That is the question! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist!) I’m sure you’re all wondering what on earth I’m talking about so let me explain…

I’ve recently started reading books without reading the back cover, and I have to say it’s fantastic!  Now I know we’d probably have a fairly low success rate if we always went in blind when choosing a new book to read, but if you have a little bit of guidance, reading a book with little-to-no knowledge of the story is wonderful!

This all began when I read Fablehaven without knowing anything about it – other than a friend whose opinion I trust had recommended it to me.  As a verified spolier-phobe, I really dislike knowing anything about the story I’m about to read, and I often find myself wishing I didn’t know even the basic outline that’s provided on the back cover blurb.

So, I read Fablehaven without even peeking at the blurb, and found myself racing through it with a sense of wonder, never knowing what was coming in this new fantasy world. And I got to be truly surprised when the secret was revealed! (If I’d read the blurb I would have know this all along.)  It made for such a fun reading experience, that I’ve started doing this more often. Again, I couldn’t just randomly pick up a book I know nothing about, but with books in a series, books I’ve won, or those I received for review I no longer read the back cover.  And like most of you, I have a shelf-full of books TBR and I now plan on reading all of them without looking at the back cover!

What about you? Do you faithfully read the back cover blurb? Have you ever read a book without knowing what it was about? If you’ve never given it a try, I challenge you to test it out with one of your upcoming reads. If you do try it, please come back and let us know what you think!

I am extremely excited that With A Good Book has won it’s very first award! I think it’s wonderful that the book blogging community makes an effort to recognize each other for all the hard work that goes into running an active and entertaining blog.  We are honored to be included among this amazing group!

Last month we received the Blog Monster Award from Sheila at One Persons Journey Through A  World of Books. Thanks Sheila!

The Blog Monster award was created by Eleni at La Femme Reader:

It signifies all the bloggers out there who constantly work hard to keep an updated and insightful website. They aren’t afraid to take a bite with their honest reviews and enjoyable content. You amaze me, you inspire me so I call you a blog monster.

Nominate your favorite blog monsters! To pass on this award, just nominate as many people as you want and let all of them know they received the award!

Here are the wonderful, witty and honest bloggers we’d like to pass this award on to:

1. Jamye from Fiction Fanatic

2. Susan from Bloggin’ ’bout Books

3. Sasha from The Sweet Bonjour

4. Kay from Kay’s Bookshelf

5. Jamie from Confessions of a Book Junkie

6. Maggie from Magnolia Kelly

7. Dana from Rantings of a Bookworm Couch Potato

Happy Friday Book Peeps! A few months back we shared some popular book related wallpapers for our Friday Freebie. At that time I was all about the pretty Fablehaven desktops, but now I’m all wrapped up in the Olympians series so I thought I’d share a new batch of lovely designs that I’ve uncovered.

I’m currently enjoying this shiny Percy Jackson wallpaper, but I’ve also found  a few other nice ones from some of the other books we’ve been talking about here at WAGB. Here are a few to choose from:

• Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson & the Olympians
  (Click on Adventure tab)

• More from Percy Jackson & the Olympians
  

• Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy

• Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies

Have you found any other book-related desktops/wallpapers? Please share them with us in the comments below!

Do you have any favorite books that you’d like to decorate your world with?

The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson & the Olympians #2)
by Rick Riordan

It’s the end of another school year and Percy Jackson is looking forward to returning to camp. Except there’s trouble at camp Half-Blood and he’s supposed to steer clear. But when he’s attacked at school, he’s left with no choice but to return to camp in search of answers. Unfortunately trouble is everywhere, and camp is not the safe haven it used to be. When it becomes clear that things are only getting worse, Percy, Annabeth and new addition Tyson embark on another adventure in hopes of setting things right.

As with the first book in the series, The Sea of Monsters is filled with plenty of action, the dialogue is witty and never feels forced, and the characters are layered and likeable. The similarities to the Harry Potter world are far less evident in this second novel in the series, and I found Percy’s adventure in this installment to be filled with surprises.

Although I didn’t love The Sea of Monsters quite as much as I did The Lightning Thief, it’s still a thoroughly enjoyable and fun adventure that progresses Percy’s story along nicely. I can’t wait to get started on The Titan’s Curse, book #3 in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series!

*The Sea of Monsters is book #1 for the What’s in a Name? Challenge

Light My Fire (Aisling Grey, Guardian #3)
by Katie MacAlister

Light My Fire is my favourite of the Aisling Grey, Guardian novels so far. I really couldn’t put this book down, although I did find things got a bit confusing at the end.

Aisling has moved to London to begin her Guardian training when things begin to go awry. Surprise, surprise! As in the previous two novels, trouble seems to find Aisling no matter where she goes. Through no fault of her own (or at least not much of her own) she finds herself being hunted by imps, demon lords, dragons and even the International Guardians’ Guild. Jim the trusty demon is faithful and funny as always, and we finally learn a little bit more about what’s going on with Renee the ever-present taxi-driver.

The story is fast-paced, and filled with enough twists to keep you guessing right up until the surprising end. Events at the end of the book seem to be shifting things in a new direction for Aisling, and I’m really looking forward to Holy Smokes, the next (and final) installment in the Aisling Grey, Guardian series to see where these new paths will lead.

Yesterday I took the day off from – well, everything. My significant other was out of town so I had the house all to myself, and since work has been slow I took advantage of the chance to have a me-day. It was wonderful! I highly recommend it if you have the opportunity.

But onto today… Today is a very important day as it is my wonderful blogging partner-in-crime Rae’s Birthday! Rae doesn’t chat here all that often, but she’s the one who got this blog up and running, and who does much of the work that goes on behind the scenes here at WAGB.  She’s responsible for the lovely look of things, updating our monthly bulletin board, and ensuring that all these little widgets and gadgets on the side and menu bars do what they’re supposed to do!  Without her, I’d just be a girl with email.  So on this day, I’d like to thank Rae for all her hard work here, and to wish her the most wonderful birthday a girl can have!!

Rae and I love to share books and book recommendations (which is how this blog was born), and as such we often give each other the gift of books. I can’t even begin to count all the great books and authors Rae has turned me onto – but some of my all time fave’s were found through her gifts and/or recommendations. Greats like the Stephanie Plum series, the Fablehaven series, the Spellman books just to name a few. And I convinced her to try out Eragon and MaryJanice Davidson’s Queen Betsy series on one of our first shopping trips. This year I gave her the first of the Percy Jackson books and am really hoping she enjoys it as much as I did!

What about you? Do you share books and book recs with friends? What great reads have your besties turned you onto?

The What’s in a Name? Challenge is hosted by Beth at Beth Fish Reads, and ever since Rae mentioned it to me I’ve been interested in joining.

Here’s how it works:

Between January 1 and December 31, 2010, read one book in each of the following categories:

1. A book with a food in the title: Clockwork Orange, Grapes of Wrath, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
2. A book with a body of water in the title: A River Runs through It, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, The Lake House
3. A book with a title (queen, president) in the title: The Murder of King Tut, The Count of Monte Cristo, Lady Susan
4. A book with a plant in the title: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Wind in the Willows, The Name of the Rose
5. A book with a place name (city, country) in the title: Out of Africa; London; Between, Georgia
6. A book with a music term in the title: Song of Solomon, Ragtime, The Piano Teacher

The book titles are just suggestions, you can read whatever book you want to fit the category.

Other Things to Know:

• Books may be any form (audio, print, e-book).
• Books may overlap other challenges.
• Books may not overlap categories; you need a different book for each category.
• Creativity for matching the categories is allowed.
• You do not have to make a list of books before hand.
• You do not have to read through the categories in any particular order.
• There will be a single prize at the end of the challenge. Readers who complete the challenge and write up a wrap-up post (or wrap-up comment) are eligible.

My Books
1. Food: God is in the Pancakes by Robin Epstein (Review posted)
2. Water: The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan (Review posted)
3. Title: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa (Review posted)
4. Plant: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer (Review posted)
5. Place: Return to the Hundred Acre Wood by David Benedictus (Discussion)
6. Music: The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks (Discussion)

I’ve been having so much fun with the first reading challenge I joined, I decided it’s time to try a few more! I’ve found two that I’m interested in, the first is the TwentyTen Reading Challenge hosted by Bart’s Bookshelf.

The aim is to read a total 20 books, over ten categories, in 2010.

Rules:

• Read 2 books from each category, making a requirement of 20 books total.
• The categories are intended to be loose guidelines only, if you decide it fits, then it fits. (Apart from those marked **)
• Categories marked with ** have tighter rules, and these must be followed.
• Each book can only qualify for one category.
• Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
• Books read from 01/01/2010 to 31/12/2010 are eligible.

So, on with the categories:

1. Young Adult: Any book classified as young adult or featuring a teenage protagonist counts for this category.
   1. The Wizard Heir by Cinda Williams Chima (Review posted)
   2. Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports (Maximum Ride #3) by James Patterson (Review posted)
   -
2. T.B.R.: Intended to help reduce the old T.B.R. pile. Books for this category must be already residents of your bookshelves as of 1/11/09.
   1. Personal Demon by Kelley Armstrong
   2. Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger (Review Posted)
   -
3. Shiny & New: Bought a book NEW during 2010 from a bookstore, online, or a supermarket? Then it counts for this category. Second-hand books do not count for this one, but, for those on book-buying bans, books bought for you as gifts or won in a giveaway also count!
   1. Witch & Wizard by James Patterson
   2. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
   -
4. Bad Blogger’s: ** Books in this category, should be ones you’ve picked up purely on the recommendation of another blogger count for this category (any reviews you post should also link to the post that convinced you give the book a go).
   **Bad Bloggers: Is hosted by Chris of Stuff as Dreams are Made on.
   1. The Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink
   2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
   -
5. Charity: Support your local charity shops with this category, by picking up books from one of their shops. Again, for those on book-buying bans, books bought for you as gifts also count, as long as they were bought from a charity shop.
   1.
   2.
   -
6. New in 2010: This category is for those books newly published in 2010 (whether it be the first time it is has been released, or you had to wait for it to be published in your country, it counts for this one!)
   1. Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris – May 4, 2010 (Review posted)
   2. Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich
   -
7. Older Than You: Read two books that were published before you were born, whether that be the day before or 100 years prior!
   1. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (1949)
   2.
   -
8. Win! Win!: Have a couple of books you need to read for another challenge? Then this is the category to use, as long that is, you don’t break the rules of the other challenge by doing so!
   1. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa (What’s in a Name Challenge)
   2. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick (YA Challenge)
   -
9. Who Are You Again?: This one isn’t just for authors you’ve never read before, this is for those authors you have never even heard of before!
   1. Crossing the Bridge by Michael Baron (Review posted)
   2. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson (Review posted)
   -
10. Up to You!: The requirements for this category are up to you! Want to challenge yourself to read some graphic novels? A genre outside your comfort zone? Something completely wild and wacky? Then this is the category to you. The only requirement is that you state it in your sign-up post.
    - I’d like to challenge myself to read more Canadian authors. I’ll add to the challenge to say it must be 2 Canadian authors I haven’t read before.
    1. As She Grows by Lesley Anne Cowan (Review Posted)
    2. Fearless Female Journalists by Joy Crysdale (Review Posted)

Happy Friday folks. This week’s Friday Freebie is kind of a re-tweet of sorts… J_Kaye (of J. Kayes Book Blog) was kind enough to post tweet a link to Books on the Knob which is a fantasic site that offers tips on great books for great prices. On my first visit I found not one, but two great e-books which are currently being offered for free!

The first was the one mentioned in the above tweet, All the Pretty Girls by J.T. Ellison, and the other was My Husbands Sweethearts by Bridget Asher.

For those of you who haven’t gone digital with your books yet, they also have great deals on regular books as well as other items offered by Amazon. The official tag line is: Bargain reads, book reviews, the Amazon Kindle and some games, technology and computers tossed in now and then.

Check it out for yourself! Hopefully there’s a good find for everyone!

My brain is muddled with the air-travel flu and I can’t seem to finish the review I’m working on, or come up with anything interesting to chat about.  So I thought I’d share my list of upcoming books that I’m looking forward to with you instead!

If you’re a regular reader here at WAGB, you may have noticed that I’m a list girl! I love my lists. I meticulously keep track of what I read and when I read it (among many other things), so it should be no surprise that I also have a similar list for the books I’m waiting on.

I know there are many, MANY new books coming out every week, but this list is comprised of just the series I follow (or plan to follow).

March
March 15:  Fang (Maximum Ride #6)

March 16:  The Spellmans Strike Again, Lisa Lutz  (Spellman Files #4)

May
May 4:  Dead In The Family, Charlaine Harris  (Southern Vampire #10)
The Kane Chronicles, Rick Riordan  (The Red Pyramid #1)

May 25: The Necromancer, Michael Scott (Immortal N. Flamel #4)

April
April 13: Tales of the Otherworld, Kelly Armstrong  (Otherworld # 11)

April 27:   The Reckoning, Kelly Armstrong  (Darkest Powers #3)

June
June 22:  Sizzling Sixteen, Janet Evanovich  (Stephanie Plum #16)

July
July 6:  Undead and Unfinished, Maryjanice Davidson  (Betsy the Vampire Queen #9)

July 20: Linger, Maggie Stiefvater (Sam the Wolf #2)

August
Aug 24:  The Hunger Games: Book 3 by Suzanne Collins

Did I mention any of your favorites in that list? What series are you following that have new volumes coming out this year? I’m always on the lookout for great new series to fall in love with, so be sure to let me know your faves!