Friday Five - July 3

Happy Independence Day Weekend! Looking forward to relaxing this weekend. Any big plans? I want to read and catch up on reviews.

1. Contests - I want to apologize to those who haven't received their books yet. I promise. You will. I will also try to have one international contest per month, If I can. Remember: poor school librarian. Here's what I have

Contest Monday Winners
Signed ARC of The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong - Linna from Live Through the Pages
The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl by Barry Lyga with signed bookplate - Sharon from Sharon Loves Books and Cats
Signed HC of Once Dead, Twice Shy by Kim Harrison - Lauren from Shooting Stars Mag
ghostgirl and ghostgirl: homecoming by Tonya Hurley - open till July 5 - 11:59 PM EST

Blog Tour Giveaways
Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes by Robin Gunn - Kristi from Stamped With Grace and Lenore from Presenting Lenore
The Vanishing Sculptor by Donita K. Paul - open till July 8 11:59 pm EST

For July, I plan on having Contest Mondays for Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev (ARC), Hollywood is Like High School with Money by Zoey Dean (ARC), The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand (HC) and Fade to Blue by Sean Beaudoin (ARC) and a Blog Tour giveaway where you can win either The Veil by Diane Noble or Tomorrow's Treasure by Linda Lee Chaikin.

2. Game On! - this is our first week doing the Game On! challenge and I must say it's been an adjustment! I've adapted to the 3L of water but the eating five meals a day is very difficult. I'm sleeping better though last night I took a night off cuz I stayed up late reading Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson.

3. ALA - Next Saturday I get to go to ALA. I've started receiving postcards and emails from the various companies that will be there. They are more your reference material type companies than trade book companies. Although I'm excited, BEA seems as if it was a lot more fun! I will be making a side trip to Anderson's Bookshop to see Laurie Halse Anderson and Sarah Dessen though, yay!

4. Word Ninjas! - I'm excited to belong to this group! We are a group of book bloggers and debut authors who are trying united ways to get books read and publicized! It is so awesome. For each book release there are virtual and street parties, contests, swag giveaways, etc! Each author decides what they want to see happening. The bloggers get to Opt-In if they want to participate, so no pressure! Then you get to decide which activities makes sense for you to do depending on contacts and what time you have available. As of right now, there are nine books involved, five which have upcoming releases:

• Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev - July 7


• Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink - August 1


• Ash by Malinda Lo - September 1


• Struts and Frets by Jon Skovron - November


• Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - December 1

Books already out and you should read:

• Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon


• Sliding on the Edge by C. Lee Mckenzie


• Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler


• Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog (4 copies, rvw soon!)

Find them on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and other social networking sites. Friend them, please! These authors also have a charity initiative and are helping out libraries which is doubly important now with all the library budget cuts in Ohio!

5. @SummerofSeven - another group of great authors! They are giving away 7 books with either a UK or US cover! Check out Escape With The Seven. Full Disclosure - Only read The Forest Of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (4 copies), The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan (4 copies and more!), and in the middle of Wings by Aprilynne Pike. I truly loved The Demon's Lexicon, it had my favorite things - good-looking guy and quick-witted humor! Review coming soon!

That's it for me this week. Tune in next week for more winners and some other fun stuff! Have a great holiday!