SYNC Summer 2013: Week 5 #syncya

SYNC recently announced the list of audiobook pairings up for grabs this summer, and the program has officially kicked off.  Last week's offerings were Once and Letter from Birmingham Jail.  And here's what you can grab through Wednesday of next week...for free!

This week's YA title is Rotters by Daniel Kraus, performed by Kirby Heyborne for Listening Library.

Grave-robbing. What kind of monster would do such a thing? It's true that Leonardo da Vinci did it, Shakespeare wrote about it, and the resurrection men of nineteenth-century Scotland practically made it an art. But none of this matters to Joey Crouch, a sixteen-year-old straight-A student living in Chicago with his single mom. For the most part, Joey's life is about playing the trumpet and avoiding the daily humiliations of high school.

Everything changes when Joey's mother dies in a tragic accident and he is sent to rural Iowa to live with the father he has never known, a strange, solitary man with unimaginable secrets. At first, Joey's father wants nothing to do with him, but once father and son come to terms with each other, Joey's life takes a turn both macabre and exhilarating.

Daniel Kraus's masterful plotting and unforgettable characters make Rotters a moving, terrifying, and unconventional epic about fathers and sons, complex family ties, taboos, and the ever-present specter of mortality.

This week's classic title is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, performed by Jim Weiss for Listening Library.

Mary Shelley began writing Frankenstein when she was only eighteen. At once a Gothic thriller, a passionate romance, and a cautionary tale about the dangers of science, Frankenstein tells the story of committed science student Victor Frankenstein. Obsessed with discovering the cause of generation and life and bestowing animation upon lifeless matter, Frankenstein assembles a human being from stolen body parts but; upon bringing it to life, he recoils in horror at the creature's hideousness. Tormented by isolation and loneliness, the once-innocent creature turns to evil and unleashes a campaign of murderous revenge against his creator, Frankenstein.

Frankenstein, an instant bestseller and an important ancestor of both the horror and science fiction genres, not only tells a terrifying story, but also raises profound, disturbing questions about the very nature of life and the place of humankind within the cosmos: What does it mean to be human? What responsibilities do we have to each other? How far can we go in tampering with Nature? In our age, filled with news of organ donation genetic engineering, and bio-terrorism, these questions are more relevant than ever.

Hmm...a monster theme this week.  I like monsters, so this works for me.  :)  I've never read either of these books, though I do consider myself a bit of a zombie aficionado, and I have actually read several Frankenstein retellings.  Both sound great!  And Kirby Heyborne, I've recently decided, is an awesome narrator, so I definitely suggest picking Rotters up this week.

Will you be checking out either of these titles?  Remember, they're only available through Wednesday, and new titles will be put up on Thursday for download.  Other things to note:

• CHECK OUT the 2013 titles!
• LISTEN to sound clips on SoundCloud to help you decide!
• GET your device ready! You must have the OverDrive Media Console or APP to download the SYNC titles! Visit the OverDrive website to download.
• Questions? Email: synchelp@audiofilemagazine.com
• Text message alerts – Text syncya to 25827 for SYNC title download alerts.
• Email updates – sign up for SYNC title alerts by email.
• Follow the SYNC blog.

To download this week's titles, just click on the image below to be taken directly to the SYNC download page:

I hope you take advantage of this program. I've been doing it for the last couple of years, and I've had the chance to listen to a ton of great audio for free.  If you've never tried audiobooks before, it's a great opportunity to do so without the obligation of buying one that you might not enjoy.  And if you love audiobooks, well, it's a great time to stock up on some titles you may have missed.  Win/win.  =)

And to celebrate the fact that June is Audiobook Month, we're giving away three different books on CD!  Click the image below to check out the giveaway!

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Labels: 2013, audiobooks, classics, freebies, giveaways, historical fiction, promotions, summer, sync, zombies

Waiting on Wednesday: The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's WoW selection is...

Title: The Promise of Amazing
Author: Robin Constantine
Series: n/a
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: December 31, 2013

Wren Caswell is average. Ranked in the middle of her class at Sacred Heart, she’s not popular, but not a social misfit. Wren is the quiet, “good” girl who's always done what she's supposed to—only now in her junior year, this passive strategy is backfiring. She wants to change, but doesn’t know how.

Grayson Barrett was the king of St. Gabe’s. Star of the lacrosse team, top of his class, on a fast track to a brilliant future—until he was expelled for being a “term paper pimp.” Now Gray is in a downward spiral and needs to change, but doesn’t know how.

One fateful night their paths cross when Wren, working at her family’s Arthurian-themed catering hall, performs the Heimlich on Gray as he chokes on a cocktail weenie, saving his life literally and figuratively. What follows is the complicated, awkward, hilarious, and tender tale of two teens shedding their pasts, figuring out who they are—and falling in love.

OMG...that cover is adorable!  Adorable, I tells ya!  And the title!  And that summary!  And their names!  And how they met!!!!!!!  I don't think I've been this excited about a contemporary since Meant to Be!  Please, please, please let this show up on Edelweiss!!!  Pretty please?

Now that you know what I'm dying to read, what are you waiting on this week?  Feel free to share it in the comments or leave a link so I can stop by!

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Labels: beautiful covers, contemporary, harper-collins, iwantsit-iwantsitnow, robin constantine, the promise of amazing, waiting on wednesday (wow)

Official Cover Reveal: Fire and Flood by Victoria Scott

Okay, so I know I just said no more tours and blasts and reveals, but dude, I love this author.  Besides the fact that she's from Texas, and I lurve my Texas authors, she writes the funny and she's just as hilarious in person, so when I was asked to help share the cover for the first book in her new YA series, I couldn't say no.  Without further ado, behold the cover of Fire and Blood:

Here's the blurb:

In a perilous race across the world, having the best Pandora can be the difference between life and death. 

Sixteen-year-old Tella Holloway isn’t happy. Her mother rushed them out of Boston and into a craptastic house nestled in Middle of Nowhere, Montana. To make matters worse, Tella’s brother is sick, and though a dozen doctors can’t determine the cause, her mother is sure Montana’s “fresh air” will help. Now Tella spends her days being homeschooled, and uses her imagination as entertainment.

But when a small blue box appears on her bed, Tella’s world is rocked. Inside the strange package she finds a white ear bud—and after she fits it into place and touches its blinking button—an unknown voice fills her head. Tella is invited to join the Brimstone Bleed, a race across four ecosystems: desert, sea, mountains, jungle. The voice in Tella’s ear explains she has 48 hours to retrieve her Pandora, an animal genetically designed to help her win.

Tella has never been the sporty type; she’s more a cheerleader than an athlete. But despite her mother’s warnings, she’s determined to compete in the race. And she’ll do anything to win, because if Tella is the Brimstone Bleed victor, she'll be granted a specific gift—the cure to save her brother’s life.

FIRE & FLOOD is a teen thriller set in modern day. 

About the Author:

I’m a teen fiction writer with a die-hard affection for dark and humorous books. My work is represented by Sara Crowe of Harvey Klinger literary agency. I have a master’s degree in marketing, and currently live in Dallas with my husband, Ryan.

My first book series started with THE COLLECTOR, and was published by Entangled Teen in April 2013. The second book in the trilogy, THE LIBERATOR, will release August 2013. My next series kicks off with FIRE & FLOOD and is being published by Scholastic, March 2014.

Find out more about Victoria & her books:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | YouTube

I love that cover!  It's simple but eye-catching, and it leaves a lot to the imagination.  The premise has me intrigued, as well.  This series seems a bit of a departure from her Dante Walker series, and I can't wait to see where Victoria takes this story!  What do you think of the cover and the summary?  Have you read anything by this author yet?

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Labels: cover art, fire and flood, mythology, official cover reveals, scholastic, sci-fi, tori scott

Teaser Tuesday #63: Belladonna by Fiona Paul

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here are the books we're teasing this week:

Title: Belladonna
Author: Fiona Paul
Series: Secrets of the Eternal Rose, book #2
Publisher: Philomel
Publication Date: July 16, 2013
Source: ARC received from publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

In Renaissance Italy, love, lust, intrigue and secret societies converge to stunning results!

In the second in the stunning Secrets of the Eternal Rose series, Cassandra Caravello is trying to forget Falco, the wild artist who ran off with her heart, as she grows closer to her strong, steady fiancé, Luca. But Luca seems to have his own secrets. When he’s arrested by soldiers in the middle of the night, Cass’s life is once again thrown into chaos. She must save Luca, and that means finding the Book of the Eternal Rose—the only evidence that will prove he’s innocent.

So begins her journey to Florence, a city haunted by whispers of vampirism, secret soirees and clandestine meetings of the Order of the Eternal Rose. And home to Falco, who is working for the Order’s eerily stunning leader, the Belladonna herself.

Can Cass trust her heart to lead her to the truth this time?

Nothing is as it seems in this seductive thriller, where the truth may be the deadliest poison of all.

The dark-haired man reached her side.  "Bella," he said, slightly out of breath.  His hand grazed her lower back.  "It is poor form to make a man chase after you, do you not know that?"

-- p. 127 of ARC

Ha, I think he means pure fun to give chase.  =)  Or is that just me?   ;0)  Just started this book yesterday, and it was slow at first, but it seems that things are about to get interesting.  :D

What are you teasing this week?  Share it in the comments or leave a link so we can visit!

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Labels: fiona paul, historical fiction, paranormal, penguin, secrets of the eternal rose, teaser tuesday, vampires

The Sunday Symposium...on a Monday: Obligation vs. Leisure Pursuit

The Sunday Symposium is a weekly feature in which I'll be discussing various bookish topics and asking for your commentary, as well.  This week, the symposium will be less of a discussion and more or less me telling you guys what's up.  But I want to discuss how out of control this hobby of mine has gotten, and I welcome all feedback on the topic.

Um, yeah, so I was supposed to have this post up yesterday.  Truth be told, I had this topic, or a very similar one, scheduled for last Sunday.  But as it often does, life happened, and family obligations took precedence.  Er, not really obligations, but my family wanted to do something fun, and I wasn't going to let my obligation to the blog thwart our plans.  But this is what always happens, and no matter which activity I pursue -- the one with the family or the one with the blog -- I feel guilty.  When did I have to start choosing between my hobby and my family?

And that's the point of this post.  I've been feeling more and more lately that the blog has become a duty, a responsibility, an obligation.  But it wasn't always that way.  I think it became what it is now when I started participating in weekly memes and blog tours instead of just reading and chatting about books with fellow bibliophiles.  Now, it's a constant stress to put out content daily, to be the best.  And I don't mean that in a competitive sense -- though, I am a terribly competitive person -- but in the sense that I want the blog to be the best that I can make it.  I'm constantly asking myself how I can change and improve it to be the best reflection of me, as a reader and as a person.

attribution

Upon closer inspection, an answer came to me:  stop commercializing.  I stopped with the book blasts when it became obvious that I was one of many bloggers posting the exact same content on the same day and readers were ignoring it because they'd already seen it a zillion times already.  My blog is not an advertising space.  I also haven't signed up for any blog tours past the ones that just wrapped up this month -- as far as I can remember, anyway.  If I get invited to one for a book that I've just been dying to read, I'll consider it, but tour posts take me a lot of time to work up.  Posts in general do, actually, because I'm a bit of a perfectionist and I won't publish a post until I'm sure every aspect is flawless.

You've probably also noticed that I haven't been around much socially on the interwebz.  I rarely tweet, post on Facebook, or even update my status on Goodreads anymore.  It's not that I don't miss you guys -- 'cause I totally do! -- but work has been hella busy lately, with a big project finally winding down this month, and office hours were usually the time I spent the most perusing the social networking sites.  (I'm bad, I know.)  Even so, other projects are picking up momentum, meaning I still don't have much time for that sort of thing during the day.  I've barely been able to reply to comments or visit my favorite blogs lately.



I thought bringing Mendy on as a co-blogger would prove beneficial, but she actually knows how to balance her life pretty well, and pretty much everything wins out over blogging.  And I'm not judging her for that...actually, she should take that as praise.  (But maybe we should call her what she is...a contributor to the blog, rather than a co-blogger.)  I'm jealous that I can't seem to master that balance and make blogging my hobby once again.  But a big part of it is because I really wanted the publishers to notice my blog -- and therefore me -- so much in the beginning.  And now that I have a modicum of acclaim, and despite that it's nowhere near how well some other bloggers are known by readers and publishers alike, I'm okay with it.  I'm actually pretty ecstatic about it.  I feel like I'm at the point where I can maintain the relationships I've already formed in this industry and still go back to just doing my own thing without risking my integrity.

I mean, that's what it all comes down to, how it all started:  honest, informative reviews that led to great bookish discussions.  But the blog is also my personal outlet, where I can discuss various leisure pursuits, not just reading.  I'd like to start doing more of that.  For instance,  we took our 5yo daughter to see Monsters University over the weekend, and I'd kind of like to share how cute the movie was, even if it's not book-related.  I usually only review movies that are adapted from books, but as I don't really watch all that many movies, anyway, I don't think a few exceptions to the rule will hurt anybody.

Basically, here's the situation:  it's the last summer before my kiddo starts kindergarten, and I want to spend every moment I can with her before sending her off into the world.  Which means some stuff on the blog may fall by the wayside, particularly blog tours and potentially memes.  Much as my Katiebug has decided to only draw book covers when she feels like it, I'm going to post what I want when I want.  No more feeling obligated to post something just because I've done so every week prior to this.  Of course, there will still be plenty of reviews because, well, I can't just stop reading.  ;0)

So, what do you do to keep the balance in your life?  If you're a blogger, have you noticed that blogging has become less like a hobby and more like a chore?  What steps have you taken to ensure that it doesn't become a second job?

Any and all commentary, chastising, and public flogging is welcome, as per usual.  And thanks for stopping by!  Also, be sure to check out Let's Discuss to find more bookish discussions all over the interwebz!

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Labels: blogging goals, the sunday symposium