New BFF: Teacher of YA

I still remember it like it was yesterday when Stephanie @TeacherofYA’s Book Blog reached out to me as a new blogger. She started blogging in July 2016 but I can tell you she has already surpassed me in everything by now. Her rating system is a very original one with two different sets: RainbowBrites for book appreciation and another one for class approprieteness. I think she must be a great teacher in real life too and I wish I’d gotten someone like her when I was younger! She read 168 books in 2016 so I think you’ll find a lot of inspiration if you’re into YA fantasy books! Be sure to check out her blog and give her a like, she’s so nice!

Name: Stephanie Plotkin

Age: 34 (or 29 for the 5th time)

Birthday: March 8

What did you study or do you study now / what is your current job?
I graduated from Grand Valley State University in Fall 2016 with my BA in English. I am a HS English teacher but mainly substitute teach right now until a position becomes available!

Do you have any other hobbies?
Well, besides reading and writing, I collect old postcards from the “Golden Era,” which is between 1902-1912ish. This is when postcards were the most beautiful and there was a process in Germany that made them extra pretty. Then WWI happened and the access dried up.

Halloween postcards are the most collectible as it was more of an adult holiday than a child’s one. I have a huge collection in binders that I would be happy to share on Instagram soon! I think they are beautiful.

Your favourite color?
Pink!! Pink all day long.

Do you collect anything (besides books)?
Yes. Lunchboxes ! 80’s cartoons are my favourite ones! Here are only a few of them. I post some of my unboxings of these on Instagram too.

Here’s a collection of someone who rivals mine (I have about half this size) :

I also collect postcards. Lol.

I used to collect Madame Alexander dolls but they became expensive: but I do have a good collection of them. Mine are in boxes but here’s a couple I own:

Sleeping Beauty from 1960s – Cisette

Romeo and Juliet 1955 – Wendykins

I have a ton of them. But they are in boxes right now. Which is the safest place for them. I also have a Tinkerbell Cissette and she is gorgeous!

What’s the name of the book that you’ve had the longest? Have you read it?
I would say The Giver and Anastasia Krupnick by Lois Lowry. I have read a ton of her books as a kid. I met her in 1995 and she signed my copy of The Giver (and dated it so I know only for that reason) and Anastasia, the first in the series. I think I have a copy of Number The Stars that is singed but still in AZ. A lot of my childhood (and I didn’t collect those dolls as a child lol) possessions are with my dad in AZ. He brought the two books with him during one of his visits out here to Michigan. (He secretly comes out here for my mom…it’s a long story, and you’ll have to read my book! 😂)

         

Have you ever regretted a book you purchased? A book that sounded so promising but you wished you’d have spent your money on another book after reading it?
Not really. I didn’t really have a book collection out here in Michigan until recently. And I always loved the books I bought at yard sales. I usually use the library and then if I love a book, I buy it when I have the money or find it used.

Do you listen to audio books?
Nope. Tried once…a book sample by Joanna Kerns(?) and it was so boring to me. I think I need to be actively engaged in reading for me to enjoy it. Even as a kid, my mom read to me until I could take over.

Do you have a favorite genre?

Yes!! YA Fantasy and Science Fiction!! I used to love Asian Historical Fiction (Amy Tan, Lisa See, Ha Jin) and Salem Witch Books (The Heretic’s Daughter, Susannah Morrow) but I picked up The Hunger Games and have never looked back!

    

What is the book highest on your wishlist right now?
The Scarecrow Queen, the last installment in The Sin Eater’s Daughter trilogy, by Melinda Salisbury. Then next would be Forest of a Thousand Lanterns. I fortunately got Dark Breaks the Dawn and that was up there pretty high!

How is your library organized?
Right now, ARCs with ARCs, HC with HC, and PB with PB. I have only one shelf but I was also in a hurry to get my room show-ready for selling. I had just purchased the IKEA bookshelf used and had not moved the shelves much so I think when it calms down, I’ll reorganize.
I also (as I was packing and figuring out what to keep out and what to pack) started using an app called LibraryThing thanks to Sammi at onebookishgirl. I scan the barcode, take a pic, and now I know every book in my library! I used to buy doubles by accident: I had FOUR COPIES of New Moon and TWO of Mockingjay! Now I’m organized. I love it!

Do you read more ebooks or physical books?
Ebooks only because my mom doesn’t yell at me as much when it doesn’t look like I’m reading. She thinks I’m doing nothing when I’m reading a physical book for some reason.

Do you have a favorite book?
Yes! But only because I grew up with it: The Giver by Lois Lowry. And it became a quartet 10 years later so I’ve finally read those. 😍❤️😍❤️

What’s the cover in your collection that you’re most proud of?
I’m probably going to hear a lot about this, but probably my copy of ACOTAR that I found at an antique store for $2. It’s an ARC! I didn’t know much about them when I found it: I just knew that it was ACOTAR. Now it’s my best book in my collection.

Do you have any idea how many books you own? <100, >100, >200, >300 …?
Yes, because of my app! I own 301 physical books and almost 600 ebooks. Never enough!! 😈🤤
And I will prob get rid of some adult titles I’ll never get around to reading, like the Anne Rice or Charlaine Harris books I bought during my vampire phase.

What’s the title of the last book you purchased?
Purchased? That would have to be Scythe and Kingdom of Ash and Briars together with my Amazon gift card from like, two birthdays ago!

Building on homages to Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Jane Austen’s Emma and the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, Hannah West makes a spectacular and wholly original debut.

Bristal, a sixteen-year-old kitchen maid, lands in a fairy tale gone wrong when she discovers she has elicromancer magic in her blood. Elicromancers are an ancient breed of immortal people, but only two remain in Nissera. Bristal joins the ranks of Brack and Tamarice without knowing that one of them has a dark secret . . . Tamarice is plotting a quest to overthrow the realm’s nobility and take charge herself. Together, Bristal and Brack must guard Nissera against her black elicromancy. There are cursed princesses to protect, royal alliances to forge and fierce monsters to battle–all with the hope of preserving peace.

What was your favorite author when you were a child?
Lois Lowry hands down. I also read Stephen King in the third grade and couldn’t get enough. The Eye of the Dragon is a fairy tale he wrote that’s amazing. Shel Silverstein was also up there too (read Lafcadio and try not to cry: I dare you!)

While evidence is gathered, and the land of Delain mourns, Flagg the King’s magician, unscrupulous, greedy and powerful, plots. Soon the King’s elder son, Peter, is imprisoned in the needle, the top of a high tower, for his father’s murder. And Thomas inherits the throne.

Only Peter knows the truth of his innocence, and the true evil that is Flagg. Only Peter can save Delain from the horror the magician has in store. He has a plan, but it is rife with danger. And if he fails, he won’t get a second chance . . .

A captivating tale of heroic adventure, of dragons and princes, of mysterious mice and men from the pen of the master storyteller.There is a reason why Stephen King is one of the bestselling writers in the world, ever. Described in the Daily Express as ‘a fabulous teller of stories’, Stephen King writes books that draw you in and are impossible to put down.

The King is dead, murdered by an unusual poison.

From which author do you have most books?
VC Andrews. I was reading those and collecting each series paperback. I almost have all of the series up to a certain point. Like maybe up to 1999? Niedermann, the ghost writer for Andrews (she died after only four or five books) keeps cranking them out and I got burned out, but I love the older ones.

Are there books you’ve read 2 or 3 times?
The Giver and Party Monster (a bio of a club kid murder). And Lafcadio. Breaks my heart. I’m rereading the HP series now with a group of friends and we call ourselves the #HPBlogateers!!

THE GIVER is the classic award-winning novel that inspired the dystopian genre and a major motion picture adaptation for 2014 starring Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Katie Holmes and Taylor Swift.

About Party Monster: When Disco Bloodbath was first published, it created a storm of controversy for its startlingly vivid, strikingly fresh, and outrageously funny depiction of the hedonistic world of the New York City club kids, for whom nothing was too outré — including murder. Nominated for the Edgar Award for best true-crime book of the year, it also marked the debut of an audaciously talented writer, James St. James, who himself had been a club kid and close friend and confidant of Michael Alig, the young man convicted of killing the drug dealer known as Angel.

How many books are there on your Goodreads challenge this year and how many have you read already?
Ugh. I always make my challenge 100…last year I blew it out of the water at like 170 something…this year I’m at 18 but I’ve been behind bc of the move.

Can you spell your name with the first letters of titles in your book case (name these titles+authors)?

I don’t want to take up a ton of space bc my name is long, so I didn’t include pictures.
S – Spindle Fire!
T – Three Dark Crowns!
E – Empire of Storms!
P – Perfect! (Sequel to Flawed)
H – Heartless!
A – Atlantia!
N – Nemesis!
I – Ivory and Bone!
E – Everland!

In case you missed it, these are the BFF’s (Blog Friends Forever) I posted about before :

Martina – The Mystery Corner
Liis – Cover to Cover
Anne – Inked Brownies
Danielle – Books, Vertigo and Tea
Drew – TheTattooedBookGeek
Jillian – Rant and Rave About Books
Meg – Magic of Books
Betty – Bookish Regards
Anais – Zeezee with Books
Nicki – Secret Library
Donna – Chocolatenwaffles’ Blog
Chitra – Books & Strips
Dee – Novel Deelights

Thank you again Stephanie for participating today. Even though we don’t read the same genres, I love having you as a friend very much!