The time it was a freedom to read hop

Time for another giveaway hop!

This one is hosted by BookHounds and I Am A Reader, Not a Writer.

As soon as I saw the above hop photo and the flag, I thought of America [obviously]. And from that train of thought, America Singer came to mind... which leads me to the book I'm giving away:

 

 

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined 

I have a signed copy of The Selection up for grabs!!

Rules for the giveaway are listed under the "terms and conditions" on the Rafflecopter widget.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now that you've entered here, check out all of the other blogs on the hop [listed below] for a bazillion chances to win other phenomenal books! You can also check out the host blogs at: BookHounds and I Am a Reader, Not a Writer

**Good Luck!!**

The time it was all bookish mail -- 3

Welcome to another episode of Signed Books I Got in the Mail...

Sarah Dessen was announced at the 2013 Festival of Books.  She also was going to be signing at the B&N in Huntington Beach over that same weekend.  I didn't want to deal with the crowd that I knew would be flocking to her, mostly because I had never read one of her books.  Thankfully, Jenn was going to be attending a Sarah event and was willing to pick something up for me.

I did send an arc of one of Sarah's books, but Hubs fucked up the address and it didn't get there.  At all.  So, Jenn came to the rescue and bought me a book! Now I can officially add Sarah to the collection.

When Elizabeth Norris announced that any pre-ordered copies of Unbreakable from Books of Wonder would receive special bonus material [including an alternate ending], I placed my order that day.  A couple of days before the book was released, Elizabeth tweeted me and said that she had just signed my book.  I didn't want to get my hopes up since BoW usually has a "no inscription/personalization" rule. 

I shouldn't have doubted her because the inscription is glorious.  Also? That means every single copy of Unraveling and Unbreakable that I own says that I have Ben. He is definitely mine. [I would later also win a signed copy of Unbreakable from Pitch Dark for participating in the Unraveling read along.] 

When Eleanor & Park was released, everyone and their mother told me to read it.  The ever so awesome Jaime offered to get me a signed copy when she went to Rainbow's event.  I think she ended up getting 11 copies or something...

Either way, I'm quite grateful she was willing to get me a copy.  The book is amazing and I can't wait to meet Rainbow myself.

Jaime also went to the Pitch Dark Days event.  I had already ordered Elizabeth's books [plus extra copies at her launch party, but that's another story] and was hoping hoping hoping that Amy Tintera would be doing additional events in SoCal.  Her launch party was at the Bookstore-Which-Shall-Not-Be-Named and I refused to go.

However, Kiera Cass hasn't been to SoCal yet... Not one to wait, I asked Jaime to get me a signed copy of The Elite.

I had gotten my arc of Invisibility signed by Andrea Cremer when I saw her at Mrs. Nelson's for the Breathless Reads tour. When the tour dates were announced for Andrea and David to promote Invisibilty, I was unable to get up to the San Francisco date. Thankfully, Colleen was going to be attending the Seattle date. I sent the arc to her and asked for David's signature to be added.

I truly have the best friends.  And who's a spoiled brat?  I am!

What books have you gotten lately?

The time all of the books had pretty covers

So obviously, a book cover is important when marketing a book. I don't remember there being such a big deal about cover pictures being released until I started reading YA books.  But, those marketing people are doing something right, because I've bought several books just from the cover alone...

The upside to living in SoCal is that LA is really close and a lot of authors come through LA eventually. However, the idea of "eventually" is one that I'm not too familiar with, I really don't like to wait.  Such is the case for all of the books to follow. :D

Illuminate by Aimee Agresti sucked me in right away. The dress, the shadow of the wings, and the model are all gorgeous. I especially love the script of the title.  I was able to get my hands on an ARC and read it in one night.  After reading it, I contacted Aimee and we started talking about tour dates.  She's always been so so so sweet about my incessant nagging.  Once I saw that she posted her first date at Fountain Bookstore, I wanted to support her, so I ordered the book. If/when I get to meet her, I'll ask her to sign my ARC.

I had seen the cover for The Selection and was absolutely hooked.  I love the colors and the dress and the everything... I had asked Kiera if she was going to be touring when the book was released and because she was pregnant at the time, she didn't think there would be too many events.  I was also able to get my hands on an ARC [thanks, Kassiah], so when I saw Kiera's events start to post, I just picked a date and ordered away...

I read The Sky is Everywhere after a swoony book reccommendation that Lo from Swoontini made about it.  These ladies have never let me down before, so I was all over that book ASAP.  As always, they didn't disappoint, it was amazing...

Anyhoo.

Since I was a bit late to the party on this story, it was already in paperback by the time I read it, so Jandy wasn't doing any sort of touring for it.  And then, one day when I was stalking Jay Asher's website, I noticed that he was going to be at an event that Jandy Nelson was going to be at.  The problem is that it was going to be nearly impossible to get to Palo Alto on a Friday...

I don't even know where I heard about Amy Plum's books.  All I do know is that the cover for Die For Me is amazing, I read that book in one sitting and immediately went on a search for her tour dates.  After seeing that none of her dates were remotely near me [sobsobsob], I picked Parnassus Books to buy from.  I ordered Amy's books and Jandy's book on the same day and then tweeted about needing a private plate or helicopter so I could get around to all of the events. 

And Amy's response was epic:

I really hope I get to meet her one day.  And both covers are just so gorgeous. I'm so in love with Paris that it's a little scary.

If only book covers would get ugly.  I bet it would save me some money.