Friday, December 31, 2010

An awesome movie.

Watching the preview for this movie, I knew I had to see it. Last night I rented it on Pay Preview and couldn't stop\laughing.

Olive, a fairly normal high school girl, tells her friend a lie about a date with a college boy and suddenly her reputation begins to spiral out of control. Meaning well, she helps a fellow student in detention and things get interesting.

Without giving away too much of the plot, I have to tell you that this movie totally fits in with a topic that is close to many of our hearts these days. Teen bullying and peer pressure. This movie will make you laugh and can make you cry. I loved it for it's wit, snap and truthful look at what being in high school can mean. A reputation can be made or broken in an instant, and often you never know which until it is too late.

Sometimes the people you think are your friends, aren't and the most surprising things can happen. Including finding yourself trying to get religious help from the father of your worst frenemy. Enough said.       

The other reason I liked this movie was for the references to the book, The Scarlet Letter. Yes, for those of you wanting to know. I did read it. A long time ago. In high school. We just won't discuss when that was. :) The references to Hester throughout the movie and the red A's she starts sewing on her clothes to prove a point really made it for me. Olive isn't going to take the crap Hester did, and she is going to kick the rumor mill right in the teeth. You go woman!!!!

Five out of five stars, ladies and gents. So get your popcorn and hit the Pay Preview button. You won't be sorry. You can find out way more cool things about the movie at the official website:
http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/easya/

Follow Friday

http://parajunkee.com/

It's Friday! Time for blog hopping and saying hey to all of our new blogger friends. Happy New Year everyone!

What is your New Year's Resolution? I am still thinking about mine. I know I want to blog more, eat less and generally get my books written. Oh, and I promised to do this speech on January 3rd, so my resolution for that is to not mess up. I will be talking about books, so no worries, right. Yes. Not afraid of public speaking. Really. (paper bag please)

Happy New Year Peeps! Don't party too hard. Leave me some comment love and follow along. Link your blog on the linky list for some fun blog hop action. See you soon!

A Slice of Cherry


slice of cherry
Originally uploaded by dana19018
I have been reading this book over the past few days. What a wild and homicidal ride. It is very different, but gets even more interesting with each page turned.

What would you do if your father was a serial killer? What if your sister decided maybe it was time to learn about the family business, so to speak? Check out this book as it comes out in January 2011.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Fa la la la Follow Friday...

http://parajunkee.com/

Happy Follow Friday everyone and Merry Christmas too! I hope this finds you all well and getting ready for a great holiday.

Question of the week:

What are your plans for Christmas?

I hope you get all the books you have on your list. You'll have to stop back in and share what you got. Can't wait to hear.

Off to catch some rest before I am due back at the bookstore. Have an amazing day everyone. Merry Christmas!!!

Friday, December 17, 2010

Fa la la la Follow Friday...

http://parajunkee.com/

Hey everyone. Happy Follow Friday. It's late so I am keeping this short. Have to get some sleep to get up and play with the books tomorrow at the store.

If you want, leave a comment and some love and tell me what you are reading. Hope you follow while you are here too. Stop by Parajunkee's blog and leave your blog on the linky list for some more blog hop fun.

Hope you are all having an awesome holiday season!

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Blog Hop Sunday

http://crazy-for-books.com/

It's Sunday and I am about to head in for another crazy day at the bookstore. Hope this finds you well and getting ready for an awesome Christmas. If you want to add your blog to the linky, click on the link above and jump on the hop.

Question of the week:
Why do you love book blogs? Reviews? Free stuff? New friends? I like all three.

So off I go into the wild bookstore yonder. Have a great Blog Hop Sunday and I hope you will leave a comment and a follow.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Follow Friday

http://parajunkee.com/

Hello wonderful followers! It's time for Follow Friday.

Question of the week:

Do you have a favorite author that you think is under appreciated? Who and why? I would love to hear from you.

If you want to participate in the Follow Friday linky, simply click on the link above and list your blog on the linky. Leave me a comment with your blog too. I would love to visit you.

Share the love and leave a comment. What is your favorite YA blog?

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

In my mailbox.

These awesome books were in my mailbox this week. I can't wait to start reading.
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Saturday, December 4, 2010

It's Blog Hop time again!


http://parajunkee.com/
http://crazy-for-books.com/

Hi everyone! It's time for another romp around the blogosphere.

This week's questions:

What popular book did you just hate? How did you review it?
What are your hobbies other than reading and book reviewing?

Pop over to my sister blog http://bookgirlknitting.blogspot.com/ for my answers. Join me on my cookbook site http://bookgirlinthekitchen.blogspot.com/ to celebrate my first award ever!

Join me in following fellow bloggers. Just click on the link above and add your blog to the list. Click on a blog and make some new friends.

Become a follower here and share the love with a comment.

Happy Follow Friday!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

In my mailbox...

These were in my mailbox this week. Hurray!
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Saturday, November 27, 2010

The Gothic Reading Challenge

http://gothicreadingchallenge.blogspot.com/

Hey everyone! Here is an awesome new reading challenge for the New Year. A Gothic Reading Challenge! To sign up, just click on the link above and sign up your blog on the linky list. Make a comment and think about how many books you think you could read in a year that were moody enough to be considered Gothic. For tips, visit the home page of the Gothic Reading Challenge for some ideas on what to read to make your challenge truly creepy.

I am going to read at least 10 sufficiently creepy books. How many will you try for?

Friday, November 26, 2010

Finished Friday!


I finally got some days off from the store and was able to finish reading Wither by Lauren DeStefano. To sum it up. Wow.

What I Liked:
The plot was amazing. You have a world where people have been genetically engineered to be perfect, but it backfires and kids start dying early. Boys at age 25 and girls at 20. The world becomes a largely polygamous society, trying to have children to carry on the human race. Girls are rounded up like stray cattle and herded off to serve as sister wives for rich House Governors. The race to save humanity is on.

What was interesting about this is the point of view of the main character, Rhine. She very much detests where she is and the role that is expected of her. Watching her rebuff the advances of her "husband" and make her way through the landmines of this futuristic society was very well done and kept me guessing. There is also a budding romance with her attendant, Gabriel that could cost them both their lives.

The order of events was believable and I am very much looking forward to the next book. I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

What I Didn't Like:

The only thing I didn't like about this book was that it ended. Bring on the next one please!

Overall:

The theme of a polygamous society with the goal of having kids to save the human race could have been handled in a number of ways. The author does an exceptional job of making this YA friendly and leaving out what could have been very steamy. The plot kept me reading into the night. When it was over, I just sort of sat there wishing for a good hundred or so more pages. You know a book is good when you just sigh and hug it for a minute before reaching for the next one. (Tell me I am not the only one who does this please.)

Wither will be out in March 2011.

The Hob Blog: Fanmade Friday- A Hunger Games Movie Trailer

The Hob Blog: Fanmade Friday- A Hunger Games Movie Trailer: "Happy Thanksgiving to all! We hope you all had an enjoyable holiday with family and friends. One thing we are most thankful for are all y..."

Follow Friday and Blogger Hop



Hello everyone and I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Please join us in the Blog Hop and Follow Friday.http://www.crazy-for-books.com/ http://parajunkee.com/ are the links. Click to visit the host sites, add your blog to the link and pick a blog or two to follow. Share the love and leave a comment.

My question of the week...

Did you cook for Thanksgiving and did you have any kitchen disasters?

Check out my sister blog at Bookgirl in the kitchen (http://bookgirlinthekitchen.blogspot.com/) for my own interesting contribution.

Have a great weekend!

Monday, November 22, 2010

In my mailbox

Lots of great titles in my mailbox this week. No time to read with the holiday craziness, but I am trying to finish Wither. Wow. What an awesome book. What are you guys reading?

Also, did you know it is totally possible to blog and blow dry your hair at the same time? Just think of all the time I'll save.

Have a great night wonderful followers.

Signing off to go get some sleep.

Dana
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Sunday, November 21, 2010

It's Blog Hop time again!


Good morning readers! It's blog hop time again. If you want to join, just click the link above and leave your blog on the linky. Follow someone and if someone follows you, make sure you return the favor. If you don't have a blog, that's totally cool. Just follow and leave some comment love. (Bloggers, hope you do YA Bookpile following and comment love too!)

The question of the week is:

What are you thankful for on this week of Thanksgiving?

Happy Turkey Day everyone!

Monday, November 15, 2010

What I'm listening to....


I love audio books. They keep me reading even when I have to be doing other things. Housework, driving to work, chasing my rescue puppies around the house...you know what I mean. This week, I will be checking out The Scorch Trials by James Dashner. This is part two to The Maze Runner. I have been on the list at the e-branch of my local library since it came out and I am so excited to be finally getting a listen. If any of you haven't read the first one, it is a must read. Fan of The Hunger Games? You will totally love it. Even better, see if your local library has an e-branch. You can listen on your Ipod or if you have a Nook, you can check out the books and read them on there. So portable and fun. The Nook will even play MP3 audios too!

Friday, November 12, 2010

What are you reading today?

It's a beautiful autumn day and there are books everywhere! What could be better? What are you reading today? Leave a comment and let me know.

Crazy for Books Blog Hop #1

Hello everyone. Join me in our first Crazy for Books Blog Hop.
 Click on the link to go back to Crazy for Books and let me know what blog you are following and the answer to this week's question. Leave your blog and get some new followers. Just make sure you follow back! Have fun and Happy Friday!http://www.crazy-for-books.com/

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

New zombie blog!

Hey there supernatural book lovers! I have a new zombie blog!

Check it out at:

http://zombiegirlshambling.blogspot.com/

Jay Asher and me.

I went to the off site event, supporting reading and hoping the kids were going to have a great time and find some new authors and books to love. What I didn't expect was to run into Jay Asher, author of one of my favorite books-13 Reasons Why.

Recently, I reviewed Jay's book on my sidebar because it really pertains to the current problem of bullying in schools.

Listening to Jay talk was very illuminating. Turns out he started out wanting to write humorous books and finally hit with this book, which is anything but funny. It just goes to show you that sometimes you never know what life has in store. As Jay spoke, he talked about reaching out to people in his life, and asking them about what things in their youth still haunted them today. What would make you want to kill yourself? They are some interesting questions.

For any of you who haven't read or listened to 13 Reasons Why on audio (I totally recommend that by the way), it is about a girl who kills herself and the tapes she makes just before she dies. If you are on the tapes, you contributed to her decision to end her life. The boy who gets the tapes doesn't understand why he is the one to receive them, and as he listens, we travel with him as he begins to see. It is a journey of loneliness and hard decisions. It is the choice between facing the things that hurt you with courage, or defeat.

This book will make you think. It will keep you turning the pages into the wee hours of the morning.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Introducing Follow Friday.

http://www.parajunkee.com/ Happy Friday all. Today we are introducing Follow Friday, a great way to find new websites we like, and to support our fellow bloggers. Please follow the selected blog of the week and maybe even more. Click on the link to take you to our hostess with the mostest, Parajunkee.com.

This week's blog pick is:

http://www.bibliophilicbookblog.com/

Leave me a comment about who you followed this week. Maybe even leave your blog too.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Before I Fall

If you were to ask me which book every teen should read, I would tell you Before I Fall. The book came to me through the bn.com First Look program. I picked it up and couldn't stop reading. It was one of those books that you have to read just five more minutes when you know you should get to sleep because you are getting up really early for work. Like a hundred pages later, you look at the clock and totally cringe because it's 2:00 am and you have to be up at 4:00am. Not good for sleep, but wow, and excellent book.

Mean girls. Every high school has them, right? In this book, one of our mean girls goes to a party and ends up dying in an accident. When she wakes up, she starts to relive the last day of her life. She goes to bed again and wakes up to the same scenario. Again.  As I was reading, I kept waiting for her to just do some kind of Pollyanna moment where she feels bad for all the things she did, but that doesn't happen. She keeps making mean girl mistakes and stumbles through her days, slowly realizing that the smallest thing she does can have a ripple effect on the people around her.

The book is a little like the movie Groundhog Day, but a whole lot deeper. As our character goes through her days, she starts to get that her friends may not be the people she thought they were, and the girl who they had been bullying for years may have more worth than she ever knew.

The point I took away from this book is this: You never know how the smallest thing you do (or don't do) will effect someone. Events spiral out like a pebble on the surface of a pond, and everything and everyone is connected.

I think of this book as I watch the local news about bullying legislation and hope that changes can be made in the way bullying is handled in schools.

For my part, I will try to tell everyone about this book, and Jay Asher's 13 Reasons Why and hope my suggestion might be a pebble that ripples out to help someone else.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Wearing purple to stop the bullying.

Following the invitation I recieved on Facebook, I wore purple to show my support for the kids who lost their lives as a result of bullying. The news in my area (Houston) is full of kids who have been bullied at school for one reason or another. Maybe they aren't cool enough, or maybe they just don't wear new clothes or have a different religious belief. The lists are really endless. As a kid, I wore funny hand me down clothes because that was what my family could afford. Add the tendency to be shy and you had a walking target. I still remember how that felt.

Let me say that at that time, it was hard to see beyond the kid who used to chase me home every day after school, or the kids who took delight in stealing my jacket in graphics class, or goosing me in the stairwell. I hated it. Misery was my middle name.

Getting through school and into your real life is the best success. That is the message I have for kids. It does get better. The people that are around you now that make your life hell, won't be there forever. The light at the end of the tunnel doesn't have to be a train. It can be focusing on your dreams and seeing past it. Success is the best revenge. Let me tell you. You won't even remember those kids names, and if you concentrate on you and what you want, you will find your way past it all.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Bullying.

How many of you were bullied as kids? I know I was. It was horrible. Listening to the news and glancing over magazine covers makes me think about how hard it is to be a kid who maybe doesn't have the newest clothes, or for what ever reason doesn't fit in. I can still remember one girl that my classmates razzed even more than they did me, and I wonder what became of her. They called her horrible names because they said she smelled funny. As for myself, I recall not wearing the latest clothes and being shy. A complete target for kids who liked to pick on me. When I think back, it was a miracle I made it out of junior high school in one piece.

Were you bullied as a kid? How did you get through it? I would love to hear from you.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

What are you reading today?

I have an incredible bookpile. Okay, more than one actually. This is just my nightstand.My nightstand.

Kim Derting comes to The Woodlands.

Have you tried The Body Finder yet? A definite must read from author Kim Derting.

Every dead thing has a signature. What if you could hear it? Sense it? Violet Ambrose can. She senses the echos they leave behind, and the imprints they leave on their killers. Soon Violet finds herself wrapped in a mystery, with a serial killer threatening all that she holds dear. Can she use her unique power to stop him, or will he find her first?

This was a great book! Loved it. It was original and kept me guessing every step of the way. Meeting the author last summer was a blast! I can't wait to see what her next book will be!

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Killer Unicorns anyone?

Killer unicorns. Most people laugh when I tell them about this series, but once they have read Rampant, they ask me when the next book is coming out. I smile. Killer unicorns rock. Ascendant just hit the stores yesterday and it is one of my favorites of the season. Keep up the great work Diana Peterfreund. 

What would you do if your mother believed in killer unicorns and you thought she was crazy? Ignore her of course. Well, until your date was almost killed by one. Bummer. Life will never be the same for Astrid.

Check out this great original series. You won't be sorry. Promise!

Dressing up for the books.

This was taken at the Breaking Dawn party that we held at the B&N in the Memorial area in Houston. It was an evening full of books, contests and fun.
Stephanie Meyer when she came to Klein High School here in Houston after our Eclipse party at the Champions B&N.