I wanna go there!

Of course we all love to read on our vacations, but we all have different places where we want to take our bag of summer reads and we thought we'd share those with you today.

Jessica P and Mallory didn't have to think twice. Their favorite spot is Disney World. They say it's the perfect spot from some R&R.

Jenn N and Rachelyons love to head out to Long Beach Island. Rachelyons and The Beard ride bikes, swim in the lagoon, and, of course, visit the lighthouse.

Jenn N likes to take a little more relaxed approach and enjoys just "watching the beauty of the endless ocean and savoring Strawberry Mojitos with the great crew at the Terrace Tavern."


Eileen loves to go anywhere near the ocean. In particular she's enjoyed trips to Ocracoke Island down in the Outer Banks and Jamestown, Rhode Island. But her history loving self also has fun visiting our nation's capital and checking out all the great museums and monuments in the Smithsonian.

As for me, NaomiRuth, and Grammy T? 
It's no secret that our family's favorite vacation spot is the Outer Banks in North Carolina. We usually stay in the Rodanthe/Waves area and it's nice and quiet in the off-season.

So what are your favorite vacation spots? And what do you like to do? Enjoy quiet down time? Go to an amusement park? Or check out the museums and galleries?

Down Unders a Day Late Due to Vacation!

Hello Down Unders! This week Wombly and I are on vacation before school starts, so we don't have a regular post for you. Wombly was busy...

Hanging in the pool...

Getting a tan...

Reading a book...

(Wombly asked me to come over and read with him)

And Sleeping!

Hope you have a good week my lovely Down Unders!

Vacation Reads! And a Winner!

I'm heading off to Virginia for a little R&R before school starts back up again and, as usual, I am packing way more books than I will ever have time to read. So here's a peek in my vacation book bag :)

This, btw, is a lame excuse for a post since I am actually working or driving all day Tuesday and don't know how much I'll be on line after that. But I know you forgive me anyway. At least I hope so.

First off I've got A Breath of Eyre by Eve Marie Mont. This was on the new shelf at my local library and I simply cannot resist any book that is related to Jane Eyre, which is one of my top 10 favorite books of all time. I'm about a quarter of the way through this one already and I'm really curious to see how it plays out.

Then I have Redshirts by John Scalzi. I've never read anything by him, but a premise that plays with the longest running gag in sci-fi history? As a Trekkie girl I felt I had no choice but to check this one out.

Next up is Glass Boys by Nicole Lundrigan. We got an ARC of this book when we were asked to take part in a blog hop for the release in September so check back for my review of this one.

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi is going in the bag. I've already read it twice, but it's our book club book for the month, so Grammy T and I want to refresh our memory so we can add to the conversation.

Another book I've already read a good chunk of is Frozen by Mary Casanova. We got to meet her at BEA and she was super nice and explained how she stumbled across a local story that sparked the idea for the novel. Another one I'm itching to finish to see how everything comes together.

As I was poking around my bookshelf I came across Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow by Nathan Bransford. I can't believe I STILL haven't read this one! So that's coming along too.

And then I've got the series books that I bought, but haven't yet read and it's driving me crazy so I've got Spellbound by Rachel Hawkins, Timepiece by Myra McEntire, and Surrender by Elana Johnson.

Phew. I think that'll be enough to keep me busy. Oh! And don't forget that I've got to reread Shakespeare's Twelfth Night to brush up on for this coming semester.

So what are you reading on vacation? Anything I should add to my pile? All of the recommendations from the YA blog hop have been fantastic and a bunch of those are going on my TBR list for sure!

And speaking of the blog hop...

You're probably wondering who won our giveaway, aren't you?!

Well, I suppose we could tell you now.

The winner of the signed Witch & Wizard and the ARC of Angelfall

is....

Rabiah!!!!!!!!

Congratulations! Send us an e-mail at bwobny at gmail dot com with your address so we can send out your books! (um, so the books are at my house, so they won't go in the mail until after I get back from vacation, but they will go out soon. I promise!)

And if you didn't win we still want to thank you for stopping by and letting us know what you have been reading and liking us on Facebook and stuff. And we still have our Wee Free Men giveaway going on so if you are looking for another good read you could hop yourself over HERE to enter that one!

Happy Reading!

Beach Blanket Reads

Sorry for the delay with this post, storms in the area knocked out my internet again!

Unfortunately the summer is winding down but there is still plenty of time to hit the beach and savor a good book.  When most people think of beach reads, they traditionally picture an epic romance or a guilty pleasure read.  I polled the BWOBNY crew to see what books they tote with them.

Jess P. loves to pack fluffy reads such as the "Shopaholic' series by Sophie Kinsella or anything by chic-lit author Emily Giffin.

Naomi likes to bring a mix of fluff and substance to the Outer Banks, she enjoys filling her beach bag with middle-grade fantasy books and Bertrand Russel's philosophical works.





Rachel just got back from the beautiful beaches at Long Beach Island, where I'll be headed very soon and she read the middle-grade book, "Out of My Mind," by Sharon Draper and "11/22/63" by Stephen King.  However she also took "The Fault in Our Stars," by John Green with her but felt it was "too depressing" for the beach.

Rebecca normally loads up her beach bag with fluffy reads from the YA or middle-grade section but this past summer she found herself bringing along a lot of high fantasy novels.

As for me, I like to bring something light and fun but is lengthy which requires a little more time to read than I normally have.  This year, I'm bringing "A Discovery of Witches," by Deborah Harkness.  I also always bring one Baby-Sitters Club book with me too.  I pick between any one of the books where the girls visit Sea City: "Boy Crazy Stacey," "Mary-Ann and Too Many Boys," or "Sea City, Here We Come."  I'm leaning towards the Mary Ann book this year.



What about you guys?  What books are filing up your beach bags?

My Beach TBR Pile

My family loves to take a vacation down at the Outer Banks in North Carolina. We've been going for many years and every time the hardest packing decision I have to make is which books to bring. This year it was harder than usual. Since I have virtually no time for pleasure reading while I'm in school my breaks are crammed full of all the books I've been dying to read but haven't had a chance to get to yet. Plus, I made the mistake of running to the library to pick up one ONE book to bring with me. Of course, once I get into a library it's all over. Which is why my TBR pile is particularly large this Christmas break.

So here's the list of books I'm hoping to get to on vacation:

I'd Tell You I Love You, but Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

I've been eyeing this series for a while now. Picked up a few of them when Borders closed, but not the first one. Finally got my hands on that and decided this was the perfect time to read it!

Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor

Ever since this book came out I've heard people talking about it. I've heard so many great things about the illustrations and the stories. Finally, finally found it at the library! 

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

This has been on my TBR list for a long time, but ever since Brandon Mull did a signing at our store I've been really wanting to get to it. He was the nicest person ever. Besides, it's our book club's next read, so I kind of have to read it before January 15th so I have something to talk about!

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

I have been seeing SO much buzz about this book. Also, I noticed that Jess B. recently started reading it and we usually have similar tastes in YA books. So when I saw it on the shelf at the library I had to snag it and bring it along.

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

While I read a LOT of YA fantasy, I'm pretty severely deficient on my regular fantasy. Brandon Sanderson was the author guest of honor at Polaris, a sci-fi/fantasy convention I attend in Toronto, and he was amazing. His panels on writing were entertaining and inspiring and I really want to read his books. Hence the bringing it.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

This is one of those books I keep seeing people read or talk about. One of those books that shows up on high school summer reading lists a lot. The cover keeps intriguing me. Time to give it a whirl!

Stolen by Lucy Christopher

This cover kept catching my eye, but I never had a chance to pick it up. When I went on my fateful trip to the library before we left it caught my eye again. The synopsis inside the cover flap was so intriguing I had to add it to my ginormous pile.

The Lost Conspiracy by Frances Hardinge

I am a huge, and by huge I mean absolutely ginormous, fan of Frances Hardinge's books. Fly By Night was so amazing and Fly Trap just as good. So when I saw this on the shelf I absolutely had to take it out. There was no maybe about it!

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

With all of the YA and fantasy on my plate I decided to grab a chick lit book in case I was needing a change of pace. Have heard a lot of good things about Giffin's books and wanted to see for myself what I thought.

Sapphique by Catherine Fisher

I read, and really enjoyed, Incarceron. I've been meaning to read the sequel since it came out, but just haven't had time.

The McCloud Home for Wayward Girls by Wendy Delsol

I loved Wendy Delsol's book Stork Girl. In fact, I wrote a review on it that she liked and posted on her site (!). So when I was browsing the fiction section right before Borders closed, and saw her name I did a happy jig and snatched it right up. Another change from the YA/Fantasy pile and I'm really hoping I get to it this vacation.

Think that's enough to keep me busy for two weeks? I'm hoping so :)

What are your favorite kinds of vacation reads?