Hi everyone and welcome to my weekly blog feature to recap the week with bookish news and what to expect coming up! So without further ado...
*Reading Right Now*
*Previous Posts*
- Review: Corruption by Jessica Shirvington
- Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Want to Re-read
- Waiting on Wednesday: Faking It
- Loony Blurbs (3)
- Cover Love: The Winner's Crime
*Recommendation of the Week*
Even though this picture book has only a small amount of writing on each page, every one of them holds meaning, where Bruce Whatley's illustrations and collection of photographs from the time carry it forward. The Beach They Called Gallipoli can be enjoyed by adults and children alike, and should be acknowledged for its simplistic and poignant insight into the land where such a momentous battle in Australia's war history was fought.
*From The Interwebs*
- Epic reads has this awesome timeline of YA historical fiction
- Kelly @ Diva Booknerd gave more blogging advice with this edition of Dear Diva
- Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity wrote about 5 reasons to watch Grimm
- Mel @ YA Midnight Reads talked about How to Make a Great Book to Movie Adaptation (aka Mel unleashes her fury for the Percy Jackson movie)
- Kara @ Diary of a Teen Writer revealed How to finish NaNoWriMo in five days
*Book Haul*
- Never Fade (The Darkest Minds #3) by Alexandra Bracken - 'The Darkest Minds' series is pretty much my favourite dystopian trilogy so far EVER, so I can't wait to read this. Thank you to HarperCollins Australia for the review copy!
- The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line (Veronica Mars #1) by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham - I love a good mystery, so I'm looking forward to this. I haven't watched the TV show, but now I'm definitely intrigued. Thank you to Allen and Unwin for this review copy!
- This Shattered World (Starbound #2) by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner - There will be a review, author interview and giveaway post for this book, so stay tuned! This book is also courtesy of the fantastic Allen and Unwin.
- Hope in a Ballet Shoe by Elaine and Michaela DePrince - This is actually a true story which looks like an interesting read. Thanks again to Allen and Unwin for the review copy.
- Mothers and Daughters by Kylie Ladd - This book caught my eye at the library and it's Australian adult fiction which looks like it could give an interesting insight into the mother-daughter relationship dynamic.
- Alice in Love and War by Ann Turnbull - This and 'The Vanishing Moment' were on sale at my local library's annual book fair for $2 each and since it's historical fiction I thought - why not?
- The Vanishing Moment by Margaret Wild - For $2, I'm willing to take my chances on this one - from the premise it looks like I might love it or hate it, but let's hope it ends up being good.
*Jackie French/Bruce Whatley Event*
 |
| Jackie French reading from The Beach They Called Gallipoli |
I won tickets to this event at the State Library thanks to a HarperCollins twitter competition and feel so lucky to have finally met my favourite author of all time. Jackie French is truly an inspiration, and spoke with such conviction and sincerity. Her role as Children's Laureate for 2014-2015 has been a busy one, and I love how she spoke about how books can change people's lives and provide hope. I had read A Roze for the ANZAC Boys and so asked in the question time how that may have contributed to this release and she said that it definitely did in some way, showing the war from the nurse's perspective. She also talked about WWI in general and how it has been portrayed, as well as all the research into primary sources which she did in order to write this book.
It was fantastic to hear about how she and Bruce Whatley worked together in matching the words and images in order to create the work, and it is clear that he is very talented to have compiled the photographs and his own illustrations into it. In all, I had a fantastic time and it was lovely to see Amanda from HarperCollins as well and have some bookish conversation. I got all my Jackie French books signed which is amazing, and while talking to her she said that her latest novel in the Matilda saga To Love A Sunburnt Country is the best yet. Needless to say, I am very excited to read it! Thanks again to HarperCollins for this opportunity, as it is one which I will always remember as a special moment in my life as a bookworm.
To top it off I got all my books signed, along with her newest picture book illustrated by Bruce Whatley pic.twitter.com/lTCLdt4vPG
— Eugenia (@Genie_inabook) November 6, 2014
*Special Announcement*
Voting is ending tonight and there is still a three-way tie for first place so there's still a chance to pick a winner! Kust click the image above to be taken to the post. looking forward to seeing what you choose :)
Voting is ending tonight and there is still a three-way tie for first place so there's still a chance to pick a winner! Kust click the image above to be taken to the post. looking forward to seeing what you choose :)
I've missed so many posts because of NaNoWriMo! I'm going to go and check out your Loony Blurbs right now :) It sounds like you had a wonderful time at the Jackie French event! I love her books as well. Lovely book haul, too - we got the same awesome bundle from Allen and Unwin - they're so good to us :)
ReplyDeleteI definitely did Emily, and it's nice to hear that you're also a fan :) I agree, Allen and Unwin are so nice to us to send their awesome-looking upcoming releases!
DeleteOh Genie that sounds like the Jackie French event was fantastic! It would have definitely been interesting hearing about how they put together a book. You got a great bookish haul too, can't wait to read Veronica Mars and This shattered world! Have a lovely week Genie <3
ReplyDeleteIt's so interesting to hear about how a book comes together, especially one by an author who I'm such a big fan of! I can't wait to start This Shattered World, it looks like it's going to be a hit.
DeleteWhat an incredible event, meeting a favourite author is such a high! I'm about to start Into The Afterlight next as well. Have been itching to see how the series wraps up! I just finished This Shattered World and have no doubt that you'll absolutely love it. Jubilee is so kick ass!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the shoutout poppet and have a fabulous week of reading <3
It is indeed Kelly :) I'm sure In The Afterlight is going to be an exhilarating conclusion to the series, and that This Shattered World will be fantastic as well!
DeleteThe event looks so good Eugenia, I'm glad you got to meet your favourite author! And her new books looks fantastic, the photos look beautiful. And a wonderful bookish haul you have there. I've only read The Darkest Mind, so I'm so behind and definitely need to catch up. Oooh, I hope you love The Vanishing Moment as much as I did - I cried so much in only so little pages. That book has left a huge impact on me. <3
ReplyDeleteMe too Joy :) I'd definitely recommend you read more in The Darkest Minds series, and thanks for the heads-up about The Vanishing Moment, now I'm definitely going to make sure I read it sooner rather than later.
DeleteNice book haul you have there!! I'm especially looking forward to In the Afterlight. That event sounded fantastic--I'm glad you had such a good time. I can't believe that I haven't read even ONE of her books yet! O.o I'll need to rectify that. :) Have a great week. :D
ReplyDeleteYes Kara, you definitely should read something by Jackie French! Even if you don't usually read historical fiction in particular, they still have that universal appeal of fabulous storytelling :)
DeleteThat is soooo cool you met Jackie French! HOW JUST AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL! I don't even own any of her books but I've read at least 6 of them. I think. I read them before goodreads (gasp!) so I only have like 2 reviews up there. I should at least go back and attempt to write a review for them because ohhh I loved Rose for the ANZAC Boys. Probably my favourite WWI book ever.
ReplyDeleteOMG I'm very excited for This Shattered World!!
It was one of my bookish dreams, and I'm glad that I finally fulfilled it! A Rose for the ANZAC Boys would have to be my favourite WWI historical novel as well - I read it a few years ago, and so I think it's time to re-read it sometime soon.
DeleteWould you believe that A Rose for the ANZAC Boys was the only book of French's that I've read? I really, really loved it though. I'm glad you had so much fun at the event!
ReplyDeleteENJOY IN THE AFTERLIGHT! I know how much you love that series so hopefully it's a hit for you! x
Yay, glad to hear that you liked it Jess :) I can't wait to read In The Afterlight as well - it looks like it's going to be good!
DeleteThat cover of Afterlight looks so different from the North American edition! Also curious about that picture book by Bruce Whatley.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week!
It does look completely different, but I do have to say that I probably prefer our version over here (although that most likely comes from the fact that it's what I'm used to seeing). Either way, the words on the inside are just as amazing no matter what cover they're in! :)
DeleteOh my the book haul stack is soo pretty!!! I've heard so many good things about those series! Especially Veronica Mars. People are LOVING that one.
ReplyDeleteWoooo hooo! So happy that you got to see your favorite author! That is amazing!!!
I've heard some good things about Veronica Mars as well and I can't wait to see how things go in the book! Thanks Olgia, it was a fantastic opportunity :)
DeleteHow amazing that you got to see Jackie French and Bruce Whatley! I've been reading Jackie French books for years and she is just amazing. It sounds like an incredible talk, glad you enjoyed it! Fingers crossed they might come to Melbourne at some point.
ReplyDeleteIt definitely was something really special for me since I am such a big fan and she is an iconic Australian writer. I hope you do get to meet her one day and that she goes to Melbourne! Thanks for stopping by Brit :)
Delete