TGIF (15) Banned Books Week Edition!

     TGIF is a feature hosted by the ever fab Ginger over at GReads! Ginger asks a fun question every week and bloggers post their answers. And honestly, this is one of my favorite features because it's just so fun! And I love reading everyone's answers! Plus, the picture is pretty cute too. This week's question is...

Banned Books: How do you feel about the censorship of the freedom to read? Do you think the education system needs to be more strict on what children are exposed to in books?

     If I start to rant, I apologize. It's pretty much inevitable that it will happen. So if you don't like rants, you may not like this post. Let's get started here.
     Ahh... book banning. It's definitely a common topic among many of us. Most of us say "NAY," to book banning, but occasionally I run into people who say, "YAY," to book banning and I am appalled.  You're certainly entitled to your opinion though, I'll give you that.
     There are many books out there that contain a wide range of content. If a parent doesn't feel their child is ready for some of the content, that is absolutely fine. That is the decision of the parent, and I fully respect that. But when parents or anyone really decide to ban the book for everyone at the school or the library or the town, I don't think that is fair. You are preventing every child who uses that place as a resource from reading a book that could potentially change their lives. A parent/adult should not be allowed to prevent anyone but themselves and their child from reading a book, and should not ruin it for all children who use that resource to get books.
     We all have different thoughts and ideals and that's one of the things that makes reading so special. We all feel different about different books and no two books make us feel the exact same way. Some of my favorite books are banned. And when I realize that one of my favorite books has offended someone else, it kind of makes me feel weird. I feel awful that someone else my age may not be able to read a book that changed my life. Many banned books have taught me lessons and values that I may not have learned anywhere else. Here are some of my favorite banned books:


- To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
- Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
- The Giver by Lois Lowry
- The Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling
- Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
and so many more!


     In case you haven't seen my banned books week video, here it is again.

     
     Also, since this week is banned books week, I do have a giveaway going on. You have a chance to win the mama book of all dystopian novels, the ever so banned, The Giver by Lois Lowry. Click here to enter. Thanks so much for listening to me rant. Feel free to list any thoughts YOU have on book censorship in the comments!

Austin Teen Book Festival!

     Hello Everyone! There is an amazing even going on this Saturday, and that is.... (dun, dun, dun)

The Austin Teen Book Festival!!

     The Austin Teen Book Festival is a huge book event featuring YA authors from all over the place. Last year I was devastated because I was out of town the day of the event, but this year I will be there bright and early at 8AM. I will be volunteering as part of the Teen Press Corps, taking photos, interviewing authors, attendees, and really everyone else. I will also be tweeting from the event live and posting things on ATBF's Facebook Page, writing blog posts, and things of that nature. So I think I'll be pretty busy all day, but if you see me, please feel free to say hi to me! I would definitely love to meet you!! :)

     There is also a pretty great lineup of authors coming this year. Check it out!

Scott Westerfeld -  Heather Brewer -  Jenny Han -  Coe Booth -  David Levithan -

Maureen Johnson -  Jackson Pearce -  Alyson Noel -  Gabrielle Zevin -

Margo Rabb -  Mary Pearson -  Jessica Brody -  Cristina Garcia -  Simone Elkeles - 

Stephanie Perkins -  Jennifer Ziegler -  Christina Mandelski -  Varian Johnson - 

John Corey Whaley - Melissa Walker -  Geoff Herbach -  Tera Lynn Childs -  

Sophie Jordan -  Andrea Cremer -  Jonathan Maberry -  Brian Yansky -  

Cynthia Leitich Smith – Rosemary Clement-Moore

     Do you see this lineup!? Maureen Johnson, author of 13 Little Blue Envelopes, Stephanie Perkins, author of Anna and the French Kiss, Jenny Han, author of The Summer I Turned Pretty, and so many more I am DYING to meet! 
     I wil be doing a recap post when I return and there may also be a fun little giveaway. We'll see how it goes. :)
     If you live in the area, you should definitely stop by. The festival is from 10AM to 5PM at The Palmer Event Center in Austin. The festival is completely free (but you do have to buy books if you want them) so all you have to bring is your smiling face! Hope to see you there!

What to Look Forward to this Fall and Winter

     Alright, I do consider September, Fall. So what I really should say is "what to look forward to for the rest of this fall and winter," but that's too long. So here we go.

 1. Young Bloggers Unite (YBU)- YBU is something I'm super duper excited for!! It's bringing together book bloggers from all over the world who are anywhere from 12-17. You can learn more about YBU here. Or visit the YBU blog which is not nearly done here. The official kick-off date is October 1st.

 2. More Blogger Detour Interviews- If you didn't know about this yet, blogger detour is our interview feature here at Mint Tea and A Good Book. If you're interested in being interviewed, you can email me at mintteaandagoodbook@gmail.com

 3. Austin Teen Book Festival and Other Signings- The Austin Teen Book Festival is on October 1st and features authors like Jenny Han, Alyson Noel, Maureen Johnson, Davis Levithan, Stephanie Perkins, Simone Elkeles, and a ton more! I'll be volunteering at the festival this year and will hopefully return with tons to share! To visit ATBF's official website, click here.


4. Reviews and more- We also have quite a few reviews coming up such as Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler, and so many more amazing titles! Plus, Erin will be reviewing Lola and The Boy Next Door!

5. I can't think of much else right now, but new things are popping up all the time. So get ready for a fun filled Fall and Winter!

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer Review

Title: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Release Date: September 27th, 2011
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing







Synopsis (from Goodreads)- 

Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.

She's wrong.

My Thoughts-

     This book broke my brain. Michelle Hodkin has crafted such a beautiful story I don't even know where to begin. There is so much to say about this book. It is incredible. And before I begin, let me just say, there is no possible way I can do this book any justice whatsoever.

    Ok, I'm going to begin here. If you haven't seen/ heard of this book before, then I'm slightly concerned that you've been hiding under a rock because this book is everywhere! It's gotten so much well deserved hype. So when my friend, Farrah, offered to lend me her ARC I was ecstatic! I was jumping up and down all over the room.

     I started the book and gobbled it up within a few nights. It was THAT amazing. It still won't get out of my head. Mara insists on invading my dreams as well. And according to a few of my friends, I made the strangest facial expressions while reading this book. That's probably true because I was pretty absorbed in the novel. This is definitely one of the most interesting books I have ever read. And it's very different from other YA novels too.

    I loved the characters too. Noah and Daniel, Mara's brother, and other characters as well had very realistic personalities, that were easy to relate to and connect with. While this book is very strange, it seemed like Noah and Daniel were the ones keeping it real, and not so odd.

    The end of this book is killer! It makes me want to devour another Michelle Hodkin book, but alas, none but Mara exist... yet. Mara comes out in a just a few mere days though, so you can get your hands on it very soon. In the meantime, you can watch this amazing book trailer- http://michellehodkin.blogspot.com/2011/09/book-trailer-is-here.html

Banned Books Week Giveaway!!

     I don't know if you all knew this, but Banned Books Week is taking place from September 24th (tomorrow) to October 1st! Not banning books is something that is extremely important to me. Taking away a child's right to read a book is completely outrageous and unnecessary. It makes me want to cry, no lie there.

     This week, we're celebrating banned books. No, definitely not the actual banning of books (that would be awful), but celebrating the reading of banned books. So Jen from I Read Banned Books and Kathy from I Am a Reader, Not a Writer are hosting a Banned Books Hop. The hop features all sorts of giveaways and info about book banning. And I can tell that it is going to be full of fun! So be sure to hop around the blogosphere during the week and learn more about book banning, and hopefully enter some giveaways as well. For more about the hop and to see other participating blogs, click here.



     Because I got really super duper excited about Banned Books Week, I whipped up a snazzy little video with cool music, just sort of as an introduction to the week. Here you go!

It's come to my attention that many people would liketo use this video in their 

posts. If  you're in that situation, just shoot me an email. :)

 Now time for the giveaway! In celebration of Banned Books Week, I'm giving away one of my all time favorite banned books, The Giver by Lois Lowry! Yep, the book with the really old man on the front. Trust me though, this book is so much more than it's cover. In my opinion, it's the pioneer of dystopian YA, so if you're into dystopian, this is the book for you! 

     But before you enter, there are just a few things you need to know...

- You must be 13 years or older to enter

- You can only fill out the form once

- You do not have to be a follower, but it is always appreciated and there is extra pointage for followers

- You must live in the USA or Canada (sorry, this one isn't international)

- Giveaway ends October 1st at Midnight Central Time


     For more information, please visit our contact/policy page. Ok, NOW, you can enter. Fill out this form HERE to enter the giveaway. And remember, there is a bit of extra pointage for followers of Mint Tea and A Good Book. Let me know if you have any questions or problems entering the giveaway and feel free to leave any thoughts about book banning in the comments! :)

Algebra Has No Mercy or Why I've Been Scarce

"There are 3 kinds of people in this world, those that are good at math, and those that aren't."

     Get it? I thought that quote was pretty funny. Anyway, I'm not actually that bad at math/algebra, it's just currently taking up a lot of my time. If you've noticed that I've been kind of scarce these past couple weeks, I apologize. The beginning of school is always kind of hectic, and this year most definitely is no exception. Soon, I'll get in the groove of things and stop looking like this every night.

That's Me.

      Also, my email inbox is crazy! So if I owe you an email, it's coming I'm sorry. If it's been over a week and I haven't responded, feel free to send me the email again. On the weekends, I'm much more available. I respond to emails right away and can post blog posts, and all that jazz. 

     Hopefully soon I can get things looking more like this...

     But until then, just know that I may be a little slow at responding to emails and there may be less posting from me as well. Thanks so much for understanding!

     Last quick thing, there will be no In My Mailbox this week, but there will be a HUGE (literally) one next Sunday/Monday! Thanks again!

TGIF (14) Book Disappointments

       TGIF is a feature hosted by the ever fab Ginger over at GReads! Ginger asks a fun question every week and bloggers post their answers. And honestly, this is one of my favorite features because it's just so fun! And I love reading everyone's answers! Plus, the picture is pretty cute too. This week's question is...

Book Disappointments: Have you ever come across a book you were so stoked to read, but it failed miserably in your eyes?

     This doesn't happen to me too often because I'm pretty good about choosing books that I like, but here are a few examples of books that failed for me.

 1. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore- Everyone kept saying, "You have to read it, you have to read it," so I was like "Oh fine whatever, I'll read it." So, naturally I read it and I was like "Thats it?" The book got so much hype and while I definitely didn't dislike it, it just wasn't quite as good as everyone said it was, which made me a bit disappointed.

 2. Angel Burn by L.A. Weatherly- Now, I definitely didn't HATE this book, there were just a few things that drove me insane. Everyone kept saying that it was the best book ever and this and that and then I read it and I was like "eh." It was very repetitive and there are just so many books that are very similar, so I didn't love it.

 3. That Summer by Sarah Dessen- I love Sarah Dessen! So I was super excited when I picked this one up! After all it was Sarah Dessen's first novel and I'd heard such great things about it. But let me tell you, it did not compare to Sarah Dessen's other books. And while I still liked it, it just didn't live up to some of sarah Dessen's other novels.

     That's all for this week's TGIF! Feel free to link to your TGIF posts (if you have one) in the comments! Or you can just share any books that you felt the same way about. :) And remember, today is the last day of Book Blogger Appreciation Week! :)

Book Blogger Appreciation Week 2011!

     If you're in the book blogging loop, you may know a bit about a little something called Book Blogger Appreciation Week! There will be a topic everyday of the week and book bloggers will be responding daily. I am not going to be posting everyday this week, but I will be posting quite a few times. For more information on BBAW, click here. Today's topic is...

Community!

     The book blogging community really is AMAZING. We come together from all different parts of the globe and celebrate our love for reading and blogging. It's such a diverse community! I mean really, ages range from 12- 50 and some of us live on opposite sides of the globe!
     The people I've met through book blogging are some of the nicest people I've met. When I started book blogging I never even expected that I would interact with other bloggers! Of course, I was wrong. I've met tons of incredible people through book blogging! Here are some blogs/bloggers that I love and inspire me each and every day!

Vy from Vy's Blog- Vy and I met when we found out that we were the same age! There aren't too many book bloggers our age and so it was such a treat when I met Vy! Since then we've bonded over books and had tons of fun!

Willa from Willa's Ramblings- Another blogger who is my age! Willa makes me laugh all the time and we have so much fun talking about books day after day. (Her blog just got a makeover by the way!)

Katie from Katie's Book Blog- Katie is so sweet! I love to talk books with her and just talk to her in general. Katie is also my book blogging "big sister" which is super fun!

Farrah from I Eat Words- Farrah is so sweet!! I always put books into my TBR pile because of her blog! Plus she's so fun to talk to and reminds me a lot of myself. ;)

     There are so many other amazing book bloggers that I would love to list! So if you're not on this list, I still love you! Look out for more BBAW Love continuing this week!

In My Mailbox (23)

       "In My Mailbox" is a weekly feature hosted by the super fabulous, Kristi at The Story Siren. "IMM" is a way to share thoughts on the books you've received throughout the week with readers. To read more about "In My Malbox," click here. 

This week I got a pretty awesome haul!

 1. The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle (ARC)- I'm super excited for this book! It sounds like it will be sad but meaningful.

 2. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (ARC)- I'm nearly done with this one and holy smokes, it is so AMAZING! Although my ARC doesn't have the amazing cover.

 3. Between by Jessica Warman- My friend loved this book so she lent me her copy. It sounds very interesting. :)

 4. The Royal Treatment by Lindsey Leavitt- I can't wait to read this one!! It's the second book in the Princess for Hire Series which I adore! Plus, Lindsey Leavitt books always just put me in a good mood. :)

 5. Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott- YAY! This book came out back in May and I finally got my hands on a copy this week! This is the newest Elizabeth Scott book and I'm super excited for it! 

 6. It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han- I ADORED the first book in this series and so I picked up this one this week from the library. The library had just got it in so I got to wrap it in that special library wrapping!! Can't wait!








     For those of us in the US, today is also a very important day. I thought it would be appropriate to share the goodreads quote of the day today, because it is very fitting.

"When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always."

— Mahatma Gandhi 

Have a great Sunday!

TGIF (13) Books to Television

      TGIF is a feature hosted by the ever fab Ginger over at GReads! Ginger asks a fun question every week and bloggers post their answers. And honestly, this is one of my favorite features because it's just so fun! And I love reading everyone's answers! Plus, the picture is pretty cute too. This week's question is...

Books to Television: Which books would you love 

to see made in to a TV series? or movie?

TGIF has a brand new graphic!

 1. The Gallagher Girls by Ally Carter- I'm actually pretty surprised that these books haven't been made into a TV show or a movie. Ally Carter's writing reads a lot like a movie/TV show and I think her books would definitely make good ones. :) I know her other book, Heist Society, is being made into a movie.

2. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han- I would love love love to see this book as a movie! Such a fun book would seem like it would be a very appealing movie. Although like every book movie, I would be worried that they would mess it up in the movie. :(

 3. The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler- I finished this one last week and I firmly believe that it would make a GREAT movie. And I actually just found out today, that Warner Bros. has optioned the film rights for it! So, wow, that was quick.

     That's all for this week's TGIF! Stop by next week for another TGIF!

Blogger Detour {2}

Blogger Detour is a brand new interview feature at Mint Tea & A Good Book. Basically it's a great way to get your blog promoted and it has a fun little road trip twist added as well.

This Week's Blogger Detour Contestant Is...

Ashley from Books from Bleh To Basically Amazing!

How old were you when you learned to read?

First grade. I actually cried on the way to first grade, convinced I just couldn't go to class because I didn't know how to read. But, I learned. Fast. My mom got a note from the teacher asking if I could move up to the second grade reading class because I was so advanced, and because how fast I read in the out-loud reading time was too fast... 

What is your earliest memory of reading?

 This is tied into the above answer. I remember being so proud to bring home the note from my teacher to my mom, and my mom allowing the teacher to move me up. I had to bring home both the first and second grade reading book over Christmas vacation, so I could get caught up to where the second graders were, and I was so excited. I remember just sitting on my bed and reading the stories in these books. It never really felt like work to me either. I just camped out for hours at a time reading and being Oh so very happy. :)

Was there a specific book that really turned you onto reading?

Nope. I've always just loved books. Even as a very little kid. I'd sit for hours 'reading' my books when I couldn't fall asleep (we are talking toddler age) so when I learned how to actually read, I was hooked.  

What made you decide to start blogging?

Mostly my sister. She had been talking about blogging for a while, trying to convince me to start one and it was never something that interested me. But she started talking about how I could be a book blogger and I was intrigued, since before I'd only known of personal blogs. Then, I started noticing that some of my favorite people on Goodreads had book blogs and I thought they were awesome. So I started one too.

Are there any blogs/bloggers in specific that inspire you?

I don't know about inspire... Inspire is such a hard word to pin down, since everyone describes it differently. But, April from Good Books and Good Wine, and Misty from The Book Rat were the two bloggers I noticed with blogs on GR that made me want to start mine, and I still read their blogs regularly. As for a few other favorite blogs/bloggers both to talk to and to read? Shannon from Books Devoured, Allison from the Allure of Books and Katelyn from Katelyn's Book Blog are all pretty much amazing. :) 

What else do you do besides blogging? 

I read. Duh. :P I work full time, and then spend the rest of my time reading, hanging out with friends, spending time with family and lately, a lot of my time has been spent trying to figure out what to do with my future. O_o

What are your goals for blogging? And what do you hope to see from blogging in the future?

 My goals for blogging are really pretty simple. I want people to read my blog- I don't care if it's 10 people or 1000 people. I want people around who are interested in books so that I can share my favorites, talk about the books I love and get people excited. Pretty sure the greatest feeling right now is getting a comment/tweet/email/etc from someone who says- I picked up this book because of how much you loved it and OH MY GOODNESS! HOW AMAZING! It makes me insanely happy every time. 

My only other real goal for my blog is honesty. I get really frustrated when I see, what I consider to be dishonest bloggers or reviews. I will admit right up front that when I first started blogging, I was very careful to phrase my reviews completely positively. Review copy or not, I was very careful to make sure even my criticisms were soft. And I hated it. I was never happy with those reviews. Ever. I'd look at them and cringe, because even though they were technically completely honest, it's like an equivocation- where you tell the truth intending to mislead. Because while everything I said about them was true, it left people thinking I liked them better than I did. So, I decided that it was no longer about other people, it was going to be about me and my opinions. I was never that careful on Goodreads when I reviewed books. I said exactly what I thought. So that's what I do on my blog now and I can't tell you how much better I feel. 

So no more faux honesty for Ashley. I wish that more people would embrace it too. 

As for what I hope to see from blogging in a year? Just that I'm still here and hopefully that the people I really enjoy blogging with are still around too! It always makes me sad when a blogger disappears. :( But I want to keep doing what I'm doing. I have a few ideas for features and things that I'd like to get going, and I want to do what I can to make sure it never feels like a chore... That if I want to skip anything for a week, so what. I'm getting there now, and it's quite freeing. :)

If you had to go on a road trip- where would you go and who would you go with?

In my opinion, on a real road trip, the destination is not important. Not really. It's the drive and the company that is most important. I'd go with my best friend. We've taken short road trips before (4 hours) and it's awesome. And, we go for drives all the time. Just drive around the rural back roads where we live, chatting and talking. It's awesome. So, I'd take lots of junk food and lots of music and we'd jump in the car and go!




     Thanks so much to Ashley for letting me interview her!! :) Don't forget to check out her amazing blog, Books from Bleh To Basically Amazing!