Top Ten Tuesday (44): All Time Favorite Characters in Books

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week a new Top Ten list will be posted by one of the bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish. Everyone is welcome to join, just make sure to link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so everyone can check out other blogger lists. Have fun!

Top Ten All Time Favorite Characters in Books

1. Sam Roth from Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

 It's sweet, adorable, and romantic Sam, how can readers who loved Shiver not love him?

2. Sean Kendrick from The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

He's great with horses and knows what he wants to do, working hard for it.

3. Yelena and Valek from the Study Trilogy by Maria V. Snyder

Okay, so I'm cheating here a bit, but you can't really have one without the other. Just not possible with this dynamic duo.

4. Bigwig from Watership Down by Richard Adams

Yeah, I'm such a sucker for a tough guy who eventually shows his softer side (even if he's a rabbit, he's still Captain of the Watership owsla).

5. Aahz from The Myth series by Robert Asprin

He kind of goes hand in hand with Bigwig, tough exterior but you know he really worries about Skeeve and wants him to succeed.  (He's the green guy in the middle.)

6. Alanna from Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce

She wants to be a knight in a world that wouldn't accept that all while saving the kingdom one book at a time. How cool a character is that???

7. Ramona from The Ramona series by Beverly Cleary

While she could definitely get into trouble, she usually made it out of her scrapes and troubles just fine in the end. Also, does anyone else remember the TV series they had for the books? 

8. Evie from Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

She's funny, tough, and she has a pink taser, making her one of the most memorable and adorable characters on my list.

9. Alexia Terabotti from Soulless (The Manga) by Gail Carriger & Rem

Okay, since I haven't read the book yet, I can only judge by the manga, but holy schnikies is Alexia not one of the coolest heroines ever! She knows how to kick some serious butt all while in traditional Victorian England attire, and that makes her even more awesome.

10. Carol, Stevie, and Lisa from The Saddle Club by Bonnie Bryant

I grew up with these three girls, and with their love of horses rivaling my own, I think it's only fair to have them on this list (especially with as many books in the series I had). 

In My Mailbox (30): TXLA 2012 Edition

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren where bloggers post about the books they have received in the past week whether for review, purchased, or checked out from the library. ^_^

The annual Texas Library Association conference was this week, and it was my first time attending (even if it was just Wednesday).  The ARC haul... was intense and my shoulders are still feeling it, but it was so worth it especially since I was able to meet so many awesome Texas bloggers both local and out-of-town and phenomenal authors in-state and out-of-state! ^_^

YA Authors & Librarians Texas Tea:

Author round-up!  So many awesome YA authors in one place!

Here's some local lovelies, Mary Lindsey and Jessica Lee Anderson!

Mary's so sweet! I love being one of her book pimps!

Guess who was the first author at our table!!!  Maggie Stiefvater was talking about The Raven Boys, which all of our table was eager to hear more.

Maggie's also too cute!

Siobhan Vivian was next, and darn do I want to read her book, The List!

OMG, it's Neal Shusterman! Along with Unwholly, sequel to Unwind.

Here's another local lovely, Joy Preble, with Anastasia Forever.

Here's Jennifer A. Nielsen with her new novel, The False Prince. 

Houston bloggers (and writers) are such fun, so here's to Kate (from Ex Libris), Maria (from Cari's Book Blog), Kristin (from Kristin Creative), and Stephanie (from Stephanie, A History). I was also happy to meet the undeniably awesome Jen Bigheart from I Read Banned Books (next time I'll snag a picture of her). 

All righty on to the...

Joy! I've gotta talk about the books, silly!

From TXLA 2012:

Considering I only went on Wednesday, I think I made out quite nicely. 

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller

Underworld by Meg Cabot
Anastasia Forever by Joy Preble (signed!)
Sweet Shadows by Tera Lynn Childs (signed!)
Of Poseidon by Anna Banks
The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan

This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

Breathe by Sarah Crossan

Velveteen by Daniel Marks

Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindl

Dark Lord the Teenage Years by Jamie Thomson

Small Medium at Large by Joanne Levy

The Pack: Dogs of the Drowned City by Dayna Lorentz

Invisible World by Suzanne Weyn

The Prince Who Fell from the Sky by John Claude Bemis

The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron

Skinny by Donna Cooner

Sleuth or Dare: Partners in Crime by Kim Harrington

The Templeton Twins Have an Idea by Ellis Weiner

Calli by Jessica Lee Anderson (signed!)

Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui T. Sutherland

Ordinary Magic by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway

Violins of Autumn by Amy McAuley

Anything by Ordinary by Lara Avery

The Cup and the Crown by Diane Stanley

Legends of Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke

On a Dark Wing by Jordan Dane (signed, and thanks to Kristin!)

Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins (personalized thanks to Karen!)

Spellwright by Blake Charlton (personalized!)

Whew! That's all for my mailbox this week. What did you get in your mailbox? ^_^

TGIF (20): Book Blogger Influences

TGIF is a weekly meme created and hosted by Ginger of GReads! that recaps the week's posts and has a different question each week.

This week on Denim-Jacket Librarian Dishes:

In My Mailbox (29) and Teen Book Con Haul

Small Blogs, Big Dreams Giveaway Hop!

Top Ten Tuesday (43): Tips for New Bloggers

Review: Dating the Undead by Gena Showalter & Jill Monroe

DJL Dishes Dessert: Baked Indian Pudding

***

Has there been a particular book blogger who's influenced what you read?  Share with us a review/book blog that convinced you to pick up a certain book.

My Answer: That's like asking for the number of stars in a clear night sky. lol  There are so many bloggers that I look to for recommendations, guidance on deciding whether to read a book I'm on the fence about, and just to see what they have to say on books I'm looking forward to reading. In perspective of who influenced my decisions on what ARCs to get this week at the Texas Library Association conference here is a short listing of bloggers who "forced my hand" so to speak. ^_^

Something Like Normal by Trish Dollar (Thank you, Jess!)
Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs (though I picked up Sweet Shadows) (Thank you, Christy!)
Abandon by Meg Cabot (though I picked up Underworld) (Thank you, Karen!)

These bloggers' reviews made me pick up published books:

The List by Siobhan Vivian (<--This author is too sweet.) (Thank you, Amy!)
Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey (Thank you, Christin!)
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (Thank you, Marla!)

From the bottom of my heart, I thank you awesome book bloggers. ^_^
(Btw my TBR shelf groans at you all.)

Texas YA Author Love Giveaway Winner Announced!

Since the annual Texas Library Association conference is just around the corner, I'm hosting a giveaway to show all of our Texas YA authors just how much their readers love them.  You can win TWO paranormal books of your choice from the list of titles below. 

Congratulations to Natasha! 

She has chosen Taken at Dusk by C.C. Hunter and Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey as her prizes.

DJL Dishes Dessert: Baked Indian Pudding

Recipe:  Baked Indian Pudding

Creator:  Mary at One Perfect Bite
The Dish:  Wow, it's been an even longer time since I've done a dish on dessert, and since my library had their International Potluck this past Monday, I just went for broke.  I'd heard about this dish on an episode of The Best I Ever Had on Food Network, and it looked... FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC.  So while I'm not Native American in any way, I wanted to try my hand at this dish.  It looks like a combination of a custard and a polenta and has a taste similar to pumpkin pie... and something else I can't quite place.  It's best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on top, so far be it for me to deprive my coworkers by not bringing along some Blue Bell.

Ingredients:
- 4 cups of milk
- 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon each of ground ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup cream (<--I actually substituted milk for this.)

Directions:
1. Preheat over to 300 degrees. In a sauce pan, bring 3 cups of milk to a boil. Mix 1 cup of cold milk with the cornmeal and stir slowly into the hot milk. Cook on low for 20 minutes, stirring often.

2. Add butter, sugar, and molasses. Remove from heat. Add salt and spices. Beat eggs in a small bowl. Gradually add 1 cup of hot liquid to eggs, stirring constantly. Stir tempered eggs into cornmeal mixture.

3. Pour into a 1-1/2 quart baking dish and bake for 2 to 2-1/2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes during the first hour. After 1 hour, pour cream (or milk in my case) over top of pudding but do not stir. Continue cooking until top is set, 1 to 1-1/2 hours longer.

4. Serve warm topped with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Yields: 6-8 servings

It was delicious and my coworkers loved it, though some of them had it cold with the ice cream.  With the taste being similar to pumpkin pie, which is best served warm or cold, I think it's just a matter of preference.  Personally, I nuked mine and while runny, it was delicious.  I will have to make it again. 

Review: Dating the Undead by Gena Showalter and Jill Monroe

Title:  Dating the Undead
Authors:  Gena Showalter & Jill Monroe
Pages:  160
Genre:  Paranormal, Supernatural Romance
Publisher:  Harlequin
Summary:  They're drop-dead handsome-and we're not kidding! Welcome to the first and only guide devoted to loving the immortal man in all of his furry, feathery, fiery glory. Here is a forbidden-fruit salad of features, fiction, fashion, and more, including: "Lipstick on His Collar: Is your immortal just a little bit immoral?"; "Angel in the Kitchen: Heavenly dishes that don't take an eternity to prepare"; "A Kiss is Not Just a Kiss: Immortals we crave divulge their lip-smacking turn-ons"; "Undead & Well-Read: What's hot between the covers this month"; "A View from a Guy: Zombie Jack's turn"; "Immorstrology: Our indispensible guide to heavenly bodies."

The Microwave Dish:  I adore Gena Showalter, and I could see her doing something off-the-wall like Dating the Undead.  It would be really fun to see unique "books" like it a bit more often especially from other authors in order to get their take.  Readers get hilarious advertisements, fantastical dating advice, even cocktail recipes in this gem of a magazine (that I sometimes wish was available in subscription just for the ads).  I thought the concept was unique, whimsical, and quite enjoyable.  Those who adore paranormal creatures or are avid Gena Showalter or Jill Monroe fans should get a real kick out of this title.

Top Ten Tuesday (43): Tips for New Book Bloggers

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week a new Top Ten list will be posted by one of the bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish. Everyone is welcome to join, just make sure to link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so everyone can check out other blogger lists. Have fun!

Top Ten Tips for New Book Bloggers

(Disclaimer: I still consider myself a novice book blogger, but I will give advice on what I've learned as a book blogger.)

1. Participate in the community.

There are many different ways to become involved in the blogosphere whether it's taking part in weekly memes or attending blogger meet-ups or book signings.  It's a way to get to know other book bloggers and let them get to know you as well.

2. Don't be afraid to say 'no'.  

This applies especially to review requests because it can really bog you down.  Not all review requests will be for books that you enjoy reading, so never feel like you have to accept every review request.

3. Network, network, network.

In order for others to learn about your blog, you must find other ways to put yourself out there.  Using Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads are excellent ways to put your name in the blogosphere.

4. Make sure to post regularly.

Even if it's just one or two posts a week, an active blog is a more noticeable blog than one that goes several weeks without a single new post (unless you are on hiatus).

5. Your blog should make others feel welcome.

Make sure that your blog is tidy and uncluttered, especially in the sidebars.  Also, if you do have music on your blog, make sure it doesn't automatically play.  It's quite startling when either a trailer or music plays suddenly when I visit a blog.

6. Refrain from "bashing", "flaming", and "disrespecting."

This goes for authors, books, and other bloggers.  Keep your reviews constructive, back up your critiques, and never let your review be about the author.

7. Take time to visit other blogs.

To have blog readers, you must first be a blog reader.  And if you like a post or want to contribute to the conversation, definitely leave a comment.

8. Reviews aren't everything.

Don't feel like you have to review everything you read, especially if you're a speed-reader *cough*Karen*cough* or read more than one title at a time.

9. Be sure to give back to the blogging community.

If you receive ARCs or participate in giveaways on other blogs, give it back to the community by hosting your own giveaways.

10. Above all, love what you do.

If blogging stops being fun and becomes more like a chore, take a break.  You don't want it to turn into something that's not enjoyable, so make sure it stays fun.