Monday, June 20, 2011

Birthday Week Kick-Off

So at the risk of losing my reputation as Mopy McMopypants, I thought maybe we'd have a little fun today... celebrate some fun stuff, and you can give me some ADVICE!

First, I should probably explain what I mean by birthday week. It's my birthday this week! *cough* But it's more than that. Why, you ask?

Because I'm not the ONLY birthday this week, so we are just going to have a week long party around here.

When I was growing up, I didn't know ANYBODY with a near birthday—there was a girl in my class who was the 26th, but she was a year older and pretty fundamentally different from me... okay... she picked on me (one of very few who ever did—she did in without too much meanness but I sure wasn't ready for it). I think there is something though to just the couple days including and immediately after the summer solstice... the formal Gemini CUSP of Cancer... A kindred thing...

I will detail it a bit more at the Burrow tomorrow, but for TODAY, I want to talk about a present I already got!!!


My Mom Sent Me a KINDLE!!! (I need recommendations!

I'm so excited. I've had a few beta partners who've wanted to do exchanges that way, and I love the idea of checking out a few chapters before buying... I see myself MOSTLY using it for travel and such, but maybe not... I will have to see how user friendly it is. I haven't dug in, as I suspect I will have a learning curve and I've been too busy to just devote a few hours.

BUT, it came with a gift card, so I wanted to ask all of YOU:

What are the best current reads you've read in YA, mystery or suspense. I have a very low tolerance for 'sweet' and prefer to limit romance to a subplot. I really DO though, need to familiarize myself with the edgy YA market... Not CREATURE paranormal, but I like dead (not zombie), ghost, psychic power paranormal. I LOVE dystopia, mostly... What do YOU recommend?



In Other News


Days OFF

I am going to try to take Thursday and Friday off work to make up for NOT getting my Mondays this month. My boss is giving me a massage, and my daughter gave me a gift card for a pedicure for mother's day, so Thursday, my actual birthday, I am going to pamper myself.




What Ales Me
is 83% complete



41732 / 50000 words written

Writing

So I'm at 41.7K on my WriMo. Just over 8000 left to goal, though probably 18K to DONE. (first draftly speaking anyway) I want to hit the WriMo goal this week, as I want to actually finish the BOOK this month...

So there we have it, not much substance, but how many parties do you know that start off immediately... it's got to build slowly!!!

30 comments:

I Must Be Off said...

Happy Birthweek, Tart! :)

Christine Murray said...

Happy Birthday Week! I'm loving your Kindle, very jealous.

Old Kitty said...

Happy Birthday Week!! I love that you are celebrating the week as NAKEDly as possible cos it's your birthday and birthdays are so special and unique and lovely and should be national holidays!!! :-) Especially NAKED ones!!

Your boss is giving you a massage?!?!?! I hope it'll be most NAKED! Yay!!!

Take care
x

Gina Ciocca said...

Happy Birthday! Based on your criteria, I would recommend Divergent by Veronica Roth for you. I'm posting a review of it on Wednesday if haven't read it already. It was fantastic :)

Jan Morrison said...

Happy Birthday Tartlette! I'm assuming you'll be wearing your birthday suit all week? Even to work?
Books for your kindle - I recommend any mystery by Kate Atkinson and as for YA - The Golden Compass - is that YA? The whole thing - the trilogy known as His Dark Materials - loved it to pieces. I don't really know what YA is cuz we didn't have it back in the day - just books - some of which some teenagers read - anything by Neal Stephenson - The Diamond Age - amazing!

Anonymous said...

Bonne anniversaire, cherie!

(That's French for, "Nice Kindle!")

And isn't it going to be awkward with your boss giving you a massage?

;)

T. Powell Coltrin said...

Happy Birthday. That's a nice gift!

Hart Johnson said...

*giggles* Okay, I should clarify... the boss is calling her massage gal and SHE is going to give me the massage... *snort*

Gina-I will check out the recommendation

And Jan-I like the Dark Materials, but we OWN them... I will check out Kate Atkinson, though!

Thanks, gang!

Lisa Potts said...

Happy Birthday Week!

If yo haven't read Wither by Lauren DeStefano, you should check it out. Wonderful.

Enjoy that massage. You've earned it.

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Hope you'll have a Happy Birthday! I'm glad you're taking a little time off this week. :) My son loved "Divergent," which he gobbled up last week. Veronica Roth...Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/67eh2np

Michael Di Gesu said...

Happy Birthday week HART!

I have a suggestion, it seems to fit your taste... I am sure you've heard of it by now POSSESSION by Elana Johnson.

Y/A Dystopian with some romance. I haven't read it yet, but I head it awesome.

Hey Hart...


I'm planning to drive through Ann Arbor on my way to Toronto at the end of August, I would LOVE to meet with your for lunch or something. It will be on a Saturday, so hopefully you will be free... I still have your Fizzie Whizbees and would love to give them to you in person....

Creepy Query Girl said...

wow, congrats on the progress with your wip and on your brand new kindle! She is a think of beauty! and happy birthday week to you! My daughter's birthday is Wednesday and mine is coming up July 1st...I wonder if the hubs will get the kindle hints I've been dropping:)

Mary@GigglesandGuns said...

Happy, happy birthday!
You'll love the Kindle -- not a big learning curve honest.
Great job on the WIP.
Have a great week and and even greater year!

Sarah Ahiers said...

happy birthday! And yay for the kindle! I would rec Maze Runner and Ship Breaker, two of my favs this year. OOh and Liar Society for mystery

Carol Kilgore said...

Ack! Blogger just ate my comment. Anyway, what I said was:

Happy Birthday! My dad's birthday is this week, too.

And congrats on the Kindle. I'm so far behind on reading that I have nothing new to recommend. Some older mystery and suspense but nothing shiny and new.

Don't worry. You'll find plenty :)

Stephanie M said...

Congrats on getting the kindle. I love mine. It's my new workout buddy on the treadmill.

Edgy YA, dystopia? Have you read Feed by M. T. Anderson? It's quite a dark look at the future, from the POV of a teenage boy. There's also The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

Colene Murphy said...

Yeay! I love birthday weeks! Happy birthday week day 1! I'm behind on recent YA books (still needing to get Divergent...) but I just started on Hex Hall last night and am hooked already! Hmm...A Certain Slant of Light is my all time favorite ghosty type YA. It's beautiful. Sabriel and Bleeding Violet are two good ones that come to mind...good luck!

Alison DeLuca said...

And a very happy birthday to you! Here's a little gift I thought you might like: http://www.celebritysentry.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/1305199810-80.jpg

It was my daughter's birthday yesterday. So, I say - on with the birthday week! *TOOOOOOT!*

Jayne said...

Happy birthday to you! *she sings from London*

I have no kindle but it looks a super-shiny fine piece of kit. I also have no recommendations for YA dystopia novels, and feel somewhat sad about that! I need to start reading some pronto. The last dystopia novels I read were all Stephen King, adore his books with a dark passion.

Hart Johnson said...

Ha! I just started a doc file with all of these! Excellent!

Michael, just sent you an email! Would love to have lunch!

You people with family with birthdays this week may get some trouble from them, eh? though i guess of my friends this week, I am probably the biggest pill, so maybe that is from somewhere else.

Stephanie, are you new around here, or is my memory failing? Welcome!

RosieC said...

Happy birthday, lady! Sounds like you've got great plans. I'm a little jealous of the Kindle, I must say. I hope you enjoy it. As for recommendations, I haven't read any of these, but I'm DYING!! to read both the FALLEN and the PARANORMALCY series. So, that's my recommendation, so that I may live vicariously through you :)

Hart Johnson said...

Ha! A couple sneakers in there!

Alison-THANK YOU!

Jayne-I love King, too, but I know I can't WRITE that. I really do best with a teen voice.

VR Barkowski said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WEEK, TARTY!

I'm sure you will get a slew of YA recommends so I'll hit mysteries/suspense of the non-sweet variety, my bailiwick (always wanted to use that word). Favorites so far this year have been Steve Hamilton's The Lock Artist and Keigo Higashino's The Devotion of Subject X.

Congrats on your BuNoWriMo progress - Awesomeness!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Happy birthday, Hart!! Cool you got an eReader. Sorry, don't know any young adult books to recommend. But I will join the party this week.

Johanna Garth said...

Happy birthday dear Hart, Queen of blogging!!

Enjoy your Kindle..I bet you will find yourself using way more than you expected-kinda like [insert your choice of addictive drug here].

Btw, little shout out to you on my blog today...stop by for a looksee.

Helena said...

Happy Birthday! And if I were better read in the YA field (and I'm really not) I'd give some recommendations. Sorry.

Krista McLaughlin said...

Happy Birthday!! I just got a Kindle and I love it! I can sit and read for hours.

Recommendations; THE IMMORTALS Quartet by Tamora Pierce or the series starting with Alanna. She writes amazing YA fantasy, women empowering in the time of kings, knights, and magic. It's my favorite!!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Your boss is giving you a massage? I want your boss!

Happy birthday, Hart.

Arlee Bird said...

Happy Birthday!! I have a brother and sister who are twins who celebrate their birthday on Wednesday.


Lee
Tossing It Out

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

Yay, my b-day's next week. Happy birthday week to you! Summer b-days are the best. Sorry I have no kindle suggestions or kindle but enjoy!
xoRobyn