The Great Book Purging of 2014

I don't think it will come as any great shock to many of you that I'm a book hoarder. I think we've established in this community that many of us suffer from this proclivity. It's a daily struggle, what with Kindle daily deals, review copies, and frequent trips to the bookstore -- even when you're technically on a book-buying ban.

I was once consumed with the fiery need to own all the books. For some ungodly reason, if I read the book, I felt the need to own it. For instance, if I read an eARC and liked it, I went out and bought the physical copy....not in support of the author but in support of my own personal library. I mean, I didn't even have to like the book that much and still I'd find a way to procure it for my shelf. Which means after over three years of this blogging thing, I've amassed quite the collection of books.

So much so, that when we decided to turn my office into Katie's playroom and move my desk and shelves into the master bedroom -- which my awesome husband has obligingly agreed to allow me to decorate with a bookish theme soon -- I had to parse my collection down a bit by favorites and probable re-reads versus unread books and never-to-be-read-again books. And thus, the great READ IT OR GET RID OF IT shelf was created. Basically, a shelf to light a fire under my ass so that I quit stalling and finally read these books because you know I don't really want to get rid of any of them.

Much to my hubby's chagrin, this shelf ended up in the living area for lack of room in my new "office" space. And now he says I have to move it because I stuck it right where he'd planned to put the Christmas tree. Oops. But I did give up my pretty teal shelf (above) to Katie for all of her books, so I had to put them somewhere. :P So, now I have to decide if I want to keep any of the books on this shelf -- and where to put them if I do.

The top shelf is full of all the signed books that I'm iffy on keeping. The Lauren Kate books are all personalized to me, but I've read them and I know I'll never re-read them. But who wants a set of books personalized to me? There are a few more on that shelf in the middle that were signed to me, but the rest were won in giveaways and only have the author's signature. Well, except the two Tracey Garvies Graves books, which April gave to me in hopes that I'd love them as much as she does. (I promise, April, I'm not giving these away...I just thought putting them somewhere I'd see them all the time would make me read them that much quicker, lol.) I should also make a point to read Sekret soon since I have the ARC of the second book waiting on me, as well.

In the beginning, you think you'll never get sent ARCs. And then, all of a sudden, they're coming out of every orifice and you don't know how you'll ever read them all. I've read some of these and some I have not. Some I even really enjoyed, but in reorganizing my shelves, they didn't make the cut when I started running out of room.

Same goes for this shelf of even more ARCs. There are some that I have every intention of reading and others that were unsolicited or that I just lost interest in. And yet...I've kept them all. Book hoarding is a serious problem, y'all.

The books on these bottom two shelves would actually fill this entire shelf without doubling up or stacking them all willy nilly, like you see here. There are books I've read and enjoyed here, as well as books that I haven't read yet. And maybe that I have no intention of reading...ever. There are books that were gifted, books that were won, and books that were purchased at Half Price Books or at one of those Borders liquidations sales way back when. These books leave me feeling guiltiest about the task at hand because for the most part, I spent my hard-earned money on them. My husband would be speechless if he ever tallied up how much of our income went to my book-buying addiction, but luckily, I've always been able to distract him when it comes up. :D

When undertaking this endeavor, I attempted to leave room on my shelves for books that I knew I'd be purchasing in the future, whether they exist yet or not: future installments in series I've already started, new series from favorite authors that I already know are in the works, etc. And yet, my newly reorganized shelves still look much the same to me now in their new space as they did before:

Sorry, it was dark by the time I got done and I hadn't placed any of my knick-knacks where they go yet. Also, there's a bed in my way now, but at least the first thing I see when I wake up every morning is all those lovely books! =) Some of the rows on the bottom are still doubled up and there's a weird stacking situation going on in some of the cubbies. Also, I didn't organize alphabetically for, like, the first time in my life. Seriously. I'm a perfectionist by nature, so these won't stay this way long. I won't rest until I'm completely satisfied. But purging some of the books from my shelves helped...at least a little. I still have hopes of my dream library one day, but not till we have a bigger house. :(

And now, friends, I need your help. Take a good look at the books above that have been removed from my shelves and tell me which ones I absolutely must read. I'm reading for myself and no one else these days, so I should have time to fit in some of your recommendations sooner rather than later and make a decision as to the fate of their place on my shelves in the process. Also, in light of all of this, I imagine a Clear Your Shelf-type giveaway is in order, so stay tuned for that. ;0)

I look forward to your suggestions! Happy reading!

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Labels: book purging, bookshelves, clear your shelves, read it or get rid of it, signed books, so many books

Review: The Shadow Society by Marie Rutkoski

Title: The Shadow Society
Author: Marie Rutkoski
Series: stand-alone
Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux BYR
Publication Date: October 16, 2012
Source: won a signed copy from publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Darcy Jones doesn’t remember anything before the day she was abandoned as a child outside a Chicago firehouse. She has never really belonged anywhere—but she couldn’t have guessed that she comes from an alternate world where the Great Chicago Fire didn’t happen and deadly creatures called Shades terrorize the human population.

Memories begin to haunt Darcy when a new boy arrives at her high school, and he makes her feel both desire and desired in a way she hadn’t thought possible. But Conn’s interest in her is confusing. It doesn’t line up with the way he first looked at her.

As if she were his enemy.

When Conn betrays Darcy, she realizes that she can’t rely on anything—not herself, not the laws of nature, and certainly not him. Darcy decides to infiltrate the Shadow Society and uncover the Shades’ latest terrorist plot. What she finds out will change her world forever . . .

In this smart, compulsively readable novel, master storyteller Marie Rutkoski has crafted an utterly original world, characters you won’t soon forget, and a tale full of intrigue and suspense.

After reading The Winner's Curse at the first of the year and falling head-over-heels for Marie Rutkoski's beautiful writing style and the beginning of what is sure to be a truly stunning trilogy, I knew I had to make time in my reading schedule for The Shadow Society.  I have a signed copy after all.  And then I saw that Kristen from My Friends Are Fiction was just starting it, and we decided to do a buddy read.  (You can check out her review here.)  This turned out to be a great decision because there was soooo much I wanted to discuss while reading, and Kristen was a fantastic buddy-reader. Probably doesn't hurt that we hardcore bonded over our love of this author's writing style, either.

To kick things off, I think I'd have to say that this novel has one of the best, most enticing prologues I've ever had the pleasure of reading.  I couldn't not read the book after that!  It packs a real punch, but it's the rest of the book that delivers.  The Shadow Society is this really awesome alternate history/multiverse story, but that's not even the half of it. That aspect comes in to play over the course of the novel, but I wouldn't say it's the focal point of the story.  No, that would probably be the war brewing between the Shades and humans in an alternate world where the Great Chicago Fire never happened.  But I'll get to that.

     "You stole it," I finally choked out. I felt as if Conn had seen me in nothing but my oldest, ugliest underwear.

I was a little worried about the amnesia plot in this story because those are always so hit or miss.  But Darcy's memory loss is due to some traumatic event in her childhood, and I can get on board with PTSD-related amnesia. Especially when the memories return in the fashion that they do for Darcy:  little by little, triggered by familiar faces and familiar places.  And then those pieces start to add up, and everything falls into place for the reader at the same time it does for Darcy.  I had my theories, of course, but considering the Shades are a completely new brand of paranormal creature, I was just as shocked as Darcy to learn the truth.

Darcy was a bit of an enigma at first.  She doesn't fit in anywhere, but she has this really tight-knit group of friends. She's been passed from foster home to foster home since she was first found outside a fire station at the tender age of five, but now she's got a loving foster mother by way of Marsha.  It seems that Darcy has finally found her place in this world...just in time to have it all taken away from her by a past -- another world -- she can't remember.  All things considered, I think she handles the fall-out rather admirably.

The Shades are, essentially, children of the shadows.  In their corporeal form, they look human, but they have the ability to make themselves invisible.  And they use this ability to hide among the humans in their world, following them around like shadows and spying on them.  For this reason, Darcy is valuable to both the Shades and the humans of that world. But she's especially important to Conn.

I don't know if you can call it a pattern when it only exists in two instances, but at the very least, the theme of betrayal is a commonality between both of the books I've read by Rutkoski.  I'm equally drawn to storylines involving betrayal, so I get it.  And I don't mind...I just think it's interesting how two stories can have the same basic premise but still be completely different and also captivating in their own rights.  And as Kristen stated in our discussion over this book during our buddy read, I'd much rather the tension in the story come from some type of betrayal, as opposed to a misbegotten love triangle.

     He grinned the first time I said it.  "Pleasure later, then," he replied. But later was always later than that for me, and he grew sullen. I knew that I could change that, could heal the insecurity that shape-shifted Orion from a sly jester into someone who pouted. He pouted sexily and looked very kissable. Really, he was very everything. But he wasn't for me. In the midst of the lies I had to tell and secrets I had to keep and secrets I had to unearth, it felt important to be true to myself.

I guess I should mention that there are two interested parties, but this is clearly an instance of the love T, which I don't mind.  Conn, despite his betrayal, is where Darcy's heart lies.  Orion was simply a friend who tried to force more from the relationship than Darcy was prepared to give.  Conn uses Darcy, but in the process -- and over weeks, while spending time together working on a school project in the Alter (their name for our world) -- they become something more to each other.  Neither is really sure what to make of the other, but it's clear (at least to the reader) that Darcy's feelings are reciprocated by Conn, before and after the betrayal.

     He slouched at his desk, but there was something a little calculated in his slumped shoulders and stretched out legs. I got the impression that he had riffled through his closet, found his Typical Teenager costume, and was trying it on.
     And now we come down to it. My suspicion: Conn McCrea wasn't exactly normal.
     My reasons? Let's just say it takes one to know one.

Conn was intriguing and confusing for a majority of the story, but he wasn't the only stand-out character aside from Darcy.  There were members of The Shadow Society that seemed to share Darcy's concerns for the welfare of humans, especially Savannah and Zephyr, but hardly any of the Shades could really be deemed trustworthy. But after reading Jacks and Queens at the Green Mill, I feel like I understand Zephyr a little better, anyway.  Then there were Darcy's friends from the Alter.  They were true friends, caring and funny and loyal to the end.  And they really shocked me at times, which endeared them to me further.

I think I should just go ahead and admit that I'm kind of in love with Rutkoski's gorgeous prose.  It was an entirely different experience reading this novel as compared to The Winner's Curse, especially knowing that The Shadow Society is a stand-alone, but I enjoyed this story immensely.  I cannot fathom that I have to wait over a year to get my hands on another Marie Rutkoski novel.  If you've already read and enjoyed The Winner's Curse, or if you fancy stories featuring themes of rebellion, love across dividing lines, or characters discovering that much of what they know is a lie, then I think you'll find something to appreciate in this novel.

GIF it to me straight:

This woman can write!

About the author:

Marie Rutkoski is the author of the YA novel The Shadow Society and the children's fantasy series The Kronos Chronicles, including The Cabinet of Wonders, The Celestial Globe and The Jewel of the Kalderash. Her next project is a YA trilogy that begins with The Winner's Curse, which is scheduled to be published in March 2014.

Marie grew up in Bolingbrook, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago), as the oldest of four children. She holds a BA from the University of Iowa and a PhD from Harvard University. Marie is currently a professor at Brooklyn College, where she teaches Renaissance Drama, children's literature and fiction writing. She usually lives in New York City with her husband and two sons, but she and her family are living in Paris for the 2012-2013 academic year.

Find Marie:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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Labels: amnesia, favorites, macmillan, marie rutkoski, multiverse, reviews, sci-fi, signed books, the shadow society

Signed Books Giveaway Hop

Signed Book Giveaway Hop

April 16th to 22nd 

Featuring Books Signed by the Author

Hosted by I Am a Reader, Not a Writer 

Co-hosted by Wholly Books

When I was doing all of my spring cleaning not so long ago, I discovered a couple of signed books in my giveaway pile.  And there's quite a bit of signed swag in that pile, too, but I haven't gone through all that yet.  If I have time before this giveaway ends, I'll add some of that to sweeten the pot.  =)

As it stands, here's what's up for grabs:

Rules:

• This giveaway is US only.
• Prize is as described.  No substitutions, no allowances, no changes.  Winners can't be choosy -- unless it's within the limitations of the contest, i.e. the choice of book.
• One entry per household.
• All entries will be verified.  Any entry found to be falsified will result in disqualification of all entries for that participant.
• Winner will be notified via email.  Winner will then have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be selected.  Please check your SPAM folders!
• I am not responsible for lost packages.

And now on to the fun stuff!  All entries/follows are appreciated!  :D

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now that you've entered here, be sure to check out other 100 or so giveaways on this hop:



Thanks for entering & happy reading!

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Labels: giveaway hops, giveaways, signed books