Friday, January 9, 2009

And the Winner is...

Thank you so much for your feedback on my "first line" survey. After tabulating your votes (including one on Facebook) the winner with 3 votes is Impossible (YA) by Nancy Werlin. (Quote #1) I am excited to read this book for several reasons.

First, Nancy Werlin is a National Book Award Finalist for her book "Rules of Survival," which means that her writing is highly acclaimed.

Second, Robert got me this book for Christmas after lots of research and investigation. However, part of his investigation included writing down books I had requested from the library. At the time he made note of the title, I was pretty far back on the waiting list. By Christmas, I was #1 on the waiting list. So Robert told me I could read the library copy and take this one back and choose something else.

Third, it combines suspense, fantasy and romance for an intensely page-turning and masterful tale.

I have to give a little credit to the two books which tied for 2nd place with 2 votes each.

Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book (YA) has been widely anticipated in the kid lit world. (Quote #4) I've had it on my list for months even though I really didn't care for the other Neil Gaiman books I've read. The Ananzi Boys did not float my boat, and Coraline was fine in a creepy kind of way.

Additionally, I just finished a book by a different author that had a Neil Gaiman "blurb" on the back (something about how the book was perfect and gripping and the best thing ever) and I really didn't care for that book.

I'm starting to think that Mr. Gaiman and I just have different tastes.

The reason I want to read this book is simply peer pressure. Everyone is raving, there is a high demand on the library's waiting list, so therefore, I must have it. Shallow, I know, but there you have it.

The other 2 vote book was If You're Reading This, It's Too Late by Pseudonymous Bosch (Middle Grade) (Quote #9). This is a sequel to Bosch first book, The Name of This Book is Secret.

Personally, I think he's laying on the reverse psychology a little thick.

I mildly enjoyed the first book and when the second book came out I thought, "sure, why not."

Do NOT click here to go to his blog and learn more about the series.

One final note to Betsy: It's not referring to food.

3 comments:

Nancy Werlin said...

Dear Afton,

I certainly hope you enjoy Impossible. However, I feel compelled to tell you that it is not, in fact, a National Book Award finalist, though it has received other kudos.

The deal is that *I* am a National Book Award finalist for my previous book, The Rules of Survival. My publisher stuck the words on the cover near my name to indicate this (but probably was aware of the opportunity for confusion and decided that was a benefit.)

I hope very much that you enjoy reading it, and happy new year!

Nancy Werlin

Afton said...

Thank you so much for your comment Nancy Werlin! And thanks for the clarification on your status vs. Impossible's status. (I'll be sure to clear that up in my post.)

Now that you mention it, I can see that the "National Book Award Finalist" is coupled with your name and not the title, but that is a clever trick by the publisher.

Now I'll have to check out "Rules of Survival" too.

Debbie said...

WOW! So cool that she commented! That's even a little better than when Mrs. Meyer said your name was cool! (But not cooler than if she used your name as a vampire in her book, even though it was a boy...)

Do you know how she found your site?