Google+ Reading Teen: Second Hand Saturday 11/3/12

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Second Hand Saturday 11/3/12

 
 
Welcome to Second Hand Saturday!
In an attempt to clear our bookshelves, and pass on great used books to our stalkers followers, we have decided to hold weekly giveaways of some of the books on our bookshelves! Every Saturday, we will post the books available, and the following Saturday, we will announce the winner and our next challenge. The winner will get to choose a book from the list and we will ship it to that lucky person! Each week we will have a different challenge to complete.


This Week's Question:

  Sometimes there are books that we just aren't sure about. Maybe the cover art isn't that great, or you've read a few bad reviews.
What is a book you've read that, at first you weren't sure about, but you ended up loving?

Just comment below to be entered!


And this week's winner is...

Summer BB


Email me at Readingteen1(at)gmail.com with your book choice.  Please put "winner" in the subject line.  You have one week to claim your prize!
 

 

 

Books Available:
 
Middle Grade

 

YA books + (ARC=Advanced Reading Copy)

 
 
Adult and Non-Fiction
  


AUDIOBOOKS  

at 12:00:00 AM Author
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47 comments:

  1. SplendidSunsNovember 3, 2012 at 12:24 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. SplendidSunsNovember 3, 2012 at 12:25 AM

    Brutal by Michael Harmon. The cover was pretty simple and if it were not between books with fancy covers I would not have noticed it. Looking back it was a pretty smart choice for a cover and the novel itself was amazing.

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  3. Sara (of the Page Sage)November 3, 2012 at 12:37 AM

    Piratica by Tanith Lee. My brother saw it in the library and handed it to me as a joke since he thought the title was funny. I ended up absolutely LOVING it. (Another book my brother bought me because of the title was Killer Pizza, which is a really fun book! haha)

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  4. coffeelvnmom (Jessica Brooks)November 3, 2012 at 1:25 AM

    THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH (YA). I had no idea what it was about. The close-up picture of a girl with some trees around her was... interesting. A few blogs were ranting and raving about it, so I bought it thinking it would be decent. I took my time starting it. But by 100 pages in, I couldn't put it down. To this day I still won't read anything else in this genre (besides the two books that came after it), but I'm so glad I didn't go with my gut/feelings regarding the cover, and went with a recommendation instead! Great find-which is why blogs like yours make all the difference for readers and writers, alike! :)

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  5. Ashley G.November 3, 2012 at 2:17 AM

    The Selection. There was a lot of negative publicity regarding both the book and the author and the agent. I wasn't sure if I wanted to read it but I did and absolutely loved it.

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  6. aLilLaceyNovember 3, 2012 at 2:43 AM

    It was a book my mother-in law recommended called Remembering Isaac. The only thing she told me about it was that it was about potters which sounded really lame but I read it anyway and loved it so much we bought the rest off the books immediately after and read them.

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  7. Becca FNovember 3, 2012 at 3:00 AM

    Divergent, believe it or not.

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  8. alice pridayNovember 3, 2012 at 3:49 AM

    crave by melissa darnell. i wasnt too sure about it and it took a bit to get into but i ended up loving it
    thanks for the giveaway
    danielsangel101@yahoo.co.uk

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  9. LillyNovember 3, 2012 at 5:21 AM

    Blood Red Road. That cover is so not interesting but the book is amazing!

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  10. DovileNovember 3, 2012 at 7:42 AM

    The Harry Potter series. When I first heard about them, about the time the first movies came out, I thought like " this is for kids, just another magic tale, and I'm not really into that anyway". And then I read the first book in translation from English, and it seemed to be nothing special - now I know that it was due to the translation, all the magic was lost because a lot of JK Rowlings genius simply couldn't be translated, and the translator also did a 'great' job 'kiddiefying' the whole book. Only a couple of years later, when I read the series in original English did I see how amazing they were.

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  11. AmyNovember 3, 2012 at 8:26 AM

    On the Island by Tracy Garvis Graves. I got invited to do a bog tour (when it was still self pub) and it wasn't really the type of book I would typically read, but I decided to give it a try. It is probably one of my favorite books that I have read! I was totally taken by surprise by it.

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  12. Norwegian GirlNovember 3, 2012 at 8:31 AM

    Scary Mary by S.A. Hunter. Pretty boring cover but I ended up loving it because it was a fun and quick read. And Mary was pretty awesome character.

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  13. Jolene and FamilyNovember 3, 2012 at 10:00 AM

    The Twilight series. I discovered the books about the time the movie was being made and after I had started reading The Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris. I just figured it was geared toward terns and was not for me and thought the whole hoopla over the books was kind of silly. It wasn't until I was at the airport, waiting for a flight, when I saw the book sitting there and calling me lol I decided to buy just to see what all the attention to it has been about and was blown away with how much I loved it.

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  14. Jessica JacksonNovember 3, 2012 at 10:22 AM

    The Mortal Instruments
    1. I didn't like the cover. It had a shirtless dude on the cover! And I like to stay away from books like that.
    2. I thought it was going to be another Twilight (and I have a fear of Twilight)

    I finally did get to reading it (online so I wouldn't see the cover) and it was AMAZING!!!
    It's now one of my favorite series XD

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  15. Lacey TNovember 3, 2012 at 10:46 AM

    Insurgent! I don't exactly know why I thought I wouldn't like it. It was probably because I love the 1st book so so much that I thought Insurgent wouldn't be able to live up to it. But then I started reading and I loved it just as much as Divergent! I was so glad that I finally read it because it was absolutely amazing :)

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  16. Stephanie27November 3, 2012 at 11:30 AM

    They Vampire Academy series. They covers, mainly the early ones, look really uninspiring. They definitely weren't what I expected which is great since I love the series.

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  17. AnonymousNovember 3, 2012 at 11:52 AM

    The Hunger Games. I thought the cover was kind of boring and too dark. Then I read the back of the book and I thought good lord this is not my kind of book it sounds like its totally barbaric. BUT! Then I read the book after my boyfriend's sister lent it to me and II couldn't put it down... I proceeded to read all three books in about a week or two! Its the best series I had a hard time bringing myself to read!

    melissargolden@yahoo.com

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  18. Carmen B.November 3, 2012 at 11:54 AM

    Everneath. I loved the cover but wasn't quite sure about the description, and it got some mixed reviews... I really liked it though!

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  19. Kayla :)November 3, 2012 at 11:57 AM

    Paranormalcy! I really wasn't sure about it but ended up finding it at the library and loving it so much that I went out and bought myself a copy!

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  20. Julie WittNovember 3, 2012 at 12:08 PM

    Divergent! The cover just didn't jump out at me, but I'm so glad I chose to believe the synopsis and give it a try because I ended up loving it!
    jwitt33 at live dot com

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  21. Sue TweetenNovember 3, 2012 at 12:25 PM

    The Selection despite of the breathtaking cover,I'm reluctant at reading it at first because I had a cover fraud situation before and a lot of readers from goodreads are saying its a bit dissapointing but after giving it a chance. I fall in love with America Singer & Prince Maxon.

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  22. ephrielleNovember 3, 2012 at 12:40 PM

    13 to Life. I only bought it because I had a coupon I was intent on using. Buy when I started reading I was hooked.

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  23. *Jam*November 3, 2012 at 2:27 PM

    Unearthly by Cynthia Hand. I hadn't liked the synopsis so much but I won a copy here at Reading Teen and I loved and I'm reading the whole series (I love Tucker!).

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  24. JaneNovember 3, 2012 at 3:37 PM

    Moby Dick. There is a lot more to it than just some crazy guy chasing a whale. It is told by this guy Ismael whose best friend is a cannibal. Now if that doesn't lead to some crazy antics I don't know what does!

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  25. NatashaNovember 3, 2012 at 4:22 PM

    The Hunger Games series. I wasn't sure about them at first but I ended up loving them!

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  26. VivienNovember 3, 2012 at 5:39 PM

    The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling.

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  27. AnonymousNovember 3, 2012 at 6:22 PM

    It would have to be I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore. I kept seeing this book on the blog sites but it never interested me. Then I saw the movie and totally loved it so I wanted to read the book and see what was the same and what was different. Yes they are very different but the book was still amazing and I definitely need to read the other books.

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  28. Brenna MaeNovember 3, 2012 at 7:57 PM

    I was really worried about Divergent, but I ended up LOVING the book! :)

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  29. DeeDee GriffinNovember 3, 2012 at 8:05 PM

    For me it was Valor (Greystone #1) by Taylor Longford. The cover is so bad, I would never have read it, except for that I won the 2nd book in the series, Dare, in a giveaway. I felt obligated to review it so I got the first book, Valor, which is free on Amazon, and I ended up loving it. Then I read Dare and loved it too. The series is about gargoyles - hot, male ones. It's YA so perfectly fine for teens.

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  30. athousand-livesNovember 3, 2012 at 9:09 PM

    Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater- Mixed reviews and I'm not exactly a big fan of werewolves. Plus, I've read two books by her and I liked one and hated the other so I really wasn't sure about this one. So glad I read it because I ended up loving it!
    Another would be Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa- I was vastly disappointed by her Iron Fey series and the cover looked really cheesy. But I'm pleased I read this. It was awesome.
    If I hadn't read these, then I would have missed out on what are now one of my favourite series.

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  31. LlehnNovember 3, 2012 at 9:59 PM

    Wither - Lauren DeStefano.

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  32. DynieNovember 3, 2012 at 10:56 PM

    I would say it was Everneath. I Bought it beacause I loved the cover & saw good reviews. When I first started it I thought that the way it's written was confusing. After a couple chapters I fell in love & can't wait for the next book.

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  33. Carina OlsenNovember 4, 2012 at 4:06 AM

    Ohh, there have been many books like that. But I must actually say Graceling. Which ended up being my favorite book ever. Was unsure because at first I found the cover to be boring, and someone mentioned Twilight when talking about it. And it's NOTHING like Twilight, thank god :) lol ;p But anyway. Graceling is amazing. <3

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  34. Courtney_ElenaNovember 4, 2012 at 12:58 PM

    I read a book called switch by carol snow. I heard mixed reviews and the cover was a little different. As I read I really liked the book but the cover had nothing to do with the book. I thought the book was a cute read.

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  35. dragongirlNovember 4, 2012 at 4:44 PM

    Origin by Jessica Khoury. Normally it's not the type of book that would catch my eye, and when I read the summary I wasn't sure if it would be very interesting or not. I ended up loving it! Such a thought-provoking read.

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  36. ShannonNovember 4, 2012 at 5:51 PM

    There have been a couple series for me. The first one was Harry Potter. I wasn't into it at all until I saw the movie. Then I went back and read them and loved them! The second series was the Hunger Games. It was a bookclub pick so I reluctantly read them. And now I am a HUGE dystopian junkie. The last series was Maggie Stiefvater's Wolves of Mercy Falls. Mostly because I am not into the idea of werewolves at all. But I loved her Scorpio Races so I decided to give it a chance. And was very pleasantly surprised by how much I liked them!

    snaugle81@gmail.com

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  37. ansindtNovember 5, 2012 at 12:25 AM

    I think Hunger Games looked really boring to me....but I loved the series=)

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  38. Mary PrestonNovember 5, 2012 at 4:39 AM

    I heard raves about THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak. It took me 50 pages to get into it & then I could not stop. It was incredible. I sobbed at the end.

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  39. Texas Book LoverNovember 5, 2012 at 12:59 PM

    I would have to say Divergent. It was built up SOOOO much that by the time I read it I was sure I was going to be let down. Boy was I wrong!

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  40. SheepaNovember 5, 2012 at 2:57 PM

    Paranormalcy by Kiersten White and The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong. Both books I didn't think would be anything but okay, but turned out to be amazing :D
    I love surprises like that!

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  41. GabbieNovember 5, 2012 at 5:36 PM

    The Brightest Kind of Darkness!

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  42. EnbrethilielNovember 5, 2012 at 11:45 PM

    +JMJ+

    I've won a SHS in the past (Thanks again, by the way!), so I don't know if I can still be entered for this one--but I really liked the question, so I thought I'd answer anyway. =)

    I actually had to think about it for a while, because when I'm prejudiced against a book, I tend to stay away from it rather than let it change my mind. And the one time I gave an unlikely-looking book a chance (*cough*Twilight*cough*), I did learn it wasn't horrible, but it was also just so-so for me. But there was one novel I wasn't too sure about that I had to read for a course in uni, and it turned out to be one of my best reads of that year: Howards End by E.M. Forster.

    The prose was so beautiful in places that I kept saying aloud (to the amusement of my roommate), "I can't believe I waited so long to read this!!!" And then I kept pulling other friends aside in the common room to read them passages from it. LOL!

    Thanks for the great question! =)

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  43. Grace LoNovember 10, 2012 at 6:20 PM

    My unexpected love? Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick. Honestly, I was super put off by the cover, and just couldn't stand its creepiness. But after picking it up, I finished it in a single afternoon. After I put that book down, I felt like I had lost my purpose in life. Or something.

    And an unexpected dislike: Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins. Granted, it had a very interesting concept of the demons and their offspring, but did Ana have to turn into a fangirly mess in the space of a single paragraph?

    Grace
    Lust For Stories

    P.S. Thanks always for the Second Hand Saturdays! The questions are always fun to answer c:

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  44. LeaNovember 12, 2012 at 3:34 PM

    Daughter of Smoke and Bone was one of my unexpected loves! I'm not a big fantasy fan, and the first couple pages didn't really "speak" to me at first, but I'm so glad I picked it up again a few weeks later. Now Days of Blood and Starlight is on hold at my library :)

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  45. Bridget HowardNovember 12, 2012 at 11:19 PM

    The Selection by Kiera Cass I loved it and I read so many mixed reviews about it but I thought it was great and I cant wait for book 2 to come out!!!

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  46. Shay-laNovember 16, 2012 at 2:18 PM

    The Dark Divine...It was like 1.99 on Amazon and I thought the cover/description sounded iffy. But I went for it, and it ended up being 5 stars. One of my favorite books ever.

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