Recommend Me is a weekly event hosted by Kate at The Neverending Shelf. All you have to do to participate is share a book that you loved reading for whatever reason. It can be something you read yesterday or years ago. If you have a second try it and let me know! I’d love to hear what books you have to recommend.

My choice for this week:

The House of Night Series by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Published by St. Martin’s Griffin (A division of Macmillan)

Publishers Summary for Marked: The House of Night series is set in a world very much like our own, except in 16-year-old Zoey Redbird’s world, vampyres have always existed.  In this first book in the series, Zoey enters the House of Night, a school where, after having undergone the Change, she will train to become an adult vampire–that is, if she makes it through the Change.  Not all of those who are chosen do.  It’s tough to begin a new life, away from her parents and friends, and on top of that, Zoey finds she is no average fledgling.  She has been Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx.  But she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers.  When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school’s most elite club, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny–with a little help from her new vampyre friends.

“This series was one that I actually started based on the recommendation of a friend, so I thought it fitting that I also recommend the series to my readers/friends here at There’s A Book.

“The House of Night Series is a completely new take on vampire mythology. There are no ‘making’ vampires, in the traditional sense most of us have become accustomed to, it’s all about being ‘marked’ or ‘chosen’ if you will, and it all happens at a young age. The cast of characters are primarily made up of your typical high school students with insecurities and struggles similar to what the rest of us go through, but with one exception…they’re now vampires. The main character, Zoey Redbird, is a strong female lead, but not perfect in any sense. She struggles to fit in and find her place amongst a new set of friends and make peace with her nearly non-existent family life.

“These books have quickly become a series I truly look forward to reading when the next comes out. They are quick, entertaining and well written. My only qualm would have to do with an overly sexual theme in the first couple of books, so I wouldn’t recommend them to readers that are too young. Still though, a great series and one I’m happy to have on my shelves.”

The1stdaughter Recommends: Ages 16 and up. Due to brief sexual encounters and mild language.

Other Upcoming Titles in the Series you may want to check out (Look for reviews of these two books over the next week!):

Book Trailer for Burned (Released April 27, 2010):

Also, check out the House of Night website for tons of great extras:

These books were purchased for our home library.
Purchasing products by clicking through the links in this post will provide us a modest commission through our affiliate relationship with Amazon.com.

Recommend Me is a weekly event hosted by Kate at The Neverending Shelf. All you have to do to participate is share a book that you loved reading for whatever reason. It can be something you read yesterday or years ago. If you have a second try it and let me know! I’d love to hear what books you have to recommend.

My choice for this week:

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Published by Vintage Books

Publishers Summary: As a child, Kathy–now thirty-one years old–lived at Hailsham, a private school in the scenic English countryside where the children were sheltered from the outside world, brought up to believe that they were special and that their well-being was crucial not only for themselves but for the society they would eventually enter. Kathy had long ago put this idyllic past behind her, but when two of her Hailsham friends come back into her life, she stops resisting the pull of memory.
And so, as her friendship with Ruth is rekindled, and as the feelings that long ago fueled her adolescent crush on Tommy begin to deepen into love, Kathy recalls their years at Hailsham. She describes happy scenes of boys and girls growing up together, unperturbed–even comforted–by their isolation. But she describes other scenes as well: of discord and misunderstanding that hint at a dark secret behind Hailsham’s nurturing facade. With the dawning clarity of hindsight, the three friends are compelled to face the truth about their childhood–and about their lives now.

“On my top ten books for writing brilliance. Ishiguro crafts a beautiful story that unfolds layer by layer as you turn each page. In his novel Never Let Me Go Ishiguro examines not only the complexities behind modern advancements in science, but also deep and often times manipulative relationships. It’s hard to find it’s equal, I believe. Ishiguro’s story is touching and one that left me thinking about the things I value most in my life, namely my family and my freedom.

“For fans of dystopian fiction this is a book not to be missed. It’s a book that will have you thinking throughout every page and for days after you put it down. Just brilliant.”

The1stdaughter Recommends: Ages 16 and up. Due to mature scenes.

Other Titles You  may want to check out:

The Giver by Lois Lowry (Read my Review Here)
A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

These books were purchased for our home library.
Purchasing products by clicking through the links in this post will provide us a modest commission through our affiliate relationship with Amazon.com.

Recommend Me is a weekly event hosted by Kate at The Neverending Shelf. All you have to do to participate is share a book that you loved reading for whatever reason. It can be something you read yesterday or years ago. If you have a second try it and let me know! I’d love to hear what books you have to recommend.

My choice for this week:

The Blue Bloods Series by Melissa de la Cruz

Published by Hyperion Books for Children

Publishers Summary for Blue Bloods: When the Mayflower set sail in 1620, it carried on board the men and women who would shape America: Miles Standish; John Alden; Constance Hopkins. But some among the Pilgrims were not pure of heart; they were not escaping religious persecution. Indeed, they were not even human. They were vampires.
The vampires assimilated quickly into the New World. Rising to levels of enormous power, wealth, and influence, they were the celebrated “blue bloods” of American society. The Blue Bloods vowed that their immortal status would remain a closely guarded secret. And they kept that secret for centuries.
But now, in New York City, the secret is seeping out. Schuyler Van Alen is a sophomore at a prestigious private school. Suddenly, when she turns fifteen, there is a visible mosaic of blue veins on her arm. She starts to crave raw food — and she is having flashbacks to ancient times. Then a girl from her school is found dead . . . drained of all her blood. Schuyler doesn’t know what to think. Could those vampire legends really be true?

“These books have been some of the most enjoyable vampire books I have read recently. They’re full of mystery, have a little bit of romance, a new take on the vampire legend and they are an incredibly quick read. The main character Schuyler Van Alen is one of my favorites. She’s tough, strong willed, has an amazing best guy friend and even goes after the wrong guy. There are so many reasons to love this series and I could go on forever, but I’ll just say…you should definitely read this series!”

The1stdaughter Recommends: Age 14 and up. Anyone who loved Twilight, Mortal Instruments, Vampire Academy or The House of Night series will love these books!

Other/Upcoming Titles in the Series You (meaning I’m dying for) may want to check out:

The Van Alen Legacy (currently out…and sitting in my TBR pile)

Misguided Angel (Due out October 5, 2010)

and…

Keys to the Repository: A Collection of Short Stories (Due out June 29, 2010)

For the Comments: Is there another vampire/paranormal series out there you’d recommend? I’d love to hear about it!

These books were purchased for our home library.
Purchasing products by clicking through the links in this post will provide us a modest commission through our affiliate relationship with Amazon.com.

Recommend Me is a weekly event hosted by Kate at The Neverending Shelf. All you have to do to participate is share a book that you loved reading for whatever reason. It can be something you read yesterday or years ago. I haven’t been able to participate for a few weeks, but I’m so glad I can do it again this week. If you have a second try it and let me know! I’d love to hear what books you have to recommend.

My choice for this week:

City of Bones, City of Ashes and City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books (A Division of Simon & Schuster)

Publishers Summary for City of Bones: When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder — much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Clary knows she should call the police, but it’s hard to explain a murder when the body disappears into thin air and the murderers are invisible to everyone but Clary.

Equally startled by her ability to see them, the murderers explain themselves as Shadowhunters: a secret tribe of warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. Within twenty-four hours, Clary’s mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a grotesque demon.

But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know….

“Have you ever read a book that you just couldn’t put down? And I don’t mean, you thought it was pretty good and really were interested. I mean, you stay up until 3am because you absolutely HAVE to know what’s going to happen! Because these were those books for me. Not only do they have a great story with loads of suspense from book to book, but they are also amazingly funny. Some of the conversations between two of the main characters, Simon and Jace, had me laughing out loud and my husband asking me what was going on. It even intrigued him enough to pick up the books themselves and as a guy in his late 20′s he actually really liked them.

“These books are packed with action, humor, suspense and even a bit of romance (of course). The characters are fantastic and beautifully written. Cassandra Clare quickly became one of my favorite authors just by writing this series and I can’t wait for the next book in the series, City of Fallen Angels. As well as her new novel The Clockwork Angel coming in September this year! Please, do yourself the favor and pick up these ‘chunksters’! You won’t regret a single page in the almost 1600 page series, I promise!”

“As a bit of trivia/info I’ll even mention that though our dear Turkeybird was born before I ever read this series, he coincidentally bares the name of a certain character from these books. Who? Well, you’ll just have to read them and take a guess!”

The Preview for The Mortal Instruments Series:

Upcoming Titles You (meaning I’m dying for) may want to check out:

The Clockwork Angel coming September 7, 2010
City of Fallen Angles coming March of 2011

For the Comments: Is there a book like this for you? One you would stay up all night to finish?

These books were purchased for our home library.
Purchasing products by clicking through the links in this post will provide us a modest commission through our affiliate relationship with Amazon.com.

Recommend Me is a weekly event hosted by Kate at The Neverending Shelf. All you have to do to participate is share a book that you loved reading for whatever reason. It can be something you read yesterday or years ago.

My choice for this week:

Wake and Fade by Lisa McMann

Published by Simon Pulse

Publishers Summary for Wake:

Other books you may be interested in:

Gone by Lisa McMann (The 3rd and final book in the series.)

For the comments: If you could walk in and out of other people’s dreams would you and why?

These books were purchased for our home library.
Purchasing products by clicking through the links in this post will provide us a modest commission through our affiliate relationship with Amazon.com.

Blog Name: BookLust
Blog URL: http://aartichapati.blogspot.com
Twitter Name: @aartichapati
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/149420
LibraryThing: Aarti

When did you start your blog and why?
I started blogging on LiveJournal in 2006.  I moved to Blogger at the end of that year, I think, and have been there since.  I didn’t do much reading or reviewing, however, in 2007 or 2008, so 2009 was my big year!  I started it because, frankly, it seemed at the time that everyone on my Yahoo! groups had one.  And I felt left out.  Plus, it was a way for me to reflect on my reading, instead of just finishing a book and moving onto the next one.  I mainly review historical fiction and fantasy novels, but I’m really trying to branch out this year and read more out of my comfort zone- that’s one of my goals for 2010 and so far I think I’ve done pretty well.

I really enjoy blogging and have gotten much more involved in the community over the past six months or so- I run the Rosie’s Riveters weekly post, and am starting one called With Reverent Hands.  I also participated in the Read-a-Thon, Bloggiesta and BBAW this year.  I am also working with Amy of My Friend Amy and Chris of Book-a-rama to start a series in which we spotlight indie publishers, called the Spotlight Series.  So there’s a lot going on!  It’s great to be able to use a blog as a format to support books I believe in.

Tell us a little about yourself outside of your interest in books.
I really enjoy cooking as well!  I have an obsession with farmers’ markets, and I feel classy when I cook a meal and have a glass of wine with it.  I really like to travel, and do so as much as possible.  I am currently in a career transition from accounting to marketing.  I grew up in and currently live in Chicago and have a whole lot of local pride!

Your favorite book from your youth and the story behind it.

My favorite book from my youth is The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster.  It’s a short fantasy chapter book where a bored young boy travels to another world and helps save princesses locked in a Castle in the Air.  I reviewed The Phantom Tollbooth on my blog for the Flashback Challenge in January.  Another series I loved growing up was Patricia C. Wrede’s Enchanted Forest Chronicles, in which the Princess Cimorene goes to a cave to live with a dragon.  There, she participates in dragon politics, makes great friends and gets rid of all the princes who come to “save” her from the dragon.  The first book is Dealing with Dragons.  I loved the series because Cimorene was so strong and there was so much humor, and it was a really great story.  I highly recommend the story to younger girls, particularly, as Cimorene is a great role model.  She is strong and self-confident and really comfortable with herself.

“Brilliant. Every post I’ve ever read on Aarti’s site has been something worth sitting in front of your computer for just a few more moments. In fact while compiling some of the information for this post I took quite a bit of extra time just reading and re-reading what was written. And I loved every extra minute.

“Her new feature, With Reverent Hands, is one of my new favorites. I’ve already found a few new, “old” favorites to grow attached to. And anyone looking for a reading challenge to add should definitely look into her “Flashback Challenge“; I may just be adding it myself. Her review of The Phantom Tollbooth for this challenge was wonderful, and being someone who hasn’t yet read it…it is now on my list.

“This last Sunday her “Sunday Salon” post was one you can’t miss, especially if you’re a book blogger. Aarti talks all about the joys of picking your next book and the downward spiral so many book bloggers can fall into when succumbing to “ARC envy”.

“More than anything Aarti’s vision and words inspire you to take joy in your next read. Take joy in discussing it with those around you. And discover a whole new world that is waiting for you when you open you the book sitting in your lap.

“Go, fall in love with her site and be inspired to find your next great read or just the next great conversation you were seeking!”

Interested in participating in When I Was Young? Send a request on the contact page and we will get back to you ASAP!

Purchasing products by clicking through the links in this post will provide us a modest commission through our affiliate relationship with Amazon.com.