Item One: Copy of Little Women

Little Women is partly about building a different world that is more just for all of society, not just women. It also has a lot of different ideas and philosophies and a really cute male protagonist in Laurie, so it’s the perfect companion for rebuilding society. Also, check out Lauren Oliver’s page for Delirium, her new YA dystopian novel, where Little Women is one of the banned books in her narrator’s world.

Item Two and Two-A: Coffee and Bacon

The goal of a dystopian novel is to bring down the government and build a new society. But everyone knows that you can’t rebuild society without lots of coffee. No one would ever be able to get going in the morning. Bacon, on the other hand, isn’t essential. It’s just delicious.

Item Three: Sunscreen

Rebuilding society will involve a lot of work outdoors. You definitely need sunscreen for that.

What would be in your bunker? Choose carefully. You might need something special to bring down an entire regime (usually by the end of the third book if it’s a series).

About the Guest Author: Samantha Rowan is a financial journalist by day and an aspiring young adult author by night. She’s working on a series of books where the narrator tried to live her life according to what she learns from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. Find out more at livinglittlewomen.blogspot.com or follow her @livinglilwomen.

I taught myself to read when I was three. I was sitting on my mother’s lap and she had drawn pictures of these stick figures with captions underneath explaining what these poorly drawn people were doing—like, “run” or “sit” or “stand”—and she made me figure out what the words said. Then she gave me a book her first grade class was reading from and made me read as many words as I could.

I couldn’t stop reading after that.

When I was eight, I had read everything on my level, so I started borrowing books from my mother, but we don’t have the same taste. That was when I discovered Little Women (Louisa May Alcott) and I realized how different I was from the other girls my age; while they were worrying about cooties and playing with Barbie dolls, I dreamed of wearing stockings and frocks, of cooking in woodstoves and painting canvases at the lake. I fantasized of a closely-knit sisterhood—not having any sisters myself—and of playing similar games the March sisters created.

Growing up in small town Texas, there wasn’t a whole lot to do besides literally running around outside barefoot or playing with the pogo stick in the driveway. I spent most of my time living vicariously through the characters I was reading about, which is why I chose my books very carefully. I remember reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith) and becoming obsessed with saving tin cans and aluminum foil to turn in for penny candy—my parents weren’t too fond of that stage. I read and re-read Black Beauty (Anna Sewell) countless times wishing I had a horse to care for and to fight for, but all I had were two mangy dogs, and they didn’t like it when I tried to ride them.

I read a lot of classics because the world seemed so intriguing and unlike anything I had ever experienced. They were the best stories to live through. They made modern novels seem so dull and uninviting that it took me years to find a contemporary author that I even liked.

And that’s when I met Harry Potter.

It seems juvenile for me to say that the Harry Potter series has influenced me, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t. Rowling’s deep, intricate plotline and specific creative details provided such a rich world I continually find myself wishing I studied at Hogwarts and had a seven piece red-headed family I was best friends with. In childhood, it affected the lens through which I viewed my everyday life; everything started becoming a story. In adulthood, it has inspired me to be just as creative, thoughtful, and insightful in my own writing style and the way in which I weave together the many narratives I have growing in my own head; from my first short stories, to elementary school contests, to my college thesis.

I’ve always been drawn to strong characters, ones with unique voices and equally unique stories to tell. The Diary of Anne Frank doesn’t seem a book an eleven-year old would take an interest in, but after reading I became fascinated with Frank’s unique life and equally unique way of telling her story. So much so that I became enthralled with the history of war and the intricacies of politics and the stories of soldiers, like in Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five and O’Brien’s The Things They Carried.

It’s not the books that change me. It’s the characters. And to say that only a handful have really shaped the way I think and perceive the world around me doesn’t do justice to the many personalities I’ve come in contact with. Much like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, each character I’ve come across is as interesting and stimulating as the next; each led me down a different path of discovery of new places, new creatures, and new ways to think about things. I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it weren’t for them, and I wouldn’t give them up for anything.

We are almost at the end of our Harry Potter Book Challenge, and it’s time to share your thoughts/links for the sixth book in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

This month since Jose wrote an excellent article about Felix Felicis, I will use the question he asked at the end of the article:

“What would you do if you had a little bit of Felix Felicis for luck (remember no sports, contests, or tests)?”

Personally, I would probably save it for one very special day, I wouldn’t want to waste it on trivial matter, so if I had to wait years to use it until I really needed it I would. But that’s just me, it’s time to hear from you.

For those of you who have signed up to participate through the comment section, please answer the above question in the comments.

For those of you who have written either a review or opinion piece on your blogs, Goodreads, Shelfari, LibraryThing, Amazon, or YouTube, you can leave a link in the comment section. (Please note: Your comment might be held for moderation because it includes a link, but we will approve all the relevant links. If your comment hasn’t been approved within 1-2 days, please resubmit it so that we count your participation into the challenge).

And feel free to also share your answer to the question.

Remember, your comment and/or link will count as one proof of participation, which will give you one entry into our final giveaway. Also you can add your January links/comments here, February links/comments here, March links/comments here, April links/comments here and May links/comments here if you haven’t done so yet.

Please make sure to use the same name/email you signed up with for the challenge. You can find a full list of participants here.

Felix Felicis is a very curious and interesting potion. Drinking it grants the drinker incredible amounts of good luck, although how long this effect lasts depends on the amount imbibed. You also have to be careful since drinking too much leads to over zealousness or giddiness and can be dangerous. It’s the magical world’s equivalent to performance enhancing drugs as use of the potion in sporting events, competitions, or during tests is forbidden.

We first see Felix Felicis (also called Liquid Luck) in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince when Harry attends his first Advance Potions class given by Slughorn. It’s one of many potions Slughorn has prepared for the class to name, which is really no challenge when Hermione is in the classroom. Slughorn offers a small sample (about twelve hours worth) of the potion as a prize to the student who creates the best version of Draught of Living Death, which Harry wins thanks to the Half-Blood Prince’s copy of Advance Potion Making, much to Hermione’s chagrin.

The potion becomes an important part of the plot for the rest of the book. Harry feigns putting some in Ron’s drink right before a Quidditch match to help him overcome his jitters at being the new keeper. He drinks some of the potion to help him get Slughorn’s memories about Horcruxes, leading to a series of improbable luck and coincidences. He divides the rest of the potion among his friends in order to help protect them when the Death Eaters enter Hogwarts.

I thought that it was wonderful that the magical world has this very difficult to obtain potion that steers you to have good luck. It seems like the kind of thing we’d all want to try out at least once. I think if I had a small bottle of it I’d try to go out and do something dangerous like rock climbing, stunt driving, or salsa dancing (you’d understand if you ever saw me dance).

What would you do if you had a little bit of Felix Felicis for luck (remember no sports, contests, or tests)? I also thought it was very much like Harry to share the rest of his potion with his friends to help protect them before the Death Eaters came to the castle. Would you share your potion with friends or would you keep it to yourself? Lastly, if you were Harry, would you have kept a little bit of the potion for yourself as well just in case? I can’t wait to hear your thoughts and ideas, and feel free to talk about what you thought of The Half-Blood Prince.

Follow me on Twitter @josedaemons

We’re getting close to the end as month five of the Harry Potter Book Challenge has ended and it’s time to share your thoughts/links for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Alright I’ll get right into it, since my BEA trip sort of threw me off schedule (yikes!) and so this month’s question is:

“If you could use Umbridge’s special feather, what would you make her write over and over again until it sinks in?”

I honestly don’t have any smart ideas for this one (I really wish I could come up with some witty sentence worthy of Umbridge), so I’ll let you take that one. If I come up with something I’ll make sure to share.

So for those of you who have signed up to participate through the comment section, please answer the above question in the comments.

For those of you who have written either a review or opinion piece on your blogs, Goodreads, Shelfari, LibraryThing, Amazon, or YouTube, you can leave a link in the comment section. (Please note: Your comment might be held for moderation because it includes a link, but we will approve all the relevant links. If your comment hasn’t been approved within 1-2 days, please resubmit it so that we count your participation into the challenge).

And feel free to also share your answer to the question.

Remember, your comment and/or link will count as one proof of participation, which will give you one entry into our final giveaway. Also you can add your January links/comments here, February links/comments here, March links/comments here and April links/comments here, if you haven’t done so yet.

Please make sure to use the same name/email you signed up with for the challenge. You can find a full list of participants here.

I love this story because it sounds like Kate is a girl after my own heart! I’ve wanted to go to PEI ever since I read the Anne of Green Gables books and watched the movie, which was filmed on island and is full of gorgeous scenery. I haven’t made it there yet, but this story got me thinking about how books have influenced some of my travels.

Last month, Jose and I finally made it to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando. We had a blast walking through Hogsmeade and drinking butterbeer, but the real treat was seeing Hogwarts Castle recreated exactly as I had pictured it when reading the books.

Harry Potter also inspired a side trip to King’s Cross Station when we were in London. Here’s Platform 9 ¾:

Also in London, we stopped at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre:

When we were in Chicago last spring, I realized our hotel was only a few blocks from the Newberry Library. So, naturally, I had to go check out the workplace of Henry the time traveling librarian in The Time Traveler’s Wife.

Finally, when we visited the Louvre in Paris, we couldn’t resist trying to retrace Robert Langdon’s path through the museum in The Da Vinci Code.

So has a book ever inspired your travels (or future travels)? Maybe you made the trek to Forks, Washington after reading Twilight? Or have you always wanted to take a Jane Austen inspired trip through the English countryside? Let me know in the comments!

Follow me on Twitter @kristendaemons

So now that we’ve finished Dead Reckoning, we’re (Jose and Kristen) dying to talk about it! Let’s start with our general thoughts about the book and then move on to some of the specific events.

Jose: Well I thought this was much better than either of the two previous books: Dead and Gone and Dead in the Family. Dead and Gone was so intense that I felt like I needed something to at least break the tension a little. Then Dead in the Family was almost too light in action, let’s face it was kinda boring. Reckoning brings a good mix of the exciting and the light.

Kristen: Yeah, I really liked it too—mostly because we got back to some of the central storylines of the series like Sookie’s telepathy and vampire politics. I also liked that a lot of characters returned like Claude, Dermot, Hunter, Amelia, and Bob the former cat. And Bubba! I can’t forget Bubba. Although Jason was noticeably absent.

Jose: Yes! Bubba was one of the best parts of book and I’m glad Harris keeps on bring him back.

The Pelt Family: the Trashiest Family Ever?
Jose: Short answer? Yes.

Kristen: I thought we were done with the Pelts, but nooooo, Sandra Pelt had to come back to make Sookie’s life hell once more.

Jose: If she makes it back into another book then she better have a hockey mask and call herself Jason, because that would be ridiculous. I mean either that or go on Jerry Springer to settle this once and for all.

Kristen: Ha ha. I think we are FINALLY done with the Pelts…unless their cousins decide to come after Sookie or something. I will say that I thought that it was a nice twist that Sandra was the one behind the firebombing, because I was guessing everyone but her. I also thought it was really cool that Jack and Lily (Bard) Leeds showed up at Merlotte’s to warn Sookie that Sandra was on the warpath. That was a fun crossover appearance for fans of Harris’ other books.

Just Don’t Ask Them to Bake Cookies
Jose: So apparently there are elves in this world and they don’t work in a tree baking chocolate chip cookies. I like the fact we get another facet of the weirdness going on, but Bellenos is definitely a little out there.

Kristen: Nope, the fae seem to prefer to hang out in strip clubs rather than trees. But, yeah, definitely some weirdness there, like when Bellenos and Dermot showed up at Sookie’s back door with the severed heads. Ewww.

Jose: Do you think severed heads are the elf/fae version of housewarming gifts? I’d hate to think of the body part given for something like a baby shower.

Kristen: I know Claude says all the displaced fae are gathering at the strip club because they feel better when hanging around their own kind, but I can’t help but think that they are up to something.

Jose: The fae are quite a narcissistic bunch (Claude’s favorite admirer is Claude) so I could get the idea they are all hanging together in a strip club, but I agree with you that something is going on. Sookie seemed to be feeling better the more she hung out with Claude and Dermot, and I think the feeling was mutual.

Kristen: And how about that fairy portal? That was a surprise. I wonder if it will be important later on or if it was just a convenient was to dispose of Sandra Pelt’s body?

Jose: I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a little bit of both. If I had a magical portal to another world in my backyard you know I would be using it as my mystical garbage disposal.

Kristen: Not me. If I heard snarling and yapping coming out of that thing, I would run far, far away.

Jose: Snarling and yapping? Sounds like a good night at Alcide’s.

Vampire Politics are Down and Dirty
Kristen: Well, I certainly think Victor got what he deserved. He tried to kill Sookie and Pam (in the “Two Blondes” short story) and he tried to poison Eric and Pam with fairy blood. I don’t think Eric and Sookie had much of a choice except to go after him.

Jose: You have to admire vampire politics, very cutthroat but they gets things done. I agree that Victor deserved his end, but I was kind of surprised by the timing of it and how blatant Victor was at trying to get Eric killed.

Kristen: What continues to surprise me is how vengeful Sookie has become. She grapples with the morality of it, but she will stop at nothing to protect her loved ones. I admire that about her.

Jose: I think when you’ve had double digit attempts on your life by different supernatural beings, the morality of killing may be taking a back seat to survival. Still it’s good to see the Sookie tries to hold on to her humanness as much as possible.

Sookie Stackhouse’s Men
Kristen: Speaking of taking down Victor, I was impressed that Bill was willing to help. Actually, I found myself becoming a fan of Bill all over again in this book. I have been fully on Team Eric for a long time now, but Bill was really there for Sookie in Dead Reckoning. And I hate to say it, but Eric—with all his secret keeping and fighting with Pam—got on my nerves.

Jose: Well In Eric’s defense, he had kind of a full plate to deal with in this book. He’s still dealing with Appius issues from the last book, Victor wanting to kill him, maybe having to marry the Queen of Oklahoma, and Sookie breaking her bond with him. That being said, Bill was definitely one of my favorites in this book, especially he’s now the keeper of the Bubba.

Kristen: Ha ha, Bill’s officially the Bubba Wrangler. Yeah, you make some good points about Eric having a lot to deal with, but he should have told Sookie about this Oklahoma thing. At least Pam had her back.

Jose: Speaking of people having Sookie’s back, I thought Sam was a very good friend to her this book, even though his other half didn’t seem to like her much.

Kristen: Yes! I’m not sure what I think of Jannalynn. She kinda scares me. But I agree with what you said about Sam. I think Sookie even referred to him as her best friend. Aww.

Jose: And last but not least, we have Alcide. He had both the most interesting and most awkward scene in this book.

Kristen: Sookie was all kinds of pissed, but I actually laughed out loud at that part. He’s such a tool! But getting back to Sookie and Eric, do you think things are done between them?

Jose: I think we’re going to have a situation similar to Sookie and Bill. They’ll be friends and there will be moments where they look to be getting back together, but I think that ship has sailed. At least until the next time he saves Sookie from certain death. What do you think?

Kristen: I think Oklahoma is going to cause all kinds of problems for them, and they will probably break up in the next book. Eric will try to get out of the arranged marriage, but I think whatever happens, he and Sookie will break up. It sucks too because, once the bond was broken, Sookie realized that she truly does love Eric. And he loves her too.

Don’t Ever Accept a Baby Shower Gift from a Demon Lawyer
Jose: Let’s just start off by saying that there is likely no good baby shower gift from a Demon Lawyer.

Kristen: I liked how Sookie was all like—and I’m paraphrasing here–”Thanks a crapload, Mr. Cataliades, for ruining my life.” But, seriously, I didn’t see that coming. I always figured Sookie’s telepathy simply came from her fairy blood.

Jose: Yeah at first I thought it was kind of a copout by the author, but I like the idea that this is a combination of a genetic trait and magic. Although it does raise the question of how Barry the Bellboy got his power?

Kristen: Oooh, I hadn’t thought of that! Good point. We also have to talk about another gift: the cluviel dor. I was amused and horrified to see it turn Sookie into a character from Lord of the Rings.

Jose: As long as she doesn’t have to climb to the top of a volcano and chuck it in there I think were okay. It’s kinda scary that she does have this super powerful object that could cause a lot of change. I’m not worried that she would misuse it, more that with magic it seems that the more powerful and object is, the higher the price to use it.

Kristen: I’m more worried that someone will try to kill her to get his/her hands on it. So she can’t use it to get rid of her or Hunter’s telepathy, but Mr. Cataliades specifically said she could use it to kill somebody who is trying to harm her. Foreshadowing, perhaps?

Jose: Oh yeah that’s foreshadowing. To be honest the list of people trying to harm her only gets longer so she shouldn’t have a problem finding someone to use it on.

Kristen: To wrap up, I’ll share my favorite quotes:
Sookie: “It was time to get this assassination party started” and “Zombies.”

Jose: My favorite part? Bubba’s little concert / assassination party at Fangtasia. Loved everything about it from the pre-show alley cat snack to the sequined jumpsuit. Also loved Bill playing the role of Colonel Parker as Bubba’s manager/ stage help.

Now we want to hear from you! What did you think of Dead Reckoning? Were you frustrated with Eric in this book? Are Claude and Dermot up to something? Do you think Sookie will use the cluviel dor? Let us know in the comments!

Follow me on Twitter @kristendaemons

Follow me on Twitter @josedaemons

This month, since Kristen wrote a great Book Chat (which you should read) about the fourth book, we thought it would be a great question to ask all of you. And so this month’s question is:

“Which task of the Triwizard Tournament would you pick to take on?”

As I mentioned in the commenting section for the article, I would probably have picked the second task, since I don’t mind swimming. Then the maze and the killer Dragon would have to be last, because who would be that one first, right?

So for those of you who has signed up to participate through the comment section, please answer this question in the comments: “Which task of the Triwizard Tournament would you pick to take on?”

For those of you who have written either a review or opinion piece on your blogs, Goodreads, Shelfari, LibraryThing, Amazon, or YouTube, you can leave a link in the comment section. (Please note: Your comment might be held for moderation because it includes a link, but we will approve all the relevant links. If your comment hasn’t been approved within 1-2 days, please resubmit it so that we count your participation into the challenge).

And feel free to also share your answer to the question.

Remember, your comment and/or link will count as one proof of participation, which will give you one entry into our final giveaway. Also you can add your January links/comments here, February links/comments here, and March links/comments here if you haven’t done so yet.

Please make sure to use the same name/email you signed up with for the challenge. You can find a full list of participants here.

Check out this video of software developer Mike Matas demonstrating the first full-length interactive book for the iPad — “with clever, swipeable video and graphics and some very cool data visualizations to play with”. The book is “Our Choice,” Al Gore’s sequel to “An Inconvenient Truth.”

(Source: TED)

One of the things I’ve always loved about Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is that it takes the reader into two of the ultimate magical events of the wizarding world: the Quidditch World Cup and the Triwizard Tournament. At the beginning of the book, the diverse crowd of wizards attending the World Cup gives us a sense that a large magical community exists outside of England. And that’s reinforced when Dumbledore announces Hogwarts will be competing against the largest wizarding schools of Europe—Beauxbatons and Durmstrang—in the Triwizard Tournament.

The Triwizard Tournament promises to bring the winner the Triwizard Cup and the glory of their school. Who can resist that? Of course, 1,000 galleons in prize money isn’t half bad either. The three tasks are incredibly challenging, though, and very dangerous. As Dumbledore says, the tasks test the champions’ “magical prowess—their daring—their powers of deduction—and, of course, their ability to cope with danger.”

The first task made Harry realize just how dangerous the Tournament was going to be, as he was forced to face off against a nasty Hungarian Horntail dragon. Harry does well thanks to his mad flying skills (and thanks to a little nudge in the right direction). But as the other champions found out, subduing a dragon isn’t very easy.

For the second task, the champions had to figure out the clue in the golden egg and then come up with a charm that would allow them to spend an hour underwater rescuing their loved ones from the lake. This challenge required brains, skill, and bravery. It’s not easy to keep a cool head when the people you love the most are in danger.

The third and final task ended up being the most deadly (thanks to Lord Voldemort), but, in theory, it was the most straightforward. The Triwizard Cup was at the center of a maze filled with obstacles and spells. The maze tested the competitors’ ability to get past dangerous magical creatures, solve riddles, and not get lost.

So what I’m wondering is: If you were the Hogwarts school champion, which task would you like to do? None of the tasks were easy, but do you think there was one that wasn’t as hard as the others? Personally, I’m not a very strong swimmer so the second task would be at the bottom of my list (though the merpeople seemed very cool). Between the dragons and the maze, I’d have to go with the maze. Getting through the maze would be a fun challenge (ok, maybe not the skrewts) and I’d like the opportunity to solve the Sphinx’s riddle.

How about you? Which challenge would you be best at? Which of the three tasks do you think was most difficult?

And if you haven’t signed up for the Harry Potter Challenge yet, you can do so here.

Follow me on Twitter @kristendaemons