Friday, April 29, 2011
On My Want List: Where She Went
This book is on my birthday want list and I am keeping my fingers crossed. If I don't get it, lunch money look out!
Follow Friday
Good morning everyone and welcome to another Follow Friday! This week's question from our host Parajunkee is:
Q. Keeping with the dystopian and apocalypse theme that seems to be running rampant on parajunkee.com, I have one very hard question for you: If you were stocking your bomb shelter, what books would you HAVE to include if you only had space for ten?
Wow. I actually had to go and sleep on that one and I am still not sure. Let's see if I can do this.
1. Hunger Games
2. Outlander
3. Forest of Hands and Teeth
4. My Nook (until the power goes out!)
5. Breathers
6. Twilight
7. Bird Sisters
8. Visual Guide to Crochet
9. Southern Living Cookbook
10. Fannie Farmer Cookbook
That was tough. I know I will change my mind and have to switch things out at least once. If it comes down to it, I was actually thinking about what you would need if it went all post apocalyptic. Has anyone read Life As We Knew It ? It is the book about the moon coming close to the earth and everything going crazy? The power goes out, volcanoes erupt and all the Walmarts run out of Twinkies. Wait. Maybe that was Zombieland. Whatever. Anyway. Twinkies. Or, in my case, vanilla zingers with cream filling. Orange cupcakes too. OMG. How would I live without orange cupcakes?
This week my washer went out and it has been the biggest pain ever. It reminded me of the hurricane a couple of years ago when we were out of power for several days and had to try and cook what we could from the freezer on the gas stove and grill outside. Kind of feels like that I guess. At least there is a laundry facility down the street even though I hate going there.
I digress. What would I need if the world did go nuts and I had to build a bomb shelter or at least start hording can goods or something? Ten things. Here we go.
1. Lots of can goods.
2. Orange cupcakes by the case.
3. Dog food by the ton. (furry kids)
4. Water. Lots of bottled water.
5. Granola Bars
6. Toilet Paper. (no comment)
7. Knitting needles, crochet hooks and yarn.
8. A weapon of some sort to kill anyone who threatened my zinger supply. (Just sayin.)
9. Soap and deodorant
10. A book on how to garden, because I think we may need more than canned yams eventually.
Now for more hopping...
"Summer is coming quickly - what 2011 summer release are you are most looking forward to?"
Wow. There are so many. The first one I am dying to get my hands on is the new Charlaine Harris book in the Sookie series. Dead Reckoning.
Thanks everyone for visiting on the Hop and Follow Friday! If you want to join the linky list, head over to:
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will "Like" the new Facebook fan page while you are here. I love my followers and twitter peeps, so I hope to see you around! Stay tuned for more awesome contests coming up soon!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Etsy Artist Feature: Mairzy Dozy
I love hair pieces. It is kind of a thing with me. If I go ANYWHERE, my hair is up. It is Houston after all. Too hot to wear it down. When I came across this shop, and took a look at their hair forks, pins and flowers, I fell in love and knew I needed to feature it on the blog.
The shop link: http://www.etsy.com/shop/mairzydozy?ref=seller_info
Mairzy Dozy has been open for business on Etsy since the spring of 2009. It is run by two sisters, Dawn and Marie. Dawn has had over 20 years of experience as a professional silk and fresh floral designer. She has also been a store display decorator in the San Francisco Bay Area. 5 of those years, she was a designer and craft instructor for Michaels Arts and Crafts. She has spent 15 years as a bridal consultant and lead designer for several Bay Area Florists. Currently, she is the creative advisor and floral design manager for Classy Country Weddings in Stockton, CA.
Marie has 10 years of customer service and administrative experience. She has 4 years mechanical and civil design and is co-blogger on Food By Ninjas.
Both sisters enjoy crochet, jewelry and assorted other hobbies. Together, they run a wonderful shop and have many products, from hair pieces to items suited for weddings. Check it out if you get the chance!
Wow!
Lovely!
This one is one of my favorites!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
She Smells The Dead Playlist
From the second I saw the cover of this book, I knew I had to read it. Thankfully, author E.J. Stevens was awesome and sent me a copy. I fell in love with Yuki, the main character, as well as her hunky werewolf squeeze, Calvin Miller.
If you haven't been introduced to The Spirit Guide Series, then here is the basic plot. No spoilers here guys!
Yuki is a bit more than your average high school girl. She has a unique talent for smelling dead people. It can be awkward. It's even weirder when you try to tell someone. So, Yuki has ghosts following her around, and with Calvin (aka hunky werewolf boyfriend/protector) there by her side, she has to learn how to protect herself and solve the problems of the ghosts she encounters. A pretty tall order when you still have homework and a curfew.
I asked author E.J. Stevens if she had a playlist for her awesome books and she said yes! So here it is for the first time ever! The playlist for The Spirit Guide Series! E.J. says they inspire her to write about Yuki and her friends. I can't wait to listen to her list!
Here it is:
Walking With A Ghost by Tegan and Sara
Howl by Florence + The Machine
Pearl's Dream by Bat For Lashes
To Die For by The Birthday Massacre
Loretta Young Silks by Sneaker Pimps
Duvet by Boa
Hysteric by Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs
Breathe Me by Sia
Wind in the Wires by Patrick Wolf
Butterflies and Hurricanes by Muse
Bring Me To Life by Evanescence
Final Destination by Within Temptation
Teignmouth by Patrick Wolf
We Are Pilots by Shiny Toy Guns
Enjoy the Unknown by And One
The Dream by The Birthday Massacre
Headlock by Imogen Heap
Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol
The Perfect Girl by The Cure
Ghost Town by Shiny Toy Guns
The Howling by Within Temptation
Haunted (when the minutes drag) by Collide (Love and Rockets cover)
Walking in My Shoes by Depeche Mode
Blind by Wolfsheim
Static by Echostream
Numb by Portishead
Thanatos by Soap & Skin
Moon and Moon by Bat For Lashes
All I Need by Within Temptation
Glass by Bat For Lashes
Werewolf by Cat Power
A Thousand Hours by The Cure
Enjoy everyone! If you have a favorite song in the lineup, I would love to hear about it. I love "Breathe Me" by Sia. I remember the first time I heard it, I was watching the last episode of Six Feet Under and I cried like a baby when the song played and every one's life started fast forwarding to the future. Now I get to go play on ITunes. Yippee!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Follow Friday and Blogger Hop
Welcome to another Follow Friday and Blogger Hop. To sign up on the linky lists, make sure you visit our host's sites at: http://www.parajunkee.com/ and http://www.crazy-for-books.com/
This week's question from Parajunkee is:
What is on your playlist right now?
My newest thing as a blogger is to review music. I love it. http://muzikreviews.com/ is where you can find some of my reviews, along with my new music blog: http://bookgirlsmusicmusings.blogspot.com/.
Salon of Refuse is the review I just turned in and now my new favorite band. Check my site for posting on the review in the next couple of days. They have a free demo that is supremely awesome. The vocals soar and just stick in your head. I love them. You can find them on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. Tell them Dana sent you!
"If you find a book you love, do you hunt down other books by the same author?"
Oh yeah! Books, music and chocolate!
We have a Winner!
We have a winner in our Book Lover's Journal contest! Congrats to:
Logan Turner!
Our winner will be notified by email and must respond in three days or the prize will be up to the next person in line. Congrats Logan!
Friday, April 15, 2011
We Have Our Contest Winner!
Congrats to:
Mandy Twi Mom
for being the winner in
Dana's YA Bookpile's
Blood and Flowers contest!
The winner will have three days to respond with a mailing address, or another winner will be chosen. Congrats Mandy!
Thanks to everyone who supports Dana's YA Bookpile! You guys are the best. Don't forget to Like our new Facebook Fan Page. Check it out for exclusive content, in addition to posts you will find here on the blog.
Have an awesome weekend everyone!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Follow Friday and Blogger Hop
Welcome back for another Follow Friday Blogger Hop! I hope your week was awesome and you got lots of new books to add to your TBR pile and your nightstand. Stay a sec and let me know what you are reading. Like us on Facebook too! Hope you have a great weekend and some time to curl up with a book...
Our feature this week is...
Marie and Brie @ Romance Around the Corner
Our names are Marie and Brie, and we both are behind Romance Around the Corner. We divided the responsibility of telling you about our blog and so Brie wrote the first paragraph and Marie the second one.
We met a long time ago on the first day of college, and we have been best friends ever since. Every time we saw each other we talked about the books we were reading, I recommended a new author to her, she recommended one to me, and that’s pretty much all we talked about, well, besides gossips and men -and Brad Pitt cheating on Jennifer Anniston (I told you we met a long time ago)-. Now Marie is overseas and we decided to start the blog mostly as a way to keep with the tradition of talking about books (and because Marie just couldn’t live without me and was really sad and depressed, I’m that great!), also because I’ve been a blog stalker for years and I like reading reviews almost as much as I love reading the books, and we always wanted to participate in the romance community as more than silent readers.
Well, I think to remember things a bit differently, Brie nagged at me until I agreed to do the blog (to be honest it didn’t take that much convincing for me to agree), anyway. What we are trying to do with our Blog is write the type of reviews that we like to read, we explain why we love a book or why it didn’t work for us. We are fans of romance, we particularly love happy endings and steamy sex scenes (although I have read my fair share of books with bittersweet endings). In our Blog you are going to find reviews about everything that has some romance in it: Contemporary, Paranormal, YA, Women’s Fiction, Erotica, Historical, Suspense, GBLT and everything in between. We do have our preferences, Brie loves Contemporary and Erotica and I love pretty much everything, but if I had to choose one subgenre it would be Romantic Suspense, and YA, and Paranormal, and Comedy, Brie says that I’m a book’s garbage disposal because I’ll read and like pretty much anything, I guess she’s right!
Q. Do you have anyone that you can discuss books with IRL? Tell us about him/her.
Let me tell you a little something about my mom's neighbor. You see in my area of town we like to sit on porches and drink. Drink wine. Why go anywhere else when you have these big beautiful porches and this great weather. My mother has a great porch and I bring my 3 year old over there and she plays with the neighbor's kids and I sit on the porch and book gossip with my mom's neighbor and her tons of sisters that stop by and say hello. Think BIG Italian family, lot of kids, lots of loudness. It is so much fun. Last weekend we discussed Karen Marie Moning and the hotness that is Barrons...how much fun is that. The tipsier you get the raunchier the conversation gets, until my mom walked out on us and we were discussing The Harlequin (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 15)
and why we stopped reading the series.
and why we stopped reading the series.My answer:
My Mom and sister both love "vampire smut." I used to read it more than I do now. They love to tell me about the latest book they have found and how hot the guy is. I still read it from time to time, but I am in a YA mode right now.
To comment on the Anita Blake series, I used to really like it until it became so focused on extreme erotica. I like that, to a point. You just have to have a plot and focus on that. A little bit of love scene goes a long way. If it is every other page, you are going to lose me as a reader.
To join the fun and make now book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:
- (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list
- (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers - http://romance-around-the-corner.blogspot.com/
- Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
- Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
- Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
- If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
Happy Follow Friday!
Follow it up with your twitter address if you want to get that one out!
Follow it up with your twitter address if you want to get that one out!
*********
"Pick a character from a book you are currently reading or have just finished and tell us about him/her."
My answer:
I just finished Vanished by Sophie Jordan. This is the second book in the Firelight series. The main character's name is Jacinda. She is a Draki, part human/part dragon. She is also the only fire breather in her pride. Because of her unique talent, she is a prize.
In Firelight Jacinda's mother takes her and her sister Tamra away from the pride to live in the desert, hoping to kill the Draki within Jacinda. Tamra had no manifestations, and reveled in the human world. Jacinda was miserable and wanted nothing more than to go back. Until she met Will.
Jacinda is a strong character. She makes the Firelight series a real page turner. Her devotion to Will conflicts with the need to save the pride from danger, and as a reader, you think you know where she is going but are continually surprised by the outcome of events.
This book is being made into a movie and I can't wait to see who the lucky redhead will be! Jacinda is a force of nature and I will be one of the first in line to see this wonderful character brought even more to life on the big screen.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
My Invented Life
With Roz and Eva everything becomes a contest—who can snag the best role in the school play, have the cutest boyfriend, pull off the craziest prank. Still, they’re as close as sisters can be. Until Eva deletes Roz from her life like so much junk e-mail for no reason that Roz understands. Now Eva hangs out with the annoyingly petite cheerleaders, and Roz fantasizes about slipping bovine growth hormone into their Gatorade.
Roz has a suspicion about Eva. In turn, Eva taunts Roz with a dare, which leads to an act of total insanity. Drama geeks clamor for attention, Shakespearean insults fly, and Roz steals the show in Lauren Bjorkman’s hilarious debut novel.
I saw this book on Goodreads and thought it looked cool. So, I wrote the wonderful and amazing Lauren Bjorkman and she sent me a copy for review. Two words describe this book. Totally awesome.
Roz is a character that really illustrates how hard it is to be a teenager and field your way through the missles of everyday life. Boyfriends, drama performances, friends, frenemies, sisters who all of a sudden stop talking to you, parents, school...everything.
When Roz notices something has really changed in her sister and the total shutdown of communication, she embarks on a course of action that will have you turning the pages out of sheer desperation to find out what happens. I loved this book. It will be staying on my bookshelf for years to come. Thank you Lauren for writing such an awesome novel. I can't wait to see what you are up to next!
Firelight
A hidden truth.
Mortal enemies. Doomed love.
Forced to flee into the mortal world with her family, Jacinda struggles to adapt to her new surroundings. The only bright light is Will. Gorgeous, elusive Will who stirs her inner draki to life. Although she is irresistibly drawn to him, Jacinda knows Will's dark secret: He and his family are hunters. She should avoid him at all costs. But her inner draki is slowly slipping away—if it dies she will be left as a human forever. She'll do anything to prevent that. Even if it means getting closer to her most dangerous enemy.
Mythical powers and breathtaking romance ignite in this story of a girl who defies all expectations and whose love crosses an ancient divide.
This book had me at page one. Jacinda is a character you will remember and I can't wait to see the movie! Book two, Vanish, will be out in September. I just finished reading it today and loved every second.
And now an interview with author Sophie Jordan.
Out in September...
To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again—and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone.
Back home, Jacinda is greeted with hostility and must work to prove her loyalty for both her sake and her family’s. Among the few who will even talk to her are Cassian, the pride’s heir apparent who has always wanted her, and her sister, Tamra, who has been forever changed by a twist of fate. Jacinda knows that she should forget Will and move on—that if he managed to remember and keep his promise to find her, it would only endanger them both. Yet she clings to the hope that someday they will be together again. When the chance arrives to follow her heart, will she risk everything for love?
In bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s dramatic follow-up to Firelight, forbidden love burns brighter than ever.
An excellent read! I couldn't put it down for a second.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Happy Follow Friday!
Hello everyone! Welcome back to another awesome Follow Friday! First, a very cool announcement...
Dana's YA Bookpile has it's own Facebook Fan Page now under construction! So pop over and give it a like if you get the chance...
Now for the Follow Friday Fun!
Head over to http://www.Parajunkee.com/ to sign up on the linky!
Happy Follow Friday everyone! Let me tell you a little bit about this HOP. Every friday or really Thursday evening we all get together and say HI! But, we need to know how to find you, so please leave your link in the Mr. Linky below. Also on Follow Friday we have a Feature...because alliteration is the way we roll. Each week is a different feature from the book blogging community. They are picked randomly or I give in after multiple harassing emails. Just depends on the week. If you want to be next weeks feature...leave your link. Also, I've had a recent rash of people signing up on the linky weeks later, which sort of defeats the purpose. If you want to participate check back here on the next Friday!
Our feature this week is...
Our feature this week is...
Hi there, my name is Lesley from My keeper shelf, I live in Scotland in the UK.
I'm fairly new to the world of blogging although I have always checked out other blogs for what to read next suggestions. It kind of started with joining Goodreads last year to help me keep a track of all the books I had read and to find suggestions for fab new books from like minded paranormal romance and urban fantasy readers. I then progressed into joining a few groups on Goodreads to discuss my favourite authors (Karen Marie Moning, Stacia Kane, Ilona Andrews and Nalini Singh to name but a few.) and was then inspired to start my own blog focusing on the types of books I love the most- paranormal romance and urban fantasy (although I do love a good smexy cowboy book now and then!)
I love reviewing books but I am in no way a professional reviewer providing amazingly insightful critique, I like to keep it simple. I'm a reader first and foremost. I pick up a book because something about it interests me: the story, the authors previous work or the gorgeous cover. I absolutely love to drool over book covers and have realised that I often, ok I admit it always, judge a book by it's cover so I like to include new covers on my blog and well, drool.
I came up with the name my keeper shelf as that's how I categorise books. If I love a book it goes on my keeper shelf. This usually means I have folded down or bookmarked pages at the "good bits" and I will go back time and time again to reread my favourite pages. My blog is simple but fun (hopefully!) I would love it if you would come over and say hi.
Q. Do you judge a book by it's cover?
Yes. Yes. Yes. I'm a graphic designer, to me things should look pretty. If a cover is so bad, I won't even pick up the book. I have been surprised though. A book that I thought had a horrendous cover...I really enjoyed. Here it is, what do you think? Great book though...
My answer:
Yes. I do judge books by their cover. It took me the longest time ever to read Hunger Games because the cover art was very plain. After hearing about it for so long, I did finally read it and loved it.
We will have a second posting tomorrow with Book Blogger Hop. Until then, have an awesome night! What book did you judge by the cover and were surprised about?
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
In my mailbox
Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8
Monday, April 4, 2011
Out Tomorrow! City of Fallen Angels
City of Fallen Angels is the fourth book in the bestselling series The Mortal Instruments.
“City of Fallen Angels takes place two months after the events of City of Glass. In it, a mysterious someone’s killing the Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine’s Circle and displaying their bodies around New York City in a manner designed to provoke hostility between Downworlders and Shadowhunters, leaving tensions running high in the city and disrupting Clary’s plan to lead as normal a life as she can — training to be a Shadowhunter, and pursuing her relationship with Jace. As Jace and Clary delve into the issue of the murdered Shadowhunters, they discover a mystery that has deeply personal consequences for them — consequences that may strengthen their relationship, or rip it apart forever. Meanwhile, internecine warfare among vampires is tearing the Downworld community apart, and only Simon — the Daylighter who everyone wants on their side — can decide the outcome; too bad he wants nothing to do with Downworld politics. Love, blood, betrayal and revenge: the stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.”Goodreads
It is out tomorrow! Run, don't walk to your nearest bookstore!
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