waiting on wednesday (61)

Today I’m participating in "Waiting On" Wednesday, a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Its purpose is to spotlight upcoming book releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

I enjoyed Shannon Hale's The Goose Girl, a YA fairy tale retelling, and it prompted me (back in, what was this? 2007 or so... ?) to pick up Hale's Austenland as well.  Which I also liked very well.   And her Newbery award-winning Princess Academy!  Lovely beyond belief.  Just this weekend I saw the awesome that is the Austenland film.  Go see it if you haven't already.  100% joy.  Needless to say, anything Hale writes is instantly on my radar.  And her science fiction young adult novel Dangerous releases on April 1, 2014 from Bloomsbury USA Children’s (Macmillan).  Wow.  Wishlisted.

She never thought her friends were capable of killing.

She never thought she would be the one to stop them all.

When Maisie Danger Brown holds the token in her hand, she’s not sure what to think. But when the searing pain begins, and it becomes clear that there’s no going back, Maisie is thrust into a battle she never imagined fighting. For her family, for the planet, for everything she knows. She had only wanted to get away from home for a summer, to see something new. Instead she’s stumbled into something much more terrifying, something that has killed her friends and just might kill her next. From award-winning New York Times bestselling author Shannon Hale comes a unique, powerful novel for teens that asks, How far would you go to save the ones you love? And how far would you go to save everyone else?

What books are you waiting on?

waiting on wednesday (14)

I’m participating today in "Waiting On" Wednesday. It is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, and its purpose is to spotlight eagerly anticipated upcoming releases.

I was introduced to Jane Austen and her wonderful books in high school. My English and Journalism teachers teamed up to invite the senior girls to their houses to watch the BBC five-hour version of Pride and Prejudice (yes, that sort of thing happened at my teeny-tiny private school). This started a long love affair with Austen, but also with Austen re-tellings and riffs. A couple of years ago I read Austenland by Shannon Hale (who also writes Grade A YA fantasy), and I enjoyed it quite a lot. I was thrilled to hear that it was being made into a film, and ecstatic to find that a sequel/companion novel is on its way! Midnight in Austenland will be published by Bloomsbury USA, and releases on January 31, 2012.

When Charlotte Kinder treats herself to a two-week vacation at Austenland, she happily leaves behind her ex-husband and his delightful new wife, her ever-grateful children, and all the rest of her real life in America. She dons a bonnet and stays at a country manor house that provides an immersive Austen experience, complete with gentleman actors who cater to the guests' Austen fantasies.

Everyone at Pembrook Park is playing a role, but increasingly, Charlotte isn't sure where roles end and reality begins. And as the parlor games turn a little bit menacing, she finds she needs more than a good corset to keep herself safe. Is the brooding Mr. Mallery as sinister as he seems? What is Miss Gardenside's mysterious ailment? Was that an actual dead body in the secret attic room? And-perhaps of the most lasting importance-could the stirrings in Charlotte's heart be a sign of real-life love?

The follow-up to reader favorite Austenland provides the same perfectly plotted pleasures, with a feisty new heroine, plenty of fresh and frightening twists, and the possibility of a romance that might just go beyond the proper bounds of Austen's world. How could it not turn out right in the end?

What books are you waiting on?

books i've been meaning to read for...forever

The Book List is a short and fun meme that allows you to share books with the blogosphere and make a list. Who doesn't love lists (QUIET, you!)? It is hosted weekly by Rebecca at Lost in Books.

This Week's Topic is: 3 Books that have been on your TBR (to be read) list the longest…

1. My Invented Country by Isabel Allende

I went to Chile (and fell in love with it) in the summer of 2004. I went to Spain in the fall of 2004. I bought this book in Spain. And I have taken it EVERYWHERE with me. It survived the after-college book purge, another trip to Chile, moves to Florida, Georgia, and Seattle, and it now resides on a shelf in my DC apartment. I always mean to read it, but somehow it never happens. That may also be due to the fact that I bought the Spanish-language version, and I read about three times slower in Spanish than in English. One day I will read this book! Sigh.

2. Enna Burning by Shannon Hale

I love Shannon Hale’s books. I read The Princess Academy, The Goose Girl and Book of a Thousand Days in quick succession. And then I bought Enna Burning and River Secrets…and they’ve just been SITTING. ON. MY. SHELF. Accusing me, making me feel guilty, and proving that even with books by the authors I love, I can still be the ultimate procrastinator. Probably not something to put on the résumé, eh? But I intend to read this one by December, because it's on my 'Once Upon a Time' reading challenge list.

3. The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig

As a long-time fan of The Scarlet Pimpernel and the Regency period in general, it is a travesty that I haven’t read this book. It was a birthday gift, and a good one. From the year 2007. I just have never gotten around to reading it. But I will, never fear! Because the cover is just too gorgeous, and one of these days (probably a rainy day, with hot chocolate) I will discover just how much of a fool I’ve been to delay.

What are three books you’ve put off reading?