The Pandemic of Book Amnesia

Most of the people reading this post are book bloggers or at least very dedicated readers. The type of people that read daily. We devour books like they're food and we're never satisfied. Occasionally we grow impatient with one type of flavour, but upon seeing a really epic trailer for an upcoming book, we get right back into it. We read so much, so fast, and sometimes it takes a toll on our lives. We're those strange people that sometimes would rather just curl up with a nice book instead of going shopping. It's weird to friends who don't read, and we've been told so many times that we read too much.

Another toll it's taken on me is my memory. Now, I'm not blaming books on what I would call "absentmindedness" (or what my mom calls "idiocy"). Rather, where do you think all those thousands, maybe even millions, of words go? They can't all stay in my brain. So some go away. Most people remember general storylines for books they read. They remember character names, backgrounds, covers, anything. Everyone has this issue to some degree, but I feel like I suffer more than others. 

I have book amnesia. Also known as liber amnesia.

It's rather shameful and embarrassing. I have been ridiculed for it. Mostly by this one really mean Vampire Academy/ Sidney Crosby fan, but it still hurts. All jokes aside, I find it really weird and so do others. You might be wondering why, so I'll tell you some of the symptoms of my condition. 

Symptoms

• forgetting character's names. 
• forgetting the story.
• forgetting the title. 
• forgetting what happens
• forgetting I ever read the book.
• forgetting if I liked it or not. 

Now, it's pretty obvious why I write a review for a book almost immediately after reading it. The thing about these "symptoms" is that they aren't exactly bad. Everyone forgets stories and books sometimes. The thing that's a little extreme is how fast I can forget. I've read a book, and a day later can't remember the main character's love interest's name. I've read a book I adored so much that I made my friend buy it and then she reads it within a week of me. We try to talk about the ending but I can't remember it all. It's tragic because you can imagine how much I can remember once I read a sequel of a book I year later. That's right, not much. 

Solutions

I'm a fighter. I refuse to let this conundrum bring me down. I will read books, and damnit I will remember some of them! Mostly, it's my very favourite series that I remember the most, but even that doesn't work sometimes. So rather than lament about the problem, I seek solutions. 

One solution I found was reading Down The Rabbit Hole's Happily Ever Endings posts. I love these. No seriously, they have saved me so many times. Basically, they are the summaries of endings for books and they, along with some spoilery Goodreads reviews, rescue me from reading a sequel of a book I have no recollection of. Especially since in general I don't like to reread. So they have helped me a lot.

What I'm wondering is if this is common among book readers or am I an anomaly. Do you guys suffer from any type of liber amnesia too? Let us commiserate in the comments!

The Age of Reading; Forever YA?

Ever since I was a kid, I've read books for an older age group than mine. I actually didn't like picture books very much as a kid. I found them to be boring and I wasn't interested in books at all until I was old enough to read chapter books. Junie B. Jones was one of the first "chapter" books I read. It was about a kid younger than me, in kindergarten, which didn't bother me much but the next chapter books I got into were about twelve year-olds when I was seven so about a five year gap.

Ever since then, I've consistently read about people older than me. I started to move away from MG in grades 4/5 and by grade 6 I was reading entirely YA. Now, I stick to YA but occasionally will read a MG book (especially if it's by this guy).

Now, I've been reading teen for about five years and again, I can see myself shifting in age. I'm 16 and most YA books are either about characters or aimed towards people a little older, a little younger, or just around this age. When I was younger, I remember loving to read about the first years of high school. I used to always wonder what it was like and the only way I could imagine it even semi-accurately (beyond watchin those shows my mom called "garbage") was to read about it. Now, I've been in high school for three years. I haven't been accepted into Hogwarts (*sobs*) and I don't read those types of books anymore. Once again, my interests or reading levels has shifted upwards.

These days I don't want to read young YA. I've been through that stage, I kind of hate that age, and now I'm wandering more towards books about growing up. If I'm reading a contemporary, it's not about fitting in any more but how to stand out. I read more about becoming an adult, saying goodbye to high school and opening up to university. It's awkward for me sometimes to read about characters noticeably younger. I can't read about 11 year olds as a 16 year old. I find it odd, and also really sad because I remember being 11 and thinking that 12 was this magical age where everything awesome would happen to you. It's not an unpleasant reading experience, but it is a little strange to have a literary crush on a guy even two years younger, which is why I don't connect as well to those books.

Books have always been a source of comfort to me. I've always reminded myself that no matter how sucky anything in my life is, at least it's not as bad as ________'s life when they had to _________ and ended up losing _________.  YA books in particular have done a lot. I owe a lot of my personality and maturity to the YA genre and everything it has taught me.That's why I wonder sometimes if I'll still read YA in the future.

I know a lot of people do. And a lot of you guys make some pretty spectacular blogs with wonderful reviews and features. As much as YA is supposed to be for teens, the YA blogosphere would not be where it is today if it weren't for the "adults" that keep reading YA. You know, the +20 up are a huge demographic blogging-wise and probably when it comes to book sales too. Since y'all actually have some sort of income.

So naturally, being the annoyingly over analytic person that I am, I wonder if I'll stick with YA for life. If when I'm 30 (I don't want to imagine this) I'll still care about the books that made me who I was as a teen in what I'm told are some of the most formative years of life.

As of this moment, I have nothing to worry about. There's plenty in YA that interests me and I don't see that changing for a while. If it ever does change, I don't think it'll be sudden. It'll be more of a progression towards more mature books and I'm not there yet. Nonetheless, I still do wonder.

I know it's not one or the other; teen or adult; but even now I find it hard to figure out what I'd like in the MG world, so I end up not reading any of it.

So I have some question for teens reading YA; do you think you'll continue to do so when you're not in the YA age group anymore? And for you older YA fans, what makes you stick around? Is it a conscious decision? Do you primarily read YA or do you read a mix?

I know people often do posts about this subject so if you already have written a post about why you read YA feel free to link it in the comments.

Spotlight on... The Dark Unwinding

Spotlight on... is a very random feature about anything and everything, though it usually pertains to books. It's basically about something I want to give attention to. 

As I was Goodreads searching books, I came by a list of 2012 releases. I haven't been around for much of 2012 yet, but I want to know what books to look out for, so I decided to look at the list. The first titles were books I was really excited for, and they were all familiar. But I wanted to see books I haven't heard about yet, so I went to the last page of the list where I saw a title that piqued my interest: The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron. 

My initial thoughts when I saw the cover was that it looked like my type of read (you know, paranormal/dystopian/action type book). I honestly am not the hugest fan of the cover (I don't like the colour combination, or the fonts) but I think it will look way better in person. 

Anyway, it's the synopsis that intrigues me. Inheritance? Steampunk? Eccentric family members? Why not? 

Here it is: 

A spine-tingling tale of steampunk and spies, intrigue and heart-racing romance!

When Katharine Tulman's inheritance is called into question by the rumor that her eccentric uncle is squandering away the family fortune, she is sent to his estate to have him committed to an asylum. But instead of a lunatic, Katharine discovers a genius inventor with his own set of rules, who employs a village of nine hundred people rescued from the workhouses of London.

Katharine is now torn between protecting her own inheritance and preserving the peculiar community she grows to care for deeply. And her choices are made even more complicated by a handsome apprentice, a secretive student, and fears for her own sanity.

As the mysteries of the estate begin to unravel, it is clear that not only is her uncle's world at stake, but also the state of England as Katharine knows it. With twists and turns at every corner, this heart-racing adventure will captivate readers with its intrigue, thrills, and romance.

Sounds interesting, huh? I've generally liked most steampunk, with one of my favourites being The Girl in the Steel Corset  so I'm totally interested in reading about this book. It has a lot of potential and the plot sounds really original. I also like the idea of a twisty plot, with adventure and a bit of romance. This is definitely a must read. 

Remember, the book releases September 1st from Scholastic. So far, there aren't many reviews on Goodreads but lots of positive star ratings.

Some more cool stuff: 

This website.  Seriously, I love the little animation and the wind! Probably one of the coolest author websites I've seen. 

Some extras about her book including a teaser, some photos about her inspiration for the setting, and some videos of automatons! 

Sharon Cameron won the 2009 Sue Alexander Most Promising New Work Award by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. I haven't heard of that, but congratulations to her anyway! Since she won it for this novel, it better be good, right? 

What do you think? Sounds good? Any other 2012 recs for me? 

Spotlight on... Melissa de la Cruz!

I was looking around and thought it was time for another spotlight post. I was browsing through my books and I noticed I've read many books by Melissa de la Cruz. She has many books coming up and is an author with amazing range. For all of you new to Tantalizing Illusions, Spotlight on is a feature where I basically gush about one author/cover/theme, etc. It's also a great way to get information on your favourite authors and  to see what I've read and loved in the past.







Melissa de la Cruz is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of many critically acclaimed and award-winning novels for teens including The Au Pairs series, the Blue Bloods series, the Ashleys series, the Angels on Sunset Boulevard series and the semi-autobiographical novel Fresh off the Boat. 

She has worked as a fashion and beauty editor and has written for many publications including The New York Times, Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Allure, The San Francisco Chronicle, McSweeney’s, Teen Vogue, CosmoGirl! and Seventeen. She has also appeared as an expert on fashion, trends and fame for CNN, E! and FoxNews. 

Melissa grew up in Manila and moved to San Francisco with her family, where she graduated high school salutatorian from The Convent of the Sacred Heart. She majored in art history and English at Columbia University (and minored in nightclubs and shopping!). 

She now divides her time between New York and Los Angeles, where she lives in the Hollywood Hills with her husband and daughter. 


Bio courtesy of Goodreads


Melissa's Website
Melissa's Twitter

Books by Melissa de la Cruz:
The Blue Bloods Series

(lost in time hasn't been released yet)

(Novella)

(a kind of guide book with more information on the world of Blue Bloods)
The Au Pairs series:

The Ashleys series:

Angels on Sunset Boulevard series:

 The second novel is called Angels Lie but I couldn't find the cover. It was released in 2009
Wolf Pact series:
Wolf Pact, being published in 2012, no cover yet. This series follows Bliss from Blue Bloods.
The Beauchamp Family series:

(this is an adult level book to be released on June 21 2011)


Melissa de la Cruz has written more books but they are adult books so I chose not to include them. For a full list of all her books, click here.


I've started many of her books- Blue Bloods (which I've read all of except Bloody Valentine which is on my shelf), The Ashley's (book 1), Angels on Sunset Boulevard (book 1) and it's apparent to me that Melissa is a very fluent and varied writer. She can write about any character realistically. Her books do tend to have a bit of glamour in them and she does that with a flair. Every story is different and every character, even the annoying mean girl has weaknesses. Her books are addictive and easy to read. Once you start them you're trapped in that world and will constantly be awaiting the next book in the series. She's written many books and I plan on reading as many of them as I can get my hand on.

Have you read a book by Melissa de la Cruz? What did you think of it?

Spotlight On... Melissa Marr

It seems like there are many authors I feel the need to gush about! On the top of my list would be the amazing Melissa Marr.



From Goodreads:


BIO STUFF:
I write books. I read books. That's all you need to know. The books matter, NOT the author.


Wow, I have to say that's so true! 


Website: http://www.melissa-marr.com/
Fansite: http://wickedlovely.com

Amazing books she has written include...

The Wicked Lovely series:

Short stories (WL related, already released):
 
Anthos she's written in: 
**
*not yet released
Graveminder (adult):



Everyone who knows me knows that I love love love love (x100...) Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series. In fact, I've read all of them (except Darkest Mercy which is actually resting right beside my laptop tempting me to pick it up and read it and the short stories). I'm even a Summer Court Head on the Wicked Lovely forum, the Rath and Ruins (which you should join if you're a WL fan- there's some great people there). But why do I love them so much? It's because of three things.

1. The amazing world. It's addicting to read about faeries. And no, we're not talking about Tinker Bell. These faeries are vicious, dangerous, otherworldly, and enthralling.

2. The fabulous plot. It's complicated and real. There's lots of action, and lots of romance. It is not black versus white or good versus evil in any sense. Melissa's world is a world of the grey, and the WL books actually make you think and challenge your views of right and wrong.

3. The characters. Holy $#*! there are so many real, lovable characters. My favourite would be Keenan, but there is a character for everyone to love. And I mean everyone. There isn't a clear hero or villain, so it really depends on who you are and what you believe in to support a character.

If you haven't read WL, READ IT! Now.

I'd like to warn people first that these are dark books, especially Ink Exchange, that deal with hard issues. They are in no way light reads (though they aren't too long) so keep that in your thoughts.

For those of you who have read them,  I have two questions. What Court would you be in and who's your favourite character?