The Bedtime Book Tag

 

The weather is crummy and I just want to curl up in a bed with a book, so what better time to attempt….

(original can be  found here!)

1. What book kept you up all night reading?

World War Z by Max Brooks – I was pretty solidly addicted to this book from the moment I cracked it open. I love nonfiction, and this gripping novel reads like the best narrative nonfiction. It’s a pretty ridiculous story, but written in a way that makes it feel terrifyingly real. Highly, highly recommended – it’s “missed my bus stop again” good.

2. What book made you scared to go to sleep?

See above. Holy smokes – some of the scenes in World War Z felt so real they had me thinking about them long after I’d turned off the lights. What would I have done in a similar situation? How would I react if I was faced with a zombie hoard? How long would I survive the zombie apocalypse??!

3. What book almost put you to sleep?

Divergent. I tried, I really did. But apparently I’m officially too old for this “I’m just a normal, average, super hot, chosen-one teenage girl who has to save the world from the mean and nasty grownups” shtick.

4. What book has you tossing and turning in anticipation of its release?

I can’t really say there are any books that have me tossing and turning in anticipation. I don’t tend to read new releases, so any series I start typically wrapped up a decade or so ago. 😉

5. What book has your dream boyfriend/girlfriend?

Oh, but there are so many! There’s Mr. Darcy of Pride and Prejudice, John Thornton of North and South, and Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables, (what can I say, I’m Canadian), just to name a few.

6. What book world would be your worst nightmare to live in?

 World War Z. Shudder….

7. What book has a nightmarish cliffhanger?

Patrick Ness’ The Knife of Never Letting Go. GAH, SO INTENSE!!! Thankfully I started reading the Chaos Walking trilogy several years after its release, so I didn’t have to suffer from the cliffhanger for long.

8. What book cover reminds you of night time?

Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel. Just look at how cozy and ready for bed Owl looks – he’s got his pyjamas on, with a candle in one hand and a book in the other, ready to get snuggled up in bed with a story. What could be more bedtime-appropriate than that?

9. What book have you actually dreamed about?

Those World War Z nightmares weren’t enough? I don’t often remember my dreams, but I’m sure there must’ve been books in there somewhere, since I always read before turning out the lights.

10. What book monster would you not want to find under your bed?

The wasps from Kenneth Oppel’s middle grade novel The Nest. This gothic tale is assuredly not for those with an aversion to insects…*shudder*….

If you would like to do this tag on your own blog, consider yourself tagged!

Now if you’ll excuse me….*yawn*….I think I need to take a nap. All this talk about beds has got me pretty sleepy…

Advertisement

Spring Booktalking : Part I

I recently visited three awesome classes at a local all-boys private school for some stories and some book talking. The kids were fantastic and super excited to talk about books!

Here are the books I shared with the Grade Six kids:

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard / Rick Riordin

Magnus Chase has been on the run ever since his mother was killed, living on the streets and trying to avoid any adults.

When his mysterious uncle appears with strange stories of gods, ancient warriors and powerful monsters, Magnus discovers that he’s not just a regular teenager, he’s actually the relative of a real Norse God. Magnus will have to learn how to use his powers, and fast, before a terrible villain destroys the entire world. And you thought your family was a pain….

The Last Kids on Earth / Max Brallier

It’s been forty-two days since the monster apocalypse hit town and pretty much everyone ran away or got zombiefied. Average 13-year-old Jack is holed up in his tree house fortress, which he’s armed to the teeth with catapults and a moat, not to mention a nearly endless supply of Oreos and Mountain Dew scavenged from abandoned stores.

But Jack alone is no match for the hordes of nasty Dozers and Winged Wretches and disgusting Zombies, and especially not for the eerily intelligent gargantuan menace he’s dubbed Blarg. Jack needs to gather a team of whatever kids he can find, and whatever monsters will show him loyalty. With their help, Jack is going to slay Blarg, become the ultimate post-apocalyptic action hero, and finally be an average kid no longer! That is, if he doesn’t get squashed, mauled, munched, or zombified first….

The Mark of the Thief / Jennifer A. Nielsen

When Nic, a young slave, is forced to venture deep into a sealed cavern in search of Julius Caesar’s fabled lost treasure, he stumbles across something far more incredible than gold or jewels – an ancient bulla, a powerful amulet filled with an unimaginable power once wielded only by the gods. Armed with this deadly magic, Nic is determined to free himself and his younger sister from slavery. Instead he finds himself drawn into a complicated and ruthless conspiracy to overthrow the Emperor, which could bring Rome to its very knees. Desperate traitors and cunning spies will stop at nothing to use Nic’s new power for their own destructive aims, and only by harnessing the ancient bulla can Nic hope to save Rome and all who live within it from total annihilation.

Masterminds / Gordon Korman

Everything is perfect in the small town of Serenity. Everyone lives in perfect houses, with perfect laws, perfect pools, perfect basketball hoops set in perfect straight lines. Nobody steals, nobody complains, nobody lies. Crime free, garbage free, pollution free, Serenity is the safest and nicest place to live in the entire country.

But something dark lurks beneath the surface of this ideal community. Something dangerous. Something deadly. And when Eli stumbles upon a terrible secret at the very edge of Serenity’s borders, everything he has known, trusted and loved threatens to come crashing down around him. With no one to trust, a small group of kids must uncover the truth about Serenity, if they’re going to make it out alive.

The Bamboo Sword / Margi Preus

13-year-old Yoshi dreams of joining the fight to expel the Outsiders who have entered the forbidden waters of Japan, but as a lowly servant he is forbidden to become a samurai or even carry a sword. When the arrival of the foreigners turns Yoshi’s world upside down, he is forced to flee for his very life. Yoshi’s world becomes one of adventure, assassins, secrets and spies, as he joins forces first with a mysterious samurai, and later with a strange American boy. Only by joining forces can they untangle a dangerous web that threatens to bring down Japan itself.

School for Sidekicks / Kelly McCullough

13-year-old Evan Quick is obsessed with superheroes. Every morning when he wakes up he checks to see if he’s developed superpowers overnight, and every morning it’s the same – no flying, no super-strength, no heat vision, no telepathy, no magic, NOTHING.

But when Evan manages to survive a supervillain’s deadly death ray attack, he winds up at the Academy for Metahuman Operatives – a top-secret school for kids with exceptional powers. It’s not quite all its cracked up to be, though – instead of Superhero High, the Academy is more like a school for sidekicks! Instead of learning how to be Batman, Evan is stuck learning how to be Robin….lame.

Evan’s got one chance to become an actual superhero, but to do it he’ll have to convince a washed-up old superhero to come out of retirement and start fighting evil again. And getting that to happen might just be the ultimate test of Evan’s super powers….

The Nest / Kenneth Oppel

The mysterious angel-like beings who visit Steve in his dreams promise they can cure Steve’s baby brother Theo of his rare and terrible condition. All Steve wants is for everything to be normal – for his brother to grow up healthy, for his mother to stop crying, for his father to pay attention to him again. The creatures seem to be the answer to all of Steve’s hopes and prayers. But everything comes with a cost. How much is Steve willing to pay to save his brother’s life? And if the cost is too high, too terrible, can Steve undo what he has set in motion?

Fuzzy Mud / Louis Sachar

There’s something strange about the mud in the woods behind Woodridge Academy. Something growing. Something fuzzy. Something so small you can’t even see it without a microscope. But so powerful it can kill. Don’t get it on your skin. Don’t get it in your eyes. Whatever you do, don’t touch it. Because the mud isn’t just fuzzy. It’s deadly.

You know you’ve done your job when kids come into the program rolling their eyes and smirking, and leave ready to enter into fisticuffs to be the first to borrow the books you’ve book talked.