Deja Vu Covers! Which do you prefer?

Occasionally (well, all the time), I shelve books at work.  Today, I shelved two books with very similar covers.  I thought I'd share them with you.  Someone who uses Getty Images to make money must have been very excited to see their image on two book covers!

First, let us take a look at 'Mad Love' by Suzanne Selfors, published by Walker Books for Young Readers.  The cherry red umbrella is eye catching and the raining hearts?  They're cute, too.  Do I plan on reading it?  No, but as far as covers go, it's a nice one.

Now, take a peek at 'Struck' by Rhoda Stapleton, published by Simon Pulse.  Are you getting the sense of deja vu?

Two different publishers.  Two different cover designers.  One Getty Image manipulated in two different ways.  (Look closely and you'll see identical water droplets on the umbrella's panel, fourth from the left!) Neat, huh?

My personal favorite is the cover to 'Mad Love'.  I think 'Struck' has too many hearts raining down.  Which do you prefer?

Article: The End of Manga Scanlations?

Scanlations have always fallen into a gray area for me.  For non-manga readers, scanlations are manga that's scanned from the original language volume, then translated, and lastly, posted on the web for readers to either read on websites like OneManga or download via the the scanlaters website. 

The reason I bring this up is that a lot of the manga I have on my bookshelf, I sampled on sites that 'stream', if you will, the scanlations for free.  The sites, One Manga and the rest, were a great way to sample an entire manga volume or series, as opposed to a chapter, because you can't really sample a manga with *just* a chapter.  You really do need more than that to get a feel for the manga's tone, characters, etc and with most of the manga reading demographic having less money to 'chance' on a manga, it seems that the recent disappearance of these manga streaming sites isn't the best route to go.  

I realize piracy is bad, but I highly doubt these websites were making a difference in manga sales.  Working in a bookstore, I've seen the drop in manga sales.  The hey day for manga is over (for the moment) and with that publishers will be cutting down on their titles.  These streaming websites were great places to find the un-licensed  stuff-- stuff that is mega popular elsewhere but won't be published in english by any publisher due to the slump in manga sales.  

I'm not sure what the purpose of this post is.  I understand taking down licensed manga, but shutting down multiple websites just to do that?  That's going too far in my book... 

Fantasy Cast-- Vampire Academy

Have you been keeping up with the Vampire Academy producers on Twitter or Facebook?  Well, if so, you already know how proactive the producers are being at getting the fans input on the movie adaptation of the Vampire Academy series. It got me thinking-- who would I cast in the Vampire Academy Movie... Take a peek below!

Emily Browning (credits: Series of Unfortunate Events, Sucker Punch) as Rose:

Okay, she's got a new haircut and color now, but still she could totally pull off Rose.  She has a unique look that I think is a requirement for the character.

Ben Barnes (credits: Prince Caspian) as Dimitri:

It's no lie-- I totally dig the long dark locks on this guy.  He has the build, look, and attitude to totally rock the role of Dimitri!

Eliza Bennett (credits: Inkheart, Nanny McPhee) as Lissa:

So, she doesn't have that many credits.  Big deal.  I think she brought Meggie to life pretty darn well in Inkheart and think she could do the same for Lissa.

Skandar Keynes (credits: The Chronicles of Narnia series) as Christian:

Skandar could so pull off Christian.  He has the look and from what I've seen in the Narnia movies, the attitude. 

What about Adrian? I don't remember him being in the first VA novel, so I decided to leave him out. 

So what do you think of my fantasy cast?  Who would you like to see in the title roles?

Article: Book Recommendations From You!

Hi readers!

First, thank to all those who hit the 'follow' button.  I appreciate it!

Second, I need your help!  My bookstore is looking to expand the teen dept. and I'm on a look out for teen titles of all genre's that you love, but might not see on bookstore shelves frequently.  If a title's been in the top ten for weeks, then we already have it.  I'm looking for those 'diamond in the ruff' books and series that readers will love!

Thanks for your help!

Welcome Back, BSC!

My next review is going to be on the prequel to the Baby-Sitters Club (BSC) series, so I thought, why not write a bit about the original series for those who may not have lived through its original heyday.

Here are a few fun BSC series facts!

-The first book came out in 1986 and was called "Kristy's Great Idea"
-The series follows a group of best friends who decide to form a 'Baby-Sitters Club'.
-The girls are in 7th grade in the beginning of the series and eventually move into eighth grade.
-Including specials, there are over 200 books in the series!
-In 1990, a short lived TV show was made.  Embeded is a YT clip from my favorite episode!

- In 1991/92, a line of fashion dolls were made of the gang.
-In 1995, a movie was made based on the BSC with a cast that went on to make many other popular movies. Trailer is here!
-In 1998, more dolls were made!  From Kenner, they were 12" tall.
-In 2000, the last BSC book was published (Graduation Day).  Since then, the series slowly has gone out of print.

This new prequel, "The Summer Before", should bring a whole new audience to the series.  Along with this new book, the original series is also being slowly re-vamped and re-printed! Yay!  My personal hope is that this spawns not only a new legion of fans, but also a new tv show or new reunion novels down the line!

Article: Percy Jackson and the Olympians- The Lightning Thief Box Office Update

According to Box Office Mojo, Percy Jackson made $31,236,067 in its opening weekend placing it in the number 2 spot for ticket sales and has currently made $43,460,392.00 in the US alone.  Not too shabby for something that has only been out for a week!






While I haven't seen the movie on one of the 3,000+ screens showing it yet, have you?  What did you think!  Remember to keep spoilers to a minimum.  (I haven't finished the book yet!)

Article: Author Blogs

One of the best things the internet has done is bring the authors out from the little blurb in the books we love and in to our living rooms with fun blogs for fans to obsess over. Most new authors today have a blog and even the older authors are getting into it now. Here, I'm going to spotlight a few blogs for you to check out!

My Favorite blogging author is Darren Shan. First off, I know from meeting him in person a few times, he is a fantastic person with a fantastic view of life. His blog sounds so much like he sounds in person. He blogs about real life, his books, movie's he's seen... Always an entertaining read!

The next blog I usually check is Mary Hoffman's. She is the author of the great series, 'Stravaganza'. She usually muses on the goings-on of her life and tidbits about upcoming books. Follow the link.

I really enjoyed 'Hush, Hush' by Becca Fitzpatrick. She blogs on LJ about lots of things to real life to writing to online chats.

Read the 'Vampire Academy' series? Well, author Richelle Mead has a blog. Recently, she is posting much about her wedding and she always posts a lot of Vampire Academy type posts. This blog should help all you VA fans (like me) stand waiting for the next book release!

'A Certain Slant of Light' is one of my favorite books. Laura Whitcomb, author, has a nice little blog set up. I love the variety she has-- going from talking about her newest releases/works in progress to how to prepare a supernatural tea party. Click to read her blog!

Think an author deserves a spot on this list? Comment with the URL and I'll add them!

News: Babysitters Club Being Reprinted!

I'm super excited by what I found out in this article about Ann M. Martins Babysitters Club series. Yes! They are slowly being updated and reprinted! As a person who grew up with the first printing of the Babysitters Club and having two books signed by the author, I can't wait to see these on store shelves again. Better news, to kick off the series, Ann M. Martin is writing a prequel novel "The Summer Before", about the lives of the Babysitters Club members before book one in the original series "Kristy's Great Idea".

Are you excited about this? Do you have any grand memories of the BSC books? Comment and share your experiences with the BSC series!

Before the Movie... Try the Book!

Before you see 'Cirque Du Freak: The Vampires Assistant' in the theater, try this book! Below is a quick review of this great series.

Title: Cirque Du Freak
Author: Darren Shan
Format: Hardcover
Genre: Young Readers, YA, Supernatural, Vampire
Perfect for: reluctant readers and vampire fans alike

If you had to choose to become a half vampire to save your best friends life, would you? Darren, a normal grade schooler, is faced with that question in author Darren Shan's book 'Cirque Du Freak'. The first in a series of 12, this book follows Darren as he gives up everything to save a friend by becoming a vampires assistant. Trails and tribulations ensue as he slowly learns the ways of his new half vampire life.

'Cirque Du Freak' is great for reluctant readers, especially boys. It has a good mixture of action, angst, vampire fun, and most importantly, is an excellent start to an excellent series. Enjoy this read!

Hello Fellow Readers!

Me, again! Just wanted to catch you up on what I've been reading recently. Anyone paying attention to my Goodreads (look on left sidebar!) will notice I have added a few titles to it recently. All will be getting formal reviews from me in the coming weeks, but I thought I'd give you all a quick preview!

First off, any young readers out there fans of comics and manga? 'Over My Dead Body: 43 Old Cemetery Road's' by Kate and Sarah Klise is great. It's not a traditional book and uses letters, newspaper articles, comics, etc, to tell the story of a old house and its residents: A writer, a boy, and a ghost. Quick review? It's quirky and I love it. Check out the first book in the series 'Dying to Meet You: 43 Old Cemetery Road' first for background, then dive into this fantastic sequel!

Next up, by Robin Wasserman is the second book in the Skinned Trilogy, 'Crashed'. I have been looking forward to this for a while and had pretty high expectations. Did the book meet them? Eh, sort of. It was good, but, for me, had some problems.

Last up on this mini recap of books, the fourth Vampire Academy book (author: Richelle Mead) entitled 'Blood Promise'. What a whirlwind of a read. I picked it up and literally couldn't put it down. Was it perfect? No. Was it worth the time spent reading it? Oh yeah.

More detailed reviews of these are coming soon, so stay tuned! As always, I encourage you to comment and if you have any book rec's you'd like to share, let me know! I'd love to hear from you!

Q/A: A Little About Me...

Who are you, anyways?
I'm Brooke. Just your regular girl who decided to grab a bit more space here on the web to voice her opinion on items she loves-- books!

Why review books?
I've been around books all my life working at libraries and bookstores. Still do, matter of fact! The main reason I write these reviews is because it's fun. Sharing good titles is something I enjoy.

So, what do you want to be when you grow up?
My aspirations are to be a writer. In a perfect world, I would write for TV, but it's quite a hard thing to get into when you aren't in California! I'm currently working on scripts and manuscripts that will, hopefully, one day be published!

Do you have a favorite movie? Book? Color?
Movies- Newsies, Star Wars, Beauty and the Beast
Books- The Grey King (Cooper), Aliens ate my Homework (Coville), Cirque Du Freak (Shan)
Color- Purple

What should we expect from this book blog?
Expect it to get better! I'm making tweaks all the time in hopes of making it great. The layout will most definitely change eventually, but I'm not that much of a webhead, so bear with me. :p

Between Spiderman, Superman, and Batman, who's the best?
Spidey all the way! Batman seems to have anger issues to me. Superman, well, he's strong, but not the best. Now Spidey might be depressed half the time, but he always gets the job done and always has the perfect sarcastic line ready for this enemy. Gotta love Spidey. :p

There you have it! If you have more questions you'd like to ask, leave me a comment!