Thursday, February 10, 2011

Rock This! Thursday with Harmony Book Reviews

For this week's edition I have the awesome Harmony from Harmony Book Reviews hanging out with us to discuss some kick butt music and awesome books!


I saw you celebrated 3 years of blogging! Congratulations! Can you tell everyone a little bit about our blog? 
Thank you! Well, I started back blog back in January of '08 and switched to Blogger about a year ago. I review YA and MG, mostly, and do giveaways and interviews on occassion - the basic book blog, basically!

You're walking down the street - what song is following you?
Alive-Superchick. I decided that was my theme song for 2011 - it's just a very upbeat, take the world by storm song. I love the lines "I need to live my dreams, not just in my sleep. I've been holed up here, but it's time to leave. I need to make my move while I've air to breathe."

What is your favorite read that is about or centered around music?
BALLADS OF SUBURBIA! Oh my god, I love that book. It's so emotional and honest and just amazing. Music plays a pretty big role in it too and I love how Stephanie chose a few lyrics to open each of the character's ballad. (Plus, without that book, I wouldn't be addicted to Tori Amos, Nirvana, or Social Distortion.)

Excellent choice! That's one of my all-time favorite reads and Stephanie is so awesome! If you could live one character's life, who would you choose and why? 
This is so hard because all of my favorite characters have really hard lives and I don't necessarily want to become a drug addict or have my heart smashed to pieces. So, I think I'll go with Tonks from Harry Potter, but pre-Deathly Hallows. :)

Ha! I love the 'social issues' books, but like you, I don't really want to have all those problems. You've been given 2 golden concert tickets to see any band from any decade. The only catch is that you have to take an author with you. Who is it going to be and who are you guys going to go see? Ooh, well, since it's from any decade...I'm going with Nirvana! And I'll drag Stephanie Kuehnert along with me, since she's the one that introduced me to them. I think that would be one AWESOME concert.

Did I say 2 tickets? I meant 3 because I am so tagging along! What's a song you think would make an awesome novel?
Are people going to laugh at me if I say "Mine" by Taylor Swift? Because the first time I heard that song, the story ideas started flying through my head and I think someone could write a really awesome novel based off the lyrics.

What are subjects you would like to read more about in Young Adult?
I want more gritty, REAL YA. I love my fluff, I do, and paranormal will always have a soft spot in my heart...but I want more cutting, more drugs, more relationships gone REALLY bad, diseases...things like that. That probably makes me sound horrible but I think novels like that can really make a difference - think about Speak or Ballads of Suburbia or Go Ask Alice or Tell Me a Secret. Those are the books that get people talking and thinking and you know, the lives are teenagers aren't always pretty. Oh, and some more music-centered novels would be cool too!

Amen! Has blogging changed your views on reading? 
I think so. I definitely analyze and think about what I'm reading more. I pay more attention to what I buy. Before, I'd just pick up things because they looked good. Now, it's all based on where I got it and when it releases and I find myself getting completely lost in the book less and less.

I'm always on the hunt for the next best song. Suggest 5 songs that all of us need to listen to.
Just 5?! Ahh. Okay. This is going to be hard...I'm going to skip over all the popular songs and try to pick out some I hope not everyone already loves...

1.) F**kin Perfect - P!nk. Okay, this one is on the radio but I couldn't not list it. EVERYONE needs to listen to this song. If you can't handle the f-bomb, listen to the radio edit. My best friend and I text each other the lyrics to this song whenever we're having a bad day.

2.) The Last Night - Skillet. This song saved my life. I bawled when I saw it performed live and it's just an amazing song. Skillet is my all-time favorite band because of this song.

3.) Don't Fall Asleep at the Helm - Sleeping with Sirens. My best friend just introduced this to me and I love it. It's original, kind of hypnotic, and I just love it.

4.) Fiction - Kids in the Way. This is definitely one of my all-time favorite FAVORITE songs. When I bought it, I literally put it on repeat and listened to it 60 times straight. Kids in the Way are my current addiction, I can put their music on and just kind of forget the world.

5.) About a Girl - Nirvana. I love Nirvana. Most adults love Nirvana. 99% of the people my age have never actually heard a Nirvana song, which saddens me, because they are not THAT old. So if you haven't listened to one, listen to About a Girl. It's my favorite. (Come As You Are is also rather awesome as well.)

That was too hard...some honorable mentions: Alice - Avril Lavigne, Like Suicide - Seether, I'm Going Down - Vampire Weekend, The Middle - Jimmy Eat World, Fall Back Down - Rancid, Savior - Rise Against, and Have Faith in Me - A Day to Remember.

You do know if you  mention Seether (aka my favorite band in the entire universe / my music muse) you instantly become one of my favorite people, right? Have you experienced any 'rock star blogging' moments?
I guess it really depends on what you call a "rock star" moment. To me, any time I meet an author and they actually recognize me, I get overly excited. I think the 2010 PAYA Festival was kind of a "rock star" moment for me too.

Thanks so much for swinging by today, Harmony! Don't forget to check out Harmony's blog here