Musing Mondays (6)

     Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading, that asks you to muse about one of the following each week:
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

My Musings for the Week...

     This week I want to discuss items with bookish themes & book quotes, or just things in general that appeal to readers. Recently I purchased a new sketch book with Oscar Wilde quotes on it, and I have to say that I love it. There are a lot of items out there that are book themed from T-Shirts, to notebooks, and even cases for phones, iPads, Kindles, Nooks, etc. And not to forget tote bags. I actually really like the availability of items with book covers or themes on them.  Bookmarks are always a great thing and I especially like the "Initial It! Bookmark" that I recently picked up from Barnes & Noble. (I got the one with the white cupcake that says "Sweet" on the bottom.)

     So among  the tote bags, bookmarks, notebooks, accessories, etc., what are some of your favorite bookish themed items/things that appeal to readers?

Cover Reveal & Giveaway: Something About Love by Elana Johnson

     Today on Our Thoughts Precisely we're taking part in Elana Johnson's cover reveal for Something About Love! But first, as a special promo Elevated, Johnson’s first verse novel, will be FREE for five days in September as Something About Love releases! So get your copy of Elevated for free from Monday, September, 15 – Friday, September 19.  Now onto the cover reveal:

About the Book

     High school senior Olivia Winging gave up her love of photography when she gave up her boyfriend, Trevor Youngblood, a year and a half ago. She broke things off with Trevor because her mom married his dad, and dating your step-brother? Creepy.

     Livvy hasn’t been on good terms with her mother since, and one of her stipulations for staying at the

Youngblood’s every other weekend is that Trevor can’t be there. When she gets nominated for the Junior Photography in Excellence award, Trevor insists she enter. She agrees—only if every photo in the portfolio can be of him. Knowing that Livvy can capture a person’s deepest secrets through her lens, Trevor hesitates before accepting the deal.

     As Livvy gets behind the lens of her camera again, her love of photography is rekindled. Unfortunately, the time she spends with Trevor also re-ignites the old flame for him she’s kept smothered for so long.

     In order for Livvy to finish her portfolio, she’ll have to face her feelings for Trevor as well as deal with the animosity between her and her mother. Livvy’s always been able to capture a person’s soul from behind the camera—but she’s not sure she likes it when the lens is suddenly focused on her. If she can’t find a way to forgive her mother and admit how she feels about Trevor, Livvy may end up losing more than just the photography contest. She could lose her heart.

Goodreads     Amazon

Praise for Elana’s Elevated:

     “The taut poetry keeps tension high. The plot is deftly paced, as past intrudes on present, like a photograph emerging in developing fluid.” ~San Francisco Book Review

     “Every word Johnson writes carries an emotional heft that lifts readers up to the highest happiness and then sends them crashing down to the depths of despair. It is easy to flow from the first word to the last without ever putting down the book. Johnson shows outstanding talent in this form, and her words are beautiful, important and deeply felt.” ~The Deseret News

 About the Author 

 Elana Johnson’s work, including Possession, Surrender, Abandon, and Regret, published by Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster), is available now everywhere books are sold. Her popular ebook, From the Query to the Call, is also available for free download, as well as a Possession short story, Resist. Her self-published novels include two YA contemporary novels-in-verse, Elevated and Something About Love, as well as a YA/NA futuristic fantasy series, which includes Elemental Rush, Elemental Hunger, and Elemental Release.  School teacher by day, Query Ninja by night, you can find her online at her personal blog or Twitter. She also co-founded the Query Tracker blog, and contributes to the League of Extraordinary Writers.

 Website      Twitter     Facebook     Tumblr     Wattpad     League of Extraordinary Writers     WriteOnCon  Elana on Goodreads

Now for the Giveaway! Below you'll find the rafflecopter widget where you can enter for a chance to win $15 worth of Paypal cash. Sounds good right? Well, enter away! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Friday 56 (5)

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

"Behind us, more lights turned on inside the library, and more shouts and yells cut through the night air."--Midnight Frost by Jennifer Estep




What's on your page 56 this week?

Musing Mondays (5)

     Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading, that asks you to muse about one of the following each week:
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

My Musings for the Week...

     Multiple points of view can be a good thing.  I personally like to see what's happening through the eyes of more than one character beyond the view of the MC. But, that can also present a bit of a problem especially when the voices sound so similar that the POVs start to blend together, making it difficult to distinguish which character is which.  Sometimes the characters can even introduce more subplots and make the story start to feel a little cluttered, but that's not always the case.  Personally, I prefer to to read multiple POVs in third person.  Some great books/series that contain multiple points of view:

     The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. I do enjoy the various points of view throughout all of the current books. (Cinder, Scarlet, & Cress.)

     Crystal Fire by Jordan Dane, with the different POVs from the crystal children and the slightly-insane-although-they-think-they're-sane scientist of the Believers. (I haven't reviewed this one yet.)

     Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, with the views from the different memebers of the crew, especially Vin herself.

     The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, Raven Boys, a girl named Blue, shenanigans...you get it.

    Leviathan Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld. I especially like how this series was done, with points of view from the Clanker side of the war and the Darwinist side. The blatant differences between the beliefs of the two sides was interesting to watch unfold as the two main characters interacted with one another.

     Daughter of Smoke & Bone Trilogy by Laini Taylor...there's just so much to like about this series. But the varying points of view make the story that much wider, giving a look into the different sides of the war.

     I'm sure there are plenty of other great books out there that I missed that have multiple points of view.  I either haven't read them or just forgot about them.  But what about you guys, how do you feel about multiple points of view?  Or, what are some of your favorite reads with multiple POVs?

Review: Foundations in Comic Book Art by John Paul Lowe

Title: Foundations in Comic Book Art: SCAD Creative Essentials(Click title for synopsis)
Author: John Paul Lowe
Source/Format: Publisher, Review Copy
Age Range: Um, this is an educational book
Publisher/ Publication Date: Watson-Guptill, August 12, 2014

Goodreads     Barnes & Noble    Random House

My Thoughts:

     Foundations in Comic Book Art by John Paul Lowe was an interesting book with plenty of tips and tricks to help artist working on developing their own technique. There were easy examples to follow with exercises to help with drawing straighter lines and so on. If you're just starting out with comic book art and don't really know much about the craft then I think this book would be a good beginners guide, as it goes over some basic techniques and essentials that you need. The book had great explanations on the proper use and cleaning of brushes and nibs as well as recommendations on paper types that work best with each drawing utensil. It also offers great explanations for what to do with ink when its dried out after being left open, working with thicker inks, as well as handy tips for creating certain effects such as splatter marks on a page—and how to judge if paint brushes are good or not. Lowe presents the information in an easy to understand manner, so I will definitely keep Foundations in Comic Book Art on my shelf for future reference.

I received this book from Blogging For Books for this review, thank you!