On why I love book nerds, authors and the internet

So apparently things like THIS also make a book nerd squee.   Oh... oh, HI John Green.  S'up?  Ya- we're like totally BFF's now IRL.

Okay, maybe not.... so why does this make happy dance in my office chair?  Let me try to explain.

One of the awesome things about Twitter, Facebook and social networking in general is that it gives you the opportunity to connect with some of your favorite people instsantly and in real-time.  Whether it's personally, professionally or fangirly.... these people are at your fingertips.  My IRL friends ask me why I spend so much time online, or tell me that they don't "get" Twitter... or ask "why don't you join a real book club"??? yadda yadda yadda.... well here's why.  I have a lot of online friends thanks to a book forum I belong to and I would never have "met" any of these people if it wasn't for the wonderful world of the interwebz.  These are people who I talk to on a daily basis about my favorite topic... BOOKS.  But beyond that, we have a comfort level established that has led to much more than just a book club and I look forward to really meeting these people in the future (damn geography keeping me from nestie gtg's).  So, those friends alone make it worth the while... but they're not the only reason I love the e-world so much.

Now it's true that I follow a lot of people on Twitter and true many of them are celebrities who wouldn't respond to me to save their lives (not that I send messages to most of them), but it's cool to see their updates and know what they're up to, working on, getting charged with etc.  Maybe I should follow LiLo?  I'm sure it would be entertaining to say the least... but I digress. Where Twitter becomes especially cool is with some of my favorite authors that I have the pleasure of following through their days.  I love getting updates on how their next book is coming,  teasers about sequels and just funny little insights into their lives, or what they like to read... etc etc etc.  Authors are my ultimate celebrities because I read a whole heck of a lot more than I watch TV or movies, and what's super cool is that a lot of these totally awesome authors actually respond to your Tweets.

What's that you say? You want examples? 

I tweeted yesterday about going through vlogbrothers withdrawls and wondered where John and Hank Green were... and got the above linked response directly from John. 

I read and LOVED Sisters Red, posted a Tweet about how awesome it was and got an almost immediate response from from Jackson Pearce saying that she was so happy that I liked it. 

I've exchanged random tweets about the fabulous Hex Hall and life in general with Rachel Hawkins.

Although I've never reached out to her personally, I know several of my NBCer's have had coversations via Twitter with Maggie Stiefvater (author of Shiver, Linger and some other awesome books) about her books and other randomness.

I think the best example of this involved my NBC girls, a Jessical Darling/Marcus Flutie'd Christmas poem and Megan McCafferty. Lets just say it was hilarious, Megan loved it, sent signed books and hashtagged the crap out of the key term in the poem. FAN- FREAKIN'- TASTIC.

They run contests on Twitter, ask for feedback, opinions, random trivia, post pictures etc. And they are actually there reading and responding.  It's so freakin' cool to interact regularily with the people you admire most (and ok... in the case of John Green, fangirl over).  There's something genuine about a lot of these authors because they're truly grateful that you read and buy there books and they really want you to enjoy them.  I'm sure it's also pretty cool for them to see people trending about their books... something they put so much time into. And lastly, many (if not all) of them are book nerds to, so you have that in common to connect you and I love it.

You rarely get that kind of interaction with movie/television/music industry stars... but I get it on a daily basis with some of my favorite authors who are, in the end, just really cool people.  How awesome is that?

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

*sigh*

This book was pretty much what I thought it was going to be and at the same time it was a total surprise. The only way I can describe it is that it was "quiet"... but it was quietly awesome. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.

It was refreshing because it was just so honest. All of the characters were 100% real and believable (yes... even Tiny) and the story was told in such a truthful way that you just had to believe it.

There were moments that had me literally laughing out loud (I won't mention specifics because I don't want to spoil them) and that says a lot because, although I often find myself smiling at books, I rarely laugh out loud.

David Levithan- what an emotional voice. Honestly, some of the writing for WG is just... ugh. AWESOME.

John Green- HI-larious and smart as ever. There are certain things that John can get across that just make me say , "yessssssssssssssssssss" like I've been trying to describe it for years and he just says it. I kinda love him.

I will definitely be reading more from both of these authors, hopefully in the near future.

If you're looking for an action-packed, fast-moving, exciting book.... WGWG is not for you. If your looking for a funny, touching, truthful and quiet book, definitely pick this up and give it a chance. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

My TBR Pile

I haven’t been able to do a lot of reading in the past week and a bit- actually I’ve done a ton of reading, but it was for school so that doesn’t count- and I’m falling way behind on my TBR pile. I thought I'd do a post about what’s coming up because I’m excited to get to them.

Right now I’m about 100 pages into Through the Fire by Shawn Grady. I won this book on GoodReads ages ago (I think back in November) but I didn’t actually receive it until the end of March. I’m finally getting around to reading it now. It’s ok so far. I’m about 100 pages in and it hasn’t grabbed me yet, but it’s not bad.

Next-up… Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins! My friend Crystal over at Crystal Clear Reading had an awesome giveaway for a signed copy of this much talked about book… and I won! I originally planned to put down Through the Fire and spend a night flying through Hex Hall, but the guilt got to me and I decided to wait and finish one before I pickup another. I can’t wait though!

Also sitting waiting patiently for me is Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green. I have mixed feelings about this book. I had no desire to read it for the longest time until I discovered vlogbrothers and thought “I have to read anything and everything John Green has ever written” and immediately ordered my own copy of WGWG. I anxiously awaited its arrival and squee’d when it hit my mailbox… and it’s still sitting there. My husband even picked it up and read it (and loved it) but for some reason, I just haven’t felt like starting it. Strange right? So, I’ve decided for sure that it will follow Hex Hall.

Counting the books I have on hold at the library along with the stacks of unread books on my shelves at home, the last thing I needed to do was place a Book Depository order. But I did. Because my birthday is coming up and so I made my husband pay for the order as my birthday gift

On there way to my house as we speak are:

Deadly Little Lies by Laurie Faria Stolarz- the sequel to Deadly Little Secret. Although I thought the first was just “good” I wanted to continue with the series to find out what happens.

The Line by Teri Hall- I LOVE dystopian novels (think Hunger Games, The Giver, Unwind etc) so I’ve been dying to get my hands on this book. Unfortunately, my library doesn’t have a copy, nor do the have intentions to get a copy. So I finally broke down and ordered it.

I also pre-ordered:

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce- I don’t know what it is about this book, but I’m dying to read it.

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater- I really enjoyed Shiver and have heard raves about the Linger ARC’s being passed around so I’m pretty excited about this one too.

So that’s it. With our plans cancelled for this coming long-weekend, I’m taking the Friday off any way to get caught up with school (yes… I’m already behind). So hopefully that will leave 3 days where I can get through a couple of these books. Can’t wait!

I'm a Proud Nerdfighter!!!!

So, I've recently fallen in LOVE with all things John Green, Hank Green and nerdfighter/vlogbrother related.  I'm kinda obsessed actually, and felt the need to blog about it.

Serioulsy, if you don't follow vlogbrothers, start now. At first glance it seems kinda silly, but when you listen and watch regularily you notice very quickly just how insanely intelligent (and freakin' funny) these guys are.  They are exactly my kind of humor and have me rolling on the floor on a regular basis, while often dealing with some pretty deep/important/relevant issues at the same time.  What started as two brothers, John and Hank Green (one a way famous and adorable novelist and the other a super cute science genius/environmentalist), communicating via vlog for 1 year, turned into a social phenomenon prompting geeks and and fun intellectuals everywhere to become nerdfighers.

Look how cute!!!!

Here's a little taste of why I love John Green so much:

-John on why calling someone a nerd is NOT an insult

FTW: "Saying 'I notice you're a nerd' is like saying, 'Hey, I notice that you'd rather be intelligent than be stupid, that you'd rather be thoughtful than be vapid, that you believe that there are things that matter more than the arrest record of Lindsay Lohan. Why is that?' In fact, it seems to me that most contemporary insults are pretty lame. Even 'lame' is kind of lame. Saying 'You're lame' is like saying 'You walk with a limp.' Yeah, whatever, so does 50 Cent, and he's done all right for himself."

-On why it's freakin' awesome to be a nerd

And here's why Hank rocks my socks on a regular basis:

-on how google is trying to get inside your head
-just because I love him

Anyhoo, if you enjoy witty, intelligent (albeit a little silly) humour, CHECK THEM OUT and then go buy John's books.  I ordered Will Grayson, Will Grayson last week and am anxiously awaiting its arrival. 

DFTBA!!!!!