Even though I've got several books sitting on my desk begging to be reviewed, I feel like indulging in a little randomness today. Bookish randomness, but randomness nonetheless. Just humor me, mmkay?

First and foremost, don't forget to enter the fabulous giveaway I have going on right now. You could win a boxed set of The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater. Nice, right? Click here for all the details. Less than 40 people have entered, so the odds of winning are still pretty good. The contest ends on August 10, so enter ASAP!

Book Blogger Appreciation Week is coming up fast. I love this event that celebrates book bloggers and the wonderful online book blogging community. Click here to register and start nominating your favorite book blogs for awards in a variety of categories. Nominations will only be taken through August 13, so hurry, hurry, hurry.

Do you love magazines? I do. Not as much as books, of course, but I still get excited about flipping through the glossy pages of a great periodical. Even better is when they include sections on books. Oprah's a famous book nerd, so naturally, books are always chatted up in her magazine. This month's issue gushes about all kinds of intriguing titles. Books added to my TBR pile because of it: The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin, Among the Wonderful by Stacy Carlson, Northwest Corner by John Burnham Schwartz and FatherMotherGod by Lucia Greenhouse. The August issue of Adoptive Families includes the magazine's 2011 Best Books List. Titles added to my TBR pile because of it: Mamalita by Jessica O'Dwyer, I'm Chocolate, You're Vanilla by Marguerite A. Wright, Dear Birthmother by Kathleen Silber and Phyllis Speedlin, and In On It: A Guide for Relatives and Friends by Elisabeth O'Toole. I've added other titles because of suggestions in All You, Good Housekeeping, Elle, and, of course, Bookmarks, BookPage and, interestingly enough, Costco Connection. Have I mentioned how much I love magazines?

Speaking of magazines, I happened by the clearance sale at my local Borders (Okay, I left my 12-year-old in charge of the younger kids and rushed off to the mall as fast as I could to hit the sale for the second time in a week). Through my tears over the bankruptcy of my favorite bookstore, I managed to find a *few* bargains, including a magazine put out by Writer's Digest called Writing for Kids & YA. I'm only about halfway through it, but there are some excellent articles about cultivating an authentic voice, writing the kinds of books agents/publishers are looking for, the e-publishing revolution and much more. My favorite article so far is one by Andrew Karre, the editorial director at Lerner Publishing Group, entitled "The YA Perspective." If you have dreams of publishing a YA novel, it's a must read.

If this randomness isn't quite exciting enough for you, you can read about my most memorable kiss in the comments of yesterday's guest post by Brooke Moss. Can you say, awkward?

If randomness isn't your thing, well, buck up little trooper - Bonus points if you can name the movie from which that little gem comes (Hint: I love me some John Cusack.) - I'll be back soon with more reviews. Watch for posts about The Agency: The Body at the Tower by Y.S. Lee, Storm Runners by Roland Smith, and Sharks & Boys by Kristen Tracy (if you're LDS, you're going to be very interested in this one ...). Stay tuned!