December 31, 2011

Reviews and Interviews!

I love to read as you know and I have posted in the Author forum on Amazon and I now have many books to read and review and authors to interview! I'm so excited about this! It's kind of stupid and girlish I suppose but I've never talked to an actual author!
The books I have to review so far are:


Lost at the Con by Bryan Young- Done! Review here


Deadline by James A. Anderson- Done! Review here

The Zarder by Sara Jo Easton- Done! Review here

The Survival of Cade by Sharon L. Reddy- a science fiction that sounds really interesting! I'm really looking forward to reading this one, even though I'm not big on science fiction!


The Counterfeit by Tammie Clarke Gibbs- done! Review to come! :) 



Marty Boggs & The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb by M.T. Acquaire- this is one is described as a "YA supernatural fantasy" They'd also give me an interview! :) 

Gather Sticks Along the Way by G. Tyler Mills- This one seems really cool. It talks about a man's struggle with the disappearance with his son and his faith.

Great American Thing by Ostrom Lexington- Apparently another science fiction but it looks really interesting! The author has offered an interview and maybe even a free download if I get some comments what what!

RAINGUN by John Blackport- this one is a fantasy about a good guy struggling with his conscience and reality about whether or not to rebel against his tyrannical government. This one is free from smashwords so I'd love it if someone else would love to read it with me! I must repeat the warning of the author however, it contains graphic violence and explicit sex.






WHEW! And I have another 7 people asking me to review their work! I hope I can find some great new reads and authors from this and I hope you'll do the same! I can't wait to talk to actual authors and tell y'all what all I think of their work! :) I am planning on interviewing these authors but I won't let that stop me from telling you the truth of what I think of their works. I promise. Now, if I disappear for a couple days and don't post as much y'all can see why. I'll be reading! :) I'm so looking forward to this and once I start reading Great American Thing I'll write up another post of the books I'll be reviewing! :)

Support Your Public Library Challenge!


So I've decided on another fun challenge! This one is a support your public library challenge and the levels sound pretty big with 12, 24, 36, and 37+. The rules are no rereads but all forms are ok. This is good for me because my public library actually has a pretty extensive selection of ebooks that I can check out and read on my kindle. I'm a poor college kid and most of my books come from the library- like 97% and the books I'll be reading for other challenges will be from the library! I think I'm going to sign up for this one at level...... 4! I plan on reading more than 37 books and I'll post a list of them and possibly a review even if/when I go over 40 or so!

Check out the sign up post for this great challenge here! I hope you'll join me cause these challenges seem pretty amazing! :)

1. Mastiff by Tamora Pierce

Goodreads

I joined goodreads today! I don't know what I was expecting but this wasn't it. I rated a couple of books that I've read and I've seen a couple more that look interesting. So far the recommendations aren't that great but while looking through the books they ask me to rate I have seen some that are similar to the books I've read that look quite interesting. There is also a giveaway place on goodreads! There may be 1, 3, 5, or 10 copies to be given away and 500 or more entries but some of these books sound really interesting! I'd love to win an ARC to read and write up a review on here. Maybe I could even host a giveaway from books that I win and reviewed or books I've gotten but don't feel like reviewing! :) So far I've entered about 10 of the giveaways ending tonight and I'll keep entering the ones that sound really good and maybe I'll get an email tomorrow saying I won one or two! :)

December 30, 2011

What Would Jane Do Reading Challenge 2012

Ok so I have picked out a couple challenges I think I'm going to work on and I've decided the challenge about Jane Austen and I'll enter into the Jane Austen and Beyond category with a mix of books by Jane and books that include a variation of her books at the level of Expanding Emmagination. I'm going to try to read 1-3 books by Jane and 1-3 books that are in an other category!
Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice


Other: Dawn of the Dreadfuls Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Series, Book 1
Mr. Darcy Goes Overboard by Belinda Roberts

I'll update this list with more of Jane's books after I've read these! :) Wish me luck!

You can find the link to this challenge here. I hope you decide to join me! I've started Pride and Prejudice a couple times but I've yet to finish. Hopefully this challenge will be the kick in the pants I need to finish it! :)

Reading Challenges!

How much is too much for these reading challenges? Because they seem really fun! I just entered the eclectic challenge today but then did another search for 2012 book blog reading challenges and I found a couple that look really cool! :D
I am looking now at the:
adoption reading challenge- 4 different levels: 3 books, 6 books, 12 books and 20 books-- thinking about the first level of this one because I have a nonfiction that looks great and a fiction that I checked out today
Ireland reading challenge- 4 different levels: 4 books, 6 books, 8 books, 10+ books -- this one seems really cool! I would love to enter the first level! :)

 I don't know how many I should enter though! I don't want to commit to reading too many books with 2 semesters of college to go through next year but I love to read and I can read a couple good books in one day! :) I think I will start updating this post with other challenges I'm interested in and their links so that if any of y'all want to read more about them and join or just try to read the theme without joining the challenges you'll have a list of the ones I think look interesting hahahaa.

Thinking about: 
romance reading challenge- 5 romance novels-- this one wouldn't be difficult AT ALL! :)
merely mystery challenge-- with the Down on her luck gumshoe category I would just have to read 2 of my fun cozy mysteries! I think I'll end up joining this one since I checked out 4 cozy mysteries today! :)
War Through the Generations- WWI challenge- any kind of book with WWI as the primary or secondary theme with the levels 1-3, 4-10, and 11+ --- sounds really interesting and I'm sure I could manage 1 book- maybe it could count as my nonfiction in the eclectic!
Titanic challenge- a book or movie, fiction or non-fiction about the Titanic- 3 levels: 3, 6, and 12
Support Your Public Library - 1st level of 12 public library books!
Ebook Challenge - this one depends if crossover from the ebooks to other challenges is allowed! :)

For a host of other challenges you should check out Novel Challenges where there is a couple pages of challenges!
other challenges I've found you might be interested in: 
whats in a name challenge- 6 books along different themes: 1. book w/ a topographical feature, 2. something you'd see in the sky, 3. creepy crawly in the title, 4. type of house in the tittle, 5. something you'd carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title, 6. something you'd find on a calendar in the title
Foodies Read Too: read food books on 5 different levels: 1-3, 4-8, 9-13, 14-18, 19+
Read Your Name challenge - read a book with the title starting with every letter in your name A-L-E-X etc. Sounds interesting but I have an X! in my name hahaha

Eclectic Reader Challenge 2012

I've decided to enter a Reading Challenge!



This is called the Eclectic Reader Challenge where over the next year I will read a book from each of the 12 genres and post a review and a little cheer for one down! :) I am an avid reader so I would say it wouldn't be a hard challenge to complete but I do have my favorite genres- I read a lot of YA, fantasy, and romances. I'm not big on horror and suspense genres. For this I'm just going to post reviews and apply books that are completely new to me. I have many books I would love to reread and post for but I think it would be best to have new books. Ok, I might end up changing my mind for this because I have many series I'd love to reread and talk about so you all feel the urge to read them. I have the Hunger Games series for YA, the Inheritance series for fantasy, a series about an ex-cop turned PI- Savannah in sunny California who is tough yet sweet and a bundle of fun! I'll come back to this post and update it with links of my reviews and and the titles of the books I chose for each genre! :) 


Genres

  1. Literary Fiction- The Help by Kathyrn Stockett
  2. Crime/Mystery Fiction- Murder is Binding by Lorna Barrett 
  3. Romantic Fiction- The Counterfeit by Tammie Clarke Gibbs
  4. Historical Fiction- Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
  5. Young Adult- Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
  6. Fantasy- The Zader by Sara Jo Easton
  7. Science Fiction
  8. Non Fiction
  9. Horror
  10. Thriller /Suspense- Deadline by James A. Anderson
  11. Classic- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  12. Your favourite genre

If you want to join this awesome challenge where the participants will be entered to win a book up to $15 AUD from the Book Depository, $10 Amazon GC, or $10 US paypal! You can be a blogger or not to enter! You can check out all the details here! I hope you choose to join me on this awesome challenge! :)

December 29, 2011

Picnik Printables


The other day I was cruising some other blogs and I found a tutorial of how to make printables on the online program Picnik. You can get a premium membership for like $2 a month but I created these with the free membership. Things like this remind me WHY I'm not a graphic design major or something like that. I found the words on random sites and some are inspired by things I've found on Etsy. I dun know. I'm rather proud of them. I took a vegetarian quote from BrainyQuote for the first one- I might change the colors on it though. :/ here is the link to the tutorial I looked at and if you like printables then I suggest you look here for 101 free pretty printables! :)
 



So what do you think of my pictures I made? I wouldn't say they are very amazing but leave me a comment and tell me what you think! :)

December 28, 2011

Treasure Hunting!

Just like most people my age, I go hopping from place to place. The difference? I'm not going club hopping. Oh no, I'm going thrift store hopping. :) I love going to thrift stores and digging through things for that diamond in the rough. So Monday we went to Goodwill where I saw a cute little octagonal table for $6. But the one of the doors on it didn't close right and it was missing door pulls. It wasn't the right buy for me so I left Goodwill buying nothing but a box set of three photo albums for Bridal Shower, Wedding Day, and Honeymoon Memories as a present for either of my two best friends, or my Gan says I should keep it for me when the time comes. After we left Goodwill we headed towards another thrift store but it was closed, its church run and it WAS the day after Christmas. So instead we went to the Hospice store. I found 4 books for my future classroom, I've been looking for small chapter books while out thrift store hopping in the hopes that some of the books I find will be in good condition and suitable reading level for my classroom, and then my Gan and I went down stairs to look at the furniture to see if I could find me a table. And what do you think I found? Another octagonal table! This one has door pulls, is a bit taller, and the doors close like they should! The table was in better condition and was being sold for $8. You best bet I snapped that offer up! I was even luckier in that the entire store was having a 50% of everything sale! I bought 4 or 5 books and a table for just $4.75! Then yesterday my Papa decided we were going to go to Greenville to Kmart to look for a red tablecloth. After finally buying him a tablecloth from Anna's Linens we went to the Greenville Goodwill. Going to that Goodwill is true treasure hunting. Everything is in huge bins and sold by the pound. A pound of clothes, housewares, toys, whatever is $1.19 and a pound of books is only $.25! I dug through huge tubs of books and bought 23 books for just $3! I bought 3 books to help me be a better teacher, 4 novels for me, 13 fiction books for my future classroom, and 3 more non-fiction books for my classroom! I think that's pretty amazing! I love thrift stores, yard sales, and the jockey lot! :D I'll have to upload a picture of my table and the reading corner I made up for me in my room later and y'all can tell me if it's amazing or not so much! But thrift stores and yard sales? The deals I got yesterday and the day before? Amazing or not so much? Leave me a comment if you would! :)

December 25, 2011

Merry Christmas! :)



Merry Christmas everyone! I hope it is amazing and filled with good food, friends, and presents! :) My immediate family did our presents last night after a delicious dinner of tacos and I got 3 pairs of sleep pants, a couple shirts, and an angry bird! :) Now today we go to my aunt's house and have the traditional and delicious meal of homemade mac n' cheese and mashed potatoes and all other yumminess. We're having a turkey but as a 3 year vegetarian I still don't get that. :) And maybe I have a present or two up there! The past couple years we did secret santa but this year we just decided to get who you want what you want. So I bought all my cousins a little something and a bath and body works hand sanitizer for two of my aunts. :) So happy holidays to everyone! :D

December 22, 2011

Pinterest Love!

So y'all have heard of, and joined pinterest right? I don't know when it came about but I joined a couple months ago and at first thought it was just ok. Now I have something like 800+ pins. :) If you haven't heard of pinterest yet then I suggest you request an invitation. Or if you want me to issue you an invitation just email me your email and I'll invite you! Pinterest is a collection of pretty pictures ranging from a host of topics such as home decor, wedding and events, and crafts. Those are my favorite topics to surf but they also have apparel and travel. You make up boards that house all the pins you like and you can repin things other people have pinned already as well as pin any image from other websites. :) I really enjoy pinterest and if you want you can follow me here and see all my pins or just join up and you can post your collection of clothes you want, crafts you want to make, how you want to decorate your house, and your dream wedding. :D

Now some of my favorite pins:

From my classroom board-
a tip for bulletin boards
From products I love-
epic bookcase


From my wedding board
lavender bouquets

From my crafts board
cutest bookmarks!
From For the Home board
book stairs!









From my photos board

So what do y'all think? To me pinterest is totally amazing. I love looking and dreaming and adding things to my boards. :) I suggest you all go join pinterest. Request an invitation on the site or ask me for one. :) What do you think of my pins though? Amazing or not so much?

December 10, 2011

New to Knitting!

Yesterday I went to our pay per pound Goodwill and spent $1.50 for about 20 books. It's a great deal but you have to dig through giant bins of books all crowded together. Not that amazing. It does give you a feeling of a treasure hunter however! I found a lot of books for my future classroom, some books for me, and a couple books for my sister who is getting in the groove of reading. One of the books I picked up was about knitting! I started reading it and decided to invert two crochet hooks and see what I could do. And it worked! I mean, it was kinda bigger on one side because I was using a K and F hook and took me a while but I managed to KNIT a little 4X3 inch hank! I was so excited! Then today we went to a thrift store and I found a huge bundle of knitting needles and my gan talked the price down to $5. There were a lot of plastic needles and some metal needles all in different sizes. So I'm going to try to knit some now. It's harder for me because obviously there is no hook- which makes crochet so easy. One hook that can grab the yarn and pull it through to two needles that you have to use to somehow pull the rest through the yarn. But I can't wait to experiment some more and see what I can do! :)

December 4, 2011

Hedgies!

So apparently there's this new pet trend happening now. The animal is small, prickly, and ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE! I'm talking about hedgehogs! Hedgies! Those cute little things that I would love to have right now! I haven't met anyone who has had a pet hedgehog but I feel like I've seen something online, or read somewhere about people keeping hedgehogs for pets! I did a google search, came upon a site devoted to hedgehogs, and now I want one for myself! :)

Look at those ittle faces! From what I've read, hedgies are bristly-not sharp and porcupine-ish- with quills that aren't as sharp or barbed. They have no body odor and come in lots of different colors. They don't require special food, they can eat good quality cat food, and are pretty disease resistant. They can be litter trained and can live from 4-7 years. They're not native to Canada or the US but hedgehog central has a list of breeders here.

I would love to have my very own hedgie friend but my house doesn't have heat and hedgehogs do well in temperatures between 65 to 80*F. I've decided to have one when I graduate and get my own place though. They are the cutest and one site said you could even let them wander the house after you've trained them but that would certainly be a matter of watching your step! :) So what do you think? Hedgehogs: amazing or not so much? My grandma says they look too much like rats- she's terrified of rats and they are pretty expensive right now- I've read a couple of breeders around here selling them for like $200 a hedgie. Does the cuteness, no body odor, and lack of special diet make up for these things? Leave me a comment and let me know! :)

December 2, 2011

Dirty Little Secret

So yesterday was a craptastic day and I should be studying for an exam right now but I thought I'd participate in the Dirty Little Secret meme again! :)



If you want to participate in the meme all you have to do is go over to http://underthecoversbookblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/dirty-little-secret-24.html and she'll tell you all about it! It's super easy and super fun. :) 

This weeks question is 

"Which fictional character would you like to kiss under the mistletoe?"

For me, this really isn't a hard, let me think about it question. There are a couple guys that I've had on my "I wish you were real list" I would love to kiss Wolverine under the mistletoe! I don't if this is slightly skewed by the movies and the fact that I would kiss Hugh Jackman all day any day but I do know Wolverine is fictional and I'd kiss his claws off! Anotehr of my kissables is Sirius Black. He is my man. He's funny and smart and daring and I would DEFINITELY kiss him under the mistletoe. I think I would also get Neville Longbottom under the mistletoe. Its a matter of the actor who plays him got WAY hot in the 7th movie but also because in the book you can see how much Neville has grown and in the last book he's totally kick a! And Matthew Lewis is hot. Just sayin what we're all thinkin here! :D



I'm so thankful for this meme! Imagining this hotties has made me stop thinking about my crappy day yesterday. It was definitely not amazing. But what do y'all think about my mistletoe hotties? Comment and tell me if you think they're amazing or not so much! Thanks!