This week's question courtesy of Parajunkee's Follow Friday is:

Q: Talk about the book that most changed or influenced your life (was it a book that turned you from an average to avid reader, did it help you deal with a particularly difficult situation, does it bring you comfort every time you read it?). 

This is an insanely difficult question. No one book was a magical book that turned me into a voracious reader; it was more the culmination of all of them. When I was little I was very lucky in that we had tons of children's books around, and that my mum would read to me at night. What's even more lucky is that I had people around me that would indulge the very small, younger me in signing me up for a library card and carting me back and forth - most of the time with 10+ books out at a time - from home to the library. However, I have to say that reading these books opened my mind up to so many possibilities that it gave me a wild imagination and an intense curiosity to find out what else might be possible if I just read more. (I also wrote tons of terrible stories when I was little, as I just had so much stuff in my head that I needed to get it out in some fashion. I still write, and hopefully it's not so terrible now.)

Here's a list of children's books that I loved then and still love now:

Strega Nona by Tomie DePaola
Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
Go, Dog, Go! by P.D. Eastman
The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf & Robert Lawson
The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

I also grew up reading whatever else lay around the house, which ended up in a lot of the following: any and all Dr. Seuss, National Geographic (we had a subscription at the time), tons of the Great Illustrated Classic books (Black Beauty, Heidi, Journey to the Center of the Earth...), Shel Silverstein, and these random abridged versions of books that Reader's Digest used to produce that my Pop (grandfather) had on the shelf. I also read a lot of Reader's Digest.

I am grateful to each and every one of these books and people as they shaped my interest of reading to what it is today.

Next up is... cover love! Courtesy of Melissa at iswimforoceans. :)

Title: Witchlanders

Author: Lena Coakley

Publisher: Atheneum

Publish Date: August 30, 2011

Genre: Fantasy

Fun Fact: Although the cover shows a picture of a girl, the MC is indeed male.

Why I Have Cover Lust: I just love everything about this cover. The textures, the shades of blue (my favorite color), the wispy branches falling in her face and the slash of red across that comes in perfect contrast. This is a book that I've had aside waiting - and boy, has it been difficult to wait - to be read for over a month now, and will get to soon as it's almost time for its book birthday.

I've been without power for the last day and a half and so it's been difficult to post. Here's to playing catch-up!

This week's question courtesy of Parajunkee's Follow Friday is:

Q: Let's step away from books for a second and get personal. What t-shirt slogan best describes you?

I knew immediately that it would have to do with music, and what is the love of my musical life? Well, the answer was easy. 

♪could I have been anyone other than me?♪ - 'dancing nancies', dmb

Next up is... cover love! Courtesy of Melissa at iswimforoceans.

Top: ARC; Bottom: US Cover, UK Cover

Title: The Night Circus

Author: Erin Morgenstern

Publisher: Knopf Doubleday

Publish Date: September 13, 2011

Genre: YA/Adult

Fun Fact: The US edition previously had a different cover design, which you can see here. Another fabulous thing is that Jim Dale will be recording the audio version - another instant buy.

Why I Have Cover Lust: I didn't have to get past the name to know that I would love this book. However the covers are so magical in a way that I haven't seen in a while. I'm a fan of simplistic design and it's here it's done so well: little embellishments here and there (the font on both US and UK covers), the contrasting colors with hints of red to make it pop, and the fantastic sense of cohesion between the two of them. My favorite bit is actually on the ARC where it says: This Advanced Reader's Edition Entitles The Holder To Unlimited Admission. Not For Sale - Violators Will Be Exsanguinated.

I am so, so incredibly excited for this book. I think I'll have to buy them both for the covers, and I'd love to have one of those beautiful ARCs, too!

This week's question courtesy of Parajunkee's Follow Friday is:

Q: What do I do when I are not reading?

At the moment I work tons, but come the end of next month school starts for me and then it will be the opposite: I will be reading only when I am not in school and doing schoolwork, sadly! However since studying human rights and political science can be intense I look forward to having a fantastic read to break things up. Other than reading I listen to a ton of music (my favorites are DMB and サカナクション) and attend too many concerts. I go cycling and run and write. I play with my kitties and catch up on all of your fabulous posts.

The lovely Melissa at i swim for oceans has created a weekly meme for gorgeous book covers and I just have to join in on this one, too! I was going to highlight Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me as well, but I'll pick a different one!

Title: Between Two Ends

Author: David Ward

Publisher: Amulet Books

Genre: Middle Grade/YA

Fun Fact: The illustrations were done by Onoda Yuta and I'd encourage you to check out his other work as he is immensely talented!

Why I Have Cover Lust:

When I first looked at this cover I loved it because of the colors (I love color blocking especially when it works to great effect like it does here), typography and amazing illustrative work, and I thought Yeats was standing on sand. And he is - but after you read this book the cover art takes on a whole other layer of cleverness which is just the beginning of what I love about this book!