Follow Friday

Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee over at Parajunkee's View. (*since it looks like the question was changed after I'd already posted my answer, I'll just add the NEW question at the bottom).

Q. Inspired by the inane twitter trend of #100factsaboutme, give us five book related silly facts about you.

Ok, another 5... was hard coming up with the first five. Hmmm...

1. My favorite place to read seems to be the bathroom. No matter what I'm actually doing in there. I recently actually tried to read a book standing up in the shower. Needless to say it got a tad soggy.

2. When I read outloud I like to do it in accents.

3. I can read for hours and not even know it. It feels like minutes.

4. I like to make mock covers for novels that may not already have one.

5. I've written two stories that I've actually finished (both fantasy), both for my girls. I had another one in the works that I was about 20K pages into, but ran out of steam and just couldn't figure out what came next. Have something else in the works right now, trying to think of ideas for continuing it though.

There. Another 5. Surprisingly not as hard to figure out these as the first.

*Edit

Ok, there was a new question posted after I'd already answered this one again, so I'm going to give it a 2nd shot.

Q. What is one book you really don't want to admit to loving?

Hmmm.... I don't mind admitting I love them all. :-) I think Firebringer by David Clement-Daves has brought me the most "grief". LoL. Everyone made fun of me for reading a book about talking deer. But hey, it was good. So I didn't care. :-)

Go back one post to see my Waiting On Wednesday about Carla Gade's novella Carving a Future!

Waiting On Wednesday

WoW is a weekly event hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine. It spotlights upcoming releases that are anxiously awaited.

I know that my WoW post is day late, but aside from books and stories that I've already posted about, I couldn't really think of what I was waiting for. UNTIL I took a journey on over to a friend's blog; Writing To Distraction. Carla Gade, over at Writing to Distraction, is a Christian historical romance novelist. She has two projects debuting in 2012. The first is called The Shadow Catcher's Daughter which is book number 1 in the Love In Four Corners series (other authors doing books 2 and 3). Release date is January of 2012..

NOW... Today's post is about her second project. A collection of novellas by various artists set to debut in May of 2012 (too far!!), Colonial Courtships features Carving a Future by Carla. Here's the description for this particular novella: "Carving a Future (1752): Ship figurehead carver Nathaniel Ingersoll has apprenticed for many years under his Uncle Phineas and hopes to become a master ship carver in his own right. Constance Starling was spirited away from England to the Connecticut coast as an indentured servant, arriving too ill for anyone to accept her. When Nathaniel takes pity on her, he purchases her contract. Has he jeopardized the future he has worked so hard to achieve for the welfare of a weakly servant?" .

And here's the lovely cover:


Isn't it beautiful? I love the expression on her face. I wonder what she's thinking about. I can't wait for EITHER of her stories to come out. I absolutely love historical fiction (and just history in general) and the fact that it's a Christian historical romance novel just makes it all the more exciting (The Heirs of Cahira O'Connor series comes to mind in this category as well, by Angela Elwell Hunt). I know it's going to be a great read. They both will be. When the time comes you should definitely check it out. Carla is just an overall outstanding person and I know these won't disappoint if they're anything like her!

I Read Romance

Yep. I may as well admit it. Haha. I read romance novels. I love the historical fiction kind.

My favorite so far (and I didn't know this was part of a series until I looked up the author on Amazon) is Her Irish Warrior by Michelle Willingham. I believe it's a Historical Harlequin novel and I like it because it's not one of those "raunchy rip your clothes off every time I get a chance" kind of books. It's a great story and I have to admit that I bought it solely because of the Irish bit. Because I'm Irish. WOot.

GoodReads Description: Genevieve de Renalt must escape her betrothed, even if that means putting her trust in the hands of the enemy! Irish warrior Bevan MacEgan cannot leave a lady in danger, but how far will he go to keep her safe? Marriage would benefit them both, yet he has sworn never to love again…. Proud and strong, he keeps Genevieve at a distance but, as she begins to melt his heart, a shocking discovery forces Bevan to make a choice—a choice that could mean losing her forever!

I've read it a few times. You should definitely check it out. On the opposite end of the romance spectrum, you have a Love Inspired novel by Marta Perry called Restless Hearts. It's a very sweet novel. This was a book that my dad had gotten as a free gift for some reason, so he passed it along to me because he's not exactly the romance novel type (he likes Louis L'Amour novels which are really fun to read/listen to).

GoodReads description: A search for her roots brought midwife Fiona Flanagan to Pennsylvania Dutch country—and made her wonder whether she should turn back. The area's mixture of Amish and English culture confused her, and her first encounter with local police chief Ted Rittenhouse didn't help. he'd thought she was breaking into her own office! Despite the misunderstanding, Fiona could see that Ted's tough-as-nails exterior hid a kind soul—one caught between two worlds, seeking a place to belong. She felt the same, but trusting him with her heart would require the biggest step of faith she had ever taken.

They're some really good reads. The first is part of the MacEgan Brothers series, the second is part of The Flanagans series. A departure from my normal read selections, but great reads.

Review - Tower of Change: Keys of Fate #1 by Tina M. Randolph

(Disclaimer: I had originally typed this up at about 4 in the morning. I held off on actually publishing because this entire entry seemed harsh, even to me (and I wrote the dang thing). I even tried to read some more of the book to see if it got any better. It didn't, and as harsh as this is, obviously it's been posted. Please don't in any way shape or form think I am against people who self publish. I'm not. I applaud people who do. With that being said, I think if you are going to claim to own a publishing company, then at least make the effort to present it as reputable and have someone proof read and edit the material that's going to print so it doesn't look like a 3rd grader wrote it.)

I'm going to preface this by saying I absolutely HATE it when I read a book and dislike it. It makes me sad. And I can't stand giving negative reviews. I will generally try and find SOMETHING good about the book and go from there. But come on, you can only expect so much out of me, and this was ridiculous.

I must be reading an entirely different book than the people on Amazon who reviewed Tower of Change by Tina M. Randolph. Seriously. Either that or maybe I've flown to another planet where I am the only sensible person in the entirety of the population.

I've read about 50 pages of the book and am no closer to finding out what's going on than I was on page 1. IMMEDIATELY the story drops you in to what seems like it should be the middle of the book. There's names thrown all over the place and I can't figure out what they are or where they are or even WHO they are. There's no descriptions given for ANY of the places that are being talked about. The main character is described as average height, athletic, and penetrating eyes I think. That's it.

The editing is horrendous. I've never seen a book so full of commas that DON'T BELONG AT ALL. I mean seriously. It's literally, like doing this, for absolutely, no reason what,soever. IE: "Delphi had entrusted Elazar with the most important duty, there was." Honestly, I couldn't believe that it had been published. And this is all within the first 50 pages remember?

I couldn't tell what time frame the book was supposed to be in. At first it seemed like one of those medieval fantasies. With castles and what not. But then one of the secondary characters is carrying a pen and a notebook in his "robes" and yet, at the beginning of the book another character is walking around reading parchemnts. Which is it? Parchment? Or actual notebook and pens? The dialogue goes back and forth between old time-y and modern. It's frustrating. I've given up trying to figure it out.

There are a ton of great concepts and ideas in the first 50 pages but NONE OF THEM are used past their description. If they're described at all. For instance... there's a summit to discuss what's been going on with changes in the eco-system and what not and how it's effecting the magic and the people/things on the planet. No one bothers to tell you that the planets name is Amunet. The name is just thrown out there and it's assumed you'll figure it out eventually.

The master wizards name was Sidoneas Elazar. In the course of one paragraph she calls him by his first and last name, then his first name, then his last name. I mean, pick one please. Because when you say 'Sidoneas looked at him. "Blahblahblah," said Elazar' it looks like you're talking about two different people.

The author illustrated the book (really dodgy pen sketches, the worst being some kind of tall glass of something, with photoshopped smoke coming out of it... oy), and even quoted herself at the beginning... umm... k. And then... THEN I found her facebook page and it all became clear to me. How this book managed to bulldoze its way in to print. She "owns" the "company" that published it. She quoted herself at the beginning of the book, which wouldn't have been an issue except she's taken quotes other people have said, mashed them together, and passed off the sentiment as her own. THEN she prefaced the first chapter with a "riddle" from Sidoneas Elazar that is just.... not a riddle. Most riddles you can look at for a while and finally go OOOOOH. And click, the lightbulb turns on. But this? No. Just... no.

I'm sorry, I really wanted to like the book. I was wicked excited to read it. It was an idea that I haven't really seen done before... she just couldn't pull it off. And I'm just so let down. I don't think I could recommend this as a read to anyone. There was zero editing done. There are a lot of grammatical errors (and I am, by no means, perfect... but SOME attempt at making it look professional would have been a good idea), a lot of punctuation mistakes, just... too much ridiculous stuff that it wasn't worth the effort. :-(

Review - City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Alright. I finished City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. Over all I enjoyed it.

"Luke, I am your father."

Anyways.

I liked the book. It was pretty decent. There were definitely some descriptive parts that I skipped over (and when I say that I mean just way too much description for ONE thing, and I could just NOT read it and it wouldn't detract anything from the story) and some things that I felt needed more description. We all heard about Jace's hair and his scars and what he wore etc, but what about Clary... she's a redhead. That's about all I remember of her description.

I steered away from the Jace/Clary train. Simon was supposedly her best friend for such a long time, her Dawson if you will (as in... Dawson's Creek), and yet, she just completely FORGOT HE EXISTED several times. And Cassandra made a point of pointing that out... several times. I felt bad for him. She had gotten a shiny new toy so who cares about the old classics right?

The whole "City of Bones" angle wasn't really all that memorable. The book could have just as easily been titled something else and it wouldn't have really made a difference.

BUT... that being said. I loved Luke. Even when he was being a complete jerk I knew there had to be a reason behind it. And Madam Dorothea? I kept picturing her as Zelda Rubinstein. You know, from Poltergeist and Teen Witch? I'd bet money that if she were still alive she'd be first pick to play that part in the movie. Too funny. And Magnus. I did like him. He reminded me of someone and I just can't put my finger on it right now. But when I was reading I had a picture of someone who could pass for him in my head. Maybe Meshach Taylor (Hollywood from the movie Mannequin back in 1987). I also loved how Jace was so snarky. He always had a witty comeback and was completely arrogant and uber confident.

There were definitely some interesting twists in the story. That I won't reveal because I know there are people who read here who haven't read the books. It was those twists that kept the story good for me. Even though there wasn't much (I thought) to do in fleshing out the characters, I'm assuming (since there are more books after this one) that I'll learn more later. The end kind of weirded me out though. Not sure I'll be able to get over that one.

I am definitely intrigued enough to continue on with the series. I wouldn't recommend this to someone looking for something incredibly fast paced (like The Hunger Games for instance), but it is a good read. I'd give it maybe a 3.5 out of 5. Ya know?

Next up.... Tower of Change.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of 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!

Ok, so this week I'm going to post teasers for more than one book. The book I'm reading. The book I won on GoodReads which is on deck. And MockingJay which is in the hole.
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare is up first.

"If you wanted me to rip my clothes off you should have just asked." He dug into his pocket and brought out his stele. "It would have been a lot less painful." p 187

On deck is The Keys of Fate novel number 1: Tower of Change by Tina M.Randolph.

Suddenly there was an outpouring of melodramatic opposition, and one of the wizards roared, "Maybe we shouldn't allow them to co-exist. Maybe we should use our magic to make them extinct!" p 36

Last not least comes the batter in the hole,

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. The last in the Hunger Games trilogy!!!!! Happy birthday to me!! Hehe.

"Oh no. It costs a lot more than your life. To murder innocent people?" says Peeta. "It costs everything you are." p 23

Books Turned Movies

Like the title says... books turned movies. There are so many of them I can't remember which movies I've seen weren't books first. And I have to admit... I RIP movies to shreds if I've read the book and liked it and find that the movie is NOTHING like the book.

Like Eragon, for example. Aside from the names there wasn't much in the movie that resembled the book. At all. And the first time I watched it I HATED it. I refused to watch it again for the LONGEST time. I couldn't BELIEVE that Christopher Paolini was OK with the way the movie turned out. I should never go see movies with anyone when something like this comes out, I ruined it for my husband who'd never read the books by telling him EVERYTHING that was wrong with the movie. After about a year I was finally able to watch the movie again and if I didn't think of the book at ALL it wasn't that bad.

Harry Potter. Now, I love the books AND the movies equally. I still pick the movies apart because that's just how I am. But they aren't SO different that I don't enjoy them at al. I look forward to the movie releases as much as I looked forward to the book releases. And lets face it, the Harry Potter movies are movies you can watch OVER and over again and not get tired of them. And can I just say, I absolutely LOVE the Harry Potter cover art. At one point I'd stumbled across the artist's page but I don't remember where.

Charlie and the Chocolate factory. One of my favorite stories/movies of all time. Another I can watch over and over again. But I mean the Johnny Depp version. Don't get me wrong, I love Willy Wonka. Lots of fond memories. But Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Johnny Depp is just more my style. And I love Deep Roy as the Oompa Loompas.

The Count of Monte Cristo. Oh my gosh, I LOVE Jim Caviezel. He has got to be one of the most phenomenal actors alive and he was amazing as Edmund Dantes. I adored the movie. But I absolutely loved the book as well. I saw the movie first so I'm not as critical of it as I would have been... but I still pick apart the differences when I watch it. I loved watching the movie first because then I could picture everything from the book in my head as I read.

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Total classic. Loved the book AND the movie (the newer version is the one I'm talking about, not the BBC version). I think it's one of the truest-to-the-book movies that I've ever seen. There was only ONE instance in the movie where I said "Nope, didn't happen that way". The rest of it I thought was spot on. And I've read the book, listened to the full cast audio (which is PHENOMENAL by the way, I believe it's done by Focus on the Family), seen the BBC movie, seen the cartoon movies, etc. I am in love with this entire series. Prince Caspian definitely didn't follow the book nearly as much as I'd liked, but that's another story.

I think that's about all the books and movies I'll bother you all with today. BUT if you want to check out the full cast radio theater audio books on CD for the entire series go here.

In My Mailbox

FIRST of all, because I JUST posted this,click here to go read about my bookstore dream!

Ok, now that that's over.

In my mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi the Story Siren. It's to showcase books that you've received/borrowed/purchased/stolen/won/etc throughout the week.

Money's been a little tight for me recently BUT I do have something for this weeks IMM. Yay!

This past week I received Tower of Change by Tina M. Randolph. Tower of Change is The Keys of Fate novel number one and I was fortunate enough to win this in a contest on GoodReads - First Reads which is totally awesome. I absolutely love the cover.


GoodReads description: Secrets and mysteries are locked within an ancient tower that the wizard's apprentice must guard with his life. One simple slip-up puts the fate of the world in the power of a desperate King's Mage, threatening to destroy peace and harmony throughout the world. Time is running out, and Galax Hanz is the only one with the magical arts to lead a collection of unlikely allies to retrieve the precious Keys of Fate. But when Galax is pursued by the evil Mage's Bloodwyns—the half-man, half-bird shadowy creatures of darkness—he soon realizes he has been drawn into a monumental struggle that challenges the foundations of his tradition. Galax will be forced to test his faith and training, which will guide him into the unknown regions on the road to the discovery of the alchemistic formula of life, death, and destiny.

Can't wait to read this one! I'm currently reading City of Bones by Cassandra Clare so unfortunately I'll HAVE to wait just a tad.

What came in your mailbox this week?!?


* Edit to add:

My 8 year old had a book fair at her elementary school this past week. They had some games with some prizes to win, and she won me this totally awesome bookmark that says "Please GO away! I am reading something really really good." And I loved it. I've got it in City of Bones right now keeping my spot. Love it!

My BookStore Dream

So, a while ago I mentioned my dream to own a bookstore. My love of books is even greater than my love of photography, which... let's be honest, is immense. The bookstore idea wins out by a hair over my wish to be a photographer for national geographic. But who knows. Maybe I'll get to do both.

But I digress.

Just because it's fun I'm going to show you guys the furniture I found that I'd want in my store. I'd have different sections, obviously, for each genre of book. But each different genre section would have it's own..... reading nook.... if you will. And in that specific area would be furniture that matches the type of book.

I know I'm so cheesy!

Anyways.

So there would be like, a centralized reading area. Comfy looking furniture. End tables. Lamps. Tables and chairs and what not. (And again, off track, I want my bookstore to have the cozy comfy feel. Not wooden chairs, tight leather sofas that squeak when you sit down, etc.) (OH and another aside, almost none of it will match, cuz that's not how I roll!)

Now, for the fantasy section, I'd just scatter chairs in various spots, a sofa or two... and I'd LOVE to have a big swing hanging from the ceiling. LoL. Stuff like this:




And in the general area I found the sweetest patchwork furniture and I love love love it!



Are those the most awesome things you've ever seen?!?

And check this out for the kids section!


How cool is that?!?

And maybe this for some coloring books and stuff...



And then of course there'd be a movie viewing area with bean bags and floor pillows and movie posters on the wall for things like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings.

All over the walls I'd have artwork from local artists so they'd get some exposure, and all the artwork would be for sale. I'd have genre appropriate artwork in all the specific book sections. I've seen lots of wicked cool steampunk stuff I'd LOVE to display.

I mean, I know it's a totally crazy dream. But it's one of the few things that excites me lately. So there you have it.

Follow Friday

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee.

Q. Inspired by the inane twitter trend of #100factsaboutme, give us five BOOK RELATED silly facts about you.

1. Following in the footsteps of a lot of FF's I've already read, I'm an ADD reader. I can sometimes have 5 or 6 books that I'm reading at a time. About halfway through all of them I pick one to finish and then go from there.

2. Until I started book blogging I didn't know there was a difference between paranormal/fantasy and all that. I just called it all fantasy. Still do. Labels don't really matter to me so much as the books.

3. I'm a cover snob. I admit it. And I hate it. Because I'm often wrong. I see a cover that doesn't strike my fancy right away I will probably pass the book up several times before breaking down and buying it.

4. I can't stand watching movies made from books. I will sit there and rip the movie to shreds over ANY difference from the book. It's only if I watch the movie the second time that I watch it with the mindset that they are 2 seperate things and not necessarily meant to be the same.

5. I don't have a bookshelf anymore! :-( My "bookshelf" is the top of my chest of drawers. And I'm quickly running out of room! The stacks of books I have up there are threatening to topple over.

Click here to see my Waiting on Wednesday post about The Blood Knight Series by A.M. Hudson.

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine. It spotlights upcoming releases that we just can't wait for!!

This week I just can't wait for the next installment in the Blood Knight Series by A.M. Hudson. The first two stories in the series, Knight of the Rose & The Knight's Descent are published completely online on her blog and are just great to read through. It's kind of like Twilight in reverse. You'll have to read it to find out why.

Here's a little teaser for you from the first book:

"Fear flooded my torso, and froze my limbs into place. The reflection that mirrors back is not me. She stares at me with her round eyes, and I can see familiarity in her heart-shaped face, and long, wavy brown hair. She straightened the front of her yellow, cotton, sundress, just as I did the same. The girl looks like me--but it’s not me anymore.

Everything that made me who I am has been left behind in a place that I can never return. The girl I see in the mirror now, has no heart, and when she smiles, it’s never for real. When I leave this house today--my dads house-—still not really mine, I will be painting on the carefully created persona, of a young, happy, teenage girl.

The scars on the surface of my face have long since faded, and reduced to nothing more than a silvery reminder of a tragic past. If I keep my face out of the sun, then they’re barely visible at all. It’s the ones on the inside that never really healed—-and probably never will."

Here is chapter 1 of Knight of the Rose. Just so you get started in the right place when you go to read the rest of the story! Check it out, for real. She's great! Very descriptive so it's almost like you can see everything right in front of you. Wonderful characters (some of them you just want to kick and say WAKE UP and then they go and do it on their own, and some of them are just so endearing it makes you want to melt). Literally, as I was reading she was publishing chapters and I kept refreshing my computer to see if, once I finished one, there was another one coming!

Darkest Mercy - Melissa Marr

(possible spoilers!)

It took me a bit to get in to the story again, as it's been so long since I've read Radiant Shadows. I had to get reaquainted with all of the characters.

Darkest Mercy tied things up nicely. I would have liked to see Devlin and Ani play more of a role in this book than just being mentioned by characters, but you can't have everything can you? I loved how strong Aislinn became in this book. Less of the "oh crap I don't know what I'm doing" and more of the "I don't know what I'm doing but I'll fake it till I make it". She had really begun to irritate me in the other books. Keenan as well. Well, he irritated me from the beginning because of what he did to Ash, but I guess if he hadn't there wouldn't have been a series. So... moving on.

Donia had to have been my favorite in this book. She definitely became a force to be reckoned with (so did another regent, but I don't want to give away too much). And the pact that Keenan made with Innis reminds me of Aragorn and the undead army he recruited in Return of the King.

I am sad that the series ended but I am happy with the way it did. I always hate when a series I love comes to an end. It's like a good friend has moved away. But kudos to you Melissa Marr for writing such a remarkable tale of Faerie.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of 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!

This weeks teaser is brought to you by Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr.



"Shadowy abyss figures took shape on either side of Seth, and he hoped that he wasn't about to die. There was no one else on this side of the veil who could balance the Dark King, and if this was what he was like with a High Court presence near him, Seth couldn't fathom what the Dark King had been like in those couple of days between the gate being sealed and now." ~ p 149

Maggie Stiefvater

Back in January I had the pleasure of meeting author Maggie Stiefvater at a signing in Borders in my city. I was super excited to go to this one because EVERY OTHER SIGNING in this city was on days when I WOULDNT be in the state.

It was great. She talked about the questions people frequently asked her and answered whatever questions we had. Told the story of how one fan mailed her a SOCK and she signed it and sent it back (you can see the video for that on her blog somewhere, lol). And about her Bulgarian bagpipes. Hehe. Then she got to the actual signing part. And because I just so happened to be sitting in the front row (Maggie even had a short conversation with my Lydia about her My Little Pony coloring book), I was first to the table with my books.

Now, because I just happened to be first at the table, Maggie did something really awesome and signed and GAVE me the UK edition of Lament, which I had been looking for (not the UK edition, but the US one) and my bookstore did not have. I was super excited and read it in just a few days. Was dying to read Ballad, but even as of today, the bookstore has not gotten it in stock. In fact, Borders is closing. So I'm Sad.

Must find it elsewhere.

P.S. The little people with Maggie in the first picture happen to be my kiddos. Lydia who's 3. And Alanna who's 8. I'm not putting my picture up... lol. I look awful.

In My Mailbox

In my mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren.

This week my "mailbox" hasn't been as... abundant as other weeks.

I did however receive in the mail, from Siobhán of Love Fantasy Sci-Fi Novels, DEADTOWN and HELLFORGED signed by the author Nancy Holzner.



In Deadtown, Vicky is a professional demon slayer in monster riddled Boston. She's dating a werewolf lawyer and trying to annihilate the Hellion, the monsterous demon who killed her father and has some weird bone to pick with Vicky. She happens to be the ONLY pro demon slayer so the task of saving the city falls squarely on her shoulders it seems.

In Hellforged, a demon is stalking Vicky's dreams and the undead are becoming just... dead. Apparently the demon is using Vicky to become the city's "living nightmare".

Wicked cool sounding books. And it was a totally awesome giveaway. You all should go check out Siobhán's blog. Lots of neat stuff over there.

*
Edit
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Now, because I have an Android phone, I have a Kindle with WhisperSync on there for free. I know I made a post about how I prefer hard copy to e-books, but I do have a story or two on my phone. Ok, so more than a story or two. I got them all for free from Amazon Kindle. Click on the cover picture to take you to each books GoodReads page.

Review - Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

I finished Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins!

Wasn't as "Holy Cow I Can't Put It Down" as the first in the series, but I still finished it in a couple days (would have been sooner but unfortunate circumstances have slowed down my reading this week).

Parts of this book surprised the heck out of me. I'm not gonna lie. What happened to Cinna? Horrible. It broke my heart. He was such a wonderful person and I loved him as a character.

In this story, Katniss and Peeta are back in the Hunger Games again. But this year is different. This year they're competing against the winners from games past. Two winners from each district. You're introduced to amazing characters like Johanna and Finnick who seem haughty and arrogant at first but you end up loving them in the end.

We discover how Haymitch won the games the year he competed. It was really quite interesting. And it gives Katniss an idea. This year the games won't end like they did the year before. Those behind the scenes in The Capitol have made sure of that. So the tributes need to think fast. How are they going to make it out of this with their lives?

The ending just blew me away.

Loved this one too. Wasn't as fast paced as The Hunger Games. But I loved it almost as much. Have to go grab MockingJay now so I can finish the series! AHHH. Mixed reviews on the 3rd book. I've heard some people loved it and others weren't fond of it. So we'll see!

Follow Friday

Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee.

Q. How did you come up with your blog name?

I wish I could post a video for you guys so you could see what I'm talking about, but blogger for some reason won't let me post them anymore. SO, my less than adequate explanation will have to suffice. Does anyone remember Steve Urkel? Yes? Good. Does anyone remember when Steve Urkel built the machine to turn himself into Stefan Urquel (ok so it's probably not spelled that way but still)? Ok. So.... here's where my blog name comes in. Do you remember what he'd say if someone interrupted him pouring his "cool juice" into the machine? "Shhh! Not while I'm pouring."

Ok... so I'm weird. :-) How did you all get YOUR blog name?

Waiting On Wednesday

Waiting On Wednesday is hosted over at Breaking The Spine. It's a weekly event that spotlights upcoming releases that are eagerly anticipated.

HMmMm.... there are a couple of books that I'm waiting for.



The first would have to be Forever by Maggie Stiefvater. I started reading Shiver RIGHT before Linger hit the shelves (I'm always a tad late on the uptake when it comes to books...). But it was cool because then that meant that I didn't have to wait long to read the second one. Of course, being quick to grab a copy of the 2nd book off the shelf at Mr. Paperback before it was actually due to release means that I had to wait even LONGER for book number THREE. And I am nothing if not a completely and totally impatient person. Hurry up July and get here! I need to know what happens!!!





The next is actually already out on shelves, but I've been unable to find it in my trips to the book store. The first novel in the series I ordered directly from the publisher and the author was kind enough to autograph it for me! The publishers pages just wasn't working for me when I tried it again so I'm sad.Luthiel's Song: The War of Mists by Robert Fanney is the second in a series of three. The first being Luthiel's Song: Dreams of the Ringed Vale. I love new worlds of Fantasy and meeting new characters like Luthiel and her sister Leowin. You can find Robert on facebook or visit his website here.



What are you waiting for? (and yes, technically this was posted on Thursday, but I was not able to get to my computer before now!)

Good Reads

There are tons of book giveaways across the "blogosphere" for amazing books, are there not? ARCS, signed copies, early releases, etc. Totally cool.

But there is another way to win books too! If you're anything like me and can't stand not having at least 3 or 4 books on deck and in the hole while you finish up your current read. It's called First Reads and it's on GoodReads. There are MORE than tons of giveaways on that site (I was notified the other day that I'd won a copy of a novel I'd only JUST entered to win, barely made the cut off).

SO awesome.

Go check it out. Enter for the books you know you love to read. Heck, pick some new ones that look interesting to you!

Happy reading!

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of 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!

OK. So today's teaser is from my current read, Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins.

"It's easier to keep up the irreverent, invincible manner we've all adopted when there are more of us. As people disappear through the door, all I can think is that they have a matter of days to live." p. 234

And because I'm so excited to read this, I'm going to do another.

"This is a tall, muscular man with sharp creases in his pants. The pieces of the picture do not quite come together until I see his arm raise the whip." p. 185

I'm only on page 57 of this one! It's a little bit slower going, not because it's any less exciting than the first book, but there have been other things going on and I just can't bring myself to pick up my book until very late in the day, and by that point, I'm too tired to read. I'm emotionally and physically drained.

But I hope you enjoyed the teasers! Can't wait to see all of yours!

Memory Lane Monday

Memory Lane Monday is hosted by Cait over at The Cait Files. Memory Lane Monday is a chance to post books from your earlier years that were special/significant/inspiring.

This week it's a book called God Is In The Night. I don't remember the author, and it's such an old children's story that I can't find ANYTHING about it online ANYWHERE. So, no cover picture either.

But it's just a bedtime story. Karen, the little girl in the story asks her mother what's in the night. Mom answers her all the sounds in the night, all the people who are awake during the night (ie. doctors, nurses, firemen etc.). But most of all God is in the night.

It's a special story to me because it was one of maybe 2 stories my older brother recorded himself reading to me. My brother died when I was 8 years old. So it was one of the few things I had to really remember him by. He was so young when he recorded it though that I can only remember what he sounded like before his voice REALLY changed. Hehe.

How about your walk down memory lane?

In My Mailbox

In my mailbox is hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren every week.

And I know it hasn't been a full week yet since my last IMM, but I've been holding on to these books (or most of them) for days now and I just can't do it anymore!

There are possible spoilers in here! Just so everyone is aware.

So without further ado.....

Catching Fire. The second book in The Hunger Games trilogy. I loved The Hunger Games so much I couldn't wait to get the second one (luckily, since I'm reading these so late in the game, I don't have to wait... hehe). Catching Fire follows Katniss and Peeta on their "Victory Tour" around the 12 Districts after The Hunger Games. They have to prove their undying love and devotion for each other or face the consequences of their actions at the end of the games. And from the description it seems like their could be a rebellion at hand. I can't wait to read it!

Darkest Mercy. I've been waiting for this one forever. When I first started reading the series, there were 3 out already (what can I say... I'm a slacker). I was walking though the book aisle at Walmart when the cover for Fragile Eternity caught my eye. I snatched it up and went through checkout without another thought. Started trying to read it and couldn't help but feel like I had come in during the middle of the story. Which of course, I had. I learned that Wicked Lovely was actually the first novel, so I went and grabbed that. Read it and then found out that there was ANOTHER one I'd missed. Ink Exchange. Of course I had to buy that one before I could start to read Fragile Eternity again. But read I did. At the time, they were unlike any fae novel I'd ever read before. And I loved them. A while after finishing Fragile Eternity, I found Radiant Shadows. Which was, by far, my favorite book in the series. So with Darkest Mercy, I can't wait to find out what happens with Aislinn and Seth. Can War be defeated? What of Ani and Devlin (my favorite pair in the series!)? Another one I can't wait to crack open!

City Of Ashes and City Of Glass. Now, as I haven't even started this series, I don't personally have a lot to say about it except I've heard nothing but good things about all the books that are out. I knew if I read the first one and loved it I'd kick myself for not having the other two so I snagged those from Walmart as well. :-)

What's in your mailbox?