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My name is Ardis and I am an avid reader and budding writer. I want to share my love of books with others. I work with kids and am interested in finding and creating books that will ignite the reader in everyone. Contact me at: ardis.atkins@gmail.com

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MsArdychan's bookshelf: read

I Owe You One
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Love, Hate & Other Filters
The Wartime Sisters
The Belles
The Gilded Wolves
Hey, Kiddo
Blackberry and Wild Rose
Queen of Air and Darkness
Firestarter
The Retribution of Mara Dyer
The Evolution of Mara Dyer


MsArdychan's favorite books »

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Saturday, December 12, 2015

Stacking the shelves #9

Stacking the Shelves was started by Tynga's Reviews.  Go check them out to get information about Stacking the Shelves and see the blog hop they put together.  It's a great site.


     Wow, it's been a really productive week!  I am really motivated to get my feedback rating up higher on NetGalley, so I have been tearing through ARCs.  I managed to read three ARCs this week.  The only problem is that although I read them, I am not allowed to release my reviews until right before the books come out!  Most of these books come out in January.  So I didn't do much blogging this week.  Oh, well, at least I will have lots of reviews in the can for later in December and January.
 

Here is a run down of what I read and acquired this week:

Read This Week:





Audiobook From the Library:



Purchased E-Book:





Won from Contests:



 From NetGalley:




Posts for the week:


Sunday, December 6th:  Book Review:  Melophobia by James Morris

 Thursday, December 10th:  Three 4 Thursday: Three YA five star novels

Friday, December 11th:   Feature & Follow Friday





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Thursday, December 10, 2015

Feature & Follow Friday





Feature & Follow Friday is hosted by two amazing bloggers:  Rachel of Parajunkee and Alison of Alison Can Read.  Please follow them as they are both original and inspiring to me.


     Happy Friday everyone!  While I'm thankful it's the weekend, I am also a bit panicked over how close Christmas is!  I bought most of my presents, but I need to get wrapping!  But I will be sure to take a few quick breaks and check out new blogs from Feature & Follow Friday!  I always seem to find some wonderful blogs to follow each and every week.  What gem will you discover this week?

      This week's featured blogger is Billbrarian.  Bill's blog is on the newer side but is already full of great bookish information.

The Question of the Week:  What's your favorite non-bookish website hangout?  Suggested by Cornerfolds.

 As I got into book blogging I began to get more involved in Twitter (my Twitter name is MsArdychan).  That's where I hang out when not writing in my blog.  I know that it is for bookish purposes, but this is where I spend the most time nowadays.  

 

 

 

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Three 4 Thursday: Three YA Five-Star Novels


via GIPHY


I've been thinking a lot about what I want my posts to be about lately.  I am trying to find ways to connect with my readers in meaningful ways.  I thought today's post should be about books that I gave five stars to and were really surprised by.  I know that some people give YA novels a lot of grief.  Many people who don't read them write them off as trite and superficial.  But in my reading journey I have found such profound truths in YA stories that transcend age and experience and get at the heart of being human.  Here are three gems I read this year:

1.  OCD, The Dude, and Me by Lauren Roedy Vaughn:
I cannot stop singing the praises of this book!  I picked it up at the library based on the quirky title, but fell in love with this book.  I adored the format of letters, emails, and school papers used to tell this story.  It is about a high school senior trying to cope with the pressure of that last year of school.  She is dealing with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Anxiety, but working mightily to act like everything is fine.  With humor, this book shows real problems and the ways teens often cope when things get to be too much for them.  You will be rooting for Danielle as she navigates the complicated social scene at her school.  This book gave me (happy) tears at the end.  It is a very special book that I hope more people will read.

2.  It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini:


 I wanted to read this after I saw an advertisement for the movie. I am a "gotta read the book first" kind of girl, so I bought it at B & N soon after.  I just thought this might be a book with some quirky characters but was set in a mental hospital.  But it is so much more than that.  I really enjoyed this because it shows that there is more to life than getting perfect grades.  There is so much pressure to create the perfect high school experience that will have colleges fighting over you.  The protagonist, Craig, gets in to a great high school, only to bomb spectacular.  Craig learns to relax, and see the bigger picture.  I hope that people read this and learn to stop contributing to setting unrealistic standards for teens.  To be fair, Craig did this to himself, but when you are fed with a steady diet of sky-high standards from society, it's no wonder we have a generation of kids cracking under the pressure.

3.  Wonder by R.J. Palacio:
If you haven't had a chance to read this amazing book, drop whatever it is your doing right now and get it.  This is a story of a boy who has a severely disfigured face and how the world reacts to him.  Told mostly by the kid himself, the book shows what it is like to be perceived as very different.  While he may look unusual, August Pullman is a very average, normal kid and he wants to be treated that way.  As he goes from the safety of home-schooling to a brick and mortar school, August must deal with peoples reactions ranging from utter disgust to pity to friendship.  Who are making fun of him behind his back?  How can he get people to see him as any other student?  While his situation is extreme, his struggles to be accepted are what kids deal with every day.  I works in school inclusion, and see first-hand how challenging it can be to just be a normal kid in a body that is different from everyone else.  And it's not just the students who are difficult to deal with, but the parents as well.  This book touched me deeply and reminded me of the need for normalcy when faced with unusual circumstances.
What books surprised you in 2015?  Let me know in the comments section.
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Sunday, December 6, 2015

Book Review: Melophobia


Please note:
I received an electronic copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.  This did not influence my review in any way.


Synopsis (from GoodReads):

The time—now; the place—America, but in a world where the government controls all forms of art and creativity. Any music sowing the seeds of anarchy is banned—destroyed if found—its creators and listeners harshly punished.

Merrin Pierce works as an undercover Patrol officer assigned to apprehend a fugitive musician who threatens the safe fabric of society, only to confront everything she thought to be true – her values, upbringing, job, and future.

Review:

When I first started reading Melophobia the premise, an alternate version of America where popular music has been banned since the late 1960's, seemed far-fetched.  I mean, how could there be a country where music would be banned?  That could never happen!  I remarked about this to my husband and he correctly pointed out that there are several countries where music and western culture ARE banned right now.  With my western arrogance, I hadn't even considered this, and yet there are people right now who live with a moral police and bans on entertainment, and free speech.  When I wrapped my head around THAT reality, this book came to life for me.

Merrin leads a complicated life.  As an undercover officer in The Patrol, she must pretend to love music in order to infiltrate the illegal music scene.  When she begins to actually appreciate and cherish the expressive freedom of music, she must come to terms with what she has been told all her life was corrupt and sinful.  How can something so beautiful be wrong?

I really enjoyed this book.  It reads like a crime thriller.  Who is The Source?  Will Merrin and her partner, Anders, crack the case?  And what will happen to The Source if he or she is caught?  To what lengths will the State go to maintain control?  Merrin's transition from obedient daughter and citizen to an independent thinker is joyous to read.  Author James Morris does a wonderful job of articulating how powerful music is, especially to someone who is new to the listening experience. The themes of censorship and government control are extremely timely and thought-provoking.  

Rating: 

Release Date:  September 22nd, 2015

Source: Received from the author

Format:  E-Book

Recommendation: A tense crime thriller that raises challenging questions of safety vs. censorship. A great read.

Will I read more from this author?  Yes!






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Saturday, December 5, 2015

Stacking The Shelves #8


Stacking the shelves was started by Tynga's Reviews.  Please visit her site to learn more about this weekly feature and to post your own Stacking The Shelves entry there.

 I have been reading at a good pace this week, getting two books read!  I kind of went on an e-book spree and got a load of new, fun books!  I hope to start reading these in January, but if I hit my target on reading in December, I may be able to get some of these in this month!

Read:

 






E-books bought:



The Misadventures and Opinions of the Ingenious American

















 

Posts:


Sunday, November 29th:  Book Review of Uprooted by Naomi Novik

 Monday, November 30th:  November Wrap up

 Tuesday, December 1st:  December Game Plan: A Month of ARCs

 Friday, December 4th:  Feature & Follow Friday Blog Hop
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Thursday, December 3, 2015

Feature & Follow Friday!

Feature & Follow Friday is hosted by two amazing bloggers:  Rachel of Parajunkee and Alison of Alison Can Read.  Please follow and worship them as I do!
 
Oh, I am so glad it's Friday.  I missed #FFF last week due to Thanksgiving.  But I'm back.  This week reminds me how blogging has helped me deal with life in a positive manner.  I have only been blogging (in a committed way), since July, and it has helped me so much as an outlet for my thoughts, feelings, and hopes.  I love finding new people who express themselves though blogging.  It's the connections that get us through these uncertain times.  


 This week's featured blogger is: Da Readaholic.  Check out her blog with it's lush flower designs!

The Question of the week is:  What is your favorite ice cream flavor?  - Suggested by Not Tonight I'm Reading.







Well, Ice cream is my favorite treat in the world, and I have a deep and abiding love of Rocky Road.  I just love the marshmellows, chocolate pieces, and almonds!  If it weren't for the cold weather right now, I would be running to the store to get some today.  What are your favorite flavors of ice cream?  Let me know in the comments section.

Now for the Blog Hopping!!!  Add your post to the blog hop, get moving and look at all these great blogs.  

Have a great week,

Ardis




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Tuesday, December 1, 2015

December Game Plan: A month of ARCs

                
via GIPHY

 It has been an amazing year.   I started out in January not even knowing what a book blog was, and now in December I am flooded with ARCs.  Okay, maybe not flooded, but I have 10 of these babies to read.  I want to be able to request some big ARC's in the coming year and, although my chances for these are slim, I won't have any shot at all if my feedback rating on NetGalley stays where it is!  So with this in mind, Here are the ARC's I will read and review for this month:










 












Some of the books I will review and post on NetGalley, but will wait to post them on my blog when they get closer to their release dates.  A few of the ARC's I have are already published, so I will be able to post those as soon as I get them.  One of these books is for a blog tour so I know I will post this in early January.  I'm so excited for all of these books!  

What books are you excited to read in December?  Are you working towards a specific goal as I am?  Let me know in the comments below.  

Happy reading!











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