
For the movie, I thought finding the right chemistry between the actors would be critical. This is a love story after all, that takes place over twenty years. Also, Dexter's character growth is phenomenal. He isn't the nicest guy for a while and yet somehow in the story you still fall for him and are able to overlook his faults. Here's David's reponse:
We had to find two people who could age up and age down convincingly, two people who seemed to complement each other, two people who seemed to have a kind of spark and an attraction. Often with movies, there's a constant question through the whole writing process, which is are they sympathetic, are they likeable. Dexter in particular does some pretty harsh things and behaves quite badly in the course of the film. And I think in casting Dexter, we wanted someone who wouldn't kind of compromise on that bad behavior, but who would be comprehensible and forgivable and redeemable, who had a kind of a charm even at the lowest points. And I think Jim (Sturgess) gets that really beautifully.
Since the story takes place over twenty years, I was curious about how to show that in the movie. I am not normally one to love many pop culture references but it seemed that maybe this was the way to do it? The first day we meet Em & Dex is July 15, 1988 , but when reading the book, I felt it was more a timeless story and we just see the characters grow over the twenty years. Here's what David had to say:
There are a few of those. Definitely fashion. Weirdly, I have much stronger memories of the late '80s than I do of the early '90s, I think because I was at University. And at University, you are particularly aware of your cultural tastes and your image and that you were very keen to make a statement. So, I found '88 much easier to conjure up than '93. It took me a while to track down when I got my first mobile phone and in exactly what year.
I definitely wanted to get some of the fashion in and also some of the politics and the critical issues of the day. But, the two things that I made a conscious decision not to include were the death of Princess Diana, which obviously was a huge landmark in British culture, and 9/11, which there's a fleeting reference to a bomb attack in London. But, I couldn't find a plausible, useful way to make that part of the narrative. So, I wanted the politics and the cultural background to be correct, but I also wanted it to be the background, for it to be just the stage on which the characters perform rather than the prime subject matter.
Well David, you sure did a great job on achieving this in the book, now I can't wait to see ONE DAY on the big screen.
Thanks so much to Big Honcho Media and Focus Features for making this possible.
One of my readers will win a great One Day prize pack, courtesy of Focus Features....
One (1) winner will receive: ·Copy of the movie-tie in edition paperback book ·Clear cosmetic case ·Necklace ·Moleskin Journal
Prizing value: $30.95
Giveaway provided by Focus Features
To enter leave a comment telling me your favorite fictional couple and fill in the ONE DAY contest form below.
Ok, guys we've reached the end of the First Annual Summer Crushin' tournament & Zachary is in the running!
Now we are up against some tough competition...Jace Wayland! I do love Jace but I think Zach is more real so that is why my vote goes for him. My reasons for knowing Zach can win this, he's:
a hottie
not just good looking, he's smart too
Scottish - an accent and kilt, need I say more?
there's no evil in him ;)
Now for some incentives:
If Zachary gets 5,000 votes: Jeri will write lyrics to "Forever," the song Logan sings to Aura in her sleep the night before his testimony near the end of Shade. (*sigh*)
If Zachary gets 10,000 votes, Jeri will list every Team Kilt member's name in the acknowledgments of SHINE. (To be a member of Team Kilt, you just have to vote for him and let her know. Send Jeri an e-mail with the subject line #TeamKilt)
And the best one: if Zachary wins, we finally get to see what's under the kilt!!! But not until he's 18, when SHINE comes out. ;-P Jeri will also fly to Minneapolis for a booksigning and get-together with Amy, Jen, and any Team Kilt member who can join her...how cool is that??!
Shade and Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready - I LOVE, LOVE LOVE this series and if you like paranormal, with ghosts, a mystery and some romance then you will too. Oh and music!!! These are very special copies of the book I will cherish forever.
I was part of the blog tour for Jeri and on the Pre-Shifter team and our team annoted copies of Shade & Shift (plus an ARC of Shine, the 3rd book, when it's ready)!!! See all those coloured stickies in the books...each one has a note about something on that page. Did you know Jeri has the word Magenta in nearly every book she writes?
In case you missed it a few days ago, I celebrated 2 years of blogging! I have a contest to win one of two books from book depo, click here to enter :D
The best thing about book blogging (besides the books of course) is the people! I am so honoured to be a part of such a great group. Thank you for stopping by and for sharing your love of books with me. From my exploding TBR piles to the friendships made along the way ... things would not be the same without you!
***Passes around virtual cake with Smarties (the Canadian candy coated chocolate kind)***
I want to give back to my readers, my thank you for stopping buy and feeding my bookish addiction! Since it is my second blogoversary, there will be TWO winners of a book of your choice from Book Depository (Max $15 value). It is open internationally, assuming Book Depository ships to you.
To enter, please leave a comment below sharing your TWO favorite read this past year, then fill out the form below. I do ask that you be a follower to enter as this is a celebration of sharing and I hope to see you back again! Spreading the word is not necessary, but for those that do, have a special prize for you! Since I live and breathe chocolate, I will send one winner & a box of yummy Smarties (those colourful chocolates in the picture above), simply leave me a link in the comments!
To start it off, my two favorite reads this year were:
by Kathy Reichs (I love her Temperance Brennan books so hoping to enjoy her first foray into YA)
by Ally Condie (Matched ended on such a cliffhanger, I need to know what happened to Cassia and Ky)
by Andrea Cremer (the final book of a trilogy I am loving)
by Katherine Webb (I am a sucker for books that deal with family secrets)
by Jay Asher (now if you follow my blog you will know I am not for dark books, but this has touched so many people and if the message is that powerful, I'm all for it!)
by Maggie Stiefvater (by one of my favorite authors, I can't wait to read this!)
- I have heard way too many amazing things about this book, I must read this soon!
and 
by Jeri Smith-Ready - I LOVE, LOVE LOVE this series and if you like paranormal, with ghosts, a mystery and some romance then you will too. Oh and music!!! These are very special copies of the book I will cherish forever.
from 
- The last book of Belly, Conrad & Jeremiah *sniff*
- Where Holly makes you fall in love with a con-man and self-described jerk :D