Books I love and want to share contest

UPDATE:changed name due to my mistake
UPDATE: sorry forgot but U.S. only and please leave which book you would like to win with your entry.Ends 1/31
Alright I like to keep some contest on here all the time for my followers new or old.This contest will be my longest one. Basically I will be giving away three books and these are just some of my favorites so in the spirit of the holidays i will give them away to you guys.

Again these are some books that I really like and want to get people to read them although since they did come out like 1-3 years ago some of you may have read them.The great thing is that along with the books will be some swag. Mr. Friesen was kind enough to send some signed bookmarks to go along with the winner of the book. For mr. Lyga's book I will be parting with a minimate I won and a postcard. For two way street I haven't got anything yet and if i dont i will add a jerk california signed bookmark and a postcard from F&GG. So yeah three winners.one book+swag each.

Rules: First and foremost you must be or become a follower to enter.Please leave which book you would like to win and in case two or more people want the same book it will be on a first come first serve basis.

+1 new follower

+2 old follower

+1 for every comment on a post starting with papertowns

+2 for comments that were made before 12/1

+2 sidebar or blog post

+5 add me to your blogroll

That is it contest ends 1/31 so plenty of time to enter and rack up some extra points.
Oh and please leave email if you are not comftable with this email it to me at Weirdpanda3@gmail.com

Hispanic heritage month

Okay so I realize that this is more than a couple days late but I really wanted to post something for HHM. So since I am Hispanic I thought I would find a way to tie the culture with books. So the successful YA author Diana Wallach agreed to let me ask her some questions. In case you guys don’t know who she is she wrote the Amor and Summer Secrets Series. So here goes the interview:

1. Are you Hispanic? If so do your own experiences come out in your books?

I am. I’m half Puerto Rican and half Polish—not a very common mix (unless you watch West Side Story). And I decided to give my multicultural background to my main character, Mariana. So there are a lot of experiences in my books that are derived from my own.

For example in Amor and Summer Secrets, the town in Puerto Rico where Mariana spends the summer, Utuado, is the same town where my dad grew up. And I gave Mariana’s father, Lorenzo, some biographical tidbits from my dad’s life, including a few of his childhood anecdotes.

But mostly, I wanted to show a little of what it’s like to grow up not fitting the Latina stereotype. I’ve got reddish hair and freckles, and I didn’t learn Spanish in the home. So I decided to give some of those traits to Mariana. In the Amor series, Mariana doesn’t identify with either of her parents’ cultures and I feel this is a very common experience. It doesn’t matter whether you’re half Polish and half Puerto Rican, or half Thai and half Jamaican, I think a lot teens can relate being torn between two very different ethnic groups.

2. What inspired you to write this series?

The first book in the series, Amor and Summer Secrets, was initially inspired by a conversation with my agent, Jenoyne Adams. She had mentioned seeing a recent increase in interest from editors seeking multicultural novels, and she asked the infamous question, “Got any ideas?” I didn’t. But by the end of our conversation, I had pitched the story for what became Amor and Summer Secrets.

Part of the inspiration was derived from my first trip to Puerto Rico after I graduated from college. I met my relatives in Utuado for the first time, and I got to see where my dad grew up. I wanted to share some of those experiences with my readers.

3. The titles are Spanish and English, is there a story behind it?

My late editor, Kate Duffy, actually came up with the title of the first book. And the concept stuck. The idea was to highlight Mariana’s multicultural background by taking a Spanish word that’s become “Americanized” and adding it to our title. Let’s face it, “Spanglish” is a very common language in our country. And I think it gives readers a glimmer of what’s inside the book, while not intimating readers who are not of Hispanic descent.

4. Last and definitely most important what is your favorite food (tamales, sopes, posole, menudo tacos, etc...)?
Well, if you mean Latin food, I didn’t grow up with too much exposure. My mom’s Polish, so I had more kielbasa and pierogies than tamales and sopes. However, my grandmom (my dad’s mom) used to make Spanish rice with chicken and sweet plantains (which I love). I also make a mean paella—I spent a semester abroad in Spain.

Thanks Mrs. Wallach I really appreciate you taking time to answer some questions.
If you want some more info check out:
http://www.dianarodriguezwallach.com/
http://www.myspace.com/dianarodriguezwallach
http://twitter.com/dianarwallach
And if this sounds like a series you might want to read check out my why we love books contest and you can choose this book if you win.

P.S. I got the pic from her site thats why it came with the text

Awesome contest

Wow princess bookie is having a great contest over at her blog. http://cutelittlecindy.blogspot.com/2009/09/contest-alert_29.html
Im sure everyone will be glad she wants to clean out her bookshelves. so go check that out to win a boxfull of books.

Im portable

UPDATE: New blog title(kinda didn't go with my url or name so Life and books is now YA Book geek)
REMINDER:boy toy contest ends sept. 25
Haha that title sounds weird but whatever. The point is i started a podcast that focuses on YA books so now you can actually listen to me blabber on. I thought it was cool because i can listen to myself on my ipod if i so choose. Anyways if anybody is interested you can check it out with the link below. Also im trying to get it on itunes which makes it more accesible in my opinion. So contact me if you want a shout out in my Plog(podcast blog=)). please give me some feedback or ideas i can use when i start doing full length episodes Please and Thank you.
search Plog on itunes podcast and look for book weirdo

Boy toy contest!

UPDATE:Contest ends september 25 so leave your entry comment it's not too late yet.
Remember you must leave a comment to be entered.


So i am going to be giving away a signed copy yes you read right SIGNED copy of Barry Lyga's boy toy.Synopsis from authors website:
Five years ago Josh’s life changed. Drastically. And everyone in his school, his town—seems like the world—thinks they understand.
But they don’t—they can’t.
And now, about to graduate from high school, Josh is still trying to sort through the pieces. First there’s Rachel, the girl he thought he’d lost years ago. She’s back, and she’s determined to be part of his life, whether he wants her there or not.
Then there are college decisions to make, and the toughest baseball game of his life coming up, and a coach who won't stop pushing Josh all the way to the brink.
And then there’s Eve. Her return brings with it all the memories of Josh’s past. It’s time for Josh to face the truth about what happened.

If only he knew what the truth was . . .



sounds good right? So this is intended for mature teenagers preferably 16 and older but who listens to those things, but i am warning you that it contains some adult content.

contest only open to U.S.
Rules: you must be or become a follower to enter

+2 for being an old follower
+1 for becoming a follower
+2 for putting this contest somewhere on your blog(URL needed)
+1 for every comment on an old post (limit 2)

okay i will also select a couple of people randomly to win a paperback copy of royally jacked