Friday, November 30, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books for 2013




Just like Sonnie, I thought it would be fun to do a meme to start off my Friday posts. Us Friday posters have to stick together ;)

I'm also a list lover so I figured what better meme to start with then Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by The Broke and the Bookish). This week's list topic is Top Ten Most Anticipated Books for 2013. I decided to tweak my list a little to include a couple that are due to release in December as well.

In no certain order...

Scent of Magic (Healer #2) by Maria V. Snyder (December 2012)
Taste of Death (Healer #3) by Maria V. Snyder (December 2013)

 Blue Moon (Holloway Pack #2) by J.A. Belfield (December 2012)
Caged (Holloway Pack #3) by J.A. Belfield (2013)


The Archived (The Archived #1) by Victoria Schwab (January 2013)

Twice Tempted (Night Prince #2) by Jeaniene Frost (March 2013)

Hot Blooded (Jessica McClain #2) by Amanda Carlson (April 2013)

Spirit (Elemental #3) by Brigid Kemmerer (May 2013)

How about you, what books are you looking forward to?



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Thursday, November 29, 2012

WRITING CONVINCING CHARACTERS- A GENDER COMPARISON

DANGER Will Robinson!
If you haven't read the Dresden Files, the Twilight books, and The Wolves of Mercy Falls series it is entirely possible you might read something in this post that you may not want to know.

On the other hand, it is not my intent, in this particular piece, to discuss specific story elements. It's more of a commentary on style and technique used to convey gender in fiction. As a result, I will be providing examples from the books to illustrate my points. How much this will give away, I'm not sure, as I'm writing this on the fly, but you have been warned.

Males and Females and Hermaphrodites. Oh My!
Something else I need to get out before going forward. The examples I've chosen (Harry, Bella, and Sam) resonate with me specifically and may not be the best examples you would put forward, but these were the first to pop into my head when I started thinking about the subject.

I chose Harry Dresden to represent the male perspective, because the things he thinks, along with the thought process that goes with it, feel male (masculine is the proper word here, but it also insinuates a certain degree of macho-ness that I'm not talking about, I may use female as opposed to feminine for similar reasons). This shouldn't be too surprising as Jim Butcher is also male. What makes Harry such a great example here is that there are so many things to point at for illustration.

Similarly I chose Bella to represent the female perspective because she also capture the essence of her respective gender. Please, don't flood me with comments about the strength or weakness of Bella as a female character. This commentary (essay?) is not about whether Bella is the ideal female role model or not. I recognize that there are women out there that hate her and consider her an affront to the feminist movement. But affront or no, Bella IS a girl and she felt like one to me (a ton of us, of all ages, related to her as is evidenced by the phenomenon that is Twilight).

In contrast to Bella and Harry, I've selected Sam Roth. In fact, it is Sam that made me think about writing this piece. Sam is NOT an hermaphrodite as the title of this section might imply, but Maggie Stiefvater has done a poor job of making Sam feel male. It is perhaps appropriate then that she named him "Sam" which can be either gender (I've never met or even heard of a male named Bella nor a female named Harry). What a perfect seguay... I promise it unplanned ; )

A Rose By Any Other Name?
Does it matter what an author names her characters? Generally speaking, the answer is probly (<--- pay attention this spelling becomes relevant later) not. But we all have names we don't particularly care for, and I imagine most of us have run across a character with one of those names in a book we've read. My question is (if this has happend to you), how did you feel about that character? Have you found it more difficult to relate to the character (at least initially)?
My example would be Delia Peabody from Nora Roberts' In Death series. Can't stand that name. I find "Delia" simply strange, but "Peabody"? Way too cheesy, and perhaps stereotypical, for my taste. It's a sidekick name if ever I heard one (never mind that Peabody IS Eve's sidekick), and cartoonish at that. I've never been able to take her as seriously as I might have had I not brought my own preconcieved notions of the name to the table. Sadly, her name reduced the character to a caricature for me. Over the course of 30+ books, I've grown to love Peabody (alright, it didn't take that many to love the character) but the name STILL grates on me and I definitely resisted her for a while. I keep hoping she'll mary McNabb and take his name.

"Are you coming to a point anytime soon," you beg me? Quit whining, here it is. Words (like masculine/feminine above) and names carry with them connotations to those that hear... errr... read them. When you meet a character named Bella, you expect a girl, when you meet a character named Harry, you expect a wiz... err... a boy, and when you meet a character named Sam, you expect... Well, that depends on who you are doesn't it? If your girlfriend or wife's name is Samantha, maybe that's a girl, if your boyfriend or husband's name (brother-in-law in my case) is Samuel, maybe that's a boy. Hell, maybe you've had limited exposure to the name, and you have no idea what to think when you read "Sam".

No scientific evidence here, but I believe our expectations probably (<---- see what Ii did there?... used the proper spelling to lend myself more credibility... connotation matters) continue to influence us even after we learn better (see my discussion of Peabody above). Do I think writers should stick to gender specific names (particularly when they are writing the opposite sex)? Not really (Stephenie herself used Sam Uley as a character name, but then again, she didn't try to put us inside his head).

I DO think they should be conscious of it, especially if they are writing the other gender. The more an author can control her readers' expectations, the easier it is for her to lead them down the path she wants them to go. Combining an ambiguous name with ambiguous traits or behaviors stereotypically assigned to the opposite gender is begging people to criticize your characterization. Not judgin’, Maggie, just sayin’

Atashi vs. Watashi vs. Boku
"Huh?!?" you say (not you, Akira Kurosawa, I know you get it).
I presume most of you reading this don't speak Japanese (I don't either... anymore). Spanish would have been better, because I know it has something similar and more people in America speak it than Japanese, but I don't have viable examples, so you'll take what I give you and like it!

Japanese language has gender. So a Japanese girl might say, "Atashi no namae wa, Samu desu," if she wanted to say, "My name is, Sam."

A boy might say, "Boku no namae wa, Samu desu."

Either of them might say "Watashi no namae wa, Samu desu."

It is understood that if a boy is using "atashi" in reference to himself, then he is doing so in an effeminate manner. English words don't specifically have gender, but there are things (in any language) that are just more likely to come from one gender than the other.

For instance, in Twilight (Chapter 8, p.171), Bella says, " You’re always crabbier when your eyes are black — I expect it then."

First off this is an observation that a male is not likely to catch to begin with. Secondly, "crabbier"? Yeah... not so much.

A guy's much more likely to say something like, "Why so bitchy? You on your period or something?" Note that even if the guy lives with the woman, he probly (<--- a clue not to take me quite as seriously, although I am making a valid point) has to ask if she's on her period because guys don't usually pay enough attention to know when it's happening despite the fact that it's a monthly occurrence... black eyes = crabby?... not a chance. Thus the quoted statement is gender appropriate for Bella to make.

Want another example? Again in Twilight (Chapter 10, p.204), Bella says, "I can’t explain it right… but he’s even more unbelievable behind the face." I imagine this one doesn't require much exposition.

1) guys don't generally talk to each other about their love interests this way; and

2) when they do, it's generally about her actions (she's alot of fun at parties... she can drink like a fish... the girl can cook), not what is going on "behind the face".

Again, Bella's statement is very much in line with her gender.

Harry Dresden? You mean when he's not quoting a Star Wars or comic book character? Wow... that might be hard to find. Let's see...

"Murphy hung up and I said, to the still-open line, ‘Hey, if you've got someone watching my place, could you call the cops if anyone tries to steal my Star Wars poster? It's an original.’

Then I vindictively hung up on the FBI. It made my inner child happy." (Changes by Jim Butcher)

Okay, so he’s making a Star Wars reference rather than quoting a character, I told you it was a tall order didn’t I?

This is another illustration of making the character feel like its gender. By using cultural references predominantly associated with the character’s sex, we see what we expect to see in the character’s likes and dislikes.

Yes Kate, I understand. Girls can like Star Wars too. Most of us GReeps are big fans (and geeks) and can quote you chapter and verse, but let’s not get distracted here. Star Wars, GENERALLY appeals to geeky girls, and less so to the general female population, while it is much more universally celebrated among the male population, whether geeky or not!

Let’s take a more subtle look at how what Harry said conveys gender. Can you imagine the same thing being said by Bella only in reference to her original edition Magic Mike poster? No, not so much. And why? Because men tend to speak and think in terms of objects and actions, while girls tend to speak and think in terms of ideas and feelings.
 
So what’s wrong with Sam? Well try this one on for size.

"I was not a wolf, but I wasn’t Sam yet, either. I was a leaking womb bulging with the promise of conscious thoughts…" (Shiver pg 63, Maggie Stiefvater)

Excuse me. Did Sam just refer to hersel- errr... I mean... himself as a "leaking womb"? I don’t think anymore exposition is required on that one.

Here’s another one, only not as overt.

"I thought to myself, A life is measured by moments like these. Grace leaned her head back, neck long and pale against my shoulder, to reach my mouth for a kiss, and just before I gave her one, I saw Isabel’s wistful eyes watching my mouth touch Grace’s." (Shiver, Maggie Stiefvater)

Didn’t I already mention how guys aren’t so attentive when it comes to eyes? Certainly in a sexually charged moment like that one (you’ll have to trust me, there was dancing in the kitchen to Mariah Carey... flour was involved... it was sensual). I’m betting the last thing a boy is thinking at that moment is the "wistful" look in another girl’s eyes... They don’t multitask that well, particularly not once... errrr... other male parts?!... are engaged.

But it’s not just the dialogue that creates gender confusion when we’re dealing with Sam. He’s unusually sensitive, has a fixation for poetry, and writes ghastly love laden laments in his spare time. Not exactly the paradigm of masculinity.

I’m not sayin’ there aren’t effeminate hetero guys out there... I’m just sayin’ when a woman decides to put us in the headspace of a male character, she probably should give him a few more masculine traits and mannerism if she wants to sell it.

On Prom’s and Existentialism
Just for grins, I give you a conversation between Harry and Bella (oh! and Sam for flavor):

Bella: "He’s telling everyone that he’s taking me to prom — either he’s insane or he’s still trying to make up for almost killing me last… well, you remember it, and he thinks prom is somehow the correct way to do this. So I figure if I endanger his life, then we’re even, and he can’t keep trying to make amends. (Twilight, Chapter 8, p.163) (Classic female logic!)

Harry: "What is the point of having free will if one cannot occasionally spit in the eye of destiny?" (White Night) (Typically, non-responsive male comment)

Bella: "In what strange parallel dimension would I ever have gone to prom of my own free will? (Twilight, Epilogue, p.495) (The woman playing along)

Harry: "There are things you can't walk away from. Not if you want to live with yourself afterward." (Death Masks) (Drama much?! Maybe you ARE a girl, Dresden :P)

Bella: "I’ll be the first to admit that I have no experience with relationships. But it just seems logical… a man and woman have to be somewhat equal… as in, one of them can’t always be swooping in and saving the other one. They have to save each other equally. (Twilight, Chapter 24, p.473)(Says the girl perpetually in need of saving)

Harry: "Caring about someone isn't complicated. It isn't easy. But it isn't complicated, either. Kinda like lifting the engine block out of a car." (Small Favor)(There’s a particularly useful, metaphor, Dresden... know your audience, hun)

Bella: "I don’t speak Car and Driver." (Twilight, Chapter 11, p.223) (You tell him, girl!)

Sam: "I fell for her in summer, my lovely summer girl
From summer she is made, my lovely summer girl
I’d love to spend a winter with my lovely summer girl
But I’m never warm enough for my lovely summer girl
It’s summer when she smiles, I’m laughing like a child
It’s the summer of our lives; we’ll contain it for a while
She holds the heat, the breeze of summer in the circle of her hand
I’d be happy with this summer if it’s all we ever had. (Shiver)(Riiiiight, thanks for that, Sam.)

Bella and Dresden together: "SHUT UP, SAM!!" (Ashley, GRTtS)

In Closing...
What do you think? Are you feeling me?  Anyone out there have more to add or a particularly well or poorly written, gender related character? Did I bore you?

Sorry for being long winded... Sometimes I can't help myself ;)

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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Maria V. Snyder

I'd like to dedicate my blog post to my favorite writer in the whole world and beyond!

Maria V. Snyder

How it all began:
3 years ago I didn't read as much as I do now. I loved reading (I've always loved reading, ever since I can remember) but I think I read 5 to 10 books a year. It was enough, I was busy with other stuff; school, boys, movies, boys, hanging with friends and did I say boys? I think you catch my drift.
But after a while I felt the urge to read something new. So I went on the web and started looking. At that time I only read Dutch books. And there, on a web page about fantasy books, it was: Poison Study or Studie van Gif as it's called in Dutch.

Poison Study (Study, #1)

I fell in love! After a couple of pages I was hooked! I loved everything about it! The world, the characters, the plot twists, the action! Everything about it was amazing! As soon as I finished book one I ordered book two: Magic Study/Studie van Magie.

 

But after that, a problem occurred. Fire Study wasn't translated yet! But I had to read it, and I had to read it at that very moment! So I decided to try and read it in English. How hard could it be, right?

And that was the beginning of the end. After Fire Study I started searching the web for more MVS books. Which led me to Goodreads (The beginning of the end!). And soon after that I read the Glass Trilogy.



I love all of MVS' books, but most of all, I love the person behind them. Maria is kindhearted, full of imagination and always very fun to chat/FB/email with. My goal is to travel to the US someday to attend one of her signings.

If you love reading Epic Fantasy YA novels, make sure you pickup one of her books, it doesn't matter which one, all of them are good!


Goodreads

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Review: The Game - Krystyna Kuhn

Title: The Game (The Valley #1) 
Author: Krystyna Kuhn
Genre: Young Adult
Format: paperback, bookdepository
Publication date: June 2012
Languages: German, Dutch, English, Spanish, etc

Summary from Goodreads:

 
The famous Grace College, located in a remote valley in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, is an elite school for the highly gifted. To Julia and her brother, it's the perfect place to hide.

But when Robert finds a dead body in their first week they'll learn they can only run so far from their past. And that the valley has secrets of its own... 


When you meet Julia and her brother Robert, you feel a slight tingly warning traveling down your spine. I liked Julia immediately, but also realized that she and Robert carried a terrible secret... one that we readers are not told about. Of course, after a few hints throughout the book I think a lot of readers will know what their secret it. I did. But my sister didn't, so I guess it depends on how you read a book. (I am one of those people that get one million ideas and slowly start crossing them off of my until I feel like I know what the mystery or the secret it). My sister isn't like that, she just goes with the flow. Wish I could read so relaxed.

But Grace College! That place creeped me out, but at the same time I also really liked it. I love how Krystyna Kuhn describes it, sure strange things happen.. but those mountains sound super pretty. The school might be cold and creaky, but it sounds beautiful. The power goes out at strange times, people screaming on school grounds and creepy midnight meetings/parties/whatever. A group of students has disappeared in the past. Plus, the school is not on Google Maps. How freaking weird is that? But Julia and Robert think they'll be safe there. So whatever they're running from is even scarier then some sort of secret school.

I love this cover. I have the Dutch one, which is not as pretty. Did you know that the original title is 'Das Spiel'? That's right! This is a German book, people! So, buy your copy and get in your mysterious-mode and be wowed! Cause this book knows how to scare you, how to keep you on your toes and how to keep it fast paced. 
The ending of the book is satisfying, but we still don't know everything. But hey, this is probably gonna be a 5 book series, so Krystyna Kuhn can't give all of the secrets away!

I rated it 4 out of 5 stars! Is this a book you might consider reading?


Thursday, November 22, 2012

Feature and Follow Friday #1



Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee. They ask a question, in which you answer on your own blog, and then you link back up with them. After you post, you can go back to the other links to discover new blogs and friends!

Q: What are you thankful for?

I'm thankful for all of my awesome GReeps, who help to make this blog possible! Since this blog is brand spanking new, I figured I would give you a background on who we are, how we met, and what we are actually about. 
So, ahem:
A long time ago in a cyber galaxy far, far away there was a group on Goodreads called The Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Fanatics. I stumbled upon this group and instantly fell in love with some of its wonderful people. They were funny, snarky, and most importantly gave me awesome book recs. As the year wore on I found myself counting some of these great people as truly wonderful friends. We got to know each other more and I just simply couldn't wait to discuss books with them. I felt like I had finally found my niche.

The really awesome thing is, we're all around the world. I'm from Alabama, while some of our other members are as far as the Netherlands. And yet, our love for books has brought us together. I think that's pretty amazing.

So, for this Thanksgiving, I'm definitely thankful for finding such awesome friends on the internet, and that none of them turned out to be secret pervs or pedophiles. 


Re-reading books

My first post on this blog will be about re-reading. I am a person who almost never re-reads books, so if I re-read a book that already means it must be a book I really enjoyed. The last few years I have started to read so much more than before, but strangely I started re-reading less books. When I was younger I re-read book like Harry Potter and I liked re-reading these books. Now i am reaidng so much more books in a year, but I almost never re-read books, strangely I feel like re-reading books is a waste of my time, but when I do re-read books I do enjoy them. I think this is actually strange and I wonder why I am not re-reading books more often, so now I try to re-read some more books. I think in the last year I only re-read 7 books, 5 of which belong to the same series, but more about that later. Those other two books were:


 The Gathering is the first book in the Darkness Rising series by Kelley Armstrong. I don't have many favourite authors, but Kelley Armstrong is one of them. The reason why I re-read this book was because the second book was just releashed and I wanted to re-read the first book, because I had read it a year ago and was afraid I forgot too much. So I re-read the book. I enjoyed it even more than the first time I read it and I think it was great to re-read it before starting the second book, I may just re-read the first two books before the third book will be releashed this April.

Make Me Yours is the second book written by Kendall Ryan and it is a sort of a sequel to Unravel Me, but can also be read as a stand alone. I beta readed this, but the author wanted me to write my review based on the final version. I already wrote my review and it wasn't that long ago that I beat read it, so I decided to not read it yet. Then I had one day with nothing to read, because the next day I would start a buddy read and I decided to pick it up and within one day I re-read the book, rewrote my review and gave the book 5 stars instead of 4.

So now more about those other 5 books I have re-read. Those 5 books ofcourse are the 5 books of the Fever series. As I said before I don't have much favourite authors and I don't have much favourite series, maybe I should explain my reasons for this more toroughly in a later post, but I love the fever series and can easily say it's one of my favourite series.





I read the last 3 books in the Fever series at the beginning of this year and already re-read them less than a year later. Also I bought the e-book version for this re-read because I didn't want to damage my paperback more by re-reading them.  And guess what I even enjoyed them more the second time I read them. The fever series is a series in which some plot lines take time and only after a while you find out where it's all about. And when I re-read this series I already knew what was going to happen, it added an entirely different perspective to the series. I am really glad I re-read this series. So now why do I still haven't read Iced (the 6th book in the Fever series)? Partly because I am afraid it isn't as good as the first 5 books and partly because I hope it will be as good and I like knowing I still have such a good book to read. Yeah I know I am strange.

So I really don't get why I don't re-read books more often, because as all these 7 books I have re-read in the last year I enjoyed them and even liked some of them better during the re-read then while I first read them. So what are your opinions and experiences with re-reading books? I would love to hear if you re-read books often or not and which book you do re-read and why.

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Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Pre-Reading, Or: How to "Acquire" an ARC of Your Favorite Upcoming Book

Is there a book you've been dying for? One you just can't wait to get your hands on? Well, fear not, faithful readers! I am here to help!

I'm sure you can think of a book that meets that description. Let's just use an example so it's easier to talk about. Say, just hypothetically, that you've been waiting and waiting for years for A Memory of Light, the really honestly final book in the Wheel of Time series, and it comes out in January, but you just don't want to wait anymore because you have been reading those books since ninth grade and can it please just be over already!

You know, hypothetically.

We bloggers do everything hypothetically.

Anyway, I'm here to hypothetically walk you through getting yourself a copy of that book before it's ever released! Sit back, relax, and enjoy.

Step 1: Locate the Publisher

Bothering the author would just be rude. We want them to keep writing, right? But who else will have a complete copy of the book? The publisher, of course! So your first step is to find out where the publisher's offices are.

A Memory of Light is published by Tor, so I started wandering the streets of New York, asking random passersby where Tor was located.

Five of them cursed me out, three just ignored me, and one tried to run me over with a taxi.

Then I realized that my phone has this thing called "Google Maps" on it. Guess what, guys -- you don't have to ask New Yorkers for directions! I know that's a relief. So it turns out Tor is a branch of Tom Doherty Associates, which is located at 175 5th Avenue. Step one: complete!

Step 2: Reconnaissance

Okay. Now that you've located the publisher's offices, you have to figure out how to get in! (Hypothetically.) If you were Batman, you would probably do this by sneaking in in the middle of the night and looking all threatening and talking in a menacing voice and then disappearing if anyone found you. Unfortunately you are probably not Batman.

If you are Batman: Heeeeeyyyyy there.

Since you are not Batman, you'll have to be a little less awesome. Contrary to popular belief, I think it's probably actually easier to sneak into a place when lots of people are supposed to be there. Pretend to be a job applicant or something. (While you're there, maybe actually submit a job application, then you could get all the ARCs.)

Step 3 --

--Wait, how many steps are there in this thing? I'm kind of hungry.

As many as it takes. Do you want the book or not?

Yes.

Okay, then.

Step 3: Acquisition

Now that you've scouted the place out and taken a really long potty break to figure out where the ARCs are (and actually use the bathroom, cause it takes a lot of coffee to wander around New York and you know how that goes), you're ready to grab yourself an ARC.


First you should probably pretend to leave. No one will suspect you if you're not there, right? So get on the elevator, then get off the elevator a couple floors down, get back on the elevator, and go back up again. Try to make sure no one sees you.

Okay. So you're back on the publisher's floor, right? Awesome. Now try to find some foolproof disguise. Try a potted fern or something, that usually works.

Congratulations. You're definitely invisible now.

Now that you are on the right floor and no one can see you, you have to be extra sneaky and get back to the room where they keep the books. Carefully make your way around the office, hiding behind the plant the whole time. Grab one of those ARCs and get out of there!

I hope this plan works for you. When I tried it, for some reason people could still see me behind the plant! Weird, right? Anyway, then the police showed up, and I tried to convince them that I really had to pee (well, it works when you're pulled over for speeding!), but they didn't buy that, especially after the publishing people told them about my potty break. Spoilsports.

So...on second thought, maaayyyybe it wouldn't actually kill anyone to wait for the official release. You know...

Hypothetically.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Playing Some Hunger Games at Twilight in the City of Bones

Sure - people have been turning books into movies for a really long time. Gone With the Wind, anyone? Wuthering Heights? But, is it just me, or has it become a new theme lately? Especially with regards to books that were written for teens and tweens. It seems to me that the recent popular trend started with the Harry Potter juggernaut. Then, a little thing called Twilight came along.


I'm betting that, if you're reading this blog, that you've probably read the books. Heck - you've probably already seen Breaking Dawn Part 2 that just opened in theaters last Friday. I'm not ashamed to say that I have. And I loved it. But, that's a conversation for another day.

The question I have is, are these movies stifling our creativity and imagination? When you picture Katniss Everdeen, does the girl in your head look like Jennifer Lawrence?


I started reading the Harry Potter books about halfway through the movie releases. I caught up right before the seventh movie was released. But, while I was reading all of the books, I had movie stills in my head while reading. Might I have pictures Hogwarts differently had I not seen the movies first?

And, it seems as if the phenomenon isn't contained to just the silver screen. It's been known for awhile now that the CW is looking to turn The Selection into a series. And, more recently made known is the plan to turn the ridiculously popular novel Outlander into a series on Starz. 

It seems like 2013 will be the year of the YA book movies. Warm Bodies, Beautiful Creatures, City of Bones, Catching Fire - you better get reading, my friends. Or not. It seems that, even if you don't want to read the books, someone else will show you how it's supposed to look.


So, what do you think? Do you enjoy seeing your favorite books being made into movies? Or, would you rather use your own imagination to picture the characters and worlds in your head?

Monday, November 19, 2012

Welcome to GReeps Through the Shelves


Welcome!

You’re probably wondering what and who we are? Well, we are the GReeps.  A group of women joined together by our love of well written books, characters you can’t let go of, and the fun of sarcasm.  This will definitely not be a blog for the weak hearted.

There are ten writers total, working on a rotating schedule. So expect something different every day.
Starting your weeks off on Monday, you will either have Britt or myself.  Tuesdays you will have Krista or Emma. Wednesdays will be Kate or Renee and Thursdays are Lolita and Ashley. Then Sonnie and Jen finish our weeks on Fridays.

We might mix and mingle a bit, but that is pretty much the order we will post in.  So if you have a favorite blogger, you can follow them or enjoy us all.

So by now, you are probably wondering what the heck a GReep is.  Well, we all met on GoodReads.com, making us GoodReads Peeps which = GReeps.  

Now imagine ten very different female personalities and you get us, the GReepers that will be blogging for your entertainment.   Some of us are mommies, some of us are dating, some of us live on the USA side of the pond, some of us do not.  Some of us are writers, but we are all readers.

I guess all that is left to say in this welcoming post is: 
Hello! Welcome to our blog.  

Don’t forget to visit the About Us Page to get to know all of us more personally. It is still a work in progress but check back frequently to learn more about each of us.

Let the chaos begin!
-M