Happy Friday Book-a-philes! I’m quite excited by this week’s Friday Freebie!

James Patterson author of the Maximum Ride series – along with many, many other books – has released a new series with Gabrielle Charbonnet called Witch & Wizard and he is currently giving away the first book which will be released on December 14, 2009. Which means… you get to read it early!!

Here’s a little bit about the book:

The world is changing: the government has seized control of every aspect of society, and now, kids are disappearing. For 15-year-old Wisty and her older brother Whit, life turns upside down when they are torn from their parents one night and slammed into a secret prison for no reason they can comprehend. The New Order, as it is known, is clearly trying to suppress Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Being a Normal Teenager. But while trapped in this totalitarian nightmare, Wisty and Whit discover they have incredible powers they’d never dreamed of. Can this newly minted witch and wizard master their skills in time to save themselves, their parents–and maybe the world?

They are offering Witch & Wizard as both an e-book or an audio book from iTunes. Just visit the official site (or follow the links provided) to get your copy! I personally can’t wait to check it out!

Are you a fan of James Patterson? Will you check out his new series?

Uglies
by Scott Westerfeld

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld is one of those books that you just can’t put down, and when you do, you can’t stop thinking about it. Set some 300 years in the future, Uglies depicts a world where everyone is born “ugly”, but upon your 16^th birthday everybody is given an operation that makes them beautiful. Tally Youngblood, the star of our story longs to be “Pretty”, especially since her best friend Peris has gone off to New Pretty Town 3 months ahead of her. Feeling alone in Uglyville, Tally befriends Shay and the two are inseparable for the remainder of their time as Uglies. But when Shay decides she doesn’t want to become Pretty, Tally’s plans – and world – are thrown into chaos.

It may sound far fetched, but this future word that Westerfeld has created is so well crafted that by the time you’ve finished the book it’s almost hard to believe it’s not real. I keep expecting hoverboards to zipping along outside. Surprisingly, the fact that this future human race refers to us as “The Rusties” – the stupid humans who overpopulated the world and almost destroyed it – helps make the story more believable. Westerfeld’s take on the future is absolutely fascinating, and is definitely captivating enough that even someone who hasn’t read the book will be able to enjoy discussing the ideas.

Filled with an interesting variety of likeable characters, set among lush and vivid scenery, and packed with adventure, Uglies is an absolutely fantastic start to this series! There are surprises at every turn along the way, ensuring that Uglies is never predictable or slow. With all this and a great cliffhanger ending, I was online purchasing Pretties, the next book in the series as soon as I’d read the last word of Uglies. I recommend this book to everyone who enjoys YA fiction and fascinating ideas.

Our November Book Club Selection Giveaway has closed, and we have a winner!

Sheila from BookJourney was selected as the winner of the copy of Fablehaven by Brandon Mull.

Just use the Contact Us link on the menu to send us your mailing info. and I will get that off to you ASAP.

And just for being such a wonderful participant in our November discussion, Kay from Kay’s Bookshelf will receive one of the runner up prizes of a lovely Fablehaven Bookmark. (Please send us your mailing address using the Contact Us link as well.)

Thank-you so much to both of you for helping make our discussion of The Book Thief so great. We sincerely hope you will continue to join us in our monthly Book Club discussions!

And everyone stay tuned for our next giveaway which will be announced soon!! (Here’s a little sneak peek to whet your appetite!)

The Mysterious Minute-Men: Ready for the Future
by Mike Aragona

Ready for the Future is the second installment in the Mysterious Minute-Men saga by Canadian author Mike Aragona. While the first book was comprised of short stories filled with zany antics and peppered with pop culture references, Ready for the Future is much more of an emotional journey in which the characters discover and accept their places in life.

As I mentioned in my review of The Mysterious Minute-Men Omnibus, the best way to describe the Minute-Men books is that they’re graphic novels without any graphics. Populated with unique superheroes fighting crafty villains in an effort to keep the streets of the fictitious Metro City safe, the Minute-Men tales bring to mind the worlds of Batman and Spiderman.

The first thing I noticed when I got my copy of The Mysterious Minute-Men: Ready for the Future was the gorgeous cover, with new images featuring members of the Minute-verse look great along with a wonderful new drawing of Minute-Man. To freshen our memories, there’s a brief introduction to the world of the Minute-Men in Chapter 1, and the next two chapters give us both Minute-Man and Orion’s origin stories respectively.  As a huge fan of back-stories, I really enjoyed learning how our heroes got their start and what brought them together.

We then get a quick look at what the diabolical Chef Jacques is scheming up in his bakery of evil, before we venture into the lives of the Minute-Men. From Powerhouse and Miss Fury to Orion and the Bow-minator, we check in with all the members of the Minute team. We’re also introduced to a wonderful new character, and are revisited by an old friend thought lost. Much of the story focuses on Minute-Man’s inner turmoil and his quest to sort out problems that are impeding his ability to protect Metro City. This was actually my favourite part of the book. While I enjoy the superhero antics, you can really feel Minute-Man’s agony over his situation and that’s when I really got into the story. Then when an evil scheme is revealed, it brings the story back to the lighter-toned superhero genre.

My one complaint with Ready for the Future is the need for further editing. Due to some mis-used words, tense inconsistencies and awkward phrasing, there are times when it’s hard to stay focused on the story. As the drama increases these problems become less noticeable, and it’s easier to immerse yourself in the tale without being quite so distracted.

Although the story is more serious this time around, there are still some laughs in this second Mysterious Minute-Man book, and with all the character development I may have enjoyed it even more than the first one. Without the editing issues, I would definitely recommend The Mysterious Minute-Men: Ready for the Future to all those who enjoy comics. I think fans of the Minute-Men saga will be pleased, and I would definitely read future tales of the Mysterious Minute-Men.

*This book was provided for review by the author via Library Thing.

Just a reminder that this is the last week-end to get entered in our Fablehaven Giveaway! For all the details see the giveaway post here.

If you’d like to be entered in our giveaway, all you have to do is join us in our October Book Club discussion of Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief.

But remember, you have to get your comments in by midnight Sunday, November 8 at the latest, as we will be doing the draw on Monday November 9 to ensure that the book will reach its recipient on time for the November discussion!

Happy Friday fellow book-a-holics!  After last night’s fantastic Author Event with Scott Westerfeld, Cassandra Clare and Holly Black, I thought I’d share with you some freebies that they’re offering on their websites.

Scott Westerfeld was promoting his new book Leviathan, (which sounds absolutely fascinating btw) and he’s made the first chapter available for preview here. YA fans be sure to check it out, it’s great stuff.

Cassandra Clare was promoting her Mortal Instruments series and she has the first chapter of the most recent volume City of Glass available for preview on her website here.

Holly Black has recently released a graphic novel series called The Good Neighbors, and a preview of book one: Kin is available on her website here.

OK Book lovers, I am excited to report that I will be attending the Simon and Schuster Fantasy Authors Event at Chapters here in Ottawa on Thursday evening! The event will feature Cassandra Clare, Holly Black, and Scott Westerfeld! Being only one girl with a huge pile of books, I haven’t read much by these authors, so I thought I’d put the call out to YOU for questions and insight.

If you have anything you’d like me to try and ask any of the above authors, please let us know in the comments below.

And if you have any comments regarding the above author’s work, please share those with us too! I’d like to go in knowing as much as possible.

Anyone who knows me, knows that along with my book and TV obsessions, I’m also a big music lover. So it should come as no surprise that I’ve  managed to find a way to tie my book and music love together! I was out raking with my iPod on this weekend, and when the song Signs by Bloc Party played I couldn’t stop thinking about how well it fit our October Book Club selection The Book Thief.

Here’s the lyrics:

Sings by Bloc Party

Two ravens in the old oak tree, one for you and one for me
Bluebells in the late December, I see signs now all the time

The last time we slept together, there was something that was not there
You never wanted to alarm me but I’m the one that’s drowning now

I could sleep forever these days because in my dreams I see you again
But this time fleshed out fuller face in your confirmation dress
It was so like you to visit me to let me know you were OK
It was so like you visit me, always worrying about someone else

At your funeral I was so upset, so upset,
in your life you were larger than this
statuesque

I see signs now all the time that you’re not dead you’re sleeping
I believe in anything that brings you back home to me

If you’re interested, you can listen here or watch the video here.

So, our question of the week is:  Do you have songs that remind you of books? Share some of your favorites with us in the comments below!