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Friday, December 30, 2011

Fun Friday: Give Me Something to Sing About! (79)

Fun Friday: Give Me Something to Sing About! is where you guys get to see a song or two I like or that I want to talk about each week. Thanks as always goes to J.J. at Random Musings for help with the title.



(August 28th 3:30 AM by Automatic Loveletter.)

This is the most played song in my library but I've never shared it here. It's a bit older so you might have heard of it, but if you haven't, it's definitely worth a listen!

Tell me what you think in the comments!

Peace and cookies,
Laina
(Also, happy early New Year's!)

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday (97)

Waiting on Wednesday is, of course, brought to us by the lovely Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Did you guess my theme last week? It was... drumroll please... butterfly covers! Alright, on to this week's covers.


Scarlet by A. C. Gaughen - To be released February 14th, 2012 (Hey, maybe some of you could ask for this as a Valentine's Day present from your honeys or your besties.)

Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only the Hood and his band know the truth: the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. Helping the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham could cost Scarlet her life as Gisbourne closes in. It’s only her fierce loyalty to Robin—whose quick smiles and sharp temper have the rare power to unsettle her—that keeps Scarlet going and makes this fight worth dying for.

(Summary from goodreads.)

Why I want to read this: Most of what I know about Robin Hood comes from Bugs Bunny and Keropie. I can't wait to see how this one turns out. Plus, the cover is awesome.


Undeadly by Michele Vail - To be released February 28th, 2012

The day I turned 16, my boyfriend-to-be died. I brought him back to life. Then things got a little weird...

Molly Bartolucci wants to blend in, date hottie Rick and keep her zombie-raising abilities on the down-low. Then the god Anubis chooses her to become a reaper—and she accidentally undoes the work of another reaper, Rath.

Within days, she’s shipped off to the Nekyia Academy, an elite school that trains the best necromancers in the world. And her personal reaping tutor? Rath. Who seems to hate her guts.

Rath will be watching closely to be sure she completes her first assignment-reaping Rick, the boy who should have died. The boy she still wants to be with.

To make matters worse, students at the academy start turning up catatonic, and accusations fly—against Molly. The only way out of this mess? To go through hell. Literally.

(Summary from goodreads.)

Why I want to read this: NECROMANCY AND AN ACADEMY THAT TEACHES THEM, HOW AWESOME IS THAT??? *coughs* Ahem. I mean, it sounds very interesting.

What are you guys waiting on this week?

Peace and cookies,
Laina

Friday, December 23, 2011

Fun Friday: Give Me Something to Sing About! (78)

Fun Friday: Give Me Something to Sing About! is where you guys get to see a song or two I like or that I want to talk about each week. Thanks as always goes to J.J. at Random Musings for help with the title.

Okay, it's December 23rd, so I'm going to do a Christmas song. Don't sheild your ears, though. Trust me, it'll be a good song.



(Mittens by Carly Rae Jepson.)

What do you guys think? What are song of your favourite non-traditional Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa/Winter Solstice/Yule/Winter holiday of your choosing songs?

Peace and cookies,
Laina

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday (96)

Waiting on Wednesday is, of course, brought to us by the lovely Jill at Breaking the Spine.

We have a THEME this week. Wanna see if you can guess it? Bonus cool points to anyone who does.


The Other Life by Susanne Winnacker - To be released February 1st, 2012 in the UK and May 1st, 2012 in the US

3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days since I’d seen daylight. One-fifth of my life. 98,409,602 seconds since the heavy, steel door had fallen shut and sealed us off from the world

Sherry has lived with her family in a sealed bunker since things went wrong up above. But when they run out of food, Sherry and her dad must venture outside. There they find a world of devastation, desolation...and the Weepers: savage, mutant killers.

When Sherry's dad is snatched, she joins forces with gorgeous but troubled Joshua - an Avenger, determined to destroy the Weepers.

But can Sherry keep her family and Joshua safe, when his desire for vengeance threatens them all?

(Summary from goodreads.)

Why I want this: BECAUSE IT SOUNNDS AWESOME. Okay, so, this is actually the UK cover, but I like it and there's like a 25% chance that would be the one that I'd get in Canada. (I have a full set of UK Harry Potter books, for example. Plus, my blog, my rules.) Also, I wanted to talk about this cover. I kept thinking about how cool and pretty it was when I looked at it. Then I realized the butterfly has HANDS and LITTLE PEOPLE in the design. How freaky is that???


The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison - To be released February 14th, 2012

Penelope (Lo) Marin has always loved to collect beautiful things. Her dad's consulting job means she's grown up moving from one rundown city to the next, and she's learned to cope by collecting (sometimes even stealing) quirky trinkets and souvenirs in each new place--possessions that allow her to feel at least some semblance of home.

But in the year since her brother Oren's death, Lo's hoarding has blossomed into a full-blown, potentially dangerous obsession. She discovers a beautiful, antique butterfly pendant during a routine scour at a weekend flea market, and recognizes it as having been stolen from the home of a recently murdered girl known only as "Sapphire"--a girl just a few years older than Lo. As usual when Lo begins to obsess over something, she can't get the murder out of her mind.

As she attempts to piece together the mysterious "butterfly clues," with the unlikely help of a street artist named Flynt, Lo quickly finds herself caught up in a seedy, violent underworld much closer to home than she ever imagined--a world, she'll ultimately discover, that could hold the key to her brother's tragic death.

(Summary for goodreads.)

Why I want to read this: 1. It's a mystery and I love mysteries. 2. Her name is awesome. I adore unusual nicknames from given names. 3. A character who hoards really, really intrigues me.

Alrighty, so did you guess the theme? What are you waiting on this week? Leave your answers in the comments below.

Peace and cookies,
Laina

Friday, December 16, 2011

Fun Friday: Give Me Something to Sing About! (77)

Fun Friday: Give Me Something to Sing About! is where you guys get to see a song or two I like or that I want to talk about each week. Thanks as always goes to J.J. at Random Musings for help with the title.

So, we all know that I love Alexz Johnson and what kind of fan would I be if I didn't post about her new song?



(Skipping Stone by Alexz Johnson.)

Now, I don't know how long this will last, but right now (when I'm typing this and hopefully when it posts), you can download the song free from her website. No strings attached, I promise.

Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Peace and cookies,
Laina

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday (95)

Waiting on Wednesday is, of course, brought to us by the lovely Jill at Breaking the Spine.


Tempest by Julie Cross - To be released January 17th, 2012

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy... he’s in college, has a girlfriend... and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

That is... until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly... and possibly the entire world.

(Summary from goodreads.)

Why I want this: For one thing, I've always loved time travel books. I also really like male MCs and you don't see a ton of them in YA. So double cool points!


Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood - To be released February 6th, 2012

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they're witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word . . . especially after she finds her mother's diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family's destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren't safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.

(Summary from goodreads.)

Why I want to read it: Witches, tea parties, and FORBIDDEN ROMANCE. Duh, how could I not want to read it???

So what do you guys think? Are you waiting on anything special this week?

Peace and cookies,
Lana

Monday, December 12, 2011

Things I've Read Recently

I have a review written somewhere, I just need to find the notebook it's in, so for now, I'm just going to talk a little bit about some books that I've read recently but don't want to do full reviews of.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Published: January 1st, 2002 by either Scholastic or HarperCollins, I'm not 100% sure because goodreads is confusing and it's late.
Genre: Middle grade fantasy
Binding: Paperback
Page count: Goodreads says 162 and I'm not getting up to check the copy I have.
Part of a series? No
Amazon link.

Summary (from goodreads): Coraline's often wondered what's behind the locked door in the drawing room. It reveals only a brick wall when she finally opens it, but when she tries again later, a passageway mysteriously appears. Coraline is surprised to find a flat decorated exactly like her own, but strangely different. And when she finds her "other" parents in this alternate world, they are much more interesting despite their creepy black button eyes. When they make it clear, however, that they want to make her theirs forever, Coraline begins a nightmarish game to rescue her real parents and three children imprisoned in a mirror. With only a bored-through stone and an aloof cat to help, Coraline confronts this harrowing task of escaping these monstrous creatures.

Thoughts: This isn't the first time I've read this (more like the third), but it's one of my absolute favourite books ever. Highly recommend. V and I were reading it, but we didn't finish. I think it might be a bit beyond her because she's only eight. Depends on the kid. She was liking it, though.

Coraline: Graphic Novel by Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell

Published: July 1st, 2008 by HarperCollins
Genre: I guess middle grade fantasy too? I'm not sure how graphic novel genres work...
Binding: Paperback.
Page count: Goodreads says 186 pages.
Part of a series? Nope.
Amazon link.

You don't need the summary again, do you? ;) You're smart people, you know how to scroll. Here's a goodreads link for you, though.

Anyways, I saw this on my library website and it looked interesting so I figured I'd order it and see what it was like. I don't mean to repeat myself, but it was, again, very interesting. I don't know a lot about graphic novels, but it was cool seeing Coraline another medium. Part of me kept expecting to see the movie Coraline, though, blue hair and all (because blue hair and all and anyone who says otherwise is on the wrong blog). I probably wouldn't buy this one because it isn't really a favourite, but it was well worth a read.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Published: January 1st, 2009 by Dutton Juvenile
Genre: YA... um, I'm not sure what. Mostly contemporary but sort of a not? I don't know. It's hard to explain.
Binding: Paperback
Page Count: Goodreads says 208 and I'm not going to the other room to get my copy and check, so we're going with that.
Part of a series: Yes, it has a sequel.
Amazon link.

Summary (from goodreads): What if you had everything:

A gorgeous boyfriend who was madly in love with you?
Quirky hip parents who totally got you?
A musical talent that could take you anywhere?
What if your biggest problem in life was choosing which path to take?
Follow your first love--music-- to New York City?
Or stay with your boyfriend, friends, and family?

What if one day, you went out for a drive...

And in an instant everything changed?
What if suddenly all the other choices were gone?
Except for one - the only one that truly mattered?
What would you do?

Thoughts: I bought this at a Walmart in the city because I had heard good things about it and it was pretty. (See the edge along there? The front part of the cover lifts up and there's shattered glass underneath. Really cool.) Then because I suck and my to-read pile wants to murder me in my sleep, I did the same thing I do to most of the books I buy. I put it on a shelf and forgot about it.

THEN I won a contest and got a (signed) copy of If I Stay and certain people threatened to disown me if I didn't read it. I still didn't read it for a while because I suck like that. Then I FINALLY started to read it and I loved it. I kept tearing up in public and it was just... great. Read it. Now.

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Published: April 5th, 2011 by Dutton Juvenile
Genre: YA Contemporary
Binding: Hardcover
Page Count: 260 according to goodreads.
Part of a series? No duh.
Amazon link.

I am not going to post the summary to this one because it has MAJOR spoilers if you haven't read the first one. So click the goodreads link at your own risk. I am WARNING YOU and I am not responsible if you spoil yourself.

I won't say much about this one for the risk of spoiling, but I will say that I loved it. It made me cry as much as If I Stay and the choice of a twenty-one year old narrator isn't something you see often. (And I won't say who narrates it. NO ONE ELSE DO EITHER.)

Then recently I got sick and I wanted something comforting, so I decided to reread a book I had already read. I guess that's comforting for the same reasons watching movies I've seen 20 times is. Or my brain is just weird. (Quit snickering.) Anyways, this is what I read.

Birthright by Nora Roberts

Published: March 30th, 2004 by Jove (By Jove, I think she's got it!)
Genre: Adult romantic suspense.
Binding: Paperback (Mass market paperback, if you're wondering.) (Those are the shorter ones.)
Page Count: Goodreads says 502
Part of a series? No.
Amazon link.

Summary (from goodreads): On a hot July afternoon, a worker at an Antietam Creek construction site drives the blade of his backhoe into a layer of soil — and strikes a 5,000-year-old human skull. The discovery draws plenty of attention and a lot of controversy. It also changes the life of one woman in ways she never expected.

(I'm only putting part of the summary because this post is getting long.)

Thoughts: I had this book on my mind for a while because I recommended it to a friend. I was telling her about this scene where Callie, the main character, is in a motel room and her ex-husband is in the room next to hers. She wants to talk to him, but she's too stubborn to call him or go next door, so she starts playing the Jaws theme on her cello. He bursts into her room, grabs the bow and goes, "You know I hate that."

That stuck with me and still made me giggle after years since reading this, so I figured it was time for a reread and it was just as good as I remembered. Can I just be Nora Roberts? Only with Twitter because I read in an interview that she doesn't tweet and I don't know if I can live like that.

(Oh, also, this IS an adult romance novel, so there's smexytimes and stuff. If you're not comfortable with that, it's okay. There's mystery and archaelogy stuff which is fascinating and family drama, too, so if you skim those parts, you won't feel left out. The romance is a big part of the novel, though. It IS a romance novel and if you don't like romance, you'll probably want to skip this one no matter how much I tell you I loved it.) (If you don't like romance of any kind, what ARE you doing here??? Like 90% of the novels I read have some kind of romance.) (Picture books generally don't.) (Although there is Smitten where a sock and a mitten fall in love and lots of princes and princesses fall in love.) (But even if you don't like romance of any kind, I don't want you to stop reading my blog, okay? Because you guys are awesome.)

(But if you don't think blue hair is awesome AND you don't like romance... I don't know what you're finding here for you, but I hope you're enjoying it.)

Anyways. One of my favourites. Highly recommend it.

Let's move on, shall we? Next up we have:

Are You Afraid? by Carla Cassidy

Published: March 7th, 2006 by Signet
Genre: Adult romantic suspense
Binding: Paperback
Page count: 352
Part of a series? Nope.
Amazon link.

Summary (from goodreads): At the age of sixteen, Jessica Langford endured and escaped the grip of a serial killer who buried his victims alive. After overcoming this terrifying experience, she started her own radio program to help those living in fear. If she could survive her past, why not help others do the same?

But now her past is being resurrected. An anonymouse man calls in to her how with remarkable knowledge of her traumatic experience - and her worst fears. With help from Detective Jake Merridan - a gorgeous cop on the brink of burnout himself - Jessie must try to uncover the intentions of this mysterious caller, to find him before he kills again and makes her life worse than anything she's ever feared.

Thoughts: I liked this one a lot. The romance was sweet and the serial killer part was scary like it's supposed to be. All good. (Also an adult romance, so again, sexytimes, yada yada, you know the rest.) (When I say adult, I mean grown-up. Not adult like adult movies because we all know what that euphanism means and that's a bit icky.) Recommend.

One last book that I want to talk about:

Making Waves by Tawna Fenske

Published: August 1st, 2011 by Sourcebooks
Genre: Adult romantic comedy
Binding: Paperback
Page count: 352 and you know the goodreads deal by now.
Part of a series? Nope, standalone.
Amazon link.

Summary (from goodreads): She always wanted to belong... just not to a disfunctional pirate crew.

Juli has trouble fitting in, though she'd prefer to keep the reasons to herself. But when she mistakenly stows away on a ship of misfit corporate castoffs, her own secrets become the least of her concerns.

He knows plotting a diamond heist may be considered unusual behavior...

But Alex isn't feeling very normal when his unscrupulous boss kicks him to the curb. Meeting Juli doesn't do much to restore normalcy to Alex's life, but it sure is exhilerating!

As Alex and Juli bare their secrets - and a whole lot more - they find that while normal is nice, weird can be wonderful.

Thoughts: I started reading this at 5am on a Wednesday beause I didn't have to shower and was almost late for work because I forgot to watch the clock. (Yes, I go to work at 6am. Yes, it's as fun as it sounds.) I didn't finish it that day, so the next day, when I had Storytime at 10am, I read more after my shower at 8 and was again almost late for work.

That's how good it was. It was funny and sweet and quirky and I didn't want to put it back. I'm a bit sad I have to give it back to the library. *sniffle* YOU KNOW. Tomorrow is my birthday. (Please picture this as you read that.) Anyways, this is a definite recommend.

Alright, so there you have a few things I've read that I haven't talked about on here before. What have you guys been reading? Have you read any of these? Going to now? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Peace and cookies,
Laina

Friday, December 9, 2011

Fun Friday: Give Me Something to Sing About! (76)

Fun Friday: Give Me Something to Sing About! is where you guys get to see a song or two I like or that I want to talk about each week. Thanks as always goes to J.J. at Random Musings for help with the title.

Here's a song I really, really like.



(Haven't Had Enough by Marianas Trench.)

I don't usually talk about videos, but this is one I really like. For one thing, pirates. (Because pirates are so much cooler than ninjas. And everything else, too.) For another, if you watch the girl, she's the one being chased, but she is totally in control of things. She's in the lead. It's cool.

What do you guys think?

Peace and cookies,
Laina

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday (94)

Waiting on Wednesday is, of course, brought to us by the lovely Jill at Breaking the Spine.

I have not done one of these in ages. How does it go again? Oh, yeah, I think I remember ;)


Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough - I think this one might be out in the UK or something. Goodreads says it was published January 6th, 2011, but Amazon says April 2012. I think. Not sure!!

Beware of Long Lankin, that lives in the moss...

When Cora and her little sister Mimi are sent to stay with their elderly aunt in the isolated village of Bryers Guerdon, they receive a less than warm welcome, and are desperate to go back to London. But Auntie Ida's life was devastated the last time two young girls were at Guerdon Hall, and now her nieces' arrival has reawoken an evil that has lain waiting for years.

A haunting voice in an empty room...

A strange, scarred man lurking in the graveyard...

A mysterious warning, scrawled on the walls of the abandoned church...

Along with Roger and Peter, two young village boys, Cora must uncover the horrifying truth that has held Bryers Guerdon in its dark grip for centuries - before it is too late for Mimi.

(Summary from goodreads.)

Why I want to read this: Goodreads says this was inspired by a folksong about murder, witchcraft and revenge and come on, that just sounds awesome! Plus that cover is gorgeous and I am a shallow, shallow girl.

Next up:


Fracture by Megan Miranda - To be released January 17th, 2012 (Not much longer!!)

By the time Delaney Maxwell was pulled from a Maine lake’s icy waters by her best friend, Decker Phillips, her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead.

But somehow Delaney survived—despite the brain scans that show irreparable damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be fine, but she knows she’s far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can’t control or explain, Delaney now finds herself drawn to the dying, and when she meets Troy Varga, a boy who recently emerged from a coma with the same abilities, she is relieved to share this strange new existence. Unsure if her altered brain is predicting death or causing it, Delaney must figure out if their gift is a miracle, a freak of nature—or something else much more frightening...

(Summary from goodreads.)

Why I want this: Partly I have a fondess for the name Delaney and this just sounds awesome. Kinda like extra cool zombies.

Alright, I think that's everything, do you? What are you guys waiting on today?

Peace and cookies,
Laina