New Crayons, Nominations & My Guest Post

Whew it's been a busy week! I still have a party to plan for one of my friends and to finish buying all my friends gifts (I know, I know, I'm awful for doing this after Christmas). I have been reading A TON. I have about 10 books waiting to be reviewed so hopefully I'll be able to get those reviews written and scheduled to run this upcoming week and the week leading up to finals.

New Crayons is when we share what books we got with a multicultural theme. Hosted by Color Online

This week I got exactly what I needed which is 'lighter' reads. I've been reading some intense books lately and I really need some good books with less complexity.


Jazz in Love by Neesha Meminger

Release Date: January 10, 2011 (but it's already available to buy)

Jasbir, a.k.a. Jazz, has always been a stellar student and an obedient, albeit wise-cracking, daughter. Everything has gone along just fine--she has good friends in the "genius" program she's been in since kindergarten, her teachers and principal adore her, and her parents dote on her. But now, in her junior year of high school, her mother hears that Jazz was seen hugging a boy on the street and goes ballistic. Mom immediately implements the Guided Dating Plan, which includes setting up blind dates with "suitable," pre-screened Indian candidates. The boy her mother sets her up with, however, is not at all what anyone expects; and the new boy at school, the very UNsuitable hottie, is the one who sets Jazz's blood boiling. When Jazz makes a few out-of-the-ordinary decisions, everything explodes, and she realizes she'll need a lot more than her genius education to get out of the huge mess she's in. Can Jazz find a way to follow her own heart, and still stay in the good graces of her parents?

-Gobbled this one up already and it's wonderful :) We need more books about teenagers of color with us doing everyday things. And interracial romance! And same culture romance! This book has us well on our way. Funny and heartwarming. Review to come in the new year. Thank you Neesha!!


How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy by Crystal Allen

Release Date: February 22, 2011

Thirteen-year-old Lamar Washington is the maddest, baddest, most spectacular bowler ever at Striker's Bowling Paradise. But while Lamar's a whiz at rolling strikes, he always strikes out with girls. And Lamar's brother, Xavier the Basketball Savior, is no help. Xavier earns trophy after trophy on the basketball court and soaks up all of Dad's attention, leaving no room in the house for Lamar's problems.

So Lamar starts hustling at the local alley with bad boy Billy Jenks. When one of their schemes goes awry, Lamar ends up ruining his brother's shot at college and wreaking havoc on every relationship in his life. Can Lamar figure out how to mend his broken ties, no matter what the cost?

-I've been wanting this for forever! Well it feels like forever. And now I'm waiting to read it till Jan 1, 2011 so that it will count for the debut YA/MG author challenge. I could really use a hilarious and uplifting read so close to finals. Thank you Zetta!

Reading in Color News

I got a Sony touch Ereader for Christmas! Pretty crazy. I didn't ask for it or even hint at it. But I know that I'm going to be using it to download classics for sure. Is there anything I need to know about the Sony Touch Ereader? I haven't charged it yet or read the instructions but I will try and figure it out soon. I welcome all and any tips =) I also got Decoded by Jay-Z. I'm SO PSYCHED to read this. Not sure if I'll review it but it's got a positively luminous cover and ahhh it's written by Jay-Z!! Love him (well his music anyway). I got other gifts to but those are the book-related ones.

I did a guest post for Steph Su about my top ten 2010 favorite female protagonists. Stop by and tell me your favorites, do you agree or disagree with my choices?

Finally I've been nominated for best blog of 2010 (reader's choice)! Say whaaa?? The competition is beyond ferocious but (not to sound like a total cliche) I'm just thrilled to even be nominated. Voting ends on Dec. 31 so if you think I deserve to win, please vote for me. Or just vote in general because there are a lot of really really great blogs nominated.

If you celebrate Christmas, did you get any bookish-related goodies? Do tell! If you don't celebrate Christmas, please share what new books you got for the week.

New Crayons & Awards

New Crayons is a meme crated by susan at Color Online. In this meme I share what new books I got this week. I only received one book this week, but that's good because I have so much to read!

This week, I was honored to have a fantastic blogger visit.

A blogger spotlight with Maggie from Bibiliophilia-Maggie's Bookshelf

Maggie's amazing guest post on white guilt and white privilege

From the Publisher (Henry Holt & Co.)


Toads & Diamonds by Heather Tomlinson

Diribani has come to the village well to get water for her family's scant meal of curry and rice. She never expected to meet a goddess there. Yet she is granted a remarkable gift: Flowers and precious jewels drop from her lips whenever she speaks.

It seems only right to Tana that the goddess judged her kind, lovely stepsister worthy of such riches. And when she encounters the goddess, she is not surprised to find herself speaking snakes and toads as a reward.

Blessings and curses are never so clear as they might seem, however. Diribani’s newfound wealth brings her a prince—and an attempt on her life. Tana is chased out of the village because the province's governor fears snakes, yet thousands are dying of a plague spread by rats. As the sisters' fates hang in the balance, each struggles to understand her gift. Will it bring her wisdom, good fortune, love . . . or death?

-I WoWd this a little while ago so I'm really happy to get it. Have I mentioned how much I love the cover? It's so pretty! I love the henna on the hands and the gorgeous flower.

Summary from Amazon.com

Awards

This is so belated. I apologize if I don't mention your award. You can remind me and I can update this post. I went as far back as I remembered. I really have to stop letting awards pile up. I apologize to everyone whose given me an award!


A Prolific Blogger is someone who is constantly reading and blogging and being engaged in the community. They write some very thoughtful and interesting posts and they are leaving comments and visiting new blogs as often as they can.

I received this award from Katy at A Few More Pages. Thanks so much Katy, it means a lot!

1. Every winner of the Prolific Blogger Award has to pass on this award to at least seven other deserving prolific bloggers. Spread some love!

2. Each Prolific Blogger must link to the blog from which he/she has received the award.

3. Every Prolific Blogger must link back to This Post, which explains the origins and motivation for the award. You must also add your name to the Mr. Linky so that we can all get to know the other winners.

I'm passing this on to...

1. Ah Yuan at Gal Novelty
2. Nathalie at Multiculturalism Rocks!
3. April at Good Books & Good Wine
4. Maggie at Bibliophilia-Maggie's Bookshelf
5. Jill at O.W.L.
6. Heather at the Secret Adventures of Writer Girl
7. Karen at KazMahoney

Beautiful Blogger Award. I received this from Maggie. Thanks so much!

The Rules

1. Thank and link the blogger who sent you this award

2. State 7 things about yourself

3. Pass this on to 15 other bloggers (15?!) who you think rock.

4. Contact the bloggers and let them know about the award

I'm passing this on to


1. Jenny at Jenny's Books
2. Niranjana at Brown Paper
3. Jodie at BookGazing
4. Vasilly at 1330v
5. Rachel at BookLove: Teen
6. Pam at Bookalicious
7. Charlotte at Charlotte's Library
8. Jan at Eating Y.A. Books
9. Akilah at the Englishist
10. Abby at Abby(the) Libriarian
11. Lauren at I Was a Teenage Book Geek
12. Kris at Voracious YAppetite
13. Monica at The Bibliophilic Book Blog
14. Taschima at Bloody Bookaholic
15. Lizzy at Bookmarked

Seven Things about Me-My Most random list yet!

1. I'm really forgetful (hence belated award posts!)

2. I think Michelle Bachmann is an idiot.

3. I love writing with Sharpies

4. I can't pronounce words to save my life; hypocrite, ignorant, chemise. I know what they mean, but I don't say them right.

5. I'm a procrastinator (I should be typing an extra credit essay right now)

6. I hate how politics doesn't seem to be about helping people anymore. It's all partisan and ridiculous. They all need to straighten up and work together. Please and thank you

7. I love spring when I'm not in school.


Maggie also gave me the Happy 101 award. Thank you! I've gotten it already and I just don't feel like passing it on. Anyone who wants, take it :)

I'm still searching for other awards I've gotten that I forgot to post, so this post will be edited. The good thing about searching older posts is I'm reading and replying to comments I may have missed.

Or maybe not. Coming up with blogs and trying not to pass on awards to bloggers who've already received them is hard work. And I'm lazy. Ah well

A Winner & Blog Awards

The winner of my A Wish After Midnight Giveaway is...

BrownGirl!

Congrats BrownGirl, you have 48 hours to email me back with your mailing address. And thank you everyone for entering the giveaway and showing your support :)

Team Paul: 4
Team Judah: 2

Final Tally (including the people who didn't enter but commented just to share)
Paul: 6
Judah: 4

As it should be, Team Paul WINS!!!!!!! *Does a victory dance around the room* What now Team Judah?! :p

Sadly, not many of us could think of POC couples and I'll be posting about that this week for recommendations and a rant :)

I'm so behind on my awards post and I apologize x100 for that! Huge thank you to everyone who gave me an award. I have two others (I think?) and I'll post them next time.


The Fabulous Sugar Doll Award comes with some conditions:

• Thank the person who gave it to you.
• Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
• Link to the person who nominated you.
• Share ten trivia facts about yourself.
• Nominate ten more Fabulous Sugar Doll bloggers and link to their sites.
• Leave a comment on each alerting them to the award

Thank you Kelly from The Cazzy Files!

I pass this award to(so cute and sugary!)

1. Nathalie at Multiculturalism Rocks!

2. Melissa at BookNut

3. Lauren at I Was A Teenage Book Geek

4. Christina at Reading Extensively

5. Choco at In Which A Girl Reads

6. Heather at Book Addiction

7. April at Good Books & Good Wine

8. Jenny at Jenny's Books (she reads the end before the middle, like me! heehee)

9. Jessica at Chick Lit Teens

10. Jessica from Stone-Bow

Ten Trivia Facts-Hmm what have I not already shared?

1. I'm liking the show the Deep End on ABC, I needed a new law show after Raising the Bar was cancelled :( Anyone got any better recommendations?

2. My favorite colors are purple and blue

3. I love Pres. Barack Obama (that doesn't mean I won't disagree with him over issues but I love him and his whole fabulous family!)

4. I really loved the Princess & The Frog. I just wish they hadn't been frogs for the whole movie!

5. I was supporting the Saints (Who Dat) in the Super Bowl.

6. I'm a Cubs fan

7. All the race issues that have flared up this week have gotten me kind of down, so I need some future fun post ideas!

8. I love hosting giveaways-Being able to give away a book I liked or loved feels great (as long as I have my own copy, LOL)

9. Something I've been wondering: Do people mind text/IM speak in blog posts? (i.e. LOL, BTW, NBD, etc.)

10. I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up. I thought I did (politics or community organizer or life-long volunteer) and then this blog came along and I started thinking, publishing house CEO.

This award is given to those who have given you awards back as a thank you :)
I received it from Abbey at QT Bookworm

Thanks Abbey!

This award goes to

1. Donna from Bites
2. Abbey from the Cazzy Files
3. Jessica from Eat Sleep Dance Read
4. Ah Yuan from Gal Novelty
5. Alexa from Hooked on YA Books
6. Lindsay from Just Another Book Addict
7. Browngirl BookSpeak
8. Ebony from Sizzling Publications
9. Jo Ann from Bronzeword Latino Authors
10. Zetta from Fledgling

Everyone should go visit the blogs that gave me an award and that I passed the award onto :)

Oh and a small request. If you see that I've already gotten the award you are about to pass on to me, please don't pass it on. I love receiving awards but I always forget to post them and then I feel guilty. At least don't give me the same ones during the school year, I have more time in the summer so I'm less likely to forget! Also, let me know if you feel the same way (so I don't send the same awards to the same people) or if you don't mind.

Waiting on Wednesday: Finding My Place +Awards

Waiting on Wednesday is brought to you by Jill at Breaking the Spine.


Finding My Place by Traci L. Jones

Release Date: March, 2010

"For most people, 1975 was the year that bell-bottoms were in, Happy Days was the best show on TV, and shag carpeting was the ultimate interior decoration. For Tiphanie Jayne Baker, however, it’s the year her parents decide to uproot her from her life in Denver and move to the ritzy suburb of Brent Hills, Colorado. The only Black girl at a high school full of Barbies, Tiphanie suddenly feels like she has to be better than her peers just to be equal. Ninth grade has never been so unbearable.

That is until Tiphanie meets Jackie Sue Webster. Jackie Sue may be blond, but she’s definitely not a Barbie. She spouts out crazy vocabulary words like “anomaly” and “imbroglio,” and announces that she’s walking trailer trash as grandly as if she were declaring she were descended from Queen Elizabeth. So what if Jackie Sue has some secrets? Now that Tiphanie has finally found a real friend, life at Brent Hills High suddenly seems like it might be bearable—possibly even enjoyable. But as Tiphanie begins to feel more comfortable in her new home, her ties to her old community start to fray, and she can’t help but wonder—does fitting in have to mean selling out?"
-The age old question of fitting in and selling out. It's always interesting to read about this dilemma and it's set during the '70s. I'm pretty sure there are very few YA novels about African Americans set in the '70s so this should be an original, good read.

I received awards! I'm so late in doing these and I apologize. I also apologize for not notifying everyone who won previous awards. I'll do better.

From Ah Yuan at Gal Novelty I received the Happy 101 award. Yay! And I haven't received it yet, Ah Yuan ;)

I have to list 10 things that make me happy and then give this award to 10 bloggers that brighten my day (almost all book blogs do <3)

10 Things That Make Me Happy

1. Accents-I love listening to people's accents! My Abuelita has a delightful Spanish accent, my friends from Nigerian have pretty accents as well and I adore the lilting accent that the mother of one of my friends has.

2. Music-Brightens my day!

3. Cool days. Not too hot, not too cold. Almost perfect

4. Ice Cream, especially milkshakes (when I don't think of calories). And cheesecake. yummy :)

5. CHOCOLATE (milk, dark, peppermint bark, etc. As long as it's not like cheap, disgusting tootsie rolls. ew)

6. Bones, Glee, the Colbert Report

7. Getting Good Grades

8. Not having school because of holidays, snow days, summer, etc!

9. My readers/followers, love you!

10. BOOKS :D

10 Blogs That Brighten My Day (besides Gal Novelty)

1. HappyNappyBookseller

2. Helen's Book Blog

3. Jill at The O.W.L.

4. Bookish Blather (just discovered this blog. Love it, very poc friendly!)

5. Rhapsody In Books

6. Multiculturalism Rocks! (The blog name alone simply causes happiness!)

7. Bookworming in the 21st Century

8. La Femme Readers

9. The Adventures of cecila bedelia

10. Killing Time Reading

The Rules:
1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.
2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs you've recently discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Thanks so much Jill from The O.W.L.!

I tried to give this award to people I've never given it to (it's hard to remember). Also, I don't mind if you don't post this, finding 15 bloggers who haven't gotten the award is hard work! ;)

1. Opinionated? Me?

2. Frenetic Reader

3. Addicted to Books

4. Harmony Book Reviews

5. Black-Eyed Susan's

6. Book Crumbs

7. Only Sexy Books Allowed

8. QT Bookworm

9. Reading is Bliss

10. Fourteen Years

11. Reading is Sexy

12. AnimeGirl's Bookshelf

13. The Undercover Book Lover (Not Really)

14. Six Boxes of Books

15. Lost in a Book

PS You all must, MUST check out this list of POC books coming out in 2010. It was compiled by Doret who is beyond amazing. They all sound good and I'm hoping to discover many great new books this year :)

Waiting on Wednesday, Awards, Reading in Color News

I think this is going to be my one of my last Waiting on Wednesday posts (I have about 2 other books that I've found to wait for) it's really hard to find upcoming YA poc books, especially when I'm too busy with school to scour publishing websites. Instead I'll start participating in Wishlist Wednesday (I'm not sure who came up with the idea of so if anyone knows pleae let me know so I can give due credit), since I have a huge wishlist!

Anyway, this week I'm waiting on (Idea of Jill at Breaking the Spine)

The World is Mine (Come Up) by Lyah B. LeFlore Illustrated by DL Warfield

Release Date: Dec. 1, 2009

Blue Reynolds has it all: money, brains, style, charisma, and the hunger to be more than what his parents have planned for him. He's a dreamer on a mission to become the world's next music business mogul. But for now he'll settle for being the youngest, hottest party promoter around...and the man on the arm of the fly and sassy Jade Taylor.

Collin Andrews is Blue's best friend, and the order to Blue's madness. Blue dreams up the ideas and Collin figures out how to make them happen; together, they make a powerhouse team that's ready to blow the roof off the music game!

Coming up is never easy. These two dreamers will have to put everything on the line and do whatever it takes to succeed. It's the new American dream, and the sky's the limit. All they need is one shot.

-Amazon lists this as 9-12, but I think it may actually be YA, but then again it's illustrated so it's either a graphic novel or for younger readers. It's something different from what I usually read.

The Awards

I apologize for the lateness in my award posting. A hearty THANK YOU to everyone who gave me an award!

From Alexa at Hooked on YA Books, I got the One Lovely Blog Award. Thanks so much Alexa, it's lovely :)

The Rules:

1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.

2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs you've recently discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

15?! Ok here goes. I hope everyone checks out these wonderful, lovely blogs (if you haven't already)! In no particular order and I added one more blog because there are so many great blogs out there.

1. Ah Yuan at Gal Novelty

2. Book Weirdo (She's not at all weird!) at YA Book Geek

3. Maria at Fantasy Book Ink

4. Jill (and her husband!) at RhapsodyinBooks

5. Alea at Pop Culture Junkie

6. Lee Wind at I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I read?

7. Nickles at Who,What, When, Where, Why

8. Lisette at T.V. And Book Addict

9. Mariah at A Reader's Adventure

10. S.Krishna at S.Krishna's Books

11. Heather at The Maiden's Court

12. Chioma at Black and Blue Ink

13. Catt at the Dreamer Reader

14. Austenfan at Reality Bites..Fiction Does It Better

15. Lindsay at Just Another Book Addict

16. Allison at Read Into This!

This award is from Ebony at Sizzling Publications. Thanks Ebony :D

The Rules

1) Post the award

2) List 7 facts about you

3) Keep the award going. Pass it on to 7 others

4) Inform the people you give the award to

5) BE COOL!

So here we go

1. Alexa at Hooked on YA Books

2. Elnice at Ellz Readz

3. Everyone (Aline, Marjorie, Corinne, Sally, Janet and Charlotte) at PaperTigers

4. Jess at Lost in a Book

5. Liz B. at A Chair, A Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy

6. Paradox at Parodoxical

7. Em at Em's Bookshelf

~ETA: I forgot my 7 facts! Here we go (they are very random)

1. I love big cities, even if I've never been (New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia).

2. I'm almost done with Physics in my science class! I just have to build a bridge (any tips? I need help!) =/

3. I love historical fiction

4. I'm amazed that I found 22 bloggers to give awards to and contacted them all =)

5. I love accents (Australian, Southern, Spanish)

6. I wish I had the Wednesday before Thanksgiving off

7. I don't have enough time in the day to do all I want :(

Reading in Color News

*Sign up for the first ever Read in Color Holiday Book Exchange! Sign up by Nov. 24. For more info go here

*Vote in my poll! I have a towering tbr pile and while I intend on reading all the books sent to me to review, I also want to devote December to a certain genre. The poll features a selection of books I have the most of that need to be read/reviewed, although I recently realized I have only one controversial issue book! So anyway help me out by voting =)

*Also I despertely need a 3-column template. Unfortunately I won't have the time to find a really good one until after December 10 (I have a really hard science project to finish. Building a bridge! I'm awful at this sort of thing =/) So please excuse my cluttered sidebar, I'm going to clean it up soon! In effort to start, I may not post all my Blog Awards in the sidebar anymore, but I will do a post thanking everyone.

Awards Catch Up & Come Pick Up Your Award!

I recieved another award yesterday and I realized that I finally needed to thank the bloggers and pass on all the awards I've gotten. from the oldest to the latest. Sorry for the lateness!

1) The Uplifiting Blogger Award
From Donna at Bites. Donna and her blog are so cool!
Thanks so much Donna :)

There's no set of number of people to give this too, so since I'm tired and have lots of homework to do, I'm passing it on to only a few people.

1. Literanista because she posts about all these amazing things (primarily book news but also charites and current events) relating to the Hispanic community.

2. Susan at Color Online because she's always commenting on blog posts being positive and keeping the conversation going.

3. Lorin at arch thinking Her blog is very unique and inspiring (especially how she supports Kiva)

2) Superior Scribber Award x2
Thanks Jo Ann and Zetta! I aspire to be a good writer and I'm honored you think so =)



Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass The Award on to 5 most-deserving
• Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award.

• Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog, and link to this post which explains The Award.

• Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit this post and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky List. That way, we’ll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives This Prestigious Honor!

• Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog
Ahh so many awesome people to give this too!

1. Steph Su at Steph Su Reads

2. Kristi the Story Siren

3. Donna at Bites!

4. Cecilia at the epic rat

5. Nymeth at things mean a lot


3) Bingo Award, Beautiful!
Thanks Browngirl! I'm so touched that someone thinks my blog is beautiful :D

B: Beautiful
I: Informative
N: Neighborly
G: Gorgeous
O: Outstanding

B-Amanda at That Teen Can Blog!
I-Ali at worducopia!
N-Zetta at Fledging!
G-Alyssa at the Shady Glade!
O-Amy Bowllan at Bowllan's Blog for the School Library Journal (check out her outstanding Writers Aganist Racisim series!)

Thanks so much everyone for the awards and everyone else pick up your awards and pass them on!

Blog Name Change, Voting and a Question

Hey everyone!
So I'm changing my blog name to.............. *drumroll*
Reading in Color
It changes tomorrow. So edit your blogrolls please! Url will be the same.
I hope you like the name, I really do! But if you don't, I hope you continue to visit my blog anyway :D

Also that little Black Blog web awards image I have next to this post, in the right corner? Click on it and vote for me! Thanks!! I am annoyed with the awards though, because they don't have a Book Blog category. There may not be a lot of book blogs for AAs in YA, but there are a pretty good amount of blogs that review books with AAs for adults. So they need a category!

Now for my question: do people prefer Black or African American? I use the two interchangeably, but I know some people find black offensive, or vice versa. Thoughts?