Friday Spotlite #1

I decided to make a new meme! :D

Every two weeks, I will spotlight a blog that I think is awesome! It won't necessarily be only book blogs. I'm open to all nominations if you have any. You can leave them in a comment or email me.

This week's Spotlite is on . . . .

LIFE of the INSANE FRESHMAN

This blog was started a few days ago by my BFF Leanne; she had a blog about her 8th grade life, and now she's blogging about being a high school freshman. Be sure to check it out! :)

Until the 9th,

Happy Reading!

Max by James Patterson

Max (Maximum Ride, #5; The Protectors, #2)

By James Patterson

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company, 2009

309 pages, paperback

Date Finished: 9/8/2011

Genres: Young Adult, Action, Adventure, Romance, Coming of Age, Fantasy

Just when Max and the Flock are settling into blissful freedom, a hoard of monstrous Machine Geeks come a-knockin'. These unholy hybrids are at the beck and call of Mr. Chu, a megalomaniac of uncommon intensity. James Patterson's Maximum Ride novel puts the pedal to the metal.
~from goodreads.com~

~First Line: "There."
~Last Line: " 'Is that a good thing or a bad thing?' "

Review: This addition to the well-known Maximum Ride series was fantabulous! Once I'd started it, I didn't want to put it down! :D

The flock is going to Hawaii this time, which I'm sure we all agree is far better than Antarctica. When Max's mom, Dr. Martinez, gets captured, Max isn't exactly thrilled. She's ready to fight to the death to rescue her mom.

The plot for Max was really awesome. I'm so glad that Fang and Max's relationship finallt got farther. I was really hoping they would just get it together already. Max "kind of" admits to being jealous of Bridget (you remember her from The Final Warning, right?). But anyway, everything else was really awesome, too. More kick-butt action, but it really wasn't as much in this installation. Plus, the Voice makes an appearance. And Max even gains an ability! It's pretty neat :) Oh! Fang gains the same ability Max does, and the ability they gained is one Angel already has.(Have fun guessing! :) )

My favorite character from this book was . . . I'm really not sure, actually. I guess they were all my favorites, lol. You can't hate on the flock, man!

Overall, I really loved this book. If you've been keeping up with my reviews of this series, you;ll notice that all five books have gotten a 5-Wing rating :P. That ought to tell you something!

Thursday Interpretation #19 & Library Unveiled (first vlog!) #9

Thursday Interpretations is a "meme," which means that you may participate in this on your blog, but I won't be advertising it nor adding a Linky for links to your post/s.

Anyway, Thursday Interpretation will be a weekly post where I post a motivational quote (and/or a book quote) and tell you my feelings about it. You are more than welcome to post a comment telling how you feel about the quote.

*Remember that these are only my opinions. They are not influenced by anyone else.*

This week's motivational quote:

"My momma always said life was like a box of chocolate. You never know what you're gonna get." ~Forest Gump

My Thoughts: I love this quote :). End of story.
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This meme was started by my good 'ole blogging friend, The Mad Scientist @ Steampunkery & Book Reviews; every Thursday, you are supposed to post 5 books from your shelf and maybe give a snippet of your thoughts about the book. You can use physical books, ebooks, audios, whatever you have that makes up your library :). This week I'm unveiling:

What's in your library?

Guest Review #6 - Leanne

It's been quite a while since my bestie Leanne was on here, but here she is!! She's prepared a review for us today; enjoy!
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Wow. This book was AMAZING. I have never read anything like it, or similar. The story line was very put together and one of a kind. The world Lauren DeStefano created is amazing, but she didn't really connect the current world to the one she created. The cover art is beautiful and it really pertains to the story. Rhine is so relatable; nobody wants to be a caged bird, or with someone you dont love. I really enjoyed this book and hope to read more from her.

**I have read MANY bad reviews on Goodreads about how bad of a book it was because of the situation, blah blah, but it's a YA book, so I don't really mind that this world is so diffrent and not scientifically possible.

Definitely 4 pins.

Teaser Tuesday #36

This meme is hosted weekly by MizB @ Should Be Reading. Anyone can participate, even if you don't have a blog (you can post back in MizB's comments).
*Grab your current read.

*Open to a random page.

*Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from that page. You can share more if you want!

*BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!!! (Make sure that what you share doesn't give away too much information. You don't want to ruin the book for others!)

*Share the title and autor as well, so that Teaser participants may add to their TBR list/s if they enjoy your teasers!

*Leave a link in the comment section of MizB's blog so that others can check out your teasers! You may leave your teasers here with the book title and author if you do not have a blog. (MizB's Blog)

This week's teasers come from page 64 in Everlost by Neal Shusterman (GoodReads, Amazon):

"They were a part of Everlost now, held fast, and held forever by the memories of a mourning world, and by the dignity of the souls who got where they were going on that dark September day."

I borrowed this one from my school library; it was actually due back today :)


Happy Reading!

Music Monday #24

Music Monday is a "meme"* that I will try to post every week or biweekly. In these posts, I will provide you with what song, artist, CD, etc. I am currently into the most.

* Meme is quoted because I will not be providing a Linky for you to add you links to, nor will I be advertising these posts. However, if you would like to participate and leave a link or your music info in a comment, I have no problem with that.

[As you all may have noticed, I never had a movie up in the last few posts. For this reason, I have deleted the movie portion from these posts; however, you may still have movies in your posts or leave movie info in the comments.]

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Music

1) Pumped Up Kicks by Adele. I've heard this song on the radio a thousand times, and never knew who put it out or the name. I figured out the artist, and remembered to YouTube it. I absolutely love this song, and the chorus has the strangest lyrics. HAven't read between the lines yet :D

Song Rating: 4.5 Wings
Video:




Happy Listening!

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Graceling (Seven Kingdoms trilogy, #1)

By Kristin Cashore

Publisher: Graphia, 2008

471 pages, paperback

Date Finished: 31/7/2011

Genres: Young Adult, Action, Adventure, Romance, Fantasy, Coming of Age

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.

When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.
~from goodreads.com~

~First Line: "In these dungeons the darkness was complete, but Katsa had a map in her mind."
~Last Line: "And outside, the world awaited them."

Review: I reread this book for some reason that I cannot remember. I believe it was for a challenge. Anyway, I read this last year and really liked it; happy memories :).

The main character, Katsa, is a Graceling, her Grace being fighting. She meets Po, an equally, if not better, skilled Graceling fighter. Her life takes an unexpected turn.

I loved Po's character. He genuinely cared so much for Katsa, and he always made you laugh at the right moments. Even though Katsa was very skeptical when she first met him, I instantly fell in love with the Lienid prince. Again :D.

The plot of this book is/was definitely original, although some things do kind of remind me of The Hunger Games. But that's another story for another day! Everything in this novel held my attention. Katsa's behavior in particular always kept me wondering. You never truly know exactly what she's going to do next.

Overall, this novel was agreesive, like Katsa, yet adorable, like Po. I will be trying to finally read Fire sometime before the year is out. :p

The Week Ahead... (August 22-28)

Every Sunday, I will let you all know what to look forward to in the upcoming week: reviews, guest posts, memes, whatever I think/know I will be putting up for your viewing. The things I post will not always be followed out, but I'll try. Vice versa, I might end up posting something that isn't mentioned in this post.

For the week of August 22nd - 28th...

Monday:
~ Music Monday

Tuesday:
~ Teaser Tuesday
~ Review of Max

Wednesday:
~ Guest Review from Leanne :)
~ Need a new Wedn meme! Please send suggestions!!!

Thursday:
~ Thursday Interpretation & Library Unveiled
~ Review of Beautiful Creatures

Friday:
~ Friday Spotlight

Saturday:
~ What's your status? mini-post + this week's goals and pages

Sunday:
~ In My Mailbox
~ Review of Everlost

Have a great week everybody!!! :D

In My Mailbox #29: My First-Ever Vlog!!!

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted every week by The Story Siren. To find out how to participate and the "official" details, check out the IMM page.

Anyone can participate in IMM and you are not limited to sharing books that arrive via your mailbox. You can also share books that you've bought or books that you've gotten at the library.

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So this is my first-ever vlog for IMM!!!! So excited! Please, let me know what you think. I'd love to hear any suggestions you have :)



Borrowed from friend:
~~Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz

Borrowed from school library:
~~Everlost by Neal Shusterman

Received for Review:
~~Space by Emily Sue Harvey

Gifts:
~~Necklace & bookmark from Gulf Shores :D


Happy Reading! Leave a link to your IMM in the comments, and I'll be sure to stop by!

Vlog: What's your status? (20/8/2011)

For the entire month of August, Marla (Starting the Next Chapter) will be hosting WYS as her contest prize :D. If you are participating and have a link, please post it in her comments! Thanks! Click HERE to go to her post!

The following will just be a quick post so that I can still update without all the hassle and formal-ness. Also, this is my first ever vlog!!!:
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Logo provided by Sonny @ Literary Junkie!

Reviews This Week:

~none

Memes This Week:

~Teaser Tuesday


Finished This Week:

~none :(

Currently Reading:

~The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Have read 59%.
~The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. On page 149.
~Tower of Parlen Min by Matt Xell. Have read 49%.

To Be Read Next:

~Eragon by Christopher Paolini

What To Buy Next:

~not sure, so . . . nothing :)


Happy Reading everyone! :D

Teaser Tuesday #35

This meme is hosted weekly by MizB @ Should Be Reading. Anyone can participate, even if you don't have a blog (you can post back in MizB's comments).
*Grab your current read.

*Open to a random page.

*Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from that page. You can share more if you want!

*BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!!! (Make sure that what you share doesn't give away too much information. You don't want to ruin the book for others!)

*Share the title and autor as well, so that Teaser participants may add to their TBR list/s if they enjoy your teasers!

*Leave a link in the comment section of MizB's blog so that others can check out your teasers! You may leave your teasers here with the book title and author if you do not have a blog. (MizB's Blog)

This week's teasers come from pages 101 and 55 (respectively) in Max by James Patterson (GoodReads, Amazon):

"You could lock the Gasman in a padded cell with some dental floss and a bowl of Jell-O, and he'd find a way to make something explode."

"Oh, the poetry of a bird kid. Remind me to collect it all into one emotional, mushy volume someday, under some fake, poetic-sounding name, like Gabrielle Charbonnet de la Something-Schmancy. (I'm not kidding. I saw that name on a backpack in France. Poor kid.)"

I've had this one for a while.. Finally getting around to reading it :) LOVED it!

Happy Reading!

What's your status? (13/8/2011)

For the entire month of August, Marla (Starting the Next Chapter) will be hosting WYS as her contest prize :D. If you are participating and have a link, please post it in her comments! Thanks! Click HERE to go to her post!

The following will just be a quick post so that I can still update without all the hassle and formal-ness:
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Reviews This Week:

~Dorian Gray (movie)

Memes This Week:

~In My Mailbox
~Music Monday

Finished This Week:

~Max (Maximum Ride, #5; The Protectors, #2) by James Patterson. Finished on 9/8/2011. Loved this book! Now to get my hands on Fang and Angel :D

~Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles, #1) by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl. Finished on 13/8/2011. LOVED this book!!!!! Can't wait to buy Beautiful Darkness.

Currently Reading:

~The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Have read 40%. This book is really awesome so far!!!! Can't wait to go see the movie :D

~The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. On page 6. Started reading this last August, but it just didn't work out. Now, however, I'm determined to finish it!

~Tower of Parlen Min by Matt Xell. Have read 49%. Didn't get to finish it for the readathons, but I want to try to have it finished by the 21st.

To Be Read Next:

~Paradise 21 by Aubrie Dionne

What To Buy Next:

~not sure, so . . . nothing :)


Happy Reading everyone! :D

Music Monday #23

Music Monday is a "meme"* that I will try to post every week or biweekly. In these posts, I will provide you with what song, artist, CD, etc. I am currently into the most.

* Meme is quoted because I will not be providing a Linky for you to add you links to, nor will I be advertising these posts. However, if you would like to participate and leave a link or your music info in a comment, I have no problem with that.

[As you all may have noticed, I never had a movie up in the last few posts. For this reason, I have deleted the movie portion from these posts; however, you may still have movies in your posts or leave movie info in the comments.]

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Music

1) Someone Like You by Adele. This is definitely one of my favorite-est songs on her latest CD, 21. I suggest you get the CD. It really is fantabulous :)

Song Rating: 5 Wings
Video:




Happy Listening!

Dorian Gray (Movie!)

Dorian Gray

Directed By: Oliver Parker

Release Date: September 9, 2009

Length: 112 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes)

Date Watched: 24/7/2011

Review: I've had this DVD for quite a few months. I finally had the chance to watch it; I have to admit that even thuogh I haven't read Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, off of which it's based, I definitely enjoyed the movie. I might even rewatch it sometime soon :D.

The main character, Dorian Gray, at first meeting him, struck me as a very thoughtful man, someone who thought his way through things. Harry, his best friend and somewhat of what I'd call a mentor, definitely changes young Dorian's way of thinking about the world. That, and Dorian becomes addicted to have sex with every pretty woman his eyes land on. Harry unquestionably brought out that side of Mr. Gray. You can see the influence that Harry made on him.

The portrait painted of Dorian by one of Harry's friends was quite the talk while it was being displayed. But as Dorian's general attitude changed, the portrait morphed into a scary zombie-looking Dorian. It was pretty intense, but it still had an appealing air to it that made me want to keep watching. I'm still trying to figure out exactly how that picture was the reason that Dorian became immortal. Sadly, I didn't start paying complete attention to the TV screen until about a quarter through the film. Will definitely have to rewatch soon LOL. :)

Overall, I really liked this movie, and I'm looking forward to reading The Picture of Dorian Gray sometime possibly before the year is out.

and a half :)

The Week Ahead... (August 8-14)

Every Sunday, I will let you all know what to look forward to in the upcoming week: reviews, guest posts, memes, whatever I think/know I will be putting up for your viewing. The things I post will not always be followed out, but I'll try. Vice versa, I might end up posting something that isn't mentioned in this post.

For the week of August 8th - 14th...

Monday:
~ Music Monday

Tuesday:
~ Teaser Tuesday
~ Movie Review of The Warrior's Way !!!

Wednesday:
~ Waiting on Wednesday

Thursday:
~ Thursday Interpretation & Library Unveiled
~ Review of Graceling

Friday:
~ Book Blogger Hop & Fun Friday

Saturday:
~ What's your status?
~ GRs readathon info (was supposed to do this last week, forgot)

Sunday:
~ In My Mailbox
~ Review of Max

Have a great week everybody!!! :D

In My Mailbox #28: School's Back in Session

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted every week by The Story Siren. To find out how to participate and the "official" details, check out the IMM page.

Anyone can participate in IMM and you are not limited to sharing books that arrive via your mailbox. You can also share books that you've bought or books that you've gotten at the library.

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Bought from store:

--The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
--The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

Netgalley:
--The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

I have Dragon Tattoo on my Kindle, but it being in paperback will make it easier to read. And finally got ahold of Played With Fire. :) Can't wait to start on The Girl of Fire and Thorns either!!


Happy Reading! Leave a link to your IMM in the comments, and I'll be sure to stop by!

What's your status? (6/8/2011)

For the entire month of August, Marla (Starting the Next Chapter) will be hosting WYS as her contest prize :D. If you are participating and have a link, please post it in her comments! Thanks! Click HERE to go to her post!

The following will just be a quick post so that I can still update without all the hassle and formal-ness:
_____________________________________________

Reviews This Week:

~Sucker Punch (movie)

Memes This Week:

~In My Mailbox
~Music Monday
~Teaser Tuesday
~Waiting on Wednesday
~Thursday Interpretation & Library Unveiled

Finished This Week:

~Graceling by Kristin Cashore. Finished on 31/7/2011. I was rereading this one for a few challenges, and now I can finally read Fire. Hopefully I'll get to it soon!

Currently Reading:

~The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Have read 20%. This book is really awesome so far!!!! Can't wait to go see the movie :D

~Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl. On page 168. I'm loving this novel so far! Now I see what I was missing out on!

~Tower of Parlen Min by Matt Xell. Have read 49%. I'm steadily getting farther in this one because I'm trying to finish it this week for a readathon mini-challenge. I think I can do it. The book is getting even better :).

To Be Read Next:

~Max by James Patterson
~Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (reread)

What To Buy Next:

~The Girl Who Played With Fire. Might get it today!


Happy Reading everyone! :D

Thursday Interpretation #18 & Library Unveiled #8

Thursday Interpretations is a "meme," which means that you may participate in this on your blog, but I won't be advertising it nor adding a Linky for links to your post/s.

Anyway, Thursday Interpretation will be a weekly post where I post a motivational quote (and/or a book quote) and tell you my feelings about it. You are more than welcome to post a comment telling how you feel about the quote.

*Remember that these are only my opinions. They are not influenced by anyone else.*

This week's motivational quote:

"Be thankful for the things that make you different. Don't cover them up." ~Taylor Swift

My Thoughts: If you have a feature, etc. that makes you different. Be proud of it and show it off to the world!
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This meme was started by my good 'ole blogging friend, The Mad Scientist @ Steampunkery & Book Reviews; every Thursday, you are supposed to post 5 books from your shelf and maybe give a snippet of your thoughts about the book. You can use physical books, ebooks, audios, whatever you have that makes up your library :). This week I'm unveiling:

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson:

I bought this one sometime last year I believe, and still haven't gotten around to reading it. And I've already read SPEAK. Which I bought after this one... So sad..

The Sweet Far Thing (Gemma Doyle trilogy, #3) by Libba Bray:

I love this series! I have to hurry to read this one, because I'm suddenly very anxious to find out what happens between Gemma and Circe :D

Deception Point by Dan Brown:

I've been trying to read this book for the past two years. I never seem to be able to finish it though. I will have to sit down with this one eventually and do nothing but read.

The Princess Diaries (The Princess Diaries, #1) by Meg Cabot:

I've read this one before, but want to reread so that I can read the sequel, and eventually, so that I can finish off the entire series :).

Wicked: Witch & Curse (Wicked, #1-2) by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie:

I have had this one for a really long time and still haven't gotten around to it. I know it feels so abandoned. Plan to read it sometime either before 2011 is out, or before I finish 9th grade.

What's in your library?

Waiting on Wednesday #13: City of Lost Souls

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over @ Breaking the Spine; we are to give a book that we are anxiously anticipating the release of. I probably won't be participating every week, but I will try to post every so often.

This week's spotlight novel:

City of Lost Souls
By Cassandra Clare
Publication Date: May 8th, 2012

From GoodReads.com:

In Book 5: City of Lost Souls, the Shadowhunters struggle to piece together their shattered world after a betrayal by one of their own leaves them reeling.

What book are you looking forward to?

Teaser Tuesday #34

This meme is hosted weekly by MizB @ Should Be Reading. Anyone can participate, even if you don't have a blog (you can post back in MizB's comments).
*Grab your current read.

*Open to a random page.

*Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from that page. You can share more if you want!

*BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!!! (Make sure that what you share doesn't give away too much information. You don't want to ruin the book for others!)

*Share the title and autor as well, so that Teaser participants may add to their TBR list/s if they enjoy your teasers!

*Leave a link in the comment section of MizB's blog so that others can check out your teasers! You may leave your teasers here with the book title and author if you do not have a blog. (MizB's Blog)

This week's teasers come from page 255 in Graceling by Kristin Cashore (GoodReads, Amazon):


"She'd seen the hills of Estill, but she'd never seen mountains. She'd never seen silver trees that climbed straight up into the sky, and rock and snow that climbed even highe, to peaks impossibly high that shone gold in the sun."

I am rereading this one so that I can start the sequel, Fire. Also reading it for a challenge that I'm determined to finish :)

Happy Reading!

Music Monday #22

Music Monday is a "meme"* that I will try to post every week or biweekly. In these posts, I will provide you with what song, artist, CD, etc. I am currently into the most.

* Meme is quoted because I will not be providing a Linky for you to add you links to, nor will I be advertising these posts. However, if you would like to participate and leave a link or your music info in a comment, I have no problem with that.

[As you all may have noticed, I never had a movie up in the last few posts. For this reason, I have deleted the movie portion from these posts; however, you may still have movies in your posts or leave movie info in the comments.]

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Music

1) Right There by Nicole Scherzinger. Heard this for the first time on our way to Atlanta a month ago, and fell in love with it. Then I heard it again in the car coming back, and I figured out who it was buy. Def my favorite love song as of right now :) !

Song Rating: 4.5 Wings
Music Video:




Happy Listening!