Picture Post- "Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten?" Book Signing

So on September 18, I went up to Alexandria, VA for a book signing for a book outside my usual spectrum- a childrens' picture book. The book in question was Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten? written by Audrey Vernick and illustrated by Daniel Jennewein. Daniel is the husband of blogger extraordinare Lenore of Presenting Lenore, so of course I had to go!



The signing was at Hooray for Books! in Old Town Alexandria and it was easy to find. I went in, got the book and while waiting in line to buy it, I chatted with Lenore a bit, who warned me about her cold and also pointed out Diana Peterfreund. I'd brought along my copy of Zombies vs. Unicorns for her to sign.

Once I bought the book, I went up and got Audrey to sign it. She was such a sweetheart and complimented my roomie's niece's name (it's Emelie, pronounced like Emily) and even said that name won Best Name of the Day (I then of course pumped my fist and said "YES!!" because I am a nerd).

The reading got started before I was able to get Daniel to sign the book as well, so I sat down and Diana Peterfreund and her husband joined me a minute later. Diana and I chatted a bit and she signed my book, which was so sweet of her. Audrey and Daniel talked for a couple minutes before starting Storytime- Audrey read the story out loud while Daniel showed off the pictures. This book is the CUTEST book I have ever read, and I'm so happy to hear there's a second book in the works. That buffalo? So adorable!



I was able to get my book signed by Daniel afterward and he drew a great buffalo in my copy. I hung around for a little bit and got to chat with Diana, her husband and Lenore but then I had to go because I still had to drive back to Lynchburg. All in all, a great signing. I'm so glad I went!


Picture 1- Daniel and Audrey signing books.
Picture 2- Daniel wearing the buffalo hat

Also, I wanted to share this blog post with you guys. It sickened me to read what this poor woman went through all for the sake of education and literacy. Book banners just make no sense to me. I want to start a school with teachers and librarians who stand up to book banners. We'd be the best school ever because we wouldn't let any parent get to us. But I can't, and sometimes it bothers me when it just feels like I can't do anything to help out these great people. Anyway, hope you all are as moved as I was by this brave woman's story.

You by Charles Benoit

You by Charles Benoit
"This wasn't the way it was supposed to go.

You're just a typical fifteen-year-old sophomore, an average guy named Kyle Chase. This can't be happening to you. But then, how do you explain all the blood? How do you explain how you got here in the first place?

There had to have been signs, had to have been some clues it was coming. Did you miss them, or ignore them? Maybe if you can figure out where it all went wrong, you can still make it right. Or is it already too late? Think fast, Kyle. Time's running out. How did this happen?

You is the riveting story of fifteen-year-old Kyle and the small choices he does and doesn't make that lead to his own destruction."- summary from Amazon

I don't know really what to say about You. It's a book that leaves you with such impact, so many conflicting emotions, so many questions that it's hard to know where to begin or how to convey your feelings.

I enjoyed the second person aspect and it wasn't as jarring as 3rd person was when I'd been reading so much 1st person. It just felt right and flowed really well. It's a book that's hard to put down and begs to be devoured in one sitting.

Zach was an interesting character and one I wanted to punch repeatedly. It was odd because in the beginning, I was a bit taken by him. I laughed at the majority of what he said. But as the book progressed, I grew more irritated by him until the climax where that whole punching repeatedly thought came in. Kyle was an intriguing protagonist and one I'm sure many teens can relate to. I couldn't really relate to him though because while I am a slacker, he takes it to new depths and I'm such a people pleaser that I could never do what he does. Also, I had better teachers, it seems, lol.

My thoughts on the ending are two-fold, though I feel one side more than the other. The way it ends has such impact and is emotional and I can totally see why it ends the way it does (flashback to my thoughts on the WGx2 ending, anyone?), BUT I'm a man who likes his bows. The book ends way too vaguely for me to be really satisfied and I'm mainly left with a bunch of questions because I'm not entirely sure what happened.

For me, while this is a very good and realistic (especially being male protagonist-driven) book, I don't think it really had as profound an effect on me as it did the others who read this book (I mean, it has 15 blurbs in the ARC alone saying how amazing and ground-breaking this book is). In my opinion, this is more of a library book for now (it's a fairly short hardcover) and a paperback read once that's released.

FTC: Received ARC from publisher. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

In My Mailbox- Week of September 27 + Retrospective

Here's this week's In My Mailbox vlog-



Books Mentioned:

Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Enchanted Ivy by Sarah Beth Durst
Elixir by Hilary Duff
Frankenstein's Monster by Susan Heyboer O'Keefe
Three Black Swans by Caroline B Cooney
The Countess by Rebecca Johns
Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
Sphinx's Queen by Esther Friesner
I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend by Cora Harrison
Brain Jack by Brian Falkner
Unearthly by Cynthia Hand (received back from Meaghan as I had let her borrow it)
The Lost Saint by Bree Despain (borrowed from Meaghan)

Meaghan runs the blog A Bookworm's Haven, which is AWESOME. Go check it out. And here's my retrospective:

Monday- I reviewed Ascendant by Diana Peterfreund, which has gotten no comments! What's up with that? Go show it some love!

Wednesday- I posted the 12th edition of Ask Book Chic and am running a contest that goes until 11:59 PM on October 5. The prize is an ARC of Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins and all you have to do to enter is ask me a question to use in future editions of Ask Book Chic! So go enter!

Thursday- I reviewed Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay, which is out in stores now. Note: This is an adult book.

Friday- I posted my Fragment Friday, where I read an excerpt from I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett.

Saturday- I reviewed I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett, which is out in stores now.

I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett

I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett
"It starts with whispers.

Then someone picks up a stone.

Finally, the fires begin.

When people turn on witches, the innocents suffer. . . .

Tiffany Aching has spent years studying with senior witches, and now she is on her own. As the witch of the Chalk, she performs the bits of witchcraft that aren’t sparkly, aren’t fun, don’t involve any kind of wand, and that people seldom ever hear about: She does the unglamorous work of caring for the needy.

But someone—or something—is igniting fear, inculcating dark thoughts and angry murmurs against witches. Aided by her tiny blue allies, the Wee Free Men, Tiffany must find the source of this unrest and defeat the evil at its root—before it takes her life. Because if Tiffany falls, the whole Chalk falls with her."- summary from Amazon

(Side note: I hate blogger and their damn Service Unavailable crap; WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?)

OK, so this is my second time having to write this, in which case it'll probably be shorter. I knew I should've copied it before hitting Publish. Anyway, I've missed Pratchett's books. It's been way too long since I've last read one. He's one of my favorite authors and one I think more people should read. So if you aren't reading him already, go grab one of his books. If this series sounds intriguing, start with The Wee Free Men. Also, Harper's actually reprinted the first two books together as The Wee Free Men: The Beginning, so you can check that out too.

I love this series and just Pratchett's writing in general. The characters are always fully realized that they feel like old friends even from the beginning, the humor is spot-on and makes me laugh out loud, and some scenes just make you think about the world around you and how you look at things. His prose just flows so easily and half the book is over with before you know it.

I also love how he does his witches. They aren't your usual witches with spells and magical powers. They're more organic, in a sense- they just know things most people don't, help out the people in their village, are usually very clever, and they do occasionally fight evil, but not necessarily with spells and potions. It's just such a refreshing and original take on witches. And Tiffany is such a great role model and protagonist- strong, clever, and just all-around awesome.

My favorite characters of these books though are the Nac Mac Feegle (the blue people you see on the cover). They are HILARIOUS and I'm always cracking up whenever they're in the scene. They're just such great characters.

There were times though that some scenes felt like deja vu, like I'd seen them before, and that bothered me a bit because I could see where something was going and ended up being right (I'm usually horrible at this, so when I can actually do it, it's a big deal). But overall, it's still a really good book and a fitting conclusion to the series. I really enjoyed it and now need to find time to fit more Pratchett books into my reading schedule!

FTC: Received ARC from publisher. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

Fragment Friday- I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett

Fragment Friday is a weekly meme hosted here on this blog where you read an excerpt from either your current read or one of your favorite books and post it on your blog to share with others!

Here's my Fragment Friday for this week, and I'm reading from I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett, his newest novel. It was released earlier this week, and my review of it will be up tomorrow. Enjoy!



If you've participated in Fragment Friday, leave your link in the Mr. Linky below so others can watch and comment on your fragments!