Books I Await with Bated Breath

So as I begin to write this post, I use the phrase "I await these books with bated breath." And then - because I'm a writer and therefore fascinated with words - I start to wonder if this is correct. What does bated mean? Where did the phrase come from? Am I even using it right?

Which of course, leads to a half hour dictionary and google search. I am easily distracted. If you want the short version of all this research, bated is short for "abated," meaning to lessen or hold back, so "with bated breath" means holding the breath in great awe, excitement, or interest. Got that?

So I await, with bated breath, the following two books:

KEEPER, by Kathi Appelt, due out in May/2010.

Kathi is the award winning author of numerous picture books and non-fiction for children. Last year her first novel, THE UNDERNEATH, (which I absolutely Loved) was a finalist for the National Book award, as well as being a Newbery Honor Book.

I can hardly wait to read Kathi's new novel. Her lyrical use of language, her magical sense of story telling, as well as her views on children's literature, impress me greatly. (Can you tell that I'm a Kathi Appelt Fan Girl?)

Here's a teaser: a ten-year-old girl named Keeper sets out in a small boat in the middle of the night with just a seagull and a small dog named BD (Best Dog) to search for her mother - a mermaid.

So KEEPER comes out in May. And I'll be reading it as soon as I can lay my hands on a copy.

But I have to wait all the way until August!! to read the newest (and last) book in THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy, which is called:

MOCKINGJAY, by Suzanne Collins, due out in August/2010.

THE HUNGER GAMES, and its sequel CHASING FIRE deal with a post-apocalyptic world in which sixteen-year-old Katniss must fight to save her humanity, as well as her own life and the lives of her loved ones.

Reading these books is like eating chocolates. They are so delicious, when you finish one, you just HAVE to have another one.

Which is why I will be waiting in line to get my copy of MOCKINGJAY when it comes out in August.

Oh, and in the Peeta/Gale debate?

Place me firmly in the Gale camp - all the way.



Okay, so there you have a couple of upcoming books to watch for. Tell us what you've been reading, and what books you are waiting for (with or without bated breath.)

And we have another author interview coming up soon, featuring a book give-away of an exciting new release. Right here. Very soon . . .