I’ve posted on my facebook page about the books I read in March. Check it out. Apparently I can’t link to it since it’s on facebook, but add me if you haven’t yet (Jocelyn Pearce, picture is an icon that says ‘believe’) and it’s in the notes section.
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Archived Posts from this Category
April 1, 2009
I’m back! I know I’ve been absent for a couple of weeks, and I don’t have a particularly exciting reason–school and work have been getting to me, plus, you know, I do have a social life, and add it all together and you get very little leftover time for blogging. Plus, I’ve just fallen out of the habit lately…But I’m going to try to be better. (You decide in a month or so if that’s an April Fools’ joke or not).
So what now? I haven’t been reading a whole lot. In March, I reread a couple of favorites taking place in Europe because I’m excited about my upcoming move to Germany for college (and I think I’ll be spending a few days in London before arriving at school, so that’s exciting, too, but sadly first I must get through the rest of high school) (also, I’m definitely taking recommendations for books set in Europe and/or involving travel, particularly Germany), a few new books I’ll review soon, and one for school. I have neglected to participate in weekly memes (Waiting on Wednesday and Booking Through Thursday), so expect some catch-up posts there. I also hope to have some interviews and guest posts (as always, email me if you’re interested in a guest post slot).
And what else? Well, I have some exciting news. I’ve recently found out that I’ve been quoted on two books! First, from Alea, I’m on the paperback of Audrey, Wait!, and second, from Jenny, I’m on the UK edition of Gone (listed as “Teen review on Amazon.com”, but it’s me). Exciting, no?
And then, Stephanie Kuehnert interviewed me for her Women Who Rock Wednesday feature! Check it out here, and she’s also giving away a copy of Red if you’re interested.
Finally, a piece I wrote about Fordham (the college I almost attended) was published in Teen Ink Magazine! You can see it online here.
And keep reading crossing the ocean if you’re interested in my future.
So that’s it for now, but more later (I promise this time).
March 13, 2009
Part of the reason I’ve been absent from this blog is that, when I do have time for blogging, I’ve been focusing my energy on a new blog for the past few days. I’ve started a blog called “crossing the ocean” about going to Germany. Of course, because I’m not there yet, it’s mostly my thoughts about the decision and some pictures I’ve found online of Bremen and such things, but it’s to document my journey and the journey starts when the decision is made. Of course, it’ll be more interesting in August when I’m actually in Germany! Still, I think about it so much that I’ve been managing to post quite a bit, so check it out.
March 9, 2009
I just thought I’d let you guys know I’ve made my decision. Next year, I’ll be going to Jacobs University in Bremen, Germany. If you’re interested, the school website is here and there are some cool panoramas of Bremen here. And here is a video of free hugs made in Bremen:
I quite enjoy it. And I like the song.
Anyway, now that we’ve all seen the video, you’re wondering, what does this mean for the books and the blog? You must be interested in that, or else why would you be here?
And the answer is: I don’t really know.
Sometime in August, I’ll be heading to Europe. If authors/publishers are willing to send me books in Germany, I’ll still take review copies. If not, well, my parents will still be in the U.S. and I’ll be able to pick up books when I come home for Christmas/summer. I’m really not sure about access to English-language books or time to read them and I’ll work out all the details about review copies when the time comes.
This blog will still be alive. I’ll probably have less time for recreational reading, and the reviews might not be so frequent, and the blogging might not be so frequent, but I’ll be here. And I’ll be blogging about life and Germany and such elsewhere.
The bottom line: this blog will probably change, but I’ll still be here. And I’ll be going to Europe and I’m excited!
March 7, 2009
I have a couple of tidbits to share with you right now. First, Liviania has nominated me for the Premio Dardos award! Apparently it means “prize darts” which is weird because the text of the award when I first got it was apparently in Portuguese (confirmed by Lenore) and what do darts have to do with anything? I think it’s a weird award, but I LOVE it. I think I might even love it as much as the gramatically incorrect award which I never received that seems to have died out (if you have no idea what I’m talking about, don’t worry about it). I rambled on about it and passed it on already here, but I wanted to thank Liviania and post her cool graphic here. I am honored to be nominated for the award.
While we’re talking about Liviania and her great blog, In Bed With Books, I should mention what I forgot to before, when I was talking about contests. She’s running some great contests all month in celebration of her blogiversary, and you can check out the rules here, and the most recent contest here (and keep checking her blog for more).
Thanks again, Liviania, for being awesome!
March 5, 2009
Alyssa and Karin were kind enough to nominate me for the Your Blog Is Fabulous Award. Thanks, guys!
The rules: List five things you are obsessed with/addicted to and then nominate five other fabulous blogs to pass on this award on to!
My obsessions, in no particular order….
1. Books. Duh! I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention books. I don’t really need to elaborate here, I don’t think, since this entire blog is an elaboration of my book obsession. I also tend to be obsessed with specific types of books–lately, the Animorphs. Although now that I’ve reread them all I have to move on. Sigh.
2. Television. I watch way too much TV! Some shows I love include Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Angel, Boy Meets World, Fringe, Pushing Daisies, Heroes, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill…Okay, I’m stopping now.
3. The internet. Again, not a lot of elaboration necessary. I blog. I read blogs (not just book-related). I check my email. I check websites. I talk to friends. I do all kind of things and before I know it, the day is half gone and I’ve spent it all online.
4. Diet Pepsi. I drink way too much of the stuff. It’s so tasty. Diet Coke will suffice if I’m someplace without Pepsi products.
5. Music. When my TV’s not on, I’m not sitting here in silence. I’m listening to music! I like all kinds of things. Some recent favorites? Donora and the RENT movie soundtrack.
And the five blogs I’ll nominate…I know for a fact that some of these people have already been nominated, but apparently I’m too lazy (and sick) to search through my blogroll and find the people who haven’t been nominated (though if you haven’t been nominated and you want this award, feel free to consider yourself nominated because all my readers are of course fabulous), also do not feel obligated to post this, but I’m nominating ten cent notes, Reviewer X, Miss Erin, Persnickety Snark, and Wondrous Reads. You’re all fabulous.
February 15, 2009
Both of these news items would have been more timely yesterday, but…life is insane. So here you go!
First, the Cybils winners were announced! You can check out the list here, but the ones I’m particularly happy about are, of course, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart, in my category, YA fiction, as well as Naomi Shihab Nye’s book Honeybee winning the award for poetry.
Second, my piece on Heifer International is up at I Heart Daily! Check it out here.
Another reminder to check me out on Helium, because of an article that might interest a lot of you–I get a lot of requests for help from beginning bloggers, so I wrote this article about starting a book blog.
February 4, 2009
I have been conflicted for some time about who to add to my facebook page. I kind of wanted to keep it to just real-life friends, or at least mostly real-life friends, and people from online who I actually talk to regularly. But I also wanted to keep in touch with all the authors, bloggers, and readers who know me from this site. So I created a second account! Add me! I’ve put in my name as “Jocelyn Tbr” (Tbr = Teen Book Review), and I’m the only result with that name.
January 11, 2009
I have been awarded an awesome award! Lately, I have seen several awesome awards making the rounds of the blogosphere, and I was feeling sad about not recieving one particularly lovely gramatically incorrect award to which I have developed a great attachment, when I got a new comment and my day became exponentially more awesome (which was even more awesome as I had just been at work in hell, I mean Kmart, so this rocked even more in comparison). No, it is not the gramatically incorrect award that I love so greatly (and have never received..hint, hint), but it might be even better; this one is bilingual!! Yes, that’s right, bilingual. I think that the other language might be Portuguese. In any case, it is a language that looks a lot like Spanish (which I do speak fairly well) but I cannot understand it. Well, I think I get the gist of it, but it’s not Spanish. Can someone confirm for me that this is Portuguese? Anyway, this bilingual is incredibly awesome because it has been a long time dream of mine to call myself bilingual without feeling like I’m lying (this is why I must go to college and study Spanish, among other things). So this award has a special place in my heart. Also, what it stands for–it sounds so awesome and literary and Important! With a capital I! I don’t know if I’m worthy of that I, but I am very greatful to have recieved it from Eva at Eva, Entertained. Without lengthening this already incredibly long ado:
“The Prémio Dardos is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers, a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web.
‘Com Prémio Dardos se reconhecem os valores que cada blogueiro emprega ao transmitir valores culturais, éticos, literários, pessoais, etc. que, em suma, demonstram sua criatividade através do pensamento vivo que está e permanece intacto entre suas letras, entre suas palavras. Esses selos foram criados com a intenção de promover a confraternização entre os blogueiros, uma forma de demonstrar carinho e reconhecimento por um trabalho que agregue valor à Web.’
The rules are easy:
1) Accept the award by posting it on your blog along with the name of the person that has granted the award and a link to his/her blog.
2) Pass the award to another 15 blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment, remembering to contact each of them to let them know they have been selected for this award.”
I would like to add my own PS to say that none of the bloggers I choose should feel obligated to actually follow the rules; I just want them to know I think they are fantastic and brilliant and all of that.
So which blogs to choose? It was a hard decision, as I think I have several hundred blogs in my Google feed reader, and I love them all very much (and if you’re not on this list, it is not because I don’t love you!). However, these are the fifteen that I decided on (and/or updated recently). Also I am too lazy to elaborate on why I am choosing these bloggers because, hello, there are fifteen of them. Just know they rock, and if you want to know more (which you should), you have to check out their blogs!
- Melissa Walker
- Liz Funk
- Justine Larbalestier
- Reader Rabbits
- The Story Siren
- Bildungsroman
- nineseveneight
- Presenting Lenore
- What Vanessa Reads
- Persnickety Snark
- Stephanie Kuehnert
- Reviewer X
- Girl Jordyn
- The Tarts’ Wardrobe
- Bookshelves Of Doom
Also: Does Premios Dardos really mean first darts? Or does this make more sense than my translation? Because if I translated correctly, then I have no idea what that means in the context of a blog award.
Thanks again, Eva!
January 6, 2009
I decided to watch my poll (about whether or not I should rate books on some sort of scale) until I got thirteen votes, and then decide if it was conclusive from there. Twelve of my thirteen voters voted in favor of ratings, so I guess I’m rating books. My scale will be out of six windows. Why? Because books are the windows into worlds not our own! Also, see my header.
One Window: Would not recommend it. At least it is…in English? I could tell it was supposed to be a novel? I don’t know.
Two Windows: Pick it up from the library…if you must. I wouldn’t recommend doing so unless you have an intense interest in the topic at hand or something.
Three Windows: It was okay. I won’t remember it next month and I won’t go around gushing about it, but reading it isn’t a total waste of your mind. This is a library book, though, not a purchase.
Four Windows: I liked it. Pretty good. It might be worth purchasing if it’s your kind of book, or if you read a library copy first and like it.
Five Windows: I really, really liked it. This was a really good book. I was impressed. I will be recommending it to people! Buy this one!
Six Windows: I absolutely loved it! Cannot stop gushing! A truly amazing book! (This one will be used very, very rarely, and only for the most memorable and most awesome books that I have ever read). Buy this one right away!
Also, a heart for personal resonance–regardless of how I rated it. A book can be technically “pretty good” but have some sort of personal resonance for me, and that will be indicated by a heart. Like the sloppily drawn one at the left.
Any comments or suggestions or whatnot?
Edited to clarify: For the most part, act like this is a five-star rating. One is awful, two is not so good, three is okay, four is really excellent, and five is even better. Just with a sixth level added on for the truly mind-blowingly awesome. I don’t even know if I’ll get the chance to use six windows! Also, you know, the heart for personal appeal.
January 4, 2009
October 28, 2008
Remember Red? The fantastic book of essays by teenage girls across the country (including myself), edited by the fabulous Amy Goldwasser?
As of today, it’s available in paperback! Get it here. Get it for yourself. Get it for a friend or relative–the holidays are coming up, and surely you need a gift for a reader in your life.
Or, get it for someone else you’ve never met, as part of the Red book drive. Details here.
Also, I just noticed–the title is different on the paperback. On the hardcover book, it’s called “Red: The Next Generation of American Writers–Teenage Girls–On What Fires Up Their Lives Today.” Which I always thought was a bit lengthy. Now, it’s “Red: Teenage Girls in America Write on What Fires Up Their Lives Today.” Not much better, is it? Though I suppose a one-word color title does need some explanation. When I first submitted to the project, it was called Bloody Red Heart. Which, I like better, but I also realize that was probably too vague. Let’s just stick with calling it Red on this blog, seeing as we know what it is, okay?
October 20, 2008
It would appear that I am just full of things to share today, wouldn’t it?
The ALA Teens’ Top Ten have been announced. This list is voted on by over 8,000 teens, and the books that they’ve chosen are:
- Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
- Vampire Academy by Rachel Mead
- Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson
- City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
- The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
- Extras by Scott Westerfeld
- Before I Die by Jenny Downham
- Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson
While I haven’t read all of these books, I think this list serves as a good example of popularity not equalling literary quality. I mean, really, Eclipse? I wasn’t surprised by this list, just a little disappointed in the taste of some of my fellow teens. Sure, I had fun reading Eclipse, but is it better than even some of the books further down this list (Extras, for example)? I think not.
Anyway, I also stumbled upon a website called TeenVoices. It seems to be kind of like Teen Ink, except less awesome. And only for girls. But, perhaps worth looking into. I enjoyed some of the articles.
October 20, 2008
The full lists of nominated books can now be found here. And now we have to, from all of those nominated titles (135 in YA fiction), come up with reasonable shortlists. Wish me luck!
October 20, 2008
A whimsical riff on the bookmobile, Soriano’s Biblioburro is a small institution: one man and two donkeys. He created it out of the simple belief that the act of taking books to people who do not have them can somehow improve this impoverished region, and perhaps Colombia.
Teen Book Review 