Lari's Bookshelf

So the fabulous Jenni Elyse told me that I would be very interested in her latest post on her blog. I was surprised and flattered, because she nominated me for a Liebster Blog Award. Thank you for the awesome award Jenni! I recommend everyone check out her blog at  http://jennielyse.com . Liebster Blog Award Instead of rewriting the instructions, here they are as they were on Jenni's post (tho I added the bit in brackets): The Liebster Blog Award is designed to bring additional recognition to those bloggers with less than 200 followers [or subscribers via blog reader]. If you receive the award, you should link back to the blogger that nominated you and nominate five more blogs. Also, don’t forget to let them know that you nominated them. And now time for my Liebster Blog Award nominations! Drum roll please.... Baddum-CHA! 1. Becky at The Hummingbird Hollow : I love Becky's posts. They are always heartfelt, and she has some fantastic reads as well as beautiful ...

Hello new followers! Be sure to stop by my about page to learn a little more about me and my blog. I hope you enjoy your stay. Let me get started with the first Friday Question brought to you by Parajunkee's View . Q. Talk about the book that most changed or influenced your life (was it a book that turned you from an average to avid reader, did it help you deal with a particularly difficult situation, does it bring you comfort every time you read it?). For this question, I have two answers (one for non-fiction, and one for fiction). For non-fiction, I would have to say Meditations by Marcus Aurelius . When I was in college, getting my undergrad, I went through a lot of depression and self doubt. Marcus Aurelius, a philosopher king from thousands of years ago, had the words that I needed to read at that time in my life. Stoic philosophy gave me a way of looking at the world that helped pull me out of my depression, and stop caring so much about how I compared to others. ...

My first REALLY cool experience with a library was when I started attending community college at 17. I walked into the Molstead Library on NIC campus, and there was this big " Banned Books Week " display. It sucked me in. There were all these books that I knew of or even loved on display with chains around them: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , Of Mice and Men , Harry Potter, Brave New World , and more. I had no idea that books were even BANNED in America. I grew up believing that libraries in a "free society" were bastions of free information to any and all who would want it. I had heard of stuff like that happening in tyrannical, despotic nations, and in the past, but in modern day U.S.A.?  It was unheard of to me. Of course, I was a naive, then. Hardly aware of the necessity for ALA's "Banned Books Week." The issue of preventing censorship in libraries eventually became one of my passions. When I was a student at Brigham Young University, I ha...

And he doesn't want you reading these books! Dystopian novels have been around for a long time. Before a bunch of kids were thrown together to fight to the death in the Hunger Games , there was Lord of the Flies . Before people were forced to act, look, think and speak a certain way in the Uglies series, there was 1984 . If you are a fan of the recent deluge of dystopian novels that are flooding the literary market, you probably should check out the classics. It's great to see such a fascinating subject so widely discussed, read, and enjoyed as fiction by so many. It would certainly behoove any fan of oppressive-society-literature to delve into the roots of dystopian fiction. The Iron Heel (Penguin Classics) "Part science fiction, part dystopian fantasy, part radical socialist tract, Jack London’s The Iron Heel offers a grim depiction of warfare between the classes in America and around the globe. Originally published nearly a hundred years ago, it anticipated ma...

Just like my writerly friend Annie can combine anything (give her something to combine!), so can Hollywood. They've combined two pretty sweet things for their latest, action-orgy movie: Cowboys & Aliens I want to watch it because I really dig stuff like this. Not since Firefly  (miss you Mal) have I been so intrigued by a combination of space and cowboys. Not to mention, Indy and Bond are in it. Which should be enough right? Are you looking forward to watching it?

Clean By Amy Reed Released: July 19, 2011 Publisher: Simon Pulse (Imprint of Simon & Schuster ) Pages: 288 ISBN-13: 978-1442413443 Genre: YA Fiction GoodReads Blurb : "Olivia, Kelly, Christopher, Jason, and Eva have one thing in common: They’re addicts. Addicts who have hit rock bottom and been stuck together in rehab to face their problems, face sobriety, and face themselves. None of them wants to be there. None of them wants to confront the truths about their pasts. But they’ll all have to deal with themselves and one another if they want to learn how to live. Because when you get that high, there’s nowhere to go but down, down, down." This book is one of the best teen books I've read in a long while. It takes an unapologetic look at the ugly face of teen drug addiction. The five different characters in the book are addicted to different drugs for different reasons, and all come from different backgrounds. (Except the fact that they are all white, some...

Q. Let's step away from books for a second and get personal. What T-Shirt slogan best describes you? A.   Something with the following illustration on it: Q. Highlight one book you have received this week (for review, from the library, purchased at the store, etc.) that you can’t wait to dig into! A.  I just download Fury by Elizabeth Miles from the Simon and Schuster Galley Grab and I am so excited to read it! Mainly because the cover looks freaking awesome. Q. Character Envy: If you could be one character from a book,  who would you choose & why? A. Well, as per the theme of my blog, I already connect a lot with Alice. But since I already feel like her at times, if I could be anyone, it would be Kahlan Amnell from the Sword of Truth series. She's hot. She's powerful. And she kicks ass. To my new followers, please stop by my "About" page to learn a little more about me and this blog. Please leave a comment, so I can learn who you are!