Thursday, February 18, 2010

Love in the Pages...

Love, love, love. We’re celebrating all things love related, so how can I not mention my love of books!

I love how books bring people together. I love how wonderful it is to meet readers. I love talking about stories and characters and enjoying the “community” of the book together. Stephen King says (and here I’m paraphrasing) that books require that you enter the author’s world and that together, you imagine. The author imagines and captures her world on the page. The reader absorbs the world and imagines it in her mind. Together, you build the story. Isn’t that cool and so true?


Your reading of a book is unique. It’s intimate and special and all your own. And yet – all readers of a book have shared something together. It’s unlike anything else in the world. So there you go. My love affair with books revealed.

Well, I have to say, this has been an extremely lucky month for a booklover like me. Last week I got to meet Carrie Jones, the amazing author of Need, Captivate and other great books, and vampire-book author Alyxandra Harvey, together on their signing tour across the US.

I found Carrie extremely humble, super sweet, and hilarious. She’s a friend of a friend, so along with a few other YA authors, we chatted and laughed over turkey and chili-veggie burgers at a local joint. I always love hearing how everyone approaches writing their books – and it’s just amazing to me how different everyone’s process can be. Here’s a pic of Carrie, along with Liz Gallagher and Alyxandra, showing off their books at B & N.


To top off an already great week, this last Saturday, Liz and I got to meet Buzz Girl Dona Sarkar for a delicious brunch before heading to our signing at Mockingbird Books. Look how cute these two talented ladies are! Liz was decked out in pink in honor of the day - and Dona is, well, Dona is always decked out no matter where she goes.





They have an annual event at Mockingbird Books, and in other indie bookstores, called Kids *Heart* Books – a day of signings and readings all for young readers. The store owner, Sue, and her fabulous staff made it a super great event. And I left with a bag of homemade chocolate madeleines as a thank you! That’s a win-win, if I’ve ever tasted one.


So now for today's giveaway:


To win a freshly signed copy of Alyxandra Harvey’s new twist on a vampire YA novel, Hearts At Stake, tell me in the comments what you love most about books or reading.

I’ll randomly pick a winner at the end of the week, and Buzz Girl Wendy Toliver will announce the winner on Sunday! Feel free to pass on a link to our blog and tell your friends to comment to win. Remember you can comment on any of the posts this week up until the winners are revealed.

Much love to all you Buzz Blog readers and booklovers everywhere!




Heather


The Clearing – April 2010 HMH
Never Cry Werewolf – Sept 2009 HarperTeen

20 comments:

Margay Leah Justice said...

There are so many good things about reading, but the best is that you can travel the world without leaving your house, become a doctor without all those years of training, and always find just the right thing to say to win your love in the end - just by reading! Not only that, you can learn about new cultures, professions, and foreign places along the way. What could be better than that?

Margay

mariska said...

I love reading coz i can be whenever and wherever the story carrying me :) Means i can be in other world without moving my 'butt' :)

And with reading books, i can get as many as the information a book can give me !

kaymf said...

I love reading because it can take me to another world.
It also helps to improve my vocabulary and my own writing skills.

throuthehaze said...

I love that it is like an escape from everyday life. For a little while I get to live in another world or time :)
~Raelena

Wendy Toliver said...

Great pictures, Heather! I love meeting other authors too, especially those who've written books I adore! Great post.

TinaFerraro said...

What I love MOST about books is that they're always there for me to amuse and entertain, whether it's simply in my home, or out in the real world--in an airport, supermarket line, awaiting your turn at the DMV... One time, I had to sit through some ghastly kid movie and brought a pen-light to the theater, sat in the back and read! They're my anytime favorite companions!

jpetroroy said...

I love being able to travel anywhere in the world or become any character, just by cracking the spine of a book

jpetroroy at gmail dot com

Heather R. Holden said...

I love books because not only do they offer you new worlds to escape to, but they are worlds that you can take with you anywhere and return to time and time again!

j.leigh.bailey said...

I read for the happy endings. Bad stuff happens all the time--there's crime, suffering, illness, death, tragedy. But when I read a book I can escape to another place where I know, no matter what stands in the way, there will be a happy ending. True love is real, the dragon will be slayed, the boy will get the girl, and everyone will live happily ever after.

Steph said...

I love reading for so many reasons- some even I'm not sure of. The main reason I LOVE LOVE LOVE reading id because it gives me the opportunity to live in a whole other world. It lets me get away from my life and allows me to live in another person's life, and experience their experiences. I also get to choose who's life that is. I get to choose if the person is a boy or girl, human or immortal, etc. Also, I enjoy writing, so it shows me different writing styles, and also allows me to develop my own ideas. Plus, with a book, I can take it anywhere and everywhere, so I can always just pick up where I left off wherever I am. Sometimes I learn things to do and not to do or say in my own life, so in a way it teaches me life lessons. These are the main reasons I LOVE reading, but they are definitely not the only reason, and my list can go on forever.

Jessy said...

I love so many things about reading but I think what I love the most is that I can escape from things for a while. I can live in someone else's world for a while.

The Golfing Librarian said...

I love books because they take me places for alot less than Coach! I also love nonfiction books because I walk away from them know more than I did before picking it up.

Marley Gibson said...

Love the pics, Heather! = )

Llehn said...

Reading makes me able to live vicariously through other people's lives.

kittyism said...

Escape. I can escape, come back, then escape again. All manner of escaping!

Bidisha said...

Reading defines my LIFE.

I love getting lost in another world and walking in someone else's shoes!

elaing8 said...

I have to agree with the others,the escapism..to be able to go to another place,read about adventures.

Heather Davis said...

Wow, thanks for all the comments, guys! Remember you can comment on *any* post this whole week, even if it's after the day posted. We're giving away a bunch of stuff this week!

hugs!

Brodie said...

Great post! What I love about reading is adventure, the journey, the seemingly impossible transformed to an everyday occurrence. I love paranormal/fantasy/supernatural reads in particular. It's so amazing to be sucked into a world that is sometimes so ordinary to our own, yet with that extra spark that makes you look around at your own life and wonder how much more is really out there. What are we missing simply because we don't want to see? It's the greatest feeling to journey along with the characters, but not so much a great feeling when it ends! ;)

God's gal said...

It's too cruel to name just one, but I believe that usual case of just escaping into the world of the author's mind makes it the best. I love getting engrossed in a story that if I'm upset or angry or just plainly annoyed by the chattering of my class, I can just pick up my book. My ears are oddly seemingly blocked and I feel what the writer/protaganist feels. It's the best in the world. (Which kind of spurs my love of writing. I want to capture the reader and have them laugh and/or such, and to just take flight)

Jade
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