This Friday we have another great giveaway for you! (Yes, we still have to announce the winner from the Grave Reads Giveaway. It’s coming soon, I promise.) This time we’re giving away one gently used copy of our October Book Club selection, The Hunger Games! It turns out Rae loved the book SO much that after she replaced her paperback copy with a hardcover. So now we’re passing the extra copy along to you!

Since it’s Friday we thought we’d have a little fun to go along with our Giveaway, so we’re going to play a little game called Novel Casting!

As some of you may be aware, we’re not big on many of the casting choices going around the interwebs for The Hunger Games movie, so we thought it would be fun to try our hands at casting the movie.

All you have to do to be entered in the giveaway is share some of your Hunger Games casting choices in the comments below! And since everybody loves an extra entry here’s how to get ‘em!

• Cast 1 character = 1 entry
• Cast 3 characters = 2 entries
• Cast 5 characters = 3 entries

*Serious entries only please! (Just because you love Lauren Graham doesn’t mean she could play the role of Katniss.)

To get things started, I’ll share who starred in the role of Katniss in my head while I was reading the books… it was Emmy Rossum.  Of course, this was based primarily on looks as I’m not overly familiar with her work. I also think Emma Roberts fits the bill appearance wise, and she’s a little closer to the right age for Katniss.

Who would you like to see take on some of the roles in The Hunger Games movie? Share your thoughts below AND get entered in the giveaway!

Giveaway closes: Sunday, November 21, 2010 at midnight.

If you don’t want another copy of the book, you can still play along in the comments below, just let us know you don’t want to be entered in the giveaway.

This is your final reminder… Don’t forget to enter our Ghoulish Giveaway for your chance to win some Grave reads!! The giveaway closes Sunday at midnight.

That’s right! We have not one, but TWO books in Charlaine Harris’ Harper Connelly (Grave) Series to give away! We’re offering up a paperback copy of Grave Sight, the first book in the series as well as a hardcover copy of Grave Surprise, the 2nd book in the series!

You may be familiar with Harris’s work through the very popular Sookie Stackhouse books (some of my fave’s!), so now’s your chance to get to know some of her other work!

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY, just head on over to our Grave Reads Giveaway post, and follow the instructions for entering.

How about a little Friday Freebie to help this drab day move along?

As you may know, I’m a huge Kelley Armstrong fan and this week’s Friday Freebie is a little gift from Kelley to all her readers! Many of you may be familiar with Armstrong’s fabulous Women of the Otherworld series, but she also has a really great YA series called Darkest Powers available.

Yesterday Kelley announced via her Twitter account that a short story based on the Darkest Powers series was now up on the Darkest Powers Blog, and I couldn’t wait to share it with my fellow YA fantasy lovers!

Head on over to the Darkest Powers blog to check out the first two chapters of the ongoing Untitled* Darkest Powers Story for 2010.

For those of you who already fans of the series, the story features  Simon and Tori after Chloe and Derek get off the bus in The Awakening.  If you’re not familiar with the series, you can check out my reviews of the first three books: The Summoning, The Awakening and The Reckoning to learn more.

*If you get there before Monday, October 18 you can enter the contest to name the as yet Untitled Story! The winner will get a special prize pack (see the next post on the Darkest Powers blog for all the details).

Happy Friday folks! As you can probably tell from the tumbleweeds blowing around here, things have been pretty busy for the past few weeks. September always seems to be a busy month for me, and with some changes happening at home, I haven’t had a lot of time to read or write about what I’ve read in a while. Hopefully things will pick up soon, but in the meantime I have a little Friday Freebie for you!

Anyone who reads WAGB knows that both Rae and I love Janet Evanovich and are eagerly awaiting the debut book in her new Unmentionable Series. The first book in the series is called Wicked Appetite and will be released in just a few days on Sept. 14, 2010.

If you’re like us and just can’t wait, or if you’re new to Janet Evanovich’s work and would like to test before you buy, you can check out a sample of Wicked Appetite now on Janet’s website! A preview of the first 21 pages of Wicked Appetite can be found here.

Our WAGB Book Club selection for August is James Patterson’s Sundays at Tiffany’s. I finished the book this week and I really loved it. I’m not always a fan of chick lit/romance type novels, but I found this one to be quite a bit more engaging than your standard romantic fare. It may have been the small supernatural element, or the lack of endless angst, but Sundays at Tiffany’s worked for me. The discussion post will be going up next week, but in the meantime I thought I’d help get people in a James Patterson kind of mood by sharing these fun freebies that are being offered on his site right now.

1. Preview of part one of The Postcard Killers by James Patterson & Liza Marklund.
2. And if you like it, why not enter the contest to win a SIGNED copy of the Postcard Killers!?
3. Preview the first 24 chapters of Private byJames Patterson & Maxine Paetro.

When I learned about this neat idea from Simon & Schuster, I just couldn’t wait to share it with everyone! What is an interactive book you ask? Well, according to the official website:

Loser/Queen is an online interactive serial and a groundbreaking publishing event. The beginning of the story has been written and posted—but it’s up to you to decide what happens next. Cast your vote by 5 p.m. (EST) Thursday night of each week. Then, check back Mondays at 10 a.m. (EST) to see the poll results—and how the story was affected by your choice!

Here’s a bit about Loser/Queen:

Cammy Hall is what anyone would describe as a loser. She lives with her grandparents and has adopted their way of life… right down to the comfortable shoes and early bedtime. And can she help it that she actually likes to knit?

Cammy’s used to being an outsider; after years of humiliating moments, her goal is simply to fly under the radar. Then she suddenly starts receiving mysterious text messages that lead her right to all the embarrassing secrets about the most popular kids in school. Cammy never expected to be able to climb up the high school food chain, and the agenda of the texter may be questionable—but how can she possibly give up the chance to be Queen?

When the online story and the voting are finished, Loser/Queen will be printed as a paperback and packed with extras from bestselling author Jodi Lynn Anderson!

To read part 1 and part 2 of Loser/Queen and get in on the next round of voting go here.

What do you think of the interactive book idea? Will you vote on what happens to Cammy next?

This week’s Friday Freebie is a sneak-peek at an exciting new YA novel called I Am Number Four which will be hitting shelves on August 3, 2010. The book is penned by Pittacus Lore, a 10,000 year-old alien from the planet Lorien! (Lore is actually a pseudonym for James Frey  and Jobie Hughes.) Even though I Am Number Four is still almost a month away from it’s release date and already there’s a movie in the works and fan sites online.

If you haven’t yet heard about this interesting new novel, here’s a bit about I Am Number Four from Amazon:

Nine of us came here. We look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books—but we are real. Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. We have lived among you without you knowing.

But they know.

They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They killed them all.

I am Number Four.

I am next.

Entertainment Weekly’s Shelf Life is offering up a nine-page sneak-peek at this first volume in what will be the Lorien Legacies series. According to EW, book number two is already in progress and will be called The Power of Six.

Just visit EW or click here to read the first nine pages of I Am Number Four.

Earlier in the week I posted my review of The Iron King by Julie Kagawa. This fun faery fantasy novel is the first in the Iron Fey series, and I quite enjoyed it! Judging from it’s highly positive status on Goodreads, many others are enjoying it too.

This week’s great Friday Freebie is a novella called Winter’s Passage that falls between The Iron King and The Iron Daughter, the next book in the Iron Fey series. To make a good thing even better, Winter’s Passage is available for free on the Iron Fey website!  Just click on the Winter’s Passage download box to download a copy in the version of your choice (ePub, PDF or Microsoft eBook).

This free novella is also available for Kindle and on netgalley.

Hopefully this free novella will satisfy fans until The Iron Daughter comes out next month!

Happy Friday folks! Even though it was only 3 days long (for me), this has felt like a really long week. And what better way to unwind after a long week than with a bit of fun YA fantasy?

As some of you are probably aware, I’m a big fan of James Patterson’s Maximum Ride series. He also has another YA series called Daniel X. To help celebrate the upcoming release of the third volume in this series, James is offering a sneak peek at the first 25 chapters of Daniel X: Demons & Druids.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the series, here’s a bit about Daniel X from the author’s website:

HE WAS BORN WITH GREAT POWER

The greatest superpower of all isn’t to be part spider, part man, or to cast magic spells – the greatest power is the power to create. Daniel X has that power.

AND A DEADLY SECRET

Daniel’s secret abilities–like being able to manipulate objects and animals with his mind or to re-create himself in any shape he chooses–have helped him survive. But Daniel doesn’t have a normal life. He is the protector of Earth, the Alien Hunter, with a mission beyond anyone’s imagining.

NOW THE FATE OF THE WORLD RESTS ON DANIEL X

From the day that his parents were brutally murdered before his very eyes, Daniel has used his unique gifts to hunt down their assassin. Finally, with the help of The List, bequeathed to him in his parents’ dying breath, he is closing in on the killer.

Now, on his own, he vows to carry out his father’s mission–and to take vengeance in the process.

Sounds like fun right? If you still aren’t convinced, check out the excerpt which has been made available in a variety of user friendly formats:

• Read the excerpt online
• Download the excerpt as a PDF / Adobe Digital Editions
• Download the excerpt as an audio MP3 read by Milo Ventimiglia

(For those of you who are spoiler-phobes like me, worry not. This little preview sets up the world of Daniel X without giving too much away.)

*If you enjoyed what you’ve read of Daniel X: Demons & Druids why not enter James Patterson’s contest to win all 3?

Fans of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series, may be aware that he’s recently released The Red Pyramid, which is the first novel in a new series called The Kane Chronicles. I have this one on my wish-list, and from what I’ve heard  it’s great!

Here’s a bit about The Red Pyramid from the official website:

Since their mother’s death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane.

One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a “research experiment” at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives.

Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them–Set–has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe – a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.

If for some reason you’re still not sold, or like me you have to wait until you can own for it yourself,  you can check out a preview of the first chapter of the book here!