Markus Zusak in Utah!!!!

If you've been around me anytime in the last week you know that I'm still flying high from the opportunity I had to go to the Markus Zusak event at the Provo City Library last Saturday. I've still get a silly fangirl grin on my face when I think about it. (Yep, it's there right now. It's a good thing none of you can see me.) In case you don't know Markus is the author of The Book Thief, which is one of my most favorite books. It's beautiful and haunting and devastating and so many other things I can't put into words.

Anyway... the point of my rambling is that I did a write-up of the event for Eve's Fan Garden that includes a giveaway of a signed copy of The Book Thief and I Am the Messenger. You can enter right here. I want these books I love to go to someone that will love and appreciate them as much as I do so go enter NOW.

Wordless Wednesday

The Parlotones in Salt Lake

I fell in love with The Parlotones when they opened for Blue October last fall. When they announced they were coming back to Utah as part of their first North American tour I was ecstatic and bought tickets immediately. The concert was on March 22nd in a tiny venue in Salt Lake. Christy, Genell, Miranda and I had dinner at Mazza and then headed to the venue. In the line we met up with Melissa and Shera, who we met at the Blue October concert last Fall.

Once we were inside we had a fabulous spot right in front of the stage.



The opening band was Imangine Dragons and they were really good. They made a new fan out of me!

Then The Parlotones played. They were phenomenal!!! These guys are going to be huge here in the States soon, I just know it.

After they concert they came out and signed autographs and took pictures. They were so nice and seemed to truly be grateful that we were there. It was a fabulous night!! Can't wait until they come back!

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Orla Fallon Concert

My Mom loves Celtic Woman. She would love to see them in concert but she's jinxed when it comes to accomplishing that task. The first time they came to Salt Lake the tickets sold out before she was able to buy tickets. Then they bought tickets for the concert in Denver, thinking they could combine a trip to see Leif and his family with the concert. Sadly that was the weekend that Papa Scott passed away so she was unable to go. At Christmas Mom told me that just one of the women from Celtic Woman, Orla Fallon, was coming to Salt Lake in March and that they had purchased tickets. I joked about the fact that by buying the tickets she had pretty much guaranteed that she would be out of Utah that night. Sure enough when it was time for the concert she was half way around the world working in Korea.

Since she was gone I went tot the concert with Dad. The concert venue is right next to P.F. Changs so we had to go there for dinner.

After a yummy dinner we walked next door for the concert.

This fan was on the wall of the theater- it takes up almost 2 stories.

The opening act was a group called Tin Cup Gypsy. They are a country band and they were really good. Each member of the group played multiple instruments. I was really impressed with their talent even though I'm not a huge country fan. They also played backup for Orla when she came out.

I wasn't at all familiar with her music before I went to the show so I wasn't sure what to expect. I really enjoyed it. She's very, very talented and so were her musicians. I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. I just hope that next time one or more of the Celtic Woman are in town that Mom can actually go.

"I think the only way to get through this life is laughing hard and constantly, mostly at myself." ~Shannon Hale

Recent Reads

Here are a few books that I've read recently that I've loved. They are all YA paranormal (shocking, I know)

The Hex Hall Series by Rachel Hawkins- Hex Hall and Demonglass are the first two in a trilogy. These books are brilliantly written, hysterically snarky and laugh out loud funny. They are about a girl who is a witch that gets sent to a boarding school with other witches, vampires, werewolves, fairies, etc and her inability to stay out of trouble.

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer- This is the first of a trilogy and it is phenomenal!! Wolfsbane comes out this summer and Bloodrose comes out next March. The book is about Calla Tor who is Guardian, which is a wolf. I  was leery about reading another wolf book but the Guardians are completely different than any other wolves I've read about. I loved everything about this book- the characters, the plot, the history/mythology- all of it!!

The Body Finder Series by Kimberly Derting- I'm a crime show junkie- Bones, Criminal Minds, CSI, NCIS- I love them all. So a book about a girl that could "hear" dead bodies is right up my alley. These are just the right amount of creepiness mixed with teenage angst and romance. I think there are going to be four books in this series so it's halfway finished.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver- I was hesitant to read this book for a number of reasons- I was kind of burnt out on the dystopian genre and I didn't love Lauren's first book so I kept putting off reading it. I finally picked it up and read it in one day. I got sucked into this story and fell in love with the characters and the world where love is considered a disease. It's the first of a trilogy (I know, I know- enough with the series!)

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins- Spunky lead female, boarding school in Paris, swoon worthy boy... it's perfect!! I LOVED this book! It's fun and light and left a huge smile on my face. This one is a stand alone although the author is writing a companion book that has overlapping characters. (This is the only one on the list that isn't paranormal- it's just YA)

Firelight by Sophie Jordan- I probably wouldn't have picked this book up because it's about dragons but Elizabeth Eulberg recommended it so I gave it a shot. I'm so glad I did. I really enjoyed this book about the Draki, who are descendants of dragons. This one is the first of a trilogy as well.

The Hourglass Door Series by Lisa Mangum- I met Lisa Mangum at a local authorpalooza and she was really nice and sold me on her book about time travel. I put it on the bookshelf and forgot about it until a friend of mine told me how much she liked it. I really, really enjoyed this book about time travel and the chaos that comes with messing with time. Luckily by that time the second book, The Golden Spiral, had been published so now I only have to wait for the final book, which will be out this fall.

Enjoy!!

I wonder if keeping this blog alive is worth it. I'm bored with it so I'm sure that anyone that is actually reading it is bored too.