Friday, April 29, 2011

Updates and Stuff

Well I've finished Numbers 2: The Chaos by Rachel Ward and I loved it! I have to admit to not really being able to devote the time I had hoped to reading for this read-a-thon! As you may or may not know, I live in Alabama and parts of my community were hit by the massive amounts of tornadoes that happened on the 27th. My son's been out of school and I've been distracted. I've started reading Robopocalypse_A_Novel by Daniel H. Wilson, but I cannot say if I will finish it in time for it to count towards my read-a-thon goals.
I will be posting my notes for the chapters that I've read. I meant to do them on Weds but again, the tornadoes and the drama that has been taking place since have kept my attention. I think you can expect them up around the beginning of next week.


On a side note, here is some very good information about helping those that have been impacted by these storms. So far the death toll is 195 and rising everyday. So many people have had all of their belongings destroyed, their homes and cars. So many people are thankful to be alive, but now have nothing. ANYTHING will be appreciated!

(info taken from ABCnews.com)

Donate to Tornado Relief Effort

American Red Cross: The Red Cross is providing relief to people across the hardest-hit states, providing shelter, and relief to survivors.

To make a donation to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief, visit its online donation page.

You can also call 1-800-RED-CROSS or text "REDCROSS" to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

The Salvation Army: The Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services is responding to the deadly tornado activity throughout the South, mobilizing feeding units and providing support to the victims.

To donate to the Salvation Army's tornado disaster response, visit www.salvationarmyusa.org, click on their donation page and designate "April 2011 Tornado Outbreak."

You can call 1-800-SAL-ARMY and donors can text "GIVE" to 80888 to make a $10 donation. Checks can be made out to the Salvation Army Disaster Relief, P.O. Box 100339, Atlanta, Ga., 30384-0339.

Feeding America: Feeding America helps food banks provide food to communities affected by the recent tornadoes.

To make a donation to Feeding America, visit its online donation page.


**Also if you live in the surrounding areas affected by the tornadoes and happen to find any personal belongings, such as photos and documents with names, please take pictures and post them online on FB via the Pictures and Documents Found After The April 27, 2011 Tornadoes page. Thanks! ****

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Spring's Serenity Read-a-Thon Day 3


I'm reading The Chaos by Rachel Ward today. I will check in on twitter using the hashtag #readathon intermittently today to keep myself motivated. My husband's been home these last two days, so I've been hanging out with him instead of reading like I need to!

Might even check out a challenge or something today! :)

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Spring's Serenity Read-a-Thon Day 2


I caught up with the Read-a-long yesterday so I'm moving on to the next read!

Reading: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
Stopped: page 16-It's cute but it's not catching my attention like I thought it would! I'll try it again after a bit.

Switched to:
The Chaos by Rachel Ward

Monday, April 25, 2011

Spring's Serenity Read-a-Thon Day 1


The first thing I'm focusing on in this read-a-thon is catching up with the John Adam's read-a-long! I am so behind, but it's because I'm really enjoying it! I'm taking notes, and marking things in my book! I never mark up books! I am completely kicking myself for not paying attention in History class and learning about these important people!

Stats:
1st Book: John Adams-David McCullough
Start page: 122
Goal ending page: 167
Goal Completed: YES! I am now completely caught up with this read-a-long! I am so happy with myself! I'll post my chapter notes and do all the linky things to get totally caught up!

Onto my next book:

2nd book:The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In a Ship of Her Own Making-OMG the longest book title EVAH!

Spring's Serenity Read-a-Thon Starting Post


Spring's Serenity Read-A-Thon, Monday, April 25th through Sunday, May 1st. This read-a-thon will run from 12:00am Monday through 11:59pm Sunday (adjust your time zones accordingly). You can join in any time through the week and read as little or as much as you want. It's really about getting caught up and challenging yourself for one week.

My book list:
  1. The Emerald Atlas
  2. The Baby Planner
  3. Robopocalypse A Novel
  4. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
  5. Bossypants
  6. The Chaos
  7. Devil's Kiss
  8. Dead By Midnight
I'm not deluding myself that I will get all of these read in one week, but they are all fun looking reads! Hopefully they are quick! :)

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Review: Kat, Incorrigible


Description (taken from simon and schuster)

Katherine Ann Stephenson has just discovered that she's inherited her mother's magical talents, and despite Stepmama's stern objections, she's determined to learn how to use them. But with her eldest sister Elissa's intended fiancé, the sinister Sir Neville, showing a dangerous interest in Kat's magical potential; her other sister, Angeline, wreaking romantic havoc with her own witchcraft; and a highwayman lurking in the forest, even Kat's reckless heroism will be tested to the up-most. If she can learn to control her new powers, will Kat be able to rescue her family and win her sisters their true love?

My Review:

Oh dear me, this is the cutest book I've read in a long time! I loved Kat! She is feisty and funny and smart! She's got that rebellious side that made me want to cheer her on! I loved this little whimsical tale!

Oh and did I mention it has the magics? Love it! Kat is a very raucous (hehe i used a big word!) character and for that she is awesome! She's not going to sit by and be dainty and work on her stitchery. She's going to dress up like a boy and go out and do things! Awwwwww...bucking the status quo! As a tomboyish girl, I can definitely related to her!

The fun thing is that her sisters all have a bit of rebellion in them as well. Even Elissa who will do what she has to to help her family! I adored each girl and even loved the wicked Stepmother...*I kinda knew what she would end up like*

So the big question...Would I recommend it? The answer is yes! This is a cute story and definitely something that would be appropriate for ages 10 and up (I'm 30 and I loved it!)

So there you have it! This was a good one!


Book Details:

Atheneum, April 2011

Hardcover, 304 pages

ISBN-10: 1416994475

ISBN-13: 9781416994473

Grades: 5 and up


Review: The Dead-Tossed Waves




Description
(from Carrie Ryan's website)
Gabry lives a quiet life, secure in her town next to the sea and behind the Barrier. She's content to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. Home is all she's ever known, and all she needs for happiness.

But life after the Return is never safe, and there are threats even the Barrier can't hold back.

Gabry's mother thought she left her secrets behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, but like the dead in their world, secrets don't stay buried. And now, Gabry's world is crumbling.

One night beyond the Barrier...

One boy Gabry's known forever and one veiled in mystery...

One reckless moment, and half of Gabry's generation is dead, the other half imprisoned.

Gabry knows only one thing: if she is to have any hope of a future, she must face the forest of her mother's past.

My Review

As you guys probably know, I am a HUGE fan of zombies! Love them! The Forest of Hands and Teeth is probably one of my favorite books EVAH! So when my lovely husband bought me The Dead-Tossed Waves...well...I was a happy camper! This book..OMG this book. Carrie Ryan really does know how to steal your brain and keep it, doesn't she?

TDTWs was a great follow up! The stories connected in ways that were very believable. I definitely was not disappointed with this sequel! The adventure and the romancy parts were well done but not at all over the top, which is excellent!

My review here is going to be short and sweet! Read it! Yup! That's all I can say! If you enjoyed The Forest of Hands and Teeth you will gobble the sequel up! I lurved it, and so will you!

Saturday, April 16, 2011

I Love Books, but something's gotta give....




I love to read. I can't help it. It was ingrained into me almost from birth. My mother loved to read and was such a voracious reader that I couldn't help but also become one. When I was a kid/teen I never left home without a book in my purse or bag (still do this!) So it's been something that I've had from the start. My tastes have changed throughout my life, but the love of the book has stayed the same!

I started this blog to keep track of what I was reading, and to potentially make new friends. I loved the idea that my little opinion could maybe help a great book get into more people's hands! This blog has been so awesome for me! I've met a lot of cool people from it and have had such a great time with it!

Why am I writing this post? I'm not "quitting" my blog. I am going to take it back to the basics. My reading has gotten so slow and sluggish lately. I think (and we all know how that goes) that this has become like a job. I feel guilty if I don't have a post up, or a review done. I feel like maybe this blog has lost it's way. It's about the books, not the amount of posts I write!

So from now on I'm going to stop with the planning and just read and review. I've got some scheduled blog tours coming up and for now that is what I'll stick with. The one's I've committed to already and do not want to back out of!

I am not sure how long this will last or if it even will, but I feel lighter just getting this out there.

-Melissa

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Teaser Tuesday-A Bit Late...



Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser is from The Sandalwood Tree by Elle Newmark


"But she didn't and so Adela told her. Adela's great love was reading, another disappointment to her mother. Mrs. Winfield warned, 'Keep that up and you'll end up completely unmarriageable.'"

pg.26


Monday, April 11, 2011

What are you Reading? 4/11

Books Read Last Week:
Kat, Incorrigible-Stephanie Burgis (review coming soon)

Books For This Week:
The Sandalwood Treet by Elle Newmark
The Cadence of Gypsies by Barbara Casey

Giveaways Coming Up
The Cadence of Gypsies-Giveaway Starts April 15th!

Read-a-Long:
Johh Adams by David McCullough -catching up with week 1 and 2 (so 2 chapters and posted weekly on friday the 15th)

Nook
Badlands by Seleste deLaney

Sunday, April 10, 2011

The Sunday Salon for 4/10

The Sunday Salon.com


Well the read-a-thon was fun! I didn't get as much reading as I would like to but I enjoyed myself and enjoyed helping out with co-hosting! I'm still thinking I might volunteer again next time, but who knows! I met a lot of awesome bloggers and readers, so that is a BIG win in my book!

My stats where pretty wimpy but here goes:

Books Finished-1 (not from start though)
Pages Read: 448
Stayed Up from 7am til Midnight (cst)

So there you have it! I finished Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis and almost finished The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan.

I also won a random prize for being a commentator! I was so excited about that! I got to pick from the awesomesauce prize list! :) Can't wait for it! :) Also, even though I didn't finish a complete book from the start, I will still donate $15 to Kids Need To Read.

Bloggish news, again I will be attempting to organize my blog this week. I have my books ready to go and I feel good! If not tired...but hey, like I said in my read-a-thon post..I'm not a young whippersnapper anymore so I can't stay up too late! :)

This is pretty much a good summary of how I feel this morning!
But this is what I have to say to the week ahead...

Come at me, bro! I is ready for you! Grrrr.....*yawn*


Saturday, April 9, 2011

Read-a-Thon Starting Line Post


So it's 7:20 am, and I am starting my 'thon! I know I'm like 20 minutes late but believe me I'm gonna need those 20 minutes! Anyways, YAY!

Introductory Questions:
1)Where are you reading from today? Anniston, AL, or more specifically from my desk but I will most likely switch to my comfy chair in just a bit.
2)Three random facts about me…I work at home full time, I'm definitely a hoarder of books, and I love anything and everything about Mr. Nathan Fillion. :) Maybe I'll bless you all with a picture sometime!
3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? Too many to count, so I won't! My plan is to just read, read, read, and oh yeah....read.
4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)? I would like to finish three books from the begining. I have a few I need to finish, plus I am plegding money to the Kid's Need To Read foundation so that's motivation right there!
5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time? Get up and move, at least once an hour! It will really help your energy levels stay up! Drink plenty of water, and just relax and have fun!

Stats:
Starting Hour 1-7:30am
1st book: Kat, Incorrigible
Starting pg: 113
Food: Coffee, Water, BREAKFAST!
Ending Time: 8:00 am (30 minutes read)
Pages read: ( ended 143)-30 pages
Notes: I had to get the morning stuff done for my kidlet. He needed hugs and kisses, and food of course! So definitely not the most reading productive hour, but gotta love the huggles! :)

Hour 2 -8:00am
1st book (still): Kat, Incorrigible
Starting pg: 143
Food: coffee, water
Ending Time: 9:00am
Pages read: (ended 217) 74
Notes: Kat is such a fun book!

Hour 3: 9:00 am
1st book (still): Kat, Incorrigible*Finished*
Starting pg: 217
Food: diet dr. pepper
Ending Time: 10am
Pages read: 78
Notes: Finished Kat, now onto The Dead-tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan!

Hour 4: 10:00 am
2nd book: The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
Starting pg: 1
Food: none
Ending Time: 11am
Pages read: 43
Notes: Next hour I'm taking a break to hang out with the kiddo! I'll be back at noon to continue reading!

Hour 5: 11am-12noon
BREAKING FOR THE HOUR


Hour 6: 12-1pm
2nd book: The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
Starting pg: 43
Food: Humus dip with pita bread/diet dr. pepper
Ending Time: 1pm
Pages read: (ended pg. 78) 35
Notes: TDTW is so awesome but my little man has been pretty antsy wanting to play and talk. I can't say no to his cute-ness so yeah...distractions ahoy!

Hour 7: 1-2pm
2nd book: The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
Starting pg: 78
Food: water
Ending Time: 2pm
Pages read: (ending page 139) 61
Notes: Soooo good! I'm loving this book so much! I can't wait to review it!


Hour 8: 2-3pm
2nd book: The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
Starting pg: 140
Food: water
Ending Time: 3pm
Pages read: (ending at 205) 65
Notes: feeling very tired...might need to ingest some sugar and caffeine soon! lol

Hour 9: 3-4pm
2nd book: The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
Starting pg: 205
Food: humus and chips and diet. dr. pepper
Ending Time: 4pm
Pages read: 26
Notes: I spent a good deal of time working on my posts for my stint as a co-host. I didn't read much this hour.

Hour 10: 4-5pm
Notes: Didn't read much. I was organizing my posts for co-hosting.

Hour 11: 5-6pm
2nd book: The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
Starting pg: 231
Food: water
Ending Time: 6pm
Pages read: (ending 243) 12
Note: Spent a good chunk of this hour again working on my posts for my co-hosting duties!


Hour 12: 6-7pm
2nd book: The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
Starting pg: 243
Food: chicken nuggets and fries....super healthy *eye rolls*
Ending Time: 6:55pm
Pages read: (ending 252) 9 whole wussy pages...
Note: Starting my co-hosting duties now...will try to read if I can, but I doubt it! I'll be back around 11pm (ish)


Hour 17: 11-12am
2nd book: The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
Starting pg: 243
Food: coffee
Ending Time: 12am
Pages read: (ending) 258) 15 pages
Note: I don't expect to read a bunch this hour..my cohosting duties were fun but a bit tiring so I'll be up and down trying to get the blood back into my legs! I'll do my best this hour though! :)



Hour 18:
Guys I'm zonked. I can't stay up anymore. Everything looks fuzzy and I've read the same sentence about three times. I'm not a young whipper snapper anymore!

Have fun! I will do my totals tomorrow! I had such a great time co-hosting and would definitely do it again!

Bye and keep on reading! :)

Friday, April 8, 2011

My Read-a-Thon Pre-Post



AH! It's tomorrow! Holy Crap I'm excited! I'm getting my snackage ready and my books piled high! I'm not going to list them, as I will be on co-hosting duty! OMG! The 7pm-11pm (CST) block of the 'thon, so I probably won't get a heckava lot of reading in during those hours, but I will try! My plan is to graze along my TBR stack the whole time, so I get some of it cut down!

Anyhoodle, I am also going to be pledging a donation to the Kid's Need To Read organization. For every book I finish (start to end) I'll donate $5! I'm going to aim on 3 books in total, but definitely going to push for more!



This is a wonderful charity that donates books to underfunded schools and public libraries, among other facilities. I was made aware of it by listening to one of my favorite actors Nathan Fillion speak about his involvement with it! It's a great thing to help schools and libraries get books into the hands of kids! I've donated to them before and feel confident that they do what they say they do, with the money given to them.

If you do want to sponsor me, please leave a comment so I know and can thank you very muchly!

Monday, April 4, 2011

Blog Tour: The Shepherd


About the Book:
Marcus Williams and Francis Ackerman Jr. both have a talent for hurting people. Marcus, a former New York City homicide detective, uses his abilities to protect others, while Ackerman uses his gifts to inflict pain and suffering. When both men become unwilling pawns in a conspiracy that reaches to the highest levels of our government, Marcus finds himself in a deadly game of cat and mouse trapped between a twisted psychopath and a vigilante with seemingly unlimited resources. Aided by a rogue FBI agent and the vigilante’s beautiful daughter -a woman with whom he’s quickly falling in love- Marcus must expose the deadly political conspiracy and confront his past while hunting down one of the most cunning and ruthless killers in the world.

My Review:
This book was very well written and fun to read. I enjoyed delving into the mind of a madman..a killer, to see what was hidden under the surface. The action was actiony enough that I think that even the most hardcore fans of the genre would simply devour this one!

This is one complex book. There are so many layers to this plot that it would take a huge post to explain! This is GOOD! This isn't some fluff piece. This is a excellent example of the aciton-thriller genre! Ethan Cross is very adept at creating interesting characters that make you think and want to keep reading! This book was basically crack for me, which is weird because this genre usually doesn't have that type of hold on me.

I definitely recommend this book! Do not let the (I'm sorry Mr. Cross) cheesy looking cover fool you! The story inside is marvelous!


What are you Reading? 4/4




Last week was not perfect, nor was it close. But personally was a good week! *I explained in my Sunday post* So even though I failed to stick to my planning. I am not upset with myself. I just have to get back into gear and not mess up this week! So here goes!

Blog Tour:
The Shepherd by Ethan Cross-Blog date TODAY!

Scheduled Reading:
Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis
The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens


Upcoming Events:
April 9th! It's so close!!!! My starting line post will be up probably Friday at midnight! That's how excited I am for this! Omg! :)

Sunday, April 3, 2011

The Sunday Salon for 4/3

The Sunday Salon.com


Well my reading plans fell flat. I wished I had a good excuse. I just got lazy again. Ah well, what do they say? It takes 28 days to form a habit? Is that right? So here is to another week and another try to get organized again! Bright side!
I have my planner out and I'm gonna be a planning this week! It's super important and super exciting! Saturday is READ-A-THON DAY! I'm all signed up to participate and to HOST! Woot woot!

If you haven't signed up...get your butt over to the sign-up sheet and get your books sorted out!
Dooo eeetttt! You know you want to! It's so so so so fun! Click the button^^ Peeer pressure!

On a confessional type note, I have to admit to two very flimsy excuses for the not reading as much this last week thing.

One being the fact that I took on a few extra hours at work. Yes I work at home, but I still do WORK. I have to make the money so I can keep my book habit monkey fed and watered, right? OH yeah and those pesky little thingies called bills. Ah well. That's excuse numeral uno.

Excuse number two is this thing:
This game is creepy goodness and wonderful! I have been wanting to play it for AGES and I finally got my hands on a copy of it! So when I am not cleaning or working, this is what I have been doing. Playing til my eyes were droopy. Yes, I am a geek. I'm cool with that.

So there you have it. Today I will try to get as much reading in. I have some nifty things in store for you guys soon!




Friday, April 1, 2011

New Read-a-Long! John Adams by David McCullough


Wallace over at Unputdownables is hosting a read-a-long for this book! I am really digging on the idea of trying to read a biography like this, but I know I'll need the interaction with other people to help me out along the way. I am waiting on my book to arrive, so I won't be on time for the first two posts but I will play catch up as fast as I can!

Here is the schedule:

READING SCHEDULE:

Week #/ dates :: Chapters to Read

Week One/ April 1-7 :: ch. 1
Week Two/ April 8-14 :: ch. 2
Week Three/ April 15-21:: ch. 3
Week Four/ April 22-28 :: ch. 4
Week Five/ April 29- May 5 :: ch. 5
Week Six/ May 6-12 :: ch. 6
Week Seven/ May 13-19 :: ch. 7
Week Eight/ May 20-26 :: ch. 8
Week Nine/ May 27-June 2 :: ch. 9
Week Ten/ June 3-June 9 :: ch. 10
Week Eleven/ June 10-16 :: ch. 11
Week Twelve/ June 17-23 :: ch. 12

POSTING SCHEDULE:

Post #/ date post should be up on blog:

Start up Post/ April 1
Week One Review/ April 8
Week Two Review/ April 15
Week Three Review/ April 22
Week Four Review/ April 29
Week Five Review/ May 6
Week Six Review/ May 13
Week Seven Review/ May 20
Week Eight Review/ May 27
Week Nine Review/ June
Week Ten Review/ June 10
Week Eleven Review/ June 17
Week Twelve Review (Final Review)/ June 24


Click the button to join up! I can't wait til I can crack this one open!

March Summary

So March was a fun yet rough month for me, both personally and "professionally." Luckily for me April is going to be packed with fun things! The Read-a-Thon is the 9th and my son turns 7 on the 15th! Woot! So yeah, I'm excited! Happy April everyone!

I didn't get a ton read this month but I'm proud of my totals!

March
  1. The Shepherd-Ethan Cross
  2. Dead Reckoning-Caitlin Rother
  3. Outlander-Diana Gabaldon
  4. Heat Wave-Richard Castle (ebook)
  5. Letters From Home-Kristina McMorris
  6. Murder Takes the Cake-Gayle Trent
  7. The Silenced-Brett Battles
How did you do in March?