Monthly Bookish Awesomeness: March 2015

In which I recap what went down in the last four weeks in and outside the blog.

Bookish and Awesome is 2 months old! Yaaay! Let’s take a look at what happened last month, shall we? Because, yeah, it’s April 1st (happy April Fools’—no this is not a prank!) and my recap is late. IHAVEMONUMENTALSCHEDULINGSKILLS!

Books I Read

• My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga – I actually read this one by the end of February but I posted my review this month. So. Two depressed teens planning their shared suicide. But here’s my pitch: Warga doesn’t romanticize depression, and there’s something equally beautiful and pensive about that.
• Promposal by Rhonda Helms – This one’s a fluffy light read that’s perfect for a stay-in night or anytime of the day really.
• More Than This by Patrick Ness – This is my first Patrick Ness title and I picked it up because of John Green (take away my money, John, you’re welcome) and what a decision! I’ve never quite read anything like it. A mix of extremely weird, deeply affecting, introspective and philosophical, it continuously flips everything on its head.
• The Hurt Patrol by Mary McKinley – a straightforward story about bullying and coming out but that has cardboard characters.
• None of the Above by I. W. Gregorio – Intersexuality + fleshed out MC + the wonders and complications of a tight-knit friendship. Gregorio’s debut is gripping, poignant and ultimately hopeful.
• Winger by Andrew Smith – The only thing you need to know about Winger is that I SUPER LOVE IT! What, that isn’t saying much? Okay, okay. It boasts a pitch-perfect character voice, unflinchingly bawdy humor, spot-on humor and masterful storytelling. That’s like having one whole chocolate mousse cake! Or cheesecake. Or whatever makes you drool.
• Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo – I still haven’t formed a congruous opinion about this one but the world-building is incredible.

Other Stuff I Posted

• Sorry Other Tags – In which I answered question for the tag to end All The Tags.
• My Love-Hate Relationship with Westeros – Hint: there’s mentions of page count and Bran and Sansa and Catelyn and Tyrion and Cersei. Also, Khaleesi’s gowns.
• For Girls Only – Shannon Hale (of Princess Academy series fame) met a problematic encounter during her book tour. BOYS WERE’NT ALLOWED IN HER TALK! Naturally, this prompted a list of female protagonists both girls AND boys love.
• No One Knows I Love Cake – Warning: this post will awaken the sweet-tooth in you.
• RIP Novel: A Letter to the Dead – We don’t read serious enough. We killed Novel.

Book Birthdays

         

Happy book birthday to Bone Gap (Balzer + Bray), Mosquitoland (Viking Books for Young Readers), The Alex Crow (Dutton Books for Young Readers), Vanishing Girls (HarperCollins), Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story (Dutton Juvenile), Under a Painted Sky (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers), Liars, Inc. (HarperTeen), We All Looked Up (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers), Written in the Stars (Nancy Paulsen Books), and The Cemetery Boys (HarperCollins), which all found a place in the shelves this month!

Book Radar

         

Like I’ve said, it’s already April. New month. New published novels. I’m looking forward to Denton Little’s Deathdate (Knopf Books for Young Readers), Finding Paris (Balzer + Bray), and Still Waters (Philomel Books). Shout out to None of the Above (Balzer + Bray) which also comes out this month!

Around the Interwebs

• Paper Towns PREMIERED ITS TRAILER AND OMGAJKLEDCBNMNEKOKARF!!!
• Jamie of The Perpetual Page-Turner asked us: is it the author’s job to address a problematic thing as wrong somewhere in the text?
• Hazel of Stay Bookish wrote a thoughtful piece about how reading saves lives.
• Cait of Paper Fury shared how she gets an incredible amount of comments. (Bonus points: very do-able.)
• A Vice interview with Andrew Smith drew deep controversies and the YA community was outraged. Jon of Bookish Antics (here) and Derek Attig of Book Riot (here) weighed in on the issue and I thought both pieces were interesting, critical and generous.
• Another on Book Riot, Nikki Steele compiled 15 Literary Posts on Humans Of New York.
• Tommy Wallach’s We All Looked Up gets a book trailer.

Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda

via

If you think I missed one title in Book Radar, then a you’re probably looking for Becky Albertalli’s debut Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda, but that means b you don’t know me. Because I AM CRAZY EXCITED for this book, in fact I am super stoked that I created a separate portion solely for this title! Ever since I’ve learned about Simon Vs, I very much counted every single day ’til April 7 (OH GODS THAT’S NEXT WEEK!) and, basically, I wanted needed this wonder last month January. Jamie of The Perpetual Page-Turner and Jen of Pop! Goes the Reader ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT TO BITS AND PIECES! Here is Jamie’s review and Jen is hosting an international giveaway (you can win a signed, personalized hardcover. SCORE!). And just last week, HarperCollins’s marketing team worked with five bloggers to deliver a cute 5-Day Excerpt Tour. If you haven’t read this funny and adorable e-mail exchange between Simon (going by the pseudonym Jacques) and Blue, I’m taking your Oreos. No, seriously, YOU HAVE TO READ IT! It’s sequential so you have to begin at Day 1, then Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5. But there’s more! Wait… Wait… You can read the first 7 chapters! Head over to Epic Reads! And while you’re at it, maybe pre-order a copy?

What are the books you’ve read/acquired in March, dear readers? And what are you most excited to devour this month? Are you thrilled for Paper Towns (BECAUSE I AM!)? And will you read Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda? Also, do you like Oreos what is your favorite variant of Oreo? Oh one thing more! Are there “girl books”? Gaah. I’ve so many questions! Sound off in the comments below!