Po(sey) Sessions

It is extremely hard to explain but while I love science fiction, I really struggle reading fantasy. Therefore I prefer science fiction to have as few fantastical elements as possible. When people are recommending books to me they find this line very confusing. Many can't understand how I can love one genre and practically refuse to read the other. There are many elements of fantasy I really enjoy but I just struggle to read about them. I find myself unable to be immersed into these unknown worlds. I have read Ender's Game and enjoyed it but did not love it. It was suggested to me later that Card's writing is more on the fantastical side and considering my preference they were not surprised to find I wasn't eager to read more books in the series. I am going to read them some day, just not in any rush. I have the same issue with Westerfeld's Midnighters series. It is more fantasy baed than science fcition. I have only read the first book in the series and I did e...

Even though I haven't really been posting, nothing is really changing in my reading world. I still love young adult and I still love sci fi. So I was thinking I would ask if any of you have any YA Sci Fi to recommend to me? In the past 6 months I have really hit through most of the books on my science fiction list and I know there are ones that I have missed and new ones coming out every day. I've already read some of the big series books already. The Hunger Games and Uglies . I most recently read and loved The Declaration . (More about that soon, I hope!) There are a few books that have recently come out that I am dying to read but the library hasn't gotten yet. The Maze Runner and Candor being among them. I have the first 3 books in the Maximum Ride series and I think I will be starting that soon as well. So I beg you! What young adult science fiction books do you have to recommend to me?

Now that school has started for my kids I have found less time to read and without the internet at home, definitely less time to blog! I just updated my 100+ book list and am up to 147 right now. If you check it out you will see A LOT of audio recently. Today I am at the library because a book I had on hold came in. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! I know a million of you have read this already but I was late on the band wagon. Luckily my library has 4 copies of it and it only took me about a month to get the book. I can't wait to get home and start it. I am not a big fan of series. I hate to REQUIREMENT to read more books. Yes, there is an enjoyment to revisiting the same characters and stories that you love but it can get annoying waiting to find out what happens when you are reading a series while it is released. But despite that I am reading a lot of different series right now. In the past I have even avoid books that are the first in a series because I don't want th...

In 2009 I want to keep better record of the books I am reading. My hope is to keep updating this list throughout the year. Thanks to J. Kaye for hosting this challenge. Please click on the picture above to be taken to the page to sign up to participate. I am not officially joining this challenge because I am not following the guidelines. I am concerned with when I finish a book and not with when I started it. This challenge officially cannot include any books started in 2008 and my list will have several of those. 1. Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo 2. Katie and Kimble: A Ghost Story by Linda Thieman 3. The Forgotten Door by Alexander Key 4. The Hunger Games by Susan Collins 5. Perfect on Paper by Maria Murnane 6. Simon Bloom, The Gravity Keeper by Michael Reisman (audio) 7. Unwind by Neal Shusterman 8. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (audio) 9. Invisible Touch by Kelly Parra 10. The Secret Life of a Teenage Siren by Wendy Toliver 11. The year of secret assignments by Jaclyn ...

Walk Two Moons is the Newbery winning book by Sharon Creech. The storyline is composed of three different time periods in Sal's life. The novel weaves these narratives together; one is reaching towards the future, one is the recent past, and the third connects to events in the more distant past. Sal is moving forward on a cross-country road trip with her grandparents on her way to see her mother. Along the way she tells stories of her new friend in the town she recently moved to, these connect back to deeper memories of her childhood. While the book deals with a lot of dark themes, it is more concered with the reality of life rather than being a menacing tragedy. The novel explores how we all have struggles in our lives. One of the moments in that book that explores some themes is when the class reads and tries to understand a poem. "Mr. Birkway read a poem by Longfellow: "The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls." The way Mr. Birkway read this poem, you oculd hear the tide ...

Midnight Swing ( from Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Away ) When I can't fall asleep I sneak out to the yard and climb onto the swing that's attached to a branch of sweet scented pine. As I glide though the night and I hang back my head I see stars and a moon that's following me through the evergreen trees. And I fly on my swing through the midnight ice cold as the swirling white clouds of my own frozen breath brush my tingling cheeks. And my nightgown wafts up and my hair billows out as I float through the air and there's only the sound of the dark whooshing past. And my thought drift to you on a day long ago when my legs were too short so you helped me climb up and you taught me to pump. ---Sonya Sones

This is the exact imaginary, figurative gold star that was actually awarded to me in real time by the spectacular Neal Shusterman!! (After I demanded he do so.) (How I love those that bend to my will!) How did I earn this gold star? Besides by sheer force of will? Well, it ends up that one of my favorite books that I have read in the past year written by one of my favorite authors that I have discovered in the past year is being released in paperback. And much like my desperate plea for this hard earned gold star, Neal issues his own plea. Tell ten people about the impending release so he can put his son through college! :D So, now I told you and you need to go tell ten people. Then maybe you will get a gold star too. But not this one. This one is mine. NO TOUCHING. This one was virtually presented to me by one of my favorite authors and you can't have it. Of course I didn't gush all over him about how much I think he is a genius. And also I do feel kind of stupid after pr...