Friday, August 31, 2012

Friday Five #2


Friday Five is a new weekly meme featured at Under A Gray Sky. Each week, a list of five favorite or least favorite things will be shared. Most of the time the Friday Five will be book related.

This Week: Top Five Book Characters or Authors That I Want To Be My BFF

1. Lisa Kleypas because I absolutely love her books.

2. Anne Rice because I've been in love with her since I was 12.

3. Biff from Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff by Christopher Moore. He'll be a hilarious BFF to have.

4. Rachel from Moloka'i because she needs love and I know that she would always be there for you.

5. Marcela from Becoming Latina in 10 Easy Steps because her and I have so many things in common.

Which five characters/authors would you like to BFFs with?


Friday Hops, August 31st

 
The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee & Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

Q: Best Cover? What is the best cover of a book that you’ve read and didn’t like?



A: Warrior by Marie Brennan. I loved the cover of this book and I solely got this book because of the cover. Then I was told that it was a great fantasy book and I got really excited because it had been a while since I've read fantasy. Unfortunately, I could not get into it at all. I thought it was boring and I did not care much for the characters. I think I even skimmed the last half of the book.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Crazy-for-Books is running this Book Blogger Hop to help connect book bloggers with other fellow book bloggers. Here's this week's question:

Q: What is the one book or series you are dying to see turned into a movie or tv series?






A: The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. I've been dying for the books to be turned to a tv series or a movie and the rights have finally been signed. I can't wait for production to start so I could watch Jaime *swoon*.
 




How about you guys?

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

'Bye 'Bye Summer: Plans for My Blog

 
Okay...summer has finally come to an end for me and I go back to work at the school tomorrow *tear*. This has been the first summer where I actually got to relax and enjoy my time off, and most of it is because I found the book blogging community.

Now I go back to my hectic schedule: working at the school Monday through Friday, Tutoring after school Monday through Thursday for 3.5 hours each day, and start going to rehearsal 6-10 hours a week for November's belly dance annual show. So what does that mean for my blog?

I have no idea since I just started blogging this June. But this is what I have planned:

  1. I will participate in the weekly memes as best I can. If I don't do it for a certain week, that's okay. It's not the end of the world (that's what I tell myself).
  2. TBR Reduction Thursdays will be on hold for the month of September and maybe half of October.
  3. September (and maybe half of October) will be Harry Potter month. I plan to finish reading the series, which is the reason TBR Reduction is on hold.
  4. I will be reading a story each week from my Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft. My goal is to post a review every Sunday until I finish with the massive book.
 

Books/Stories I plan to read for September:
The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin (reading)
Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (I already started)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
"The Beast in the Cave" by H.P. Lovecraft
"The Alchemist" by H.P. Lovecraft
"The Tomb" by H.P. Lovecraft
"Dagon" by H.P. Lovecraft

Possible books for September (most likely October):
The Taking by Erin McCarthy
Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Juliet by Anne Fortier

This is a lot of books that I want to read and I doubt that I'll get to most of them. Wish me luck!


Teaser Tuesdays #11


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB from Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


My two teasers:

"Something was slithering toward him along the dark corridor floor, and as it drew nearer to the sliver of firelight, he realized with a thrill of terror that it was gigantic snake, at least twelve feet long. Horrified, transfixed, Frank stared as its undulating body cut a wide, curving track through the thick dust on the floor, coming closer and closer -- What was he to do?" ~ page 12 &13 from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling.




"It was only then that my parents grew somewhat alarmed; studying me carefully, they saw that I was maturing in the way of most children--standing, talking, displaying an increased interest in my surroundings. The only thing I was not doing was growing." ~ page 10 from The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin.

Monday, August 27, 2012

ARC Review and Giveaway! The Angels' Share by Rayme Waters


Synopsis: Born into a tumultuous world of neglectful bohemian parents and an overbearing grandmother, Cinnamon Monday lives through an imagination inspired by the nineteenth-century heroines she admires. As she grows older, and her make-believe worlds are not enough to protect her, she descends into drug addiction and eventual resignation. When this finally leads her to be physically beaten near the point of death, she is saved by a compassionate neighbor named Sam who gives Cinnamon the opportunity to reclaim her life. Now, working at Sam s vineyard in the beautiful Dry Creek Valley, Cinnamon Monday attempts to put her life in order, find the will to overcome past demons, and utilize her strengths to live a positive, successful life on her own terms.


About the Author: Rayme Waters has lived much of her life in Northern California with a short but influential time in Sweden. She is a graduate of UC Santa Cruz and Standford University. Her short fiction has been published in numerous magazines and journals and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and the Dzanc Best of the Web Award.


My Thoughts: This book started off pretty strong. I was completely gripped from the very first sentence of the book. It opened up with the main character, Cinnamon, beaten up and almost close to death outside of her trailer. I wanted to know more on how she got there and wondered how she was going to survive.

The chapters then started to switch between the past and the present. The past concentrated on describing Cinnamon's youth and how she grew up to be in the situation we find her in the beginning. We come to learn that she had very immature, drug addicted parents that neglected Cinnamon's education. By reading about her past, we come to understand Cinnamon's character. The chapters describing the present talked about how Cinnamon was recuperating from her wounds and was learning how to get better by working at the vineyard with the help of Sam. I enjoyed how Waters was able to switch between the past and present.

Cinnamon was a damaged character that soon learned how to heal with the help of the minor characters. Sam, the man who finds Cinnamon, is a very caring character who became Cinnamon's guardian angel. Not only does he save her from death, but he made sure that Cinnamon was away from anything that could take her back to her dangerous past and gave her the opportunity to better her life. The grandmother's character appeared to be cold and uncaring. In reality she loved Cinnamon very much and tried to show Cinnamon an alternative life by taking her away from her parents once a month while she was growing up.  I found these two characters to be my favorite supporting roles.

The beginning of the book showed great promise on what a wonderful book this could be. The downside of the book was how the plot was presented. There were many wonderful and heart-wrenching moments in the book, but there were also many parts that did not help move the story forward. There were times that a new "mystery" was introduced to the plot making you believe that something important was going to happen but then in the next chapter, this "mystery" was quickly forgotten. This started to show a lot more towards the end of the book. Since this is an ARC, it made me wonder if these parts would either be omitted or made stronger in the final copy.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read. I'm glad I got the chance to read Rayme Waters' debut novel since she showed great talent in writing in the majority of the book. With a little bit more focus with her plot, she will excel with this book.

I give it:

The Angels' Share will be out August 30, 2012.
You can pre-order your copy at Amazon.com

_______________________________________________________________________
I am giving away my ARC copy of this book along with two other ARC books from the publicist, so there will be three lucky winners! Please fill the Rafflecopter below:





a Rafflecopter giveaway

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Friday, August 24, 2012

Friday Hops, August 24th

 
The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee & Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

Q: Worst cover? What is the worst cover of a book that you’ve read and loved?

It's hard to pick a book that I've read that had a bad cover since the majority of the books I've read had decent covers, if not beautiful. The one that I would have to pick is Slave by Cheryl Brooks. Why? Because of the title and what's featured on it. Naming a book "slave" and having it be an erotic book could be offensive.


I don't even remember how I got this book. It was in my pile and it kept calling me out. After a few months, I caved in and read it. I was completely embarrased to read this book in public. I made sure to only read it at home. I was completely surprised how well it was written and how much I liked it. I liked it so much that I read the next two in the series and I currently have the fourth book in my pile.

***********************************************************************

Crazy-for-Books is running this Book Blogger Hop to help connect book bloggers with other fellow book bloggers. Here's this week's question:
Q: What is your favorite thing about blogging?

A: My favorite thing about blogging is the fact that I am able to share what I love with others and the process of sharing (such as creating new posts) is very fun. I like to take my time and make sure that what I share with you guys is visually appealing and of course I try my best with my grammar.

*******************************************************************************************

Friday Five is a new weekly meme featured at Under A GraySky.  Each week, a list of five favorite or least favorite things will be shared. Most of the time the Friday Five will be book related.

This week is:  Favorite Books of All Time

Hard to pick but these ones are the ones I’ve re-read multiple times:

1.       Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux: I am a HUGE Phan! I have read this book at least five times. The musical was introduced to me when I was five and I quickly became obsessed. I love the mystery behind the phantom and I loved the fact how he terrorized an opera house.

2.       Becoming Latina in 10 Easy Steps by Lara Rios: This book called out to me. I’ve read it three times and each time I got something new about it. Being a Latina in the United States makes you question your identity. How American are you? How Mexican are you? What things do you to try to prove people who you are?

3.       Marianela by Benito Perez Galdos: This is by far is my favorite book in Spanish. I read it twice and each time I cried. I feel completely bad for Marianela. She is poor and malnourished. She’s in love with a blind man who also claims to love her. But there’s a breakthrough in medicine where a new operation is done to help the blind see again. Will her love still love her when he sees how ugly Marianela really is?

4.       The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks: Okay yes…I’ve read this book a few times along with my little brother. I love this book for the fact that it brings my brother (who is 11 years younger than me) and I closer. Besides…we are now prepared for a zombie apocalypse!

5.       The Serial Killer Files by Harold Schechter: I like true crime and I like to learn about serial killers. This book documents a lot of serial killers around the world. I love the way it’s put together and how easy it is to search for killers that you want to learn about.

How about you guys? What was your worst cover? What is your favorite thing about blogging? What are your favorite five?



Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris Review

When sixteen-year-old Nouf goes missing, her prominent family calls on Nayir al-Sharqi, a pious desert guide, to lead the search party. Ten days later, just as Nayir is about to give up in frustration, her body is discovered by anonymous desert travelers. But when the coroner’s office determines that Nouf died not of dehydration but from drowning, and her family seems suspiciously uninterested in getting at the truth, Nayir takes it upon himself to find out what really happened. He quickly realizes that if he wants to gain access to the hidden world of women, he will have to join forces with Katya Hijazi, a lab worker at the coroner’s office who is bold enough to bare her face and to work in public. Their partnership challenges Nayir and forces him to reconcile his desire for female companionship within the parameters imposed by his beliefs.

My thoughts: This was a very well written, engaging, mystery story. It was fast-paced and kept me turning the pages. When picking up the book, I had no idea what to expect. I was surprised to learn about the plot and was especially surprised to learn solving a girl's murder could mean a lot to some people even in a culture where women are not as important.

By having only the stereotypical views of Middle Eastern culture, especially the treatment of women, this book was very rewarding. It opened my eyes up to a different culture and helped me understand how they act and feel. Though women are isolated, cannot do much in society, and are submissive, women are seen as something precious. I was completely surprised to learn that many men avert their gazes if a woman's face in uncovered. These men act as if they are not worthy to see these women's faces. Also, it was great to learn that women are not always beaten up if they accidentally show their face in public. Only extremists do such awful acts.

I also was very interested to learn how religion rule these people's lives. Their lives are centered around Allah and they spend their days according to their prayer schedules. I found it very fascinating how many times they pray and the process how men and women pray. I can't imagine having to constantly worry about how my actions and thoughts could be sinful. If they are, to be constantly asking Allah for forgiveness. I find myself respecting Muslim beliefs and customs more after reading this book.

I really enjoyed reading the two main characters, Nayir and Katya. Nayir is a very traditional man who follows his beliefs but does not force them down on anyone. I found it very cute how he admires women and how much he wants to be around them just for companionship. It's adorable how he acts around them, especially when the women reveal a little bit more than just their eyes. Katya is more of a modern girl but still follows the Muslim customs. She likes to stretch the boundaries by constantly seeing how much she could get away with. She has a job, she has chosen who she wants to marry, leaves her burqa off many times, and likes to visit places that are more Americanized. I think these two characters very well balanced each other.

The mystery of this book was done well. The author gives you many clues as to what really happened to Nouf but not enough that you can easily guess who the killer was. Everyone connected to Nouf appeared to be a suspect. When the truth started to unfold at the end, it completely caught me off guard.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed this book. I liked learning about a new culture and I liked reading a good mystery. I give this book:

Thursday, August 23, 2012

TBR Reduction Thursdays #5


I am slowly catching up to my reading and it's exciting to be able to read books from my pile. Last TBR Reduction winner was:



Now it's time to vote for my next read from my massive pile.

(click on titles for more information)
1. Still Water Saints by Alex Espinoza
2. All New People by Anne Lamott
3. Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore

What Should I Read Next?

 

 

 
  
pollcode.com free polls 

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Wild Wednesdays #10


Wild Wednesday is here and it's time to share my book hauls. Again, I was good this week so I only added two books to my pile.

My RAK Gift!

 
(Sorry for the glare) Of Love and Evil by Anne Rice...this was kindly given to me by Morgan for August's RAK giveway. This book now completes my Anne Rice collection, until the new book comes out in November ;)

 

Herbies Book Swap:


 
I dropped off three books at Herbie's (local organic store) free book swap and this caught my eye. It's three complete novels from Daphne DuMaurier. I loved the book Rebecca and I've always wanted to try her other works. I was hesitant though to pick this up because of the cover. I usually don't read books with these kinds of covers (I know...bad me).

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Back to School Read-A-Thon Wrap Up!


I had lots of fun doing my first read-a-thon hosted by Katie's Book Blog from August 16-20. I did pretty good with my goals. I didn't read all of the books I was hoping for, due to life getting in the way, but it did get me out of the small reading slump that I was in at the beginning of this month.

This is what I finished:


 Moloka'i by Alan Brennert, Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas, and A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (Click on titles for my reviews)

This is what I got started, so I hope to finish soon:


I am very happy to know that I made some good progress during this read-a-thon and I am looking forward to another soon.

The total pages read: 893
The total hours listened: 10 hours and 23 minutes

You can visit my progress and see how I did :)

Teaser Tuesday #10


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB from Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


Here's my teaser:


"Allah forgive me for imagining her ankles, he thought. And then: At least I think she's still alive." ~ page 2 from Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris

Monday, August 20, 2012

Review and Giveaway: A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

It’s 1895, and after the suicide of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma’s reception there is a chilly one. To make things worse, she’s been followed by a mysterious young Indian man, a man sent to watch her. But why? What is her destiny? And what will her entanglement with Spence’s most powerful girls—and their foray into the spiritual world—lead to?

My thoughts: When I first picked up this book, I thought that it was a historical novel. I was very surprised to find myself reading about teenage girls who are mean to others and to learn that there's some supernatural elements. It was not a horrible surprise but it did catch me off guard.

I liked how magic was involved in this book. In a weird kind of way this book reminded me of the old film, The Craft. One girl wants revenge and beauty, one wants to find true love, another wants to be brave and independent, while the other wants to know who she really is. All of this is achieved through magic, just like in the movie. I also enjoyed how the author kept pointing out that magic is not what it seems and that one should be very careful in using it. I liked the idea of being able to escape reality and to temporaly go to a garden where your desires are fulfilled.

The problem that I had with the book though was how modern it appeared to be. This is set in the late 1800s in England yet it felt like I was reading a book on today's high school girls in the United States. It was as if some modern girls were accidently transported into the past and were forced to be obedient and wear corsets. Even some of the teachers were too modern for this world. Maybe it was written this way so the young adult population could connect?

Another issue that I had with the book was how Libba Bray kept insisting in describing how awful it is to wear a corset. She really wanted to let the reader know that these old fashions were torture devices. I understand that corsets were painful to wear, but it just became irritating and unreal that these girls kept mentioning it during their discussions. It's almost like if today's girls kept briging up how uncomfortable bras are in every conversation.

In all, the book did keep me entertained and made me want to know how it was going to end. I give it:

Now, I am giving my copy of this book away. It is hardback and in great condition. Just fill out the form below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Audiobook Review on Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas

Read by Emily Durante

Billionaire playboy, and all-around ladies’ man, Jake Travis has a reputation as big as the state of Texas. He drives too fast, lives too hard, and loves too many women to count.
In her advice column, and her love life, Ella Varner is always practical. So when she’s left holding her reckless sister’s baby, she decides to ask Jake Travis to take a paternity test.
Ella is instantly struck by Jake’s bold good looks and easy charm—but she’s not falling for his sweet talk. This big sexy tomcat needs to take responsibility for his actions, and Ella’s making him stick to his word. Now if she can only ignore the unspoken attraction that smolders between them…

My Thoughts: This is the the third and last book in the Travis series and it was cute. I enjoyed the fact that Ella did right by her sister's baby and I liked how Travis quickly showed what a man is suppose to act like during these situations. Though some of the events sounded too good to be true, I was entertained with the fact that true love takes all situations.

I will admit though that I did get annoyed how Ella was treated by her mother and sister. Her mother is a selfish, self-centered, manipulative woman and her sister turns out to be just like the mother. I was angry at the fact that this baby was dropped onto Ella's hands and her mother and sister kept telling Ella that it was Ella's responsibility to take care of this baby. It was very unfair.

Other than that, I liked how Emily Durante presented the material. She played Ella's part beautifully and I was not bored at all.

I give this audiobook:

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Review on Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

Synopsis:
Rachel Kalama, a spirited seven-year-old Hawaiian girl, dreams of visiting far-off lands like her father, a merchant seaman. Then one day a rose-colored mark appears on her skin, and those dreams are stolen from her. Taken from her home and family, Rachel is sent to Kalaupapa, the quarantined leprosy settlement on the island of Moloka'i. Here her life is supposed to end---but instead she discovers it is only just beginning.
 
My Thoughts:
OMG! I love this book! I loved how it was filled with history of Hawaii and the history of the leprosy epidemic during the mid 1800s to mid 1900s. It is very evident that Alan Brennert did a lot of research to bring out not only the history of this leprosy colony but also how the people there and around them felt about this awful disease. I also enjoyed how Brennert presented his research as storytelling instead of a history lesson. I did not find his information boring at all but found myself being very intrigued instead.

I was enamored with the main character, Rachel. She had such a tragic life, surrounded by disease and death, but yet she still stayed strong and kept being hopeful for the future. I admired her strong will and her caring heart. I was in tune with her emotions. I found myself laughing with her, cried at all the deaths and separations with her, and felt her misery and hope with her. I wanted to just hug her and tell her how brave she was.

As tragic as the story was, I loved it. I loved how it brought out all these emotions in me and I loved how I was able to connect with the characters. I did not find any flaws with this book. It has become my new favorite.
I give it:

Back to School Read-A-Thon Update



I am working very hard to work on my first read-a-thon hosted by Katie's Book Blog (from August 16-20). I am having a great time doing it so far but I am constantly frustrated how life gets in the way :/

Well here's my progress:

Day 1
Had to go to my school and help my fellow co-worker to take down the bulletin board and move heavy furniture in our classroom. Time to get the class ready for back to school. Then I went to belly dance practice and worked on a old choreography and tried to refresh it for a restaurant performance in September.
Books: Picked up Moloka'i by Alan Brennert again that I only read 10 pages to on Tuesday.
Pages read: (not including the first 10 pages already read)  195
Total pages: 195

Day 2
Mom's birthday. Had to get my siblings off their butts and start cleaning the whole house while mom was at work. Took mom out for sushi for lunch. Baked a chocolate cake while mom went back to work, and surprised her with the cake and song when she got back :)
Books: Finished reading Moloka'i!!! Started listening to Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas.
Pages Read: 184
Audio hours: 3 hours and 35 minutes
Total pages: 379
Total audio hours: 3 hrs and 35 mins

Day 3
Another busy day with belly dance practice. Did have time to lie down and listen to my audiobook and start a new book. I'll be gone late at night to meet up with my Marine who's down from base.
Books: Finished Smooth Talking Stranger! Started reading A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bay
Audio hours: 6 hours and 48 minutes
Pages read: 105
Total audio hours: 10 hours and 23 minutes
Total pages read: 484

Day 4
Was out most of the day with my Marine but got some reading done.
Books: A Great and Terrible Beauty
Pages read: 190
Total pages read: 674
Total audio hours: 10 hours and 23 minutes

Day 5
Had an eye doctor's appointment in the morning but was able to finish reading a book in the waiting room. Went to work for a few hours. Got home pretty early and hoped to get some reading done but unexpected family came over. Did not reach all of my goals :(
Books: Finished A Great and Terrible Beauty and started Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris.
Pages read: 219
Total pages read: 893
Total audio hours: 10 hours and 23 minutes
Click here to view my goal.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Audiobook Review on Something Wicked This Way Comes & A Sound of Thunder

By Ray Bradbury
Read by Stefan Rudnicki

Something Wicked This Way Comes


Halloween comes earlier this year as a freak carnival arrives in the town of Green Town, Illinois. Thirteen-year-old boys James and William are excited for the carnival. Unfortunately, the carnival is more evil than what it appears and the boys come to learn that they along with the town are in danger.

My thoughts: This was a very interesting story. I liked the vividness of it and I liked how dark and gloomy everything was described to let us know that something evil has home. I especially loved how Bradbury portrays the boys. Their emotions and actions are executed well, and I could easily imagine real boys feeling and acting the way Jim and Will did. This was a great story.

A Sound of Thunder


A short story set in the future of 2055. Time travel has been achieved but it's a very tricky business. A hunter named Eckles joins a group of scientist to go back in time to hunt a T-Rex. Eckles soon learns that going to the past can really change things in the future.

My thoughts: I really enjoyed this story. I even liked it a lot more than Something Wicked This Way Comes. This story was the inspiration of the term, the Butterfly Effect, and I was excited to listen to how a single butterfly's death can cause many changes to our future.

My thoughts on the audio presentation:

I was not to pleased with the audio. Stefan Rudnicki has a very sexy deep voice but he did not present the material well. He was very monotone and would only slightly raise his voice in the exciting parts. After a few minutes, Stefan's reading just sounded like rambling. If I wasn't interested in the story, I think I would have dropped this audio as soon as possible.

I give the stories 4 stars, but the presentation 2. This averages my score to:

Friday Hops, August 17th

Don't forget to enter my 100+ Follower Giveaway. It's on the upper right side of this blog.


The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee & Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!
Q: What blogger inspires you? It can be any kind, it doesn’t have to be a book blog.

 A: I will have to say Wendy from Wall-to-Wall Books. If it wasn't for her, I don't think I would have started blogging. I became interested in blogging back in May but I had no clue had to go about creating a blog and I also thought people wouldn't want to visit my blog. Wendy gave me lots of tips that have helped me and inspired me, and she continues to check up on me and encourage during my posts.

Wendy, thank you so much!!!


Crazy-for-Books is running this Book Blogger Hop to help connect book bloggers with other fellow book bloggers. Here's this week's question:

 Q: What is the one genre you will NEVER read?
A: Hmmm...I think that I've tried all kinds of genre. Maybe it would be those old westerns with the funny covers. But I don't think I will NEVER try a genre. That's being too selective and it doesn't give that genre a chance. By expanding your reading choices, you come to learn what you really love. And if you're like me, your interests change as the years go by.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Back To School Read-A-Thon TBR!


I am participating in my first read-a-thon! I am super excited about this because I really need to be cracking down on my books. August so far has been a really slow reading start and I hope this event will help push me with my reading goals. This read-a-thon is hosted by Katie's Book Blog and is from August 16-20.

 

Here's what I hope to finish:


1. Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
2. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
3. Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris
4. Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas (audiobook)

 Wish me luck!

Wild Wednesdays #9


Hello everyone! This is my weekly posting of the books that I haul in. Usually it's so many, which is why I call it "Wild." This week, though, I was a good girl. I only brought in two books.

From Paperbackswap.com:


Newes from the Dead by Mary Hooper...I saw this posted on Paperbackswap and looked very interesting. It's about a young woman who gets hanged but survives the hanging but cannot open her eyes. She's afraid that she's been buried alive.










 

I won this book from Wendy at Wall-to-Wall Books:


Hurricanes in Paradise by Denise Hildreth...I'm excited to read this one! It is set in the Bahamas so it would be a great get-away.















What new books have you added to your shelves?