Bookish Resolutions

I've noticed that plenty of bloggers have put these lists up about what they plan on doing for the new year. So after much pondering, here are my 2011 Reading and/or Things Bookish Resolutions!

1. Post everyday! I haven't been good about this at all. I know that it makes my blog look stale and abandoned, so I will get on the ball and try to make sure new content is up at least everyday (barring of course a lack of things for which to say!)
2. Less ads. Yup, my family went through a very difficult time in 2010 and I had to make some money somehow. I used my blog like a dirty whore and that will stop this year. IF I ever post another ad it will be something related to books. End of story. I have a new job that I make pretty decent money on so we aren't in dire need now.
   
3. Reviews! More of them shall be written and posted! I will strive for at least two a week.
   
4. Contests! I love them! I will do more of them! :)
5. Weekly Memes. I'm on the fence about this. On one hand, they help with that posting content everyday thing and on the other they seem rather lazyish. I might just pick one or two and commit to those per week.

So there be my resolutions for my blog. I hope you enjoyed reading them!

Oh and by the way:

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Out With a Bang: Read a Thon-Day Three

So basically I'm failing at this read-a-thon. :( I had so many distractions yesterday and work., that I just didn't get much read. I'm still slowly plodding my way through World War Z. It's not bad at all, but yesterday my brain just wasn't into it.
Today I have the day off and I used late last night to do some cleaning, to calm down a bit. (Hey! Cleaning makes me relax?!)
So I'll have plenty of time to read and get things situated. :)

Challenges:

December 31

Books, Sweets and Other Treats

The Novel Affair

Reading Teen
A Writer's Revie

Out With a Bang: Read a Thon-Day Two

Yesterday didn't go as well as I had hoped. I had to work, of course, and having little man at home with me all day is not conducive to tons of quiet time! Today it's a bit calmer and I don't have much work on the schedule so I will get more reading in!

I'm aiming for about 5-6 reading hours! Oh and I will start to chart them here! Wish me luck!

Oh and don't forget the mini-challenges that are going on today!

December 30

The Book Worms

Loud Words and Sounds
Family Literacy and You!
The Mod Podge Bookshelf

Check-In #1-Good grief I didn't get anywhere near the 5-6 hours of reading time. I had quite a stressful day, but I am staying up a little later than usual to read some :) Hopefully I'll top out at 2-3 hours for the end of the day! :)

Winners of the GET ENERGY! Giveaway:

I have winners! The 3 Winners of my Denise Austin, GET ENERGY! Giveaway are:

Baby Mama said...

GFC sarah_roxy_21
sarahlovesvegas@hotmail


Charity said...

Tweeted #2
http://twitter.com/kingsdaughter24/status/19968800791207936

esterried[at]yahoo[dot]com

Jenna Z said...

I follow you on twitter (corgipants)

I will be emailing you shortly for your addresses! Congrats and have fun getting all energetic with this awesome book!

Out With a Bang: Read a Thon

Yay! Today is the start of the Out With A Bang Read-a-thon! Click the button above to join up! It's not too late!

I've got my list of books that I wanna rip through and finish up in time to count for the 2010 tally!

1. Leviathan
2. The Radleys
3. Vixen
4. Word War Z (nookbook)
   

There! I doubt I will have enough stamina to make it through ALL of those but I will give it my best shot! I'm soooooooooo looking forward to 2011! Books Ahoy!

Oh and these fine blogs are hosting challenges today! Check em out!

December 29

Pure Imagination

Kat Duncan

The Nerd's Wife

Just a Poll

Which Book Should Be the 1st Read of 2011?

• Boneshaker
• The Scorch Trials
• Madame Tussaud
• The Athena Project
  
• Wither
• Across the Universe

View Results
Create a Blog Poll

I am having a problem deciding on my first book of 2011. Maybe you guys can help me out?

Quickie Review: Part 2

Well let's see I have added two more to my pile of 2010 books! Yay for me! I finished up one and gobbled another one down!

So here I go making quick with the reviews!

First up for the win:
This is the one that I gobbled up completely! I read it on my Nook (first book finished on it btw!) and LOVED it! I have to say I'm a sucker for Zombies, but I'm kind of particular about them. I like it when writer's make them terrifying AND sympathetic so it tugs at my emotions a bit while I read. Zombies used to be people! They just got unlucky and got infected. Now there is a fine line to thinking this way, they can't be all "sparkly" they still need to want to nom on your brains, but the non-infected shouldn't be all "pew pew pew I are kill all the zombehs!" See..I'm particular. This book walked that very fine line and left me with a full belly of good story! This one is right up there with my other favorites for this year! So basically this is a Read it! Read it! Recommendation! :)

Next up, the not too awesome (for me):

This could potentially be a tainted review. I have watched the shows and NEVER opened up a book in the series that launched the show. I love the show to bits! So I was hoping that I'd love the book just as much. Not so much as I found out. :( I can see that these are definitely targeted towards the younger crowd and the show kinda walks that thin line between. The stories would have had me riveted when I was younger, but not so much today. I dragged along trying to finish it. I'm not saying it was horrible because it wasn't, it just wasn't all that wonderful either. I love the show's sense of humor.

Okay okay, I'll just flat out say it..I love Damon. He's just delicious and awesome with his sexy crazy eyes, and you don't get sexy crazy eyes out of a book. He's crazy but he's just mean in the books. So yeah..about the only good thing that I found in the books is I didn't totally hate Stefan. I totally hate Stefan in the show. Yup, this is a completely unbiased review...


So there...One great review and one not so stellar review. Also, leaving you with this:

What Are You Reading Monday?

Well last week was fun! I had a great Christmas! I got my nook, a gift card to Walmart, and some lovely photo albums! My son completely racked up! He's a happy little man now. I am not going to list any books this week. I'll save the list for the Out With a Bang read-a-thon at the end of this week!

This week, up until that point, will be just finishing up unfinished books.

Merry Christmas

Must Read Faster is going to be "closed" from today (12/23) to (12/27) for the holidays. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and I cannot wait to ring in the new year by reading with you all! Happy Holidays and Good Reading!

Quickie Reviews

First up, The Distant Hours by Kate Morton. This is a HUGE book. I had to take it on in sections! This does not mean that there is anything suckish about this book! I really enjoyed it! The story is engaging and complex. There are so many THINGS going on in this book! Really, I recommend it. It's made me definitely interested in reading more by Madame Morton! Click the book to get the blurb from Goodreads! I gave this a 4/5 rating. The length is a challenge but definitely worth the effort!

This is a book that I picked up to read a long with a book group. Joe Hill is Stephen King's son and you can definitely tell that writing runs in the family. Occasionally I was reminded to King's work. I tried to "forget" that this was written by his son. I failed. I couldn't help it. The writing is very solid. The story was creepy and I did like it. I just didn't get the BEEP scared out of me. Now on that note, I will say it is pretty darn creepy at times. I will pick up more by Hill. He knows how to put a good story on paper. So with that said, I'll give this a 3.5/5 rating. The story was creepy but not crap your pants scary. The ending felt a bit too tidy..if that makes sense? Everything fit perfectly and that's not what you want out of a horror novel.


Last but not least we have, Feed by Mira Grant! I love zombies and I love blogging. This book combines them both! What more could you want? I loved how this was both a zombie book AND a political thriller in one. It definitely held my interest and kept me flipping the pages. I was not at all disappointed in this book! Each character was well written, and had multiple layers. It was amusing that in their future, George Romero is hailed as somewhat of a hero for giving the guidelines for surviving a zombie Apocalypse. This is the first of the NewFlesh series, and I cannot wait to get my paws on the next one! I give this a 4.5/5.

Denise Austin's GET ENERGY! Review and Giveaway!

With busy schedules, demanding careers, and little time, many of us battle just to stay awake. But energy is something that is in our control, even when time is short. Now 50 years young, fitness guru Denise Austin shows readers how to super-charge their lives, using her innovative lifestyle plan. She eats the right foods at the right time of day. She uses the power of stretching and breathing to feed her body with energy-enhancing oxygen. She uses mini-workouts to get energy even on her busiest days--and now you can too!

Denise shows how simple changes can add up to increased energy levels throughout the day. From the foods they consume to the way they sit in their chairs, readers won't believe how Denise's quick and easy plan will dramatically increase their energy levels. In as little as a week, results will be felt: radiant skin, more restful sleep, and a sharper mind...so follow Denise Austin and prepare for a fitness wake-up call!

Find Denise Austin on:

DeniseAustin.com
Facebook
Twitter

Also, you can download the FREE iPhone App.

My Thoughts:
I am always ALWAYS tired. This book appealed to me because I know that some of my habits aren't very healthy and are probably..okay definitely not helping me feel more energetic in the long run. I rely very heavily on caffeine.

For example, yesterday my coffee maker died. All heck broke loose. I drove..very erratically..to the Dollar Store down the road to get a temporary machine. They didn't have a SINGLE ONE! I was grouchy, headachey, and just plain acting like a nightmare. That is not healthy at all!

This is why I like this book. It give tons of good advice on how to get energized the healthy way. Denise Austin gives good advice usually and she does not fail in this book. I've been trying to incorporate the stretches, eating tips, and trying to get to bed earlier (This last bit is SOOO hard in this house!) Each day I take a little break and stretch. It's been a good energy booster.

I may never give up my coffee, I love it too much; but I do think I will use the tips found in GET ENERGY! to help me when my energy levels dip too low!

Good News! Three (3) Copies of this book can be won! Yup! I'm giving them away! Wanna Get your hands on some energy? Here's How!

1. 1 entry (EACH) for being a follower GFC, twitter (@lexley) -leave follower ID
   
2. Blog about it-5 entries (please leave link)
3. Tweet about it (please include @lexley and leave the link) 2 entries
4. Take My Button (post link to where I can find it) 3 entries

That's all! Easy! Please leave a comment for each separate entry. (Example-5 entries =5 comments)

Fine Print:
-Only residents of the U.S. or Canada are eligible to win
-No P.O. Boxes, please.
-Only one book will be shipped per household. If you win this book on another site you will only receive one copy.
-Contest STARTS Dec. 21 and ENDS Dec. 28

What Are You Reading Monday?

Well last week I feel was a success! I got the books I wanted to read, finished! :) Yay! This week I have a lighter work schedule (thank you mr. holidays!) but still it feels like a short week. So I will just plan on one book being read and one finished (the vampire diaries.)



I have a few books on my Nook that I'd like to read as well, but I'm not going to stress over them.

I will be reviewing, updating challenges, working on getting the 2011 Challenges that I've joined posted, and basically trying to get my butt into gear for next year! :) Oh yeah and CHRISTMAS is COMING!!!

What about you?

Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge 2011

Details:

• Runs January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011 (books read prior to 1/1/11 do not count towards the challenge). You can join at anytime. You can sign up on The Book Vixen’s blog.
• The goal is to outdo yourself by reading more books in 2011 than you did in 2010. See the different levels below and pick the one that works best for you. Nothing is set in stone; you can change levels at any time during the challenge.
• Books can be any format (bound, eBook, audio).
• Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are fine.
• You can list your books in advance or list them as you read them. It is not required that you review the books you read for this challenge but feel free to do so.
• Post this reading challenge on your blog so you can keep a list of the books you’ve read for this challenge. Please include a link back to this post so readers can join the challenge too.
• You do not have to be a book blogger to participate. You can keep tabs on books you’ve read for this challenge on Goodreads or LibraryThing if you’d like (maybe make a shelf for “Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge”). If you are not on either of those sites then you can list the books you read for this challenge in the comments on my wrap-up post, which will be up at the end of 2011.

Levels:

Getting my heart rate up – Read 1–5 more books
Out of breath – Read 6–10 more books
Breaking a sweat – Read 11–15 more books
I’m on fire! – Read 16+ more books

I will try for the I'm On Fire level!

Mystery & Suspense Reading Challenge 2011

So I'm trying to do Challenges for this upcoming year! I was going to take it easy but THIS one kinda called to me! I have noticed my blog and my reading tastes, have leaned towards YA and Horror. Nothing wrong with those genres but I want to try to diversify. So I am signing up for this one!

Details:

• Timeline: 01 Jan 2011 - 31 Dec 2011

• Rules: To read TWELVE (12) mystery & suspense novels in 2011 (12 is the minimum but you can read more if you wish!)

• You don't have to select your books ahead of time, you can just add them as you go. Also if you do list them upfront you can change them, nothing is set in stone! The books you choose can crossover into other challenges you have on the go.

• You can join anytime between now and the later part of next year.

• At the beginning of Jan 2011, you will find a link to specific month to add your reviews. There will be a monthly prize too courtesy of the lovely Simon & Schuster - you must be signed up to the challenge and add the link to your review to be entered into the monthly prize draw.

If you want to join, click the button above ^ or click the button ---> on my sidebar!

Angelfire Tour

This debut, the first novel in a trilogy, is achingly romantic, terrifying, and filled with blistering action.

When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember.

My Review:

So this is the first in what promises to be a very good series, this first novel was great! That said it did have a few problems. I had a little problem getting into it at first, but I blame it on getting all the introductions and "game rules" laid out for the reader. I pushed past all this and found myself moving through this novel at a steady clip.

I really think that this has the potential to be a great series! This book is really entertaining and kept me going. I enjoyed the interactions between Ellie and Will. I REALLY wanted to know more about him! He will make for a very intriguing storyline! He seems like a tragic hero.

Ellie's character comes across as a bit selfish. She's been shown her mission, been told what she is to do, but still tries to do what she wants. I can understand that she's been thrown into something she wasn't aware of but once her memories come back, she should ..I don't know.. deal? I guess this might be addressed in the next book? I hope so!

This is definitely one to pick up and read! I enjoyed it even with those minor issues!


Angelfire is scheduled to release on February 15, 2011!!

This book was provided for me to review from:

What Are You Reading Monday?

Welp, I had a crappy reading week last week. I LOVED all the books I received, but I didn't read as much as I'd like Soooo....What am I going to do this week?

Read my booty off! Literally! I think I'll use books to help me loose some weight lol If I feel like snacking, I think what I'll do is read for 10 minutes and see if the urge goes away. Usually, I'm just bored and turn to snacking, which makes my thighs huge! Boo!

So what's on my list for this week?

• Angelfire-for the Around the World ARC Tour. I have to have this done and out by the 17th so that's at the tippity top of my list!
  
• Feed-Awesome sauce so far! I love Zombies!
  
• Heart Shaped Box-Reading this for a Livejournal group called Calling All Creepies :)
  

I probably will get finished with Angelfire and Feed (because I've already started on both) but I might only get halfway through HSB.

Also I am reading A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens for the Read-a-Long hosted by The Lost Entwife. This one is on my Nook so I'll read it in bits and pieces.

I will post my review of the Distant Hours sometime this week, so look for it! :)

Out With a Bang: Read a Thon

This one goes from December 29th to the 31st! This Readathon is mainly to finish off the fabulous debuts for the Debut Author Challenge, but participants don't have to focus on that category if they have non-debut books that they would like to finish before 2010 ends.

I'm not participating in that challenge, but I loved the idea of reading as many books as I can to finish up the year! :) Goooo Motivation!

Here is the schedule for a TON of mini-challenges! Yay!

December 29

Pure Imagination

Kat Duncan

The Nerd's Wife

December 30

The Book Worms

Loud Words and Sounds

A Writer's Review

December 31

Books, Sweets and Other Treats

The Novel Affair

Reading Teen

Sooo if you wanna join in the reading fun, click the button at the top and sign up!

Book Arrivals

These are the books that have made their way into my home within the last week or so! I've been sooo super excited this week! :)



Isn't that a good haul? See why I was such a HAPPY BOOK NERD this last week and a half?!

Christmas Came Early!!

Yup! My sweetheart got me a Nook for Christmas! Being the geeky wonder than I am I couldn't just wrap it up and put it under the tree and wait...Yeah Right! So woot!

Now I can enjoy all those ebooks AND my beautiful bound copies! I love the Nook but to me it will never ever replace the printed page.

To quote an episode of Buffy:

Miss Calendar: "Well, I think you'll be very happy here, with your musty old
books."
Giles: "These musty old books have a great deal more to say than any of your
fabulous web pages."
"I, Robot--You, Jane"

You tell 'em Giles baby! Books are better but I can definitely see the advantage to having a Nook as well!

Okay one last geeky SQUEEEEE! :)

2011 Challenges

I'm seriously thinking about what challenges I might want to try. I've not had much luck this year with them so I'm pretty cautious. Should I or shouldn't I?

I know I want to keep those chunksters that I haven't read this year, so that list will roll over.

I probably won't make it to 100 books read this year, but I'm probably going to try for that again.

I do like this one though.



I do love me some Stephen King! So that's definitely one I'm gonna probably join in.

I'm still not sure if this is it for me. I may add to this before the year is up! :)

Music Monday

I have been loving this video and song for a few days now. I love the pairing of Elena and Damon, so this is just perfection! I am also reading the books and LOVING the show! :)

What music are you listening to lately?

PS-Yes, I know I'm veering into Fangirl territory for this, but I just couldn't help it!

What Are You Reading Monday?

Well last week was a success! I finished If I Stay and loved it! Review is HERE You guys that book still gets me teary eyed, just thinking about it! :)

So yeah, felt so awesome and productive..until the weekend. I bombed out on the read-a-thon! I tried. I really did. I don't know why but I just didn't have any "read" left in me. *sigh*

So I'm going to do what I did last week. Just appoint ONE book to read then see what happens. This is tough though. Lemme tell you why...

My Book Lover's Book Swap Santa gave me a book I've been DYING (in agony) to read. Feed by Mira Grant. I super muchly want to read it..like NOW but I have a few ARCS that I feel I should read now.

So after some thought, here is my plan for this week:

• Blood Prophecy by Stefan Petrucha
• Feed by Mira Grant (YAY)
• The Radleys by Matt Haig

There that's what I want to finish by this weekend! :) Seem like a lot, but these are all pretty interesting sounding books so I don't think I'll be bored or stall! Crossing my fingers though! :)

Thank You! :)

My mail carrier just rang my doorbell and gave me a box. I was confused as I hadn't ordered anything big enough for a box, but what did I find when I opened it?

My Secret Santa's gift! I squealed in happiness as I wasn't expecting it so soon!

Yay!

I am sorry I could not practice self control and had to open it! :) I wished I had a camera so I could take pictures as it's all awesome goodies!

My Secret Santa is Rob from Books are like Candy Corn! Thank you Rob :) You have made my day!

He packed the box with awesome goodies from Hawaii!

• A cute card :)
• A delicious (again lack of self control) bag of Macadamia Popcorn Crunch. My son and I are nomming on this right now :)
• A baggie of Kauai Coffee that I am just dying to brew up!
• A make your own snow globe kit! This is so cute!
• A Hawaii Holiday cd
• A baggie of Papaya Seed Dressing mix (sounds so yummy!)
• and last but not least a copy of Feed by Mira Grant! :)

As you can see there are a LOT of smilies in this post! I LOVED it Rob! Thank you very much! Merry Christmas to you!

Yay! Another One!

WhoRuBlog is hosting this read-a-thon that starts today and goes on til Sunday! Woot! So here I am again...signed up for a read-a-thon! I've got a stack of books that I'd LIKE to get read! Here they be:

1. The Vampire Diaries-The Awakening and the Struggle (one book)
   
2. Orphans of Chaos-John C. Wright
3. Finish (yes I'm still on this lol) The Distant Hours
4. Finish-Leviathan

There that should do i! I may shove some more in there or switch it up but for now this is my list!

NOTE: WhoRuBlog is asking (not requiring) that if you do sign up for this read-a-thon, please donate somewhere, somehow this year. Toys for Tots, a few books, money, etc. Whatever you can do is fine!

Personally, I will be donating a few toys to Toys for Tots and some canned goods to my son's school. They are having a holiday drive sometime soon.

Review: Thunder and Ashes

About the Book:
A lot can change in three months: wars can be decided, nations can be forged... or entire species can be brought to the brink of annihilation. The Morningstar Virus, an incredibly virulent disease, has swept the face of the planet, infecting billions. Its hosts rampage, attacking anything that remains uninfected. Even death can't stop the virus-its victims as cannibalistic shamblers. Scattered across the world, embattled groups have persevered. For some, surviving is the pinnacle of achievement. Others hoard goods and weapons. And still others leverage power over the remnants of humanity in the form of a mysterious cure for Morningstar. Francis Sherman and Anna Demilio want only a vaccine, but to find it, they must cross a countryside in ruins, dodging not only the infected, but also the lawless living. The bulk of the storm has passed over the world, leaving echoing thunder and softly drifting ashes. But for the survivors, the peril remains, and the search for a cure is just beginning...

My Review:

What is it about Zombies that makes me a happy girl? Hmm..I just love to imagine myself kicking A and taking names during the Zombie Apocalypse! Seriously, I have spent many an hour daydreaming and making a check list..just in case. You never know, right?

This book is the second part of The Morningstar Strain series, but that didn't keep me from following the story. I haven't read the first one, but I do plan on getting it. ASAP. Yes, there are similarities to other zombie books and movies, but hullo? You can't have too many zombie books or movies! I liked this one very much. The action was well written, the characters were decent. I didn't stumble upon a single thing that made me say, "oh now that ain't right..."

I definitely think this is a good addition to any Zombie fans arsenal of awesome literature!