This contest is to show everyone your creative side! We're looking for anyone who would like to enter by making a cover from scratch - something that's scary from the title to the art. If you had a scary story or book, what would you think that cover would look like? Show us, share with everyone for your chance to win.

There will be 3 rounds of voting. Each new round begins on a Sunday and ends the following Friday.

Prizes:

* 4 winners

-1st Place - 8 books and swag
Crusade by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié
Infinite Days (ARC) by Rebecca Maizel
Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready
Misguided Angel (Blue Bloods, #5) by Melissa de la Cruz
The Awakening (Ghost Huntress, #1) by Marley Gibson
The Guidance (Ghost Huntress, #2) by Marley Gibson
The Reason (Ghost Huntress, #3) by Marley Gibson
The Counseling (Ghost Huntress, #4) by Marley Gibson
and lots of swag!

- 2nd Place - 5 books and swag
Glimmerglass by Jenna Black
Infinity (Chronicles of Nick, #1) by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson
Brightly Woven (ARC) by Alexandra Bracken
The Hollow by Jessica Verday
swag picture will be posted soon.

- 3rd Place - 3 books
Marked by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Under My Skin by Judith Graves
Freaksville by Kitty Keswick
a Leap Books t-shirt
swag picture will be posted soon.

- Honorable Mention - 2 books
The Restless Dead by Deborah Noyes, Herbie Brennan, Nancy Etchemendy, Chris Wooding, Marcus Sedgwick, Libba Bray, M.T. Anderson, Holly Black, Kelly Link, Annette Curtis Klause
Dracula by Nicky Raven

Entries:

* The covers should reflect what you would want if you were to write a scary or paranormal book.
* The book cover must have a title.
* An alias can be used as your "author name".

*Note: If you enter both the Cover contest and Story contest, you can post both entries together and they can be titled the same.

*Note: The covers will be voted on by others (not Jessica or myself). The covers with the most votes will go onto the next round.

Rules:

* You must be at least 13 to enter.
* The entry form must be filled out.
* One cover entry per person.
* Entries must be posted on your blog, or emailed to one of us by Friday, 10/15 (Email addresses listed below).
* Contest is US ONLY and ends October 31st.
* Once contacted the winners will have 48 hours to respond with their mailing address.
* Email alifeboundbybooks [at] hotmail [dot] com or totalbookaholic [at] hotmail [dot] com

1st Place

2nd Place

3rd Place

Honorable Mention

 Once you have posted your entry on your blog or emailed it to us, please fill out this form.

* This is the same form found at Confessions of a Bookaholic.
Please only fill it out once. Thanks and good luck!

Have a spooky or creepy story stuck in your head waiting to get out? How about something scary or freaky that happened to you that you can't explain and you've just been waiting for the perfect opportunity to tell? Well, now is the time, this is your chance!

There will be 3 rounds of voting. Each new round begins on a Sunday and ends the following Friday.

Prizes:

* 3 winners

-1st Place - 8 books and swag
Crusade by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié
Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready
Misguided Angel (Blue Bloods, #5) by Melissa de la Cruz
The Awakening (Ghost Huntress, #1) by Marley Gibson
The Guidance (Ghost Huntress, #2) by Marley Gibson
The Reason (Ghost Huntress, #3) by Marley Gibson
The Counseling (Ghost Huntress, #3) by Marley Gibson
and lots of swag!

- 2nd Place - 5 books and swag
Evermore by Alyson Noel
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride (ARC)
Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson
Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken
The Hollow by Jessica Verday
swag picture will be posted soon.

- 3rd Place - 3 books
Marked by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Vamped by Lucienne Diver
Revamped by Lucienne Diver

- Honorable Mention - 2 books
Wayward Spirits & Earthbound Souls by Anson V. Gogh
True Ghosts 2 by David Godwin

Entries:

* The scary stories can be fiction or nonfiction
* The story must have a title.
* Stories must be at least 300 words and not to exceed 600 words.
* Stories must be posted on your site/blog so people can vote.

*Note: If you enter both the Cover contest and Story contest, you can post both entries together and they can be titled the same.

*Note: The story will be voted on by others (not Jessica or myself) so the stories submitted must be on a blog where they can be read. If you do not have a blog, and have a friend who may let you post on theirs, that is fine. You may also use an alias but please make sure it matches the name you submit in the form below.

Rules:

* You must be at least 13 to enter.
* The entry form must be filled out by Friday 10/15.
* One story entry per person.
* Stories must be posted on your blog by Friday 10/15.
* Contest is US ONLY and ends October 31st.
* Once contacted the winners will have 48 hours to respond with their mailing address.
* Questions? Email alifeboundbybooks [at] hotmail [dot] com or  totalbookaholic [at] hotmail [dot] com

1st Place

2nd Place

3rd Place

and  Leap Books T-Shirt

Honorable Mention

Once you have posted your entry on your blog or emailed it to us, please fill out this form.

* This is the same form found at Confessions of a Bookaholic. Please only fill it out once.

Thanks and good luck!

Hello and welcome to the starting line for Haunted Halloween: True Stories of the Paranormal! Throughout the month on my blog here and Jessica from Confessions of a Bookahlic, we will be hosting many authors and special guests sharing everything from True scary stories, to exciting exclusive excerpts from highly anticipated books to, interviews and yes giveaways! Pssst! I can’t tell you just what were giving away, but I can tell you this. *whispers* its well over 100 books!!! Yes, you heard that correctly!! We are excited to be able to finally share with you all the amazing things we have hidden away from each of our guests. Tomorrow we will finally be bringing you the first stories and we can’t wait!

Starting sometime tonight we will also share with you some details about some giveaways. Two to be exact and then one more tomorrow. Are these the only contests you ask? No! Far from the only ones we have planned, but these will take a little bit of time, so we wanted to give you a head start with the two you will soon see.

Also – on Oct 14th we’ll be hosting a Twitter party!! Starting at 9pm EST we will be having fun with authors and anyone who can stop by. We’ll be there hanging out for at least an hour, if not longer so anyone feel free to drop in and say hello. Oh, you might want to hang out, there will be trivia and random giveaways for using the hashtag #HauntedHalloween . Be sure you’re following but @BoundByBooks and @Totalbookaholic for details and to be able to participate in the trivia!

If you’re looking to get a quick and easy head start to all those extra entries, we would love and appreciate it if you’d take the button for our event – you can find it in my right sidebar - and add it to your blog’s sidebar!

So, come and help celebrate Halloween with us and all of our guests for the whole month. It won’t be the same without you; we think you’ll have a haunting good time!

Remember-- We will be posting the details for 2 BIG giveaways tonight (4 winners each) so come back in a few to see that!

Saving some of the bigger contests for last - I bring you the last one of the month! I can't say Thank You enough to all my followers new and old. You guys have been amazing, it's great to know your all out there. So any lurkers - yes I'm talking to you, come out and comment! Interact! And with all the Thank Yous come the goods -

Yes. All the books there are up for grabs! Three Winners And ALL are ARC's!!!

Infinite Days (Vampire Queen, #1) By: Rebecca Maizel (My Review)

Siren (Siren Trilogy, #1) By: Tricia Rayburn

Girl Parts By: John M. Cusick (My Review)

Linger (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #2) By: Maggie Stiefvater (My Review)

Life, After By: Sarah Darer Littman (My Review)

This Gorgeous Game By: Donna Freitas (My Review)

One Night That Changes Everything By: Lauren Barnholdt (My Review)

Things I Know About Love By: Kate Le Vann

Sleepless By: Cyn Balog

The Eternal Ones By: Kirsten Miller (My Review)

Nightshade (Nightshade, #1) By: Andrea Cremer

The Gardener By: S.A. Bodeen (My Review)

Incarceron (Incarceron, #1) By: Catherine Fisher

First place winner gets 6 books and some swag!

Second place winner gets 4 books and some swag!

Third place winner gets 3 books and some swag!

First place winner gets 6 books of their choice. Second place winner gets 4 of the remaining books of their choice and the Third place winner gets the remaining 3 books. Plus each winner will get some random swag thrown in.

And now, here are all the rules and how to enter:

As always, there's a form to fill out. No entries in comments please. Comments are welcomed and loved!

You must be 13 years or older to enter.

This Contest is open to US and CANADIAN Residents only - Sorry!
Contest ends: October 14th, 2010

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!

ENTER HERE

Thank you to everyone who's entered all the contests throughout the month. Good luck to each of you! As always, winners are chosen at random, using Random.org. If you have any questions, please feel free to check my policy page or feel free to email.

Tomorrow starts another HUGE month long event that's being hosted here and over at my BFF's Jessica's Blog - Confessions of a Bookaholic. We've been working hard for weeks now and we think it's going to be pretty amazing. So, be sure to come back to check out all the amazing posts and yes, some AMAZINGLY HUGE contests.

I wanted to give everyone a heads up about an exciting contest – The New Moon, New Fans Challenge - that Bloomsbury is running right now on their Bloomsbury Teens Facebook fan page! To celebrate the publication of Ivy Devlin’s Low Red Moon and help spread the word about their new Bloomsbury Teens Facebook page, they are trying to reach a goal of 4,000 fans before the next New Moon. The contest started on the last New Moon (September 8^th) and is running through the next New Moon (which is next Thursday, October 7^th). Basically, all you have to do is “like” their fan page and then invite your friends to “like” it as well and you will be entered to win! If they hit their goal, they'll give away an awesome moon necklace to a current fan and a beautiful moon and star bracelet to a new fan as a thank you. Check out their fan page HERE for more contest details, to see pictures of the prizes, and to “like” the page and be entered to win!

"Waiting On" Wednesday is an event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. The purpose of this weekly event is to spotlight a soon-to-be-released book that you are very much anticipating. "Waiting On" Wednesday will also give bloggers an opportunity to share ideas for our TBR lists.



Title: The Mockingbirds
Author: Daisy Whitney
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 352 Pages (November 2nd 2010)
Preorder here: Amazon, Borders, Barns and Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis: Some schools have honor codes.

Others have handbooks.

Themis Academy has the Mockingbirds.

Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student body that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way--the Themis Way. So when Alex is date raped during her junior year, she has two options: stay silent and hope someone helps her, or enlist the Mockingbirds--a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of their fellow peers.

The amazing sounding books just keep coming - here's another to look forward to. The idea of a boarding school with a secret society to 'police' their fellow peers sounds like a must read to me. Let me know what you guys think of this one.

*covers are always subject to change.
*I am not compensated at all for any of the links within this page.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Here's what you do...

-Grab your current read

-Open to a random page

-Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.

-BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

-Share the title & author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

Title: Cate of the Lost Colony

Author: Lisa Klein

Publisher: Bloomsbury, 336 Pages (October 12th 2010)

Order From: Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository

His eyes fluttered open. They were unfocused. "Moon.... maiden....." he murmured.

Perhaps I looked like the moon, with my pale, round face hovering over his. Most likely he was half-dreaming. I was so glad to hear him breathe and speak that I put my hand to his cheek.

"Thank you, Lord Manteo," I whispered.

(Pg. 245)

I'm only about 70 pages in yet and I have to say... I usually have a hard time getting into or enjoying books that are historical novels. However, this one has totally sucked me in. I am really enjoying it. 

It's getting closer and closer to the end of the month and with that comes the end of my event. Sad, I know. However... there's still time for another contest or two!! It's been such a fun and amazing month and well, lets keep it going with another one. Thanks to all my followers, New and Old! And with that, here's the goods on contest #12.

10 Supernatual books up for grabs! TWO Winners!

Infinity (Chronicles of Nick #1) By: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Glimmerglass (Faeriewalker #1) By: Jenna Black
Marked (House of Night #1) By: P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast
Blood and Chocolate By: Annette Curtis Klause
Walk of the Spirits (Walk of the Spirits #1) By: Richie Tankersley Cusick
Blue Bloods (Blue Bloods #1) By: Melissa de la Cruz
Beastly By: Alex Flinn
Evermore (The Immortals #1) By: Alyson Noel
City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) By: Cassandra Clare
The Compendium of Vampyres and Other Perilous Creatures By: Mary-Jane Knight (Author), Julian-Johnson Mortimer (Illustrator)
+ 2 Signed Claire de Lune Bookplates and misc. other swag!

As I said above - there will be TWO winners!

First place winner will get 6 books, a signed book plate and misc. swag.

Second place winner will get 4 books, a signed book plate and misc. swag.

Here's how this contest will work. I'll put numbered post-it's in each book. The first place winner will get get to choose 6 numbers and will win those books, the second place winner will win the 4 remaining books. Each winner will get a surprise as to which books they have won when the packages arrive. Sound good? I hope so!

Here are the rules and how to enter -

As always, there's a form to fill out. No entries in comments please. Trust me, it'll help you to prevent spam.
You must be 13 years or older to enter.
This Contest is open US and CANADIAN Residents Only - Sorry!
Contest ends: October 12th, 2010

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!!!!!

ENTER HERE

I wish each of you much luck in this contest! Thank you all for entering. As always winners are chosen at random via Random.org. If you have any questions, please check my policy page or please feel free to email me. I think I have ONE more contest up my sleeve for this month... then next month more fun and some major contests coming up, but more on all that soon.

Because I've been running so many contests this month... I figured it would be easier to group announcing the winners into of a couple contests at a time. So, if you know one has ended please be aware that I might not post who the winner is until a few days later. And now on to the good stuff!


Contest #3 - Bags, Swag and Bookmarks! FOUR Winners..........

#1 Breanna

#2 Carol Thompson

#3 Melissa  C

#4 Ashley

Contest #4 The Sky Is Everywhere Prize Packs - THREE Winners........

#1 Katie

#2 Natalie of Mindful Musings

#3 Misha Mathew

Contest #5 - The Mockingjay Bookmark Winner........

Kisah Jackson

CONGRATS to each of you!! All winners have been contacted via email. Please check your spam and if you have NOT received an email about your contest win, please try sending one to me. Hotmail can at times be a fickle thing and likes to not send or receive emails.You have 48 hours to respond from the time of this post. If I don't hear from any of these winners another will be selected in their place. As always, winners are chosen via Random.org unless otherwise stated. Any questions please let me know. If you didn't win any of these contests, not to worry! I still have many that are running and maybe even a few more around the corner! Check out my September Contest Post for all the updates.

It's time for another week of In My Mailbox - here's a look at all the great books that arrived on my doorstep either by purchase, trade or for review. It's hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren. As always, thanks so much for hosting it Kristi!



It was a slow week, but a good week. Sorry about the lack of a picture. I just ran out of time. Busy, busy busy!!

Purchased:

None this week.

For Review:

Awakened (The Guardian Legacy, #1) By: Ednah Walters
Her and Me and You By: Lauren Strasnick
Reunion of the Untouchables (The Study Train, #1) By: Kurt Frenier

Thank you goes out to Ednah, Kurt and Simon Pulse!

Gifted or Traded:

None this week.

So, that's what I got this week, what all did you guys get?

I also wanted to say that I'm sorry things have been a little slow around here this week. I've been busy getting things ready for the Halloween Event that Jessica and I have been working on for the last few months. It's been crazy around here, but were both excited at the fact that we'll be able to share it all with you starting next week! We can't wait! So, please bear with me... Thanks!!

I don't want to forget to say a Hello and Welcome to all my new followers... as well and a Thank You to those of you who have been around for awhile! I hope your all having a great weekend!

I'm really excited for this contest and I'm happy that I can finally share it with everyone. Ah, yes, I've been holding back on you! And It is a copy of The Lost Saint you see there in this post. And yes... ONE winner will receive an ARC copy of the Lost Saint (I was lucky to receive two copies) and a bottle of blue nail polish that I think is pretty close to matching the cover. I took the lead from The Dark Divine nail polish and thought I'd go out in search of a blue that matches for this giveaway.

Here's the usual rules and how to enter -

Filling out the form is the only way to enter. Comments are always welcome, just please... no entries in comments. Thanks!
You must be at least 13 years old to enter.
Contest is open to INTERNATIONAL!
Contest ends: October 9th, 2010

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!

ENTER HERE

Check out my review of The Dark Divine.

For more information about Bree, check out her Website

Good luck to you all!! As always, winners are chosen using Random.org. If you have any questions, please check my policy page or feel free to email. Thanks to everyone who enters!

Title: Where the Truth Lies
Author: Jessica Warman
Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers, 320 Pages (September 28th 2010)
From: the Publisher, Thank You!

Synopsis: On the surface, Emily Meckler leads the perfect life. She has three best friends, two loving parents, and the ideal setup at the Connecticut prep school where her father is the headmaster. But Emily also suffers from devastating nightmares about fire and water, and nobody knows why. Then the enigmatic Del Sugar enters her life, and Emily is immediately swept away—but her passionate relationship with Del is just the first of many things that aren't quite what they seem in Emily's life. As the lies she's been told start to unravel, Emily must set out to discover the truth regarding her nightmare; on a journey that will lead her to question everything she thought she knew about love, family, and her own idyllic past.

This companion novel to Warman's critically acclaimed Breathless proves that sometimes the biggest lies are told to the people you love the most.

Review: 4 Stars - Where the Truth Lies by Jessica Warman might be a companion novel to Warman’s previous novel – Breathless – however this book has the writing, characters and plot to firmly stand on its own two feet. With twists and turns that were often shocking and sometimes heart wrenching, I found myself feeling for the characters as they made more then a few extremely hard choices.

Lies, betrayals, cover-ups and more are the building blocks in making the story and characters what they are. Each character – main and side - had something hidden about them and as things began to unravel and layers were peeled away, reveling some strong yet wounded teens and even some of the adults, we were able to get to the core of what was the driving force for some of the decisions made in the present and in the past.

Our main character Emily was kind of hard to grasp in the first part of the book. She seemed like such a people pleaser and really I felt she was almost trying to hard to be perfect that I just couldn’t seem to relate to her at all. Once Del enters her life she breaks free from that need to be perfect mold. I felt she was still good, but acted more like a carefree teenager at the same time.

Del, the new kid in school was a mystery wrapped within it’s self. He has many issues in his life and we learn some but not everything. He’s got his scars, but I think that as a surprise even to him - Emily was able to bring out not only more of who he really is and wants to be, but who he could be. The interaction between Emily and Del was sometimes frustrating because you could see Emily questioning things, but never asking them and if she did ask, would he answer?

The side characters were entertaining and gave me as a reader a chance to see Emily change as a person, as we all do and how her relationships changed with each of her friends and roommates.

Emily has a life filled with lies, betrayals and cover-ups and things only get worse as the book progresses. One of the many plots that she goes through, I didn’t see coming. It was shocking to me to watch her deal with it all and though I didn’t agree with some of choices she made, I think she did the best with what she was up against. The main issues are something that many teens these days will unfortunately be able to relate to. When truths come out you could almost feel the characters emotions shift on those last few pages of the book.

All in all, Warman has written a story telling what the effects of such lies create for everyone and how the emotional affects can be carried from one person to the next. How people change and grow and that it’s okay and how you don’t have to be alone to deal with the big stuff that life can throw at you. Where the Truth Lies was shocking yet telling and I enjoyed unraveling the book from its pages to see who the characters really were at the heart of things. I’m looking forward to reading more from Warman in the future and Breathless – thankfully is sitting one of my shelves, Happy reading.

Interview with author, Jessica Warman -

When throughout the writing process did you know you wanted to write a companion novel to Breathless? Can you tell us about the process and how that happened?

Sure. When I finished writing “Breathless,” there were a couple of characters – Mazzie and Renee – who I really wanted to explore a bit further. Renee has a small role in “Breathless,” but she’s one of the major characters in “Where the Truth Lies.” She also happens to be based on somebody who I am quite close with in real life. The process was very organic; the idea for the book just sort of presented itself to me… all I had to do was get it down on the page.

If any of your characters could walk off the pages of the book and be real – whom would you want that to be and why?

That’s an interesting question, because so many of my characters are based on people who I actually know, or have known in the past. But if I had to choose a fictional character to become real, it would definitely be Del Sugar. He is my favorite character hands-down. I’ve written so many short stories about him prior to writing “Where the Truth Lies,” and I even wrote an adult novel (that has never been published) about Del as a grown-up. I simply adore him. It would be such a thrill to see him come to life!

Being that you attended a coed Boarding School – as do your characters in both Breathless and Where The Truth Lies – is there anything within both or either that are based on true events?

There’s so much from both books that is based on true events. I almost don’t even know where to start. Certainly, plenty of the events in Breathless happened to me in real life. The character of Katie Kitrell was based on myself as a teenager. Most of the supporting characters have real-life inspirations. Where the Truth Lies isn’t based nearly as heavily on true events – it’s definitely a work of fiction – but there are several incidents in the book that really happened to me while I was at boarding school. I’ll let you guess what those might be…

Could you share your favorite line or passage from Where The Truth Lies?

I really love the part where Emily tells Del that his favorite red blanket is getting covered in dirt, and he responds that “it’s not covered in dirt. It’s covered in you.”

What did you find was the hardest part in writing this book? Being a companion novel and the process throughout the writing of Where The Truth Lies?

To me, the editing process is always the hardest part of writing any novel. Writing the first draft – that’s easy, because the material is new, and it’s such a thrill to be caught up in the story. But once the first draft has been written, my editor and I work together to polish the manuscript as much as possible. It becomes very difficult – at least for me – to read the same book over and over again, trying to look at it critically in order to improve it. Trust me, after seven or eight reads, it becomes grueling!

Could you tell us a little about what you’re currently working on and when we might get a chance to read it?

Yes! I just finished up my third novel, called Between, which will be out next year. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this book. The reception for it is already somewhat overwhelming. It’s been sold in ten countries so far, which is incredibly exciting to me. I cannot WAIT to see how readers respond! Beyond that, I also have a fourth novel, which is still untitled, scheduled for release in 2012.

Between will be out Fall of 2011.

Thank you so much for stopping by Jessica! It’s been great!

FTC Disclaimer: I did NOT pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this HONEST review.

And to keep this month long party going to celebrate my 1st Blogoversary, my Birthday and all of amazing followers - why not do it with another contest? Yep, I'm going to spread some more love and this time it's with some Adult titles! Thought I'd change things up a bit. I mean I think it's time for an Adult Prize Pack, don't you? ONE winner takes all! Three books and lots of swag! Here's what the winner of this Prize Pack will take home.

The Demon Hunt (Dark Storm, #2) By: Kris Greene
Truly, Madly (Lucy Valentine #1) By: Heather Webber (ARC)
Time For Eternity (Da Vinci Time Travel #1) By: Susan Squires

And all the swag you see here! Again, I might have other swag that I'll throw in, but everything seen here will be included in the winners package!

Here's the rules and how to enter -

Filling out the form is the only way to enter. Comments are always welcome, just please... no entries in comments. Thanks!
You must be at least 17 years old to enter.
Contest is open US and CANADIAN residents only - sorry!
Contest ends - October 7th, 2010

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!

ENTER HERE

A HUGE thank you to each of you! Good luck to everyone who enters. Since the month isn't over, there's still a few more around the corner. As always, winners will be chosen via Random.org. Any questions, please let me know. Enjoy and Happy Reading!

Bloggers Speak Out is a movement sparked by the recent article, "Filthy Books Demeaning to Republic Education" by Dr. Wesley Scroggins that was published in the Springfield, MO News-Leader on September 18th. In this article, Scroggins vehemently advocates the censorship of books in schools, and specifically requests that the following books be removed from the Republic school system: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler, and Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. To show our support of these authors and to fight against book banning and censorship, we have decided to take action and speak out.

Below is a list of links of bloggers speaking out against book banning and censorship--in the form of giveaways, posts, and reviews. Some are "officially" participating in what we're calling Bloggers Speak Out, and others are posts that we've found around the blogosphere. If you get time, you should definitely check them out!

Giveaways of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

**All giveaways will end on 10/3, unless otherwise noted**

Papercut Reviews

Braintasia Books

Escape through the Pages

Tina's Book Reviews

Sea of Pages

Mrs. Deraps Reads

Moonlight Book Reviews

Cari's Book Blog

Just Your Typical Book Blog

For What It's Worth

Wondrous Reads (Ends 9/27)

Frankie Writes (Ends ?)

The Elliot Review (Ends ?)

The Bookologist (Ends ?)

La Femme Readers

Other Giveaways

**All giveaways will end on 10/3, unless otherwise noted**

-Lisa Schroeder: ARC of The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney (Ends 9/23)

-Will Write for Cake: Win Speak, Twenty Boy Summer, or Slaughterhouse Five

-Mindful Musings (here): Win Speak, Twenty Boy Summer, or Slaughterhouse Five

-Teens Read and Write: Win The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

-Mundie Moms: Win Speak, Burned, Twenty Boy Summer, or The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Ends 9/26)

-Wicked Awesome Books: Win a "Filthy Books" Prize Pack

-Carol's Prints: Win Speak and The Mockingbirds

-Myra McEntire: Win Speak, Twenty Boy Summer, or Harry Potter

-The Bookish Type: Win Speak or Twenty Boy Summer

-Bea's Book Nook: Win Speak & an ALA Challenged Book (Ends 10/2)

-Sarah Ockler: Win a Wesley Scroggins Filthy Books Prize Pack (Ends 10/1)

Other Posts Against Book Banning and Censorship

Braintasia Books

Escape Through the Pages

As Told by Jen

Aine's Realm

The Compulsive Reader

Once Upon a Bookcase

Daily Dose

Speak Loudly Book Drop at Late Bloomer Online

A Life Bound by Books

Red House Books

Frankie Writes

Michelle's Bookshelf

I Should Be Writing

The Undercover Book Lover

Punk Writer Kid

Lisa and Laura Write

Between the Covers

Another Book Junkie

Jenni Elyse

Eve's Fan Garden

The Ultimate Dumpees

Reading the Best of the Best

The Pirate's Bounty

Reclusive Bibliophile

Book Faery

Bloggers Heart Books

Book Swarm

Fantasy 4 Eva

The Ladybug Reads

The Lady Critic's Library

Emilie's Book World

Jacob's Beloved

Just Your Typical Book Blog

Maggie's Bookshelf

Basically Amazing Books

Novel Thoughts

Random Ramblings

Holes in my Brain

Readligion

Vision Quest Fail

Shelby Barwood

Supernatural Snark

Consumed by Books

Ann Marie Gamble

The Darker Side of the Fire

Katie's Book Blog

Sassymonkey (BlogHer)

GreenBeanTeenQueen

Jessica Lei

Maria Romana

Abby Minard

The Mimosa Stimulus

Books and Things

Beyond the Trestle

Authors Speak Out

Laurie Halse Anderson: This guy thinks Speak is pornographic

Laurie Halse Anderson: The power of speaking loudly

Author Gayle Forman at Eve's Fan Garden

Author Saundra Mitchell at Eve's Fan Garden

Karen Rivers

Sarah Ockler: I Speak Loudly for Speak

Sarah Ockler: On Book Banning Zealots and Ostriches

Author Laura Manivong at Page Turners

Cheryl Rainfield: Fight Against Ignorance

Myra McEntire: Speak Loudly: In Defense of Laurie Halse Anderson

Andrea Cremer: Speak Out

Natalie Standiford on Censorship at Emily's Reading Room

Important Articles on the Subject

"Filthy Books Demeaning to Republic Education" (the article that started it all)

Scroggins' Official Complaint to the School Board (PDF)

"Republic School Book Choices under Fire" (Springfield News-Leader)

Laurie Halse Anderson's Editiorial in the Springfield News-Leader

Sarah Ockler's Editorial in the Springfield News-Leader

Natalie at Mindful Musings' Letter to the Editor in the Springfield News-Leader

Essay: Kurt Vonnegut's Thoughts on the First Amendment

"Waiting On" Wednesday is an event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. The purpose of this weekly event is to spotlight a soon-to-be-released book that you are very much anticipating. "Waiting On" Wednesday will also give bloggers an opportunity to share ideas for our TBR lists.



Title: Dash & Lily's Book of Dares
Author: Rachel Cohne and David Levithan
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 272 pages (October 26th 2010)
Preorder here: Amazon, Borders, Barns and Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis: “I’ve left some clues for you. If you want them, turn the page. If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the New York Times bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.

Loved Nick and Norah's and have to say that anything these two - Rachel Cohn and David Levithan write together I'm all over. What do you guys think?

*covers are always subject to change.
*I am not compensated at all for any of the links withing this page.

Bloggers Speak Out is a movement sparked by the recent article, "Filthy Books Demeaning to Republic Education" by Dr. Wesley Scroggins that was published in the Springfield, MO News-Leader on September 18th. In this article, Scroggins vehemently advocates the censorship of books in schools, and specifically requests that the following books be removed from the Republic school system: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler, and Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. To show our support of these authors and to fight against book banning and censorship, we have decided to take action and speak out.

Just so everyone knows – Sadly, I haven’t had a chance to read any of the three books mentioned in the article of doom by one Dr. Scroggins. However, I do have Speak here and will be reading it soon. Also, I have plans to purchase both Twenty Boy Summer and Slaughterhouse Five just because of what Dr. Scroggins said about them. I have to say Thank You to Dr. Scroggins for bumping these to the top of my must read lists. And, now that I have that out of the way, on to what this post is really about.

After reading the more than controversial article written by Dr. Scroggins – I knew that I had a few things I’d like to say on the matter. It’s taken me a couple of days to try to get the words right. To convey just what I wanted to say, and yet I still don’t believe I’ll be able to find the right words… but I’ll try. So here goes.

First off, any talk of book banning instantly starts my alarm bells ringing! It amazes me that in this day and age, that here in the United States we are still banning books. I have no idea how such an archaic event still exists. It boggles my mind. Sadly, some of (not all) the most controversial plotlines or books for that matter are written about extremely traumatic things that can happen to you, me, anyone. It’s not only the good things in life that people can or want to relate to, but also the bad. It’s the bad things in life that people need to know they are not alone in.

I whole heartedly believe that it’s because of these true to life books and the authors behind them that more young adults and adults alike find ways to better communicate about the harder topic’s that people of all ages, from all the corners of the world are sadly faced with. Communicating about any harder topics not only begins the healing process, but, this might be a shocker to Dr. Scroggins and other like minded people, it actually helps to prevent tragic events too. I know – shocking right? However, as the say and even a professor should know this – knowledge is power - plain and simple. Taking such knowledge and power out of our education system is dumbing down of the highest order.

Why take such a huge resource away from anyone? It hurts my heart to know that a person or group could or would think that they have the right to say what I can and can’t read, especially in an environment where discussion and explanations are part of the agenda. Outside of our field of education it’s up to the individual to seek discussion, school is actually a place where this content should be encouraged! It’s maddening to know that in the year 2010 any one person might feel they have a right to make a choice for me, for anyone.

As for Dr. Scroggins, he needs a reality check. That might sound a little harsh I know, however, hear me out here for a second. How anyone could even remotely be mistaken when reading a Rape scene as anything other than the violent, horrific, tragic and fearful event that it truly is, is, - let’s be honest here – shocking. How can one even begin to consider while reading that it’s “soft porn”? I cringed when I read that in is article. Does he not live in the real world? These things happen. Sadly, they happen everyday, around the world. Just because something might be written about the darker side of life, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be read, or talked about. I think that it should be talked about. It needs to be talked about. It needs to be read about, because people need to know they are not alone. Because lets face it, both the good and the bad exist in this world we live in. Helping to learn is helping to prevent. Reading about it gives knowledge that someone might not otherwise get from somewhere else. Why anyone wants to take any bit of knowledge away from someone is just heartbreaking.

I know I will be heard. What about you?

We all need to Speak Out about the things that matter.
We all need to Speak Out about the harder topics to heal and help prevent.
We each have voice, so Speak Out and be heard.

It’s your turn, Speak Out and people will listen.

If you would like to participate in this event, please visit Natalie over at Mindful Musings. She is happy to have anyone who would like to Speak Out. Just head on over to her blog and leave her a comment or send her an email and saying you'd like to join in

Also, don't forget that next week is Banned Book Week.

It's time for another contest - and up for grabs I have a Chronicle Books bag and tons of swag! Everything you see here all goes to ONE winner! There's some great signed stuff in there too - Shade, The Ghost and the Goth, Chasing Brooklyn bookmarks.... and more signed! And who knows, I might have some other swag that I'll added in there as well.

Here's the rules and how to enter -

You must fill out the form to enter. Please, no entries in comments as they won't count.
You must be at least 13 years old to enter.
This contest is open INTERNATIONAL!
Contest ends: October 4th, 2010

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!!!!!!!

ENTER HERE

Thanks to everyone who enters and Good luck each of you, and nope... not the last yet. What's coming up you ask? You'll just have to wait and see. As always, please check my policy page for any questions, or feel free to email. All winners are chosen via Random.org.