Sarah Says

My Last Post at Blogger...

2011-07-29T08:23:00.003-04:00

Hi guys! So, this will be my last post here at Blogger. I'm going camping for the weekend, and when I get back on Monday, August 1st my blog will officially be at sarahsaysread.com .

I know that I said in a previous post that I'd be able to transfer Google Friend Connect over to Wordpress, but I was wrong. Something about wordpress.com versus wordpress.org, and I guess Wordpress doesn't allow javascript... I don't know. I tried, and it doesn't look like it's going to be possible. So I really, really hope that you guys will come on over to my new blog and subscribe there.

For those of you that use a reader, you probably already know how to add blogs to it - either hit the subscribe button on my blog, or copy the URL and paste into a "add a subscription" type of button on your reader.

For those that only use the Blogger dashboard, copy my URL and then go to your dashboard - click "Add" underneath the blogs that you're currently following, and paste my URL in there.

Sorry that I couldn't make it easier :-/ I tried.

On another note, I'm really excited about my switch to Wordpress. I've been thinking about it for months, and I've slowly been setting it up. My sister Heather at All You Need Designs made me a new header, and it is ADORABLE. You can head over there now - all of my posts have already been imported.

Along with the switch to my new blog, you might see some small changes around Sarah Says Read. For instance, I might include a more personal post every now and then. I have a separate, personal blog on Blogger called Enjoy the Little Things, but I think I'm going to close that down as well, and just do the occasional post-about-me thing on the new blog when I feel like it. My blog will definitely be about books first and foremost! But I hope that those of you who follow me over to Wordpress will enjoy seeing the occasional glimpse into my personal / social life.

For a few weeks, you'll see me participating in more blog hops - I want to get the word out about my new blog, and that's one of the good, fun ways to do it. Even though it will be a bit of a pain, considering that I normally work on Fridays and the work computer sucks... but yes. So expect some more memes during the first month or so that Sarah Says Read is up. This won't affect my review content at all - I'll still read and post reviews as often as I can.

I'll keep Blogger active for a little while, to see that everyone gets the message and has time to switch over to the new blog.

SO, see you guys on Monday at Sarah Says Read ! And thank you to EVERY ONE of my followers who joined me over the past year and a half or so. You guys are wonderful :-)

XOXO,

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

2011-07-27T09:48:00.005-04:00

So... this was different. I picked it up because I heard that it was recommended reading for sci-fi fans, and that it was on some school reading lists. Basically the book is about Charlie, a slow 30-year old with an I.Q. of 68. Because he shows a lot of motivation and a strong desire to learn, he's chosen to be the first human for an experimental surgery that could potentially increase his intelligence. The surgery went really well for a lab mouse named Algernon, and now it's Charlie's chance. The surgery is considered a success and Charlie's intellingence significantly increases, even past that of the scientists that did it to him. But when Algernon starts to show signs of regression, Charlie has to figure out if he's about to lose all that he gained.

This was really interesting. In the beginning, Charlie's writing is misspelled and full of bad grammer, so as the book goes on and all that changes and you can almost "see" him getting more intelligent. The rate that he learns at is incredible - he learns new languages, and becomes a genius. It's not all great though - as he gets smarter, he realizes how mistreated he was when he was too slow to understand. The people that he thought of as friends were actually really mena to him, always making fun of him and laughing at him. He also almost develops a split personality, so that he actually feels like the old Charlie is watching and waiting to come back.

Even as a genius, he has emotional problems that make this overall a sad book. Whether he's unusually slow or crazy intelligent, he's kind of a tragic character. It definitely makes you think about all of the mentally ill people that you see in the world though, and how sad their lives are.

I definitely recommend this book for middle school or high school students (there's some sex in the book, but nothing really graphic). I think kids have the most to gain from this book, because kids tend to be mean to each other, and I know that a lot of kids pick on the child with mental disabilities if there's one in their school or in their neighborhood. Maybe this book would help kids see that these slow kids are people too, and see how cruel it would be to make fun of them. It also make students appreciate that they have SO much potential to learn, and it shouldn't be wasted because some people never have that chance.

Sarah Says: 3 stars

P.S. - The only thing that makes this a "sci-fi" book is the experimental brain surgery that makes people smarter. Otherwise, and book is just like the world now, except in the 1960's because that's when it was written.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Tackle Tough Issues

2011-07-26T09:17:00.014-04:00

Good morning!!!! It's a great Tuesday, because this is the 2nd day of my vacation :-) A whole ten days off of work... there aren't words to describe the awesomeness. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish, and this week's topic is Top Ten Books That Tackle Tough Issues.

Before I get to the list, just another reminder that as of August 1st, my blog will be at sarahsaysread.com - you can visit there for a preview.

Anyways, ONWARD!

1. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin: This is an AWESOME sci-fi book, about a traveler that comes to a planet in which there are no genders - the inhabitants only experience gender identities and sexual desires once a month, and during that time they're gender identity could be either male or female. It's one of the great feminist sci-fi books, and definitely a kick-ass read.

2. The Color of Water by James McBride: A great memoir about a bi-racial man and his relationship with his white mom. His mom was a Jewish woman who made the very controversial decision in the 1940's to marry a black man. A great book about bi-racial relationships, and race issues back then.

3. More Guns, Less Crime by John R Lott: A study about the correlations between gun ownership and crime rates, the findings of which that show when citizens are allowed and/or encouraged to legally own concealable weapons, crime rates actually decrease.

4. It's Called a Breakup Because It's Broken by Greg Behrendt: Sadly, repeat relationships are a big issue among men and women. We all know those couples that break-up and then get back together every other week - this book helps you realize that once you break-up, there's never a good reason to get back together.

5. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card: To teach kids that if someone's beating them up after school, to HIT BACK HARD.

6. The Butter Battle Book by Dr. Seuss: I think it's great that Dr. Seuss is the author of one of the greatest books about nuclear proliferation, and how it's possible that the world could be destroyed by a nuclear war.

7. He's Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt: Again, this is for those women that just don't seem to realize that the guy she's chasing isn't giving her the time of day. This book will hopefully give some girls higher standards, and make them realize that a guy will make it very obvious if he likes you. They should pass this book out to middle school and high school girls.

8. Beauty Queens by Libba Bray: Man I loved this book. It's hilarious, plus it takes on a bajillion issues.... race, sexuality, consumerism, the media, self-esteem, intelligence, vanity, feminism, sexism, transgender identities, etc....

9. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan: The author makes the very obvious point that people don't need nutritionists, doctors, diets, etc to tell them what to eat - as humans, we KNOW what to eat - real food, not a lot of it. You know, planets and animals, that's really all you need.

10. Don't Die, My Love by Lurlene McDaniel: I loved McDaniel's books when I was a pre-teen, they all talk about different terminal illnesses. They're actually really sad, I don't know what was wrong with me that I loved these books so much. But this one was my favorite, about a perfect high school couple - except the boyfriend gets a rare form of cancer.

So, those are my tough issues books! What are some of yours? And please, please don't say Thirteen Reasons Why, I have serious issues with that book.

DNF: Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand

2011-07-24T15:45:00.003-04:00

Ahhh... my very first DNF post. Normally, when I decide to quit a book I just don't bother reviewing it. After all, I didn't finish it so how can I give it a fair review? I'm doing it now because this is one of the books that won my July poll. I had actually been looking forward to this book for along time; the premise sounded interesting, and I'll admit it - the cover totally lured me in.

Basically, three women (along with two little kids) go to a beach house on Nantucket to try to escape their problems for a bit and get themselves sorted out. Vicki is a married mother of two young boys, who just found out that she has lung cancer. Brenda (Vicki's sister) was recently fired from her job as a professor for having a relationship with one of her college students. And Melanie (Vicki's best friend) after being told by her husband that he's having an affair, learns that after years of trying she's finally pregnant. These women meet a young college student named Josh, and together they all try to heal, and enjoy their summer on Nantucket.

That's a whole lotta drama, but it all sounded really interesting. Now, I only got through the first 100 pages (book is about 400 pages), so here's why I'm stopping...

1. All the characters sound the same, including Josh. And there aren't really any chapters, so when the story was switching points of view among the characters it was really confusing.

2. One-fourth of the way in, and I have to say that I don't like any of the characters. Vicki strikes me as really negative, self-centered, and kind of stuck up. Melanie is acting like a doormat - her husband confesses to an affair, and instead of raging at him, kicking him out, and divorcing him, she wallows in self-pity and he moves into the guest bedroom. And while I kind of like Brenda for saying what she's thinking and being honest with herself, I can't sympathize with her too much because of course she caused her own problems.

3. The book (well, at least what I've read) occurs for the most part in each character's head - they're thoughts and responses to what's going on. And yet whenever something interesting started to happen, like two of the women arguing with each other, it was glazed over.

That's pretty much it. I don't mind books about tough issues, but this just wasn't for me. It was at turns boring me and annoying me.

Anyways, for those of you that voted for Barefoot... sorry. But July's almost over, and I have a lot of other books I want to get to. I don't want to spend my time dragging through this one. I am open to trying something else by Elin Hilderbrand though, if anyone has a favorite by her that you can suggest.

Since giving this one up, I decided instead to start Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. I'm about half-way through it, so that review should be up in a day or two.

Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

2011-07-23T08:25:00.003-04:00

So, onward with my Outlander-themed re-reads! Keep in mind that this is the third in the series - if you haven't read the first two, it could be pretty spoiler-y.

Also, I own three out of those four covers above... all but the last one, which I believe is the British edition. The plain green is what you find in stores now, but a small part of me really likes the campy old-school covers. This is what happens when I absolutely fall in love with a series though - I will collect has many different copies / editions of the book as possible.

The first time I read Voyager, I didn't like it. The second time I read it, I realized that I actually did like it, and wasn't sure what the deal was with past-Sarah that didn't enjoy it very much. And now on my third time reading it, I have to agree that it actually is one of the best in the series... it's at least as awesome as books 1 & 2.

So at the end of Dragonfly in Amber, Claire, Brianna, and Roger (in 1968) realize that Jamie didn't die at Culloden like they all thought that he did. The first 1/4 of the book contains them all doing further research, to find out if he was still alive - if they could find proof that he was alive roughly 200 years ago, then Claire might be able to travel back through the stones again to him.

That's all the information that the back of the book really gives you... so don't read any farther if you don't want to know what Claire's decision was.

Now seriously, you didn't think this book would be almost 1100 pages long if Claire decided not to go back through the stones, did you? Claire makes the decision to go back and try to find Jamie, so she goes through the stones again and comes out in 1766. Jamie and Claire's being reunited is one of the best things ever - even though this is my third time reading the series, that part of the book totally makes me cry. The reason I think that I didn't originally like this book that much is because from the moment they're reunited, the book gets very hectic. I felt like they never got to take a couple weeks to just catch up and be together. But now I'm all about the fast pace of the book. There's definitely lots of plot, intrigue, and action. Hell, there are PIRATES! Of course that's exciting.

Basically someone dear to Jamie is kidnapped, so Claire and Jamie travel all over the bloody place on a rescue mission. This gets really, really interesting since Jamie is so sea-sick, and almost all of the traveling is on ships. But their adventure also answers some questions that they had, ties off some mysteries / problems, and sets up the next book beautifully.

Some other perks of this book? I love seeing all the different ways in which Jamie and Claire have changed since they've been apart. I love seeing grown-up Fergus. And this book finally clarifies exactly how tall Jamie is - he's 6' 4". I remember debating with the honeyman a while back about how tall Jamie was, so I was excited when I came across that passage.

Anyways, this is a great book in the series. Jamie and Claire are just the best. (I actually miss them when I'm not reading these books.) And despite was Amazon says, it is not the "concluson of a trilogy". There are four more books out, and more to come. I'm already really itching to go re-read the fourth book now, Drums of Autumn, so expect that in the next month or so.

Sarah Says: 5 stars :-)

Come Vote! August Poll is Open!

2011-07-20T08:47:00.008-04:00

Okay guys, the time is here to vote for the book you want me to read and review in August! The poll is on the right sidebar, and all the descriptions below come from http://www.goodreads.com/.

Also, here's a good place for a small announcement - starting August 1st, my blog will no longer be at blogspot. My new url is http://www.sarahsaysread.com/, which you can preview now. If you follow me via google friend connect, nothing should change for you because I'm going to switch it to the new site. However if you follow me in a feed reader, visit the new site to subscribe via email, or add the URL to your reader. So whichever book wins this poll, when I read and review it I'll be posting it to my new blog.

So, let's get to the poll choices!

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - the classic pick

Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor's warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love—and its threatened loss—the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love.

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss - the contemporary lit pick

"Leo Gursky is trying to survive a little bit longer, tapping his radiator each evening to let his upstairs neighbor know he's still alive, drawing attention to himself at the milk counter of Starbucks. But life wasn't always like this: sixty years ago, in the Polish village where he was born, Leo fell in love and wrote a book. And although he doesn't know it, that book also survived: it crossed oceans and generations, and changed lives." Fourteen-year-old Alma was named after a character in that book. She has her hands full keeping track of her little brother Bird (who thinks he might be the Messiah) and taking copious notes in her book, How to Survive in the Wild Volume Three. But when a mysterious letter arrives in the mail she undertakes an adventure to find her namesake and save her family.

Redwall by Brian Jacques - the childhood pick

As the inhabitants of Redwall Abbey bask in the glorious Summer of the Late Rose, all is quiet and peaceful. But things are not as they seem. Cluny the Scourge, the evil one-eyed rat warlord, is hell-bent on destroying the tranquility as he prepares to fight a bloody battle for the ownership of Redwall. This dazzling story in the Redwall series is packed with all the wit, wisdom, humor, and blood-curdling adventure of the other books in the collection, but has the added bonus of taking the reader right back to the heart and soul of Redwall Abbey and the characters who live there.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - the sci-fi pick

Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.
Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox--the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.
Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? Why do we spend so much time between wearing digital watches? For all the answers stick your thumb to the stars. And don't forget to bring a towel!

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - the re-read pick

Guy Montag was a fireman whose job it was to start fires. And he enjoyed his job. He had been a fireman for ten years, and he had never questioned the pleasure of the midnight runs or the joy of watching pages consumed by flames, never questioned anything until he met a seventeen-year-old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid. Then Guy met a professor who told him of a future in which people could think. And Guy Montag suddenly realized what he had to do...

Annnnddd..... VOTE!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Teens Should Be Required to Read

2011-07-19T11:14:00.004-04:00

Hey ya'll! So today is a good day for two reasons: Firstly, it's the 2nd day of me & the honeyman's 4 Year Anniversary! (Yes, our anniversary is actually 3 days long... I'll tell that story some other time). So you know, yay :-) Secondly, it's time for Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is awesome, and I might have trouble limiting myself to only ten picks... it's Ten Books That Should Be Required Reading for Teens.

(Also it should be noted that while a lot of these books are suggested reading for teens now, I never read any of them in school. How the hell that happened, I have no idea.)

1. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card: This book is kind of kick-ass. In a world where kids are trained for battle, Ender himself stands out. I'd make kids read this to teach them to be compassionate and nice, but to defend themselves against bullies. I think the issue of bullies today is really being blow out of proportion, but this book shows what you should do if another kid is beating you for no reason.

2. Beauty Queens by Libba Bray: I just recently read this book, and am obsessed with how much I love it. I think it'd be an important read for teen girls, and it addresses so many issues - beauty, race, gender identity, sexuality, pressure from parents and society, etc... and I think it'd be interesting to see what teen boys could learn from it.

3. The Autobiography of Malcolm X: An awesome book about a really important civil rights figure. Middle schools annoyingly tend to skip Malcolm X and instead harp on and on about MLK Jr., so by the time teens get to high school they should be able to learn about another side of the same issues. Also, one of the best autobiographies I've ever read. It's interesting, thought-provoking, and really illuminating.

4. any Jane Austen book: I wasn't exposed to Austen until I was 22 or something crazy like that. Instead of high schools trying to focus on Shakespeare, they should go the route of Austen instead and leave Shakespeare for college students. That way they're still exposing teens to classic lit and an older version of language, but it's just easier. Plus, it would give the teen boys a hint to be more like the Austen heroes :-)

5. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee: Do I really even need to explain this one?

6. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: A good and really interesting book about what it'd be like to live in a world where you aren't allowed to read books. Hopefully will give the teens an appreciation for books and the ability to read them.

7. Anthem by Ayn Rand: Yes, Rand is kind of a controversial author. But I think that for teens, this could be a really important read. It's about someone living in a uniform society, where everyone is the same, and discovering the idea that he is an individual.

8. 1984 by George Orwell: Can you tell yet that I'm a big fan of teens reading classics and dystopians?

9. Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman: One of my high school teachers gave me this book to read, and stupidly I ignored him. I read it like 7 years later, and it was really good. Definitely makes you contemplate time and such, and I think it'd be good to get more teens thinking about complex scientific issues.

10. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula le Guin: About a visitor coming to a planet where there are no genders. Can you even contemplate what it would be like to live in a genderless society? Exactly.

OKAY, I have to go over ten... these are some others that should be suggested reading for teens... Harry Potter, The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, The Giver by Lois Lowry (duh), The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, Lamb by Christopher Moore, The Princess Bride by William Goldman... okay I think I've run out of steam now.

Also... here are the books that I think teens should NEVER be subjected to. Why some of them are forced on high school kids, I'll never know.

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton: The only book I've ever read that makes a very good case FOR adultery, and it has possibly the stupidest suicide method ever.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger: Ohmygod, I think teens are whiny enough, thank you very much. Although maybe this would give them a taste of their own medicine and make them less whiny. Hmmm....

Moby Dick by Herman Melville: Unless you want teens to end up hating reading, of course.

Go Ask Alice by "Anonymous": This is so obviously some adult trying to scare kids away from drugs. And I hate to tell you, but teens are not stupid enough to swallow this crap. I read it in high school and was insulted that my teachers thought I would believe such a blatant scare tactic.

Anyways, what do you think teens should or should not be required to read?

Borders Likely Closing - and here starts the beginning of a new era

2011-07-18T09:20:00.005-04:00

As some of you may have heard, Borders is once again in trouble. According to this WSJ article, unless a miracle happens it's likely that a group of liquidators will purchase Borders at auction on Tuesday and Borders will go out of business for good. Hell, even if a miracle happens it's only likely to be a temporary solution, keeping Borders alive for another year or two. So here is my thoughts and rants... I'm warning you, I'm pissed.

Borders is my favorite bookstore. It has an awesome membership program, and a good selection. My older sis Heather and I often go there to hang out and drink coffee and buy books. In fact, it's the first place I go to when a new book comes out that I want. So I cannot even articulate how much it's depressing me that by the end of the week, the approx. 400 Borders stores left might be closing.

Now, if Barnes and Noble were closing I would be bummed, because the loss of a bookstore is always a tragic thing. It would mean that there would be NO more bookstores in any of the malls in my area. But Barnes and Noble has been really lacking to me lately - their customer service isn't great, their coupons aren't very good, their membership program sucks. And all they do now is focus on the stupid Nook.

And yes, I'm blaming the closing of Borders for the most part on e-readers. Seems to me that once Borders closes, all other major chain bookstores are next in line. I can so easily see the only bookstores being left in my area only being small, used ones. And eventually not even those existing, and I'll have to hoard all the real print books that I can because they won't even be made anymore. I HATE the stupid digital age.

I understand that some of you think that's extreme, but I don't think so. After all, 4 years ago when the Kindle came out, I said that I thought it would put bookstores out of business. And here we are - Borders is likely closing. Barnes and Noble is still around mainly because they've thrown all their weight behind the damn Nook. But if the Nook is what's saving it right now, then I'm sure the company will realize that B&N can exist completely online and start closing some of it's stores.

I don't understand the public's obsession with e-readers. Were real books actually SO inconvenient to you that you had to purchase a $100-$300 device to download digital books instead? Even ignoring the large cost of the actual e-reader device, e-books aren't really cheaper. A mass market book that's normally $7.99 is still $7.99 on the Kindle, from what I've seen. Trades and hardcovers might be slightly cheaper, but printing a coupon and going to a real bookstore would save you even more money. Yes, you can buy a couple books for only 99 cents. You could also not be lazy and go to a used bookstore or sale and find used books for 99 cents. And for gods' sake, if you bought a print book it would actually be YOURS. You could literally hold it in your hand, and say "This is mine, and only fire or flood could take it away from me." Despite the various promises that these companies make about the e-books being yours, there's nothing stopping them from changing their minds and deleting them. Or their systems could crash. Or your computer could crash. Your e-reader could break and your warranty has expired and you need to buy a whole new stupid e-reader. Or a freaking solar flare could put ALL technology out of commission, and you wouldn't have access to your precious e-books anymore. My only regret in that case is that I wouldn't be able to go online and say "HAHA! I still have all my books!"

I understand that some e-reader owners love being able to download a book, right away. But you could also get in the car and drive to your local bookstore or library, right away. And when has it been proven that what's faster/easier is better? Drive-through fast food places should have squashed that notion ages ago.

I just don't get it. I've seen a TON of people say that while they prefer print books, they like their e-readers too. Well, I think it's time that you picked a side and stuck to it. But unfortunately, so many people are obsessed with their gadgets that it's likely real bookstores and eventually real books will become extinct. Again, is that so far-fetched? After all, it's been talked about for ages that newspapers are pretty much dying because everyone uses the internet. Why should it be any different for books?

So there, I've finally said it. E-readers SUCK. E-books SUCK. I've said it before in much nicer terms, because I didn't want to alienate any of my readers. But it's my blog, and I'm speaking my mind. And I am pissed off. If you love your e-reader that much, fine. If you don't want to read my blog anymore because I've offended your e-reading sensibilities, cool. I'm sick of holding back my disgust with the whole e-reading movement.

In the meantime, I'm probably going to go on crazy book buying splurges, trying to collect as many good books as I can before publishers decide it's just not worth printing real books anymore. And before bookstores shut their doors forever. And authors, I am refusing to read your book if it's only available in e-book format. I've recently made exceptions and read cheap e-books by my fave authors on my computer because they weren't available any other way. Not doing that anymore. If you want real readers, print real books. I get that you want to keep up with the times, but think long and hard about the history and importance of the printed word in our society.

Borders, if you're closing for good, I'm seriously going to miss you. I've tried showing my support lately by buying books at your store, and by being a Borders Rewards Plus member. I've given away Borders gift cards here before. And if you're not closing soon, seems like you'll be closing later.

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

2011-07-14T16:44:00.003-04:00

I finished this book last night (and for those of you who voted, this was one of the poll winners for July). I've been having trouble trying to fit all the fabulous-ness of this book into an articulate review, but I'll try.

So the book is about an airplane of 50 Miss Teen Dream pageant contestants flying overseas for a photo-shoot and whatnot, and then their plane crashes on a remote island. The prologue does an AWESOME job at describing the moments before the crash, as well as establishing that the U.S. is run by "The Corporation" and they kind of rule everything, and they want to promote a vain, materialistic, dumbed-down society.

At first the girls all seem stupid and annoying, though funnily so. There are about 12 to 15 survivors, and the majority of them are more worried about practicing their routines than trying to survive, because they're convinced that they'll be saved soon enough. (I know, I know. It sounds just like Lost. They even make a funny reference to Lost in the book.)

The chapters are interspersed with "fun fact sheets" about each of the main character survivors, as well as glimpses into some members of The Corporation and some really hilarious commercial interruptions. Soon the characters realize that rescue is taking too long and they start to take a more proactive role in trying to survive - building huts, finding food and water, etc. And we learn more about each character - her history, hopes, dreams, feelings, etc. There's a lot more to these girls than you'd think, and they start to bond over they're struggles to survive as well as their feelings about pageanting and being a girl. How they feel like they always have something to apologize for, or always feel the need to be the absolute best. How their parents push them to pageant. They develop a strong sense of togetherness, and together they have to battle like hell to make it off the island.

I grew to genuinely like all of the main characters, but in particular my favorites were Adina, Tiara, and Mary Lou.

This book is basically a kick-ass promotion of feminism. It takes satirical jabs at society and the way marketing in the media is aimed at girls to make them feel too skinny/fat/ugly so that they buy more and more products. It makes fun of pop culture and reality TV. The book tackles tough issues for younger girls such as being gay, being transgender, feeling stupid, the idea of a girl needing to be "pure", racism, self-esteem, female bonding, safe sex, etc. But Bray does all this in such a great way. It's a really fun read, but at the same time it's thought-provoking and smart.

Anyways, I can go on and on about how much I enjoyed this book. It was so good that when I finished, I wanted to skim through it again and relive all my favorite parts. I tweeted lines that struck me as amusing while I read. And this will definitely be one of the next books that I buy. It's already on my re-read list for next year. I hope it can make it permanently onto summer reading lists everywhere.

So, you know. Go read it.

Sarah Says: 5 stars. Awesome.

Stay by Allie Larkin

2011-07-13T08:25:00.002-04:00

Hey all. OK so Steph from StephTheBookworm and I are lucky enough to live in the same city, and recently Steph asked via Facebook if any of her friends were interested in forming a book club with her. Since I've never been in a real life book club before, I signed up pronto. Our first meeting is at the end of this month, and the book we all chose was Stay by local author Allie Larkin.

Stay is about Savannah "Van" Leone, who just watched her two best friends Peter and Janie get married. The problem is that Van's been in love with Peter since they first met about 6 years ago. After the newlyweds take off for their honeymoon, Van drowns her sorrows in Kool-Aid & vodka and watched reruns of Rin Tin Tin, and accidentally (drunkenly) orders a German Shepherd puppy online. Though he's bigger than she was counting on, she names him Joe and starts to get over her heartbreak.

Joe is an adorable puppy, and my favorite parts of the book were about him. He only responds to commands in Slovak, he's big and goofy, and he's instantly fills the role of girl's best friend.

Van on the other hand... she's not my favorite character. At first, I really liked her. I sympathized with her and her night of getting smashed on Kool-Aid vodka was kind of hilarious. But throughout the book it became obvious that she kind of causes her own problems, and I didn't see any character growth from her during the book. And here's why she didn't grow as a character... (highlight to read the spoilers)

Everything is handed to her on a silver platter. Van causes her own problems by constantly getting drunk and lying when she should just be honest. She "loves" Peter even though he has no real redeemable qualities and in fact acts like an ass pretty much the whole time. And any problem that Van has to face is instantly solved for her... she gets $175,000 to leave Peter alone, which she should have been doing anyways. She accidentally buys a $6000 dog, and has to move out of her condo because of it, but all of that is no problem since she has this huge check. A too-perfect vet named Alex falls for her, and hooks her up with a house at half the market price (only $40,000) and even though she lies to Alex, he of course decides to forgive her without any explanation for her behavior. She gets to stay friends with Peter (not realistic at all), she makes up with Janie, and even makes up with Janie's mother, who she's had issues with ever since childhood. All of this seemed WAY too easy and honestly, since Van didn't really have to work for any of it, I don't think deserved such a happy ending.

Anyways, I would have been happier if the book focused more on her relationship with Joe and dealing with his crazy puppy antics. Van and her personal life were just a little too frustrating for my taste.

I did overall like the book. I enjoyed the references to Rochester, my home town (YAY Wegmans!). And the book was a really quick read. I'll gladly try out the next book that Larkin publishes, because I really did enjoy her writing. And the characters she creates were really memorable. There's a secondary character named Louis that just cracked me up. If you're a fan of chick-lit (I'm thinking along the lines of the Shopaholic series), then you'll probably enjoy this. If you're considering this because you're a dog-lover or pet-owner, you might want to take a pass.

Sarah Says: 3.5 stars

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I'd Like to Shake Hands With

2011-07-12T10:43:00.002-04:00

Yay, it's Tuesday! Time for Top Ten Tuesday hosted by the fabulous peeps over at The Broke & The Bookish! This week's topic is Top Ten Authors You'd Die to Meet.

Here's the thing though - I'm not the type that is dying to have convos with many, if any, authors. I wouldn't really know what to say, and I'd feel too awkward asking questions, if I could even think of good questions to ask. I'm the type of reader who would like to have an author sign my book, shake my hand, and maybe take a picture with me. But I'd just feel horribly awkward actually having like lunch with any of them, ya know? So these are the Top Ten Authors I'd Like to Shake Hands With.

1. Diana Gabaldon: She's the author of my most favorite series ever, Outlander. It's very unlikely that I'll ever be lucky enough to see Diana in person, since she resides in Arizona and what are the chances that she'll never come up north to my own little area of New York? However, a local bookstore in her town, The Poisoned Pen, allows you to request autographed copies of her books. You can have her personalize it and everything. They take the orders, and I think she comes to their store regularly to sign the books so they can be shipped out. I'm thinking of asking the honeyman to arrange a signed copy of Outlander for me for Christmas :-)

2. Christopher Moore: OK Chris Moore is probably the author I'd be most comfortable hanging out with, because he seems absolutely hysterical. His books never fail to make me laugh. Again, not likely that I'll ever get to meet him because I think he lives in Hawaii. But me and the honeyman want to move to Hawaii someday... and I actually have cousins that live there. So who knows, maybe I'll get my chance someday after all!

3. Jesse Petersen: She's the author of the Living With the Dead series that I've become oh-so-fond of lately. And I've actually had the honor of corresponding with her via email so that I could review a collection of short stories she's coming out with (In the Dead: Volume 1). Jesse seems like a really fun person, I'd definitely like to meet her IRL someday.

4. J.K. Rowling: Well duh. I don't have any deep, insightful questions to ask the queen of one of the best series ever. I'd just like to see her, maybe take a picture with her. She seems like a relatively private person anyways.

5. Jennifer Crusie: One of my favorite modern romance authors! I'd actually love it if me and my friend Doni could both meet her and take pics with her. And I might have to try to beg her to write another book about the Bet Me characters... I don't think I could resist.

6. Jane Austen: Well yeah, she's not living anymore. But it'd be cool to see her in today's world and her reactions to how skanky everything is nowadays.

7. The Brontes: Samesies for the Brontes, although they seemed a lot more open to the kind of wickedness that goes on today. I bet halter tops would come as a surprise to them, but they seemed to acknowledge that there's darkness and adultery and stuff in their world. Also, I want to see if Charlotte is really the snob I kind of think she is. And I really want to meet Anne, cause she's my fave. And I want to sympathize with Emily for only being able to publish one novel before she died.

8. Kristin Cashore: Dude, her books Graceling and Fire are AWESOME. And I follow her blog, and she seems like a cool chick. She takes trapeze lessons!

9. Patrick Rothfuss: His Kingkiller Chronicle books are ah-freaking-mazing. And his blog is kind of hilarious. I bet he'd be a really cool and laid-back guy to meet.

10. Sarah Addison Allen: S.A.A. takes the cake for magical realism novels. She was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year, so besides the fact that it'd be cool to meet her, I'd also wish her well and hope she's feeling better.

Thanks to the digital age, it's possible to get in contact with almost all of these authors via their websites, blogs, email, Facebook, Twitter, etc. And as cool and awesome as that is, I would still love to be able to meet these authors and more face-to-face. (Well, except Austen & the Brontes cause I bet they're pretty much just dust right now and that'd be gross. But you know what I mean.) Hopefully I'll get to go to more book festivals and stuff in the coming years and get to meet some of these cool people.

Cause technology just can't replace real-life experiences.

Readathon Winners!

2011-07-12T10:19:00.005-04:00

OK guys, I just wanted to thank everybody for joining me for the Summer Mini-Readathon. It was SO much fun, I'm so happy that you guys participated and that I got to get to know all of you a little bit better. I'm already really excited about doing a Winter Mini-Readathon sometime in January, so keep your eyes peeled during the next several months for info on that, okay?

All of the winners for the prizes were chosen using random.org. And here they are...

For Heather's Bonus mini-challenge at All You Need Designs, the winner is....

Bookbelle!

Belle, please visit Heather's site here to contact her about receiving that cute bookmark!

And now for the Amazon e-gift card winners!

The 1st prize winner of the $30 Amazon e-gift card is...

Pepca at Beyond Strange New Words

The 2nd & 3rd prize winners will each receive a $10 Amazon gift card! They are...

Jenna (goodaljm) at The World of YA

and

Laura at Devouring Texts

*** Pepca, Jenna, and Laura - I need you guys to email me at sarahmay227@gmail.com within the next 48 hours so that I can send you your Amazon e-gift cards! ***

Again, thank you EVERYBODY who participated!

In the Dead: Volume 1 by Jesse Petersen

2011-07-11T10:18:00.003-04:00

(There isn't a picture yet for In the Dead: Volume 1, so here's a picture of my beloved books in the zombie-fun series Living With the Dead!)

I've been gushing about author Jesse Petersen and her Living With the Dead series for a long while now. (In fact, click to see my reviews for book 1, book 2, and book 3.) This has become a favorite series of mine, about married couple Sarah and David battling zombies and saving their marriage during the zombie outbreak that occurs in the Northwest of the U.S. in 2010. So when Jesse Petersen tweeted one that day she would send a PDF copy of her new collection of short stories coming out to book bloggers that were interested, I jumped at the chance.

In the Dead: Volume 1 is a collection of 9 short stories set in the same zombie-apocalypse world as her LWTD series, but with new characters. Per her website, it will be released on August 1, 2011. I believe it will only be available in e-book format, though I could be wrong about that. And while it's not available on Amazon yet, it should show up there around the end of this month.

I really, really enjoyed getting these peek into other survivors' lives, and seeing other parts of the U.S. during the outbreak. Throughout the LWTD series, there are rumors of a Mid-West Wall that was erected and it's rumored that there are no zombies on the other side. In two of the short stories here, we actually get a glimpse of life on the other side of the Wall!

Overall, these stories are a great addition to this zombified world that Jesse has created. My favorites were...

...Bonewrecker 2, in which we meet a kid who misses the first days of the zombie apocalypse because he's a video game addict.

...I Call It Lost Wages, in which we meet Sam and Troy - two survivors traveling together to try to find a safe place. (I would be really interested in seeing their story expanded, I sense some romance there.)

...They're the Lions Now, in which we meet two brothers living on the other side of the Wall.

...and Reality Bites, in which reality TV takes a zombified-turn. I could totally see this happening if a zombie outbreak really occurred!

The great thing about Jesse's zombie books is that she can be funny, scary, or really thoughtful when it comes to the zombie apocalypse. One minute you're laughing about a zombie bridezilla, and the next you're contemplating humanity and the wonder at people helping each other out during such a scary time. There's just so much to explore.

While I'm still really craving a new novel in the LWTD series (I love Sarah and David), these short stories are a great way to get my zombie-world fix until then.

Also, since In the Dead: Volume 1 isn't available for purchase yet on Amazon, I'll make sure to post the link to it when it is :-)

Sarah Says: 4 stars

*Disclaimer: I accepted an advance PDF copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. I received no compensation for said review.

Two Mini-Reviews

2011-07-11T09:18:00.005-04:00

So, for those of you that know me or have been following my blog awhile, you know that I dislike e-readers and I'm not a fan of the whole e-book movement. I really, really prefer IRL paper books. And I will always be willing to spend more on a paper book than on an e-book. Seriously, if I have the choice to buy either of these books in paperback form, even though they're super short stories, I'd do it. I'd pay regular mass market paperback price. Because I'm weird like that.

There are two authors that I am a big fan of that have put out short stories that are only available in e-book format. Jesse Petersen recently published a short story about the big-shot media during the zombie apocalypse, and Heather Webber put out a short story about one of my favorite romance characters, Lucy Valentine.

And because I adore these authors and really wanted to read these stories, I downloaded Kindle-for-PC onto the laptop and bought these e-books. They only cost me $3 total, but again I would've paid more if I could buy them in paper copies. Anyways, here are my mini-reviews for these mini e-books.

I adore Jesse Petersen's Living With the Dead series, and this book takes place in the same zombie-apocalypse setting but with different characters. Avery Andrews is a tv director, and is filming a telethon to get people to donate money going to research for "The Outbreak". It appears that some sort of sickness starting in the Northwest and is heading for L.A., but it couldn't actually reach the city of stars, could it?

I liked Avery, the main character. She had a cool head on her shoulders, and it was interesting to see one person's perspective on the walking dead reaching such a major city. Also, we get to see a little bit more about the zombie outbreak - symptoms, the time frame it takes to change, etc. Definitely worth the read if you enjoy the Living With the Dead series.

Heather Webber's series about Lucy Valentine is adorable. (These are cute romance novels about a girl with unusual psychic abilities solving mysteries and trying to date her handsome co-worker.) This mini-book is a short scene in which Lucy shares with her best friends just exactly how she thought she lost her inherent psychic ability, but then rediscovered that it wasn't lost, just changed. It was nice to get the specifics on that, and to visit Lucy while I'm waiting for a new novel in the series.

These e-books were so short that I'm not going to do my usual star rating on them. But I enjoyed them both, and they were welcome additions to some of my favorite series. If you haven't read anything by these authors before, I highly recommend them.

Mini-Readathon Last Challenge!

2011-07-10T21:47:00.004-04:00

Well folks, I can't believe it went this quickly but here is the end of my 12-hour mini-readathon! Tomorrow will be spent working on reviews for what I read and visiting blogs and commenting on your posts. Tuesday morning will be spent on seeing who completed which mini-challenges, and picking and announcing the winners of the Amazon gift cards, as well as announcing the winner for my sister's bonus mini-challenge. Again, winners will be chosen randomly.

I want to thank my lovely sister Heather for hosting her bonus challenge / giveaway, and I want to thank the awesome Jenn for hosting her cover-themed mini-challenge. You guys rock :-)

Just as a reminder, you do have until 6 PM Eastern time tomorrow to complete whatever mini-challenges you want.

I had a lot of fun today, and thank you to everyone who signed up and who participated. It was amazing, and I'm definitely thinking of hosting a Winter Mini-Readathon in January :-)

SOOOOO, here is your last mini-challenge! It's a simple end-of-the-event survey. I'm A) a little lazy and B) having some issues with Mr. Linky right now for some reason, so you can either answer the questions below in a comment, or you can answer them in a blog post, and then leave a comment with a link to your post.

1. How many books and/or pages were you able to read?

2. About how many hours were you able to read for? (Were there many distractions, breaks, etc?)

3. Do you have any likes/dislikes about the 12-hour readathon, compared to a 24-hour readathon?

4. Favorite and least favorite books that you read today?

5. Do you have any suggestions for things you'd like me to do differently if I host another mini-readathon?

Thanks again everyone! And goodnight!

Mini-Readathon #4! ( I think? I'm losing count.)

2011-07-10T18:54:00.003-04:00

Hey guys :-) OK I don't have any real updates this time. I'm about 100 pages into Beauty Queens, but I'm really liking it. It's made me laugh a few times already.

OK, so here's the next mini-challenge. Take a picture (using your camera, webcam, phone... whatever) of where you're reading today for the readathon, or your favorite places to read. Put the pictures in a post, link the post up in the Mr. Linky below, and wa-la! You've completed yet another entry for the gift card prizes at the end :-)

Just for funsies, here's the pics of the places in my apartment I like to read.

This is in the dining room, I spent the first part of the readathon sitting there reading short stories on the Kindle-for-PC. Kinda hurt my eyes after a while, but I like reading at the table.

This is the comfy couch that I like to lay on when I read. Especially during the day, because we get a lot of light through the windows. And the A/C is right there.

I don't read in the bedroom, cause we don't have a bed in there and it's not really comfy. And I don't read in the spare room where I keep all of my books. I cannot wait to get a futon in there. It'll be reading room heaven.

Anyways, link up! And see you folks in 3 hours for the last mini-challenge! How sad :-(

Mini-Readathon BONUS CHALLENGE!

2011-07-10T18:07:00.003-04:00

Hello fellow readathoners! This is a BONUS challenge, conducted by my fabulous sister Heather over at All You Need Designs. When I told her I was hosting my own readathon, she instantly offered to do a mini-challenge and giveaway a beaded bookmark! (So please note - this is seperate from my mini-challenges that count as entries for the gift card prizes.)

To win this ADORABLE handmade bookmark, go over to Heather's blog and follow her instructions. (You have until 6 PM Eastern Time tomorrow to enter.) It's easy-peasy, I promise. The winner of the bookish bookmark will be announced on Tuesday!

I'll be back in an hour for the 4th mini-challenge :-)

Mini-Readathon #3!

2011-07-10T16:05:00.003-04:00

Woot! It's my half-way mark :-) 6 hours down, and only 6 more to go.
- I finished In the Dead: Volume 1 by Jesse Petersen.
- So glad to be done reading ebooks on the computer.
- Listened to a little bit of 1776 by David McCullough on audio while I did dishes.
- Have started Beauty Queens by Libba Bray - it's weird and funny so far. But I'll be lucky if I finish it tonight, it's about 400 pages.

OK so now on to the NEXT CHALLENGE!

Jenn at Booksessed, in all her awesomeness, agreed to host a mini-challenge over at her blog! It's already up and quite awesome. Visit her blog, and make sure you enter in the Mr. Linky in her post to take part in the challenge. Your entry there counts as an entry into my prizes at the end.

Again, click here to go join in the fun! And my huge thanks to Jenn for doing this!

I'll see you guys in another few hours :-)

Mini-Readathon #2!

2011-07-10T13:01:00.003-04:00

So before we get to the 2nd mini-challenge, here's my little update:

- read two short stories on Kindle-for-PC (Definitely, Maybe by Heather Webber and Shambling With the Stars by Jesse Petersen)
- also about halfway through a PDF file of In the Dead; Volume 1 by Jesse Petersen, which is a collection of short stories
- that amounts to about 80 pages (for the Kindle app, I just counted each click as a page, and I'm going by the number of pages displayed in this PDF file). It would be more, but reading on the computer screen is starting to hurt my eyes so I need to take a little break every 20 minutes or so to re-focus.

So - the next challenge!

This challenge is inspired in part by a comment Bookbelle left on one of my blog posts not too long ago, as well as my sister Heather. Both mentioned that they were going to try to participate as much as they can today... but how to distract those pesky kids so that they can read in peace???

Now being the lucky, young girl that I am I have no kiddos of my own. And therefore this is never a problem for me. But I know that lots of you guys have little ones to watch at home, so this is for you guys!

Here's the challenge: Leave a comment on this post with ways to keep kids busy while you get your read on. You can list as many ideas as you want, but only one comment per person will be counted as an entry for the prizes at the end.

You suggestions can be serious, such as...

"Send them to gradma's house for the day."

OR they can be silly, such as...

"Give them a big ol' dose of Benadryl and knock them out for a few hours."

I'm really excited to see the stuff you guys can come up with! Parents, feel free to jot down the ideas you like for future readathon use :-) And feel free to tweet your ideas too, just for funsies.

Ready, Start, GO! Summer Mini-Readathon #1

2011-07-10T09:11:00.003-04:00

OK ya'll! It's here! This here is the first post & first mini-challenge of the first ever Sarah Says Summer Mini-Readathon! (For my readers not participating - sorry, but there's going to be a lot of posts here today.)

Let me go over again how the challenges / prize system works. There will be 5 mini-challenges today - each one you complete counts as an entry to win a prize at the end, giving you a 5 chances to win. You'll have until 6 PM US Eastern time tomorrow to complete them, and prize winners will probably be announced on Tuesday. The prizes are a $30 e-gift card to Amazon, a $10 e-gift card to Amazon, and another $10 e-gift card to Amazon. Winners will be selected randomly.

Now, let's get to the first mini-challenge! It's pretty basic - a start-of-the-event survey. Just copy into a blog post, answer the questions, post it, and then come here to enter the link.

1. Tell everyone three random things about yourself:
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-
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2. Is this your first readathon?

3. Do you have any specific goals for today? (# of books or pages to read?)

4. Do you have any specific snacks, drinks, or books planned?

5. What hours do you plan on reading during? (For example, I'm aiming for 10 AM to 10 PM Eastern time).

Just a quick note for Mr. Linky - please put your name @ your blog name. For example, I would enter "Sarah @ Sarah Says" if I was submitting something in Mr. Linky. When entering the url, please link directly to the post, not just your blog. You'll need to enter your post in Mr. Linky for it to count as an entry for the prizes.

Feel free to visit other blogs and comment if you need a break. In fact, I encourage it. Also, if you feel like tweeting during the readathon, use the hashtag #minireadathon. Or if you need to tweet directly to me, my Twitter name is SarahSaysRead. Otherwise, check back here in about 3 hours for the next mini-challenge!

OK... ready... set.... READ!

A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore

2011-07-08T15:30:00.002-04:00

Charlie Asher is a typical Beta Male who has the misfortune of losing his wife while giving birth to their daughter, Sophie. On the same day, Charlie sees a big tall black man in a mint green suit that no one else can see. Ta-da! Charlie just became a Death Merchant. Now he has to rescue souls in the form of objects from the Forces of Darkness and pass them on to their new owners, all while trying to keep his daughter safe (with the help of two hellhounds, of course). It's "a dirty job" but someone's got to do it!

So that's basically the premise behind this awesome kick-ass book. For reals, I little-numerical-heart Christopher Moore. He's hysterical. This book was a re-read for me - I read it years ago and a lot of it just stuck with me. There are some really memorable characters - the big tall mint-green-suit black man, for one. Sophie is adorable and a little creepy. Lily, one of Charlie's employees at his second-hand store, is goth and funny and snarky. And Charlie... poor Charlie. The book goes into a lot of depth about the Beta Male psyche and it's just too funny to watch Charlie bumble about and try to do his best to stop the Underworld from coming topside in San Francisco.

Also, there are creepy little squirrel creatures in ball gowns. Can't beat that.

So, this book is funny and intriguing and it's awesome that Moore can write a book about Death and what happens to souls when people die, but totally make it work with his special brand of dark, twisted humor. Plus, there are a TON of funny quotes that make me giggle just thinking about them. For example:

"...the Beta Male gene has survived not by meeting and overcoming adversity, but by anticipating and avoiding it. That is, when the Alpha Males were out charging after mastadons, the Beta Males could imagine in advance that attacking what was essentially an angry, wooly bulldozer with a pointy stick might be a losing proposition, so they hung back at camp to console the grieving widows."

Hilariousness. This book was definitely worth the re-read, and is probably one of my favorite Moore books. And I'll probably re-read it again in another couple years :-)

Sarah Says: 4 stars

Mid-Year Reading Stats, and other stuff

2011-07-04T10:38:00.006-04:00

First, Happy 4th of July! Hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday today :-)

In other news... I decided to post my reading stats for the first half of the year. Honestly, they're not where I wanna be. So I'm hoping to get super-amounts of reading done during the rest of the year. Honestly, I'm only about 5 to 10 books behind where I'd like to be... Ideally, I want to read 130 books this year.

So here's how the first six months of this year have gone...

January: 13 books read, 5502 pages
February: 10 books read, 4407 pages
March: 8 books read, 4195 pages
April: 13 books read, 4631 pages
May: 8 books read, 3349 pages
June: 6 books read, 2825 pages

Total books read: 58
Pages read: 24,909

Broken down my genre...
Classics: 2
Comic: 1
Fantasy: 7
Historical Fiction: 4
Non-fiction: 3
Poetry: 2
Romance: 6
Sci-fi: 1
YA: 13
General fiction: 19

And here's my thoughts...

Stupid June. I was pretty busy in June... my little brother graduated, and we threw a baby shower for my little sister Amanda who is supposed to have her baby at the end of July.

OK, so it wasn't just that I was busy in June... I've been relying on DVD's at work to keep me awake, because I don't get enough sleep beforehand. But work is a huge chunk of my reading time, so I gotta cut that mess out and start sleeping right so I can read more. Plus I did more crocheting/sewing this month than usual. Which is awesome, but means less reading.

January was awesomesauce. Partly because I was re-reading the Harry Potter series in the beginning of the year, and I flew through those.

Also, 8 of those YA books were Harry Potter books. So if you don't count those (because they're amazing and should have their own genre), my YA count is actually only like 5.

Fiction is all of the books that don't really fit into my other categories...

I need to read more classics, sci-fi, and non-fiction.

I didn't list it, but 12 of those books were re-reads. But since my goal this year was to kind of focus on re-reads, that's okay.

I'm sick of these bullets.

SO, that's my reading info for the first half of this year. OH also, I've accrued 108 books so far this year, and spent $532.86 on books. Crap, that's a lot when you really look at it. Kind of regretting starting that "book purchases" spreadsheet now...

ALSO, because this is one long-ass post and I'm too lazy to do a seperate post....

The Summer Mini-Readathon is only SIX days away! Yup, it's on this Sunday. I can't wait!
I'm a big one for preparing. I have most of the challenges figured out, so lately I've been planning out my snacks / drinks / books!

Food stuff:

Probably just waffles & coffee for breakfast.

Homestyle popcorn as some point. Because it's delicious and perfect snacking-while-reading food.

I'm thinking soup & bread for lunch. If I have the A/C on. I really, really like to read while I eat soup. I have no clue why.

Deviled eggs, if I'm not too lazy to make them. Because they're SO GOOD.

Not sure about dinner... maybe I can ask the honeyman to make a pizza. That way I don't have to worry about cooking :-)

Oh, and that coffee I mentioned earlier? There will be coffee all day. Because I love coffee.

And near the evening... probably wine, or some amaretto sours.

THE BOOKS:

Definitely, Maybe by Heather Webber (a short-story that I'll be reading on Kindle-for-PC)

Shambling With the Stars by Jesse Petersen (a short-story that I'll be reading on Kindle-for-PC)

Into the Dead by Jesse Petersen (a ARC of nine short stories that Jesse sent to me for review, also reading on the computer)

The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran (might re-read if I get outside at all that day)

Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand (one of the poll-winners for this month!)

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray (other poll-winner, I have it on hold at the library, hopefully it comes soon)

Voyager by Diana Gabaldon (might start re-reading this by the end of the readathon)

1776 by David McCullough (actually currently reading this, so I'm hoping to get a couple chapters in during the readathon. Trying to celebrate Independence Day and up my non-fiction numbers all at the same time)

Obviously that list is way too long. But I like to have options ready! I never know what I'll feel like reading next. And I fully expect to read those three short-story novellas right away, hopefully they'll only take a couple hours.

*Also, I linked to the books where I could in case you were interested in them. I linked to Amazon (mostly out of laziness), but I don't get anything from Amazon for doing so. It just seemed easiest.

So, are you getting ready for the readathon? Books picked out? Food all planned? Tell me about it!

Eat Slay Love by Jesse Petersen (Living With the Dead 3)

2011-07-03T16:08:00.004-04:00

*Sigh...* I love this series. This is the third book in the Living With the Dead series, and it's awesome. Perfect funny, fluffy, reading with a bit of gore. Seriously, if you like zombie movies like Zombieland, or Shaun of the Dead... this will be perfect for you. Like the cover says, the series is a romantic comedy, but takes place amidst a bunch of zombie-killin'. But warning, there will be a bit of spoilers so read the other books in the series first.

So the book starts off where the last one ended - Sarah and David are slowly making there way to the rumored "Midwest Wall" in Illinois, where apparently the zombie outbreak hasn't reached. They're also in possession of a small vial of The Cure - it saved David from being zombified in the last book, and they're hoping that they can get it into good hands at the Wall. Things get a little more complicated when they meet entertainment reporter Nicole, and doped-up, ex-rockstar Colin McCray. While the foursome are trying to escape hordes of zombies and cults, Sarah notices David's stranges new habits... like that he doesn't bleed and can lift really heavy crap. Uh oh....

So, this book was hilarious and great and oh-my-gawd I hope it's not the last Sarah & David book. Sarah is funny, snarky, and pretty kick-ass while also remaining human and compassionate. David is sweet and funny, and there were a lot of sweet/funny/worrisome moments throughout the book. And I have to say that after all the crap they went through in the previous two books, it was nice that they found more friends than psychos in this one. At least for the most part.

Also, the cursing in this book cracks me up. For example, this little passage...

"Our eyes met and despite the fact that we'd been sniping at each other a bit, the connection between us was stronger than ever. He got me, he got my autopilot reaction of going bitchcakes when I got scared because it was the only way I could function without falling apart. And I got him, too."

Yup, bitchcakes. Seriously if that doesn't make you want to read this series, I don't know what will.

Sarah Says: 4 stars!

Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn

2011-07-02T12:12:00.002-04:00

I've probably said it before, but Julia Quinn is my favorite historical romance author. And this book is a great example of why she's so awesome. This was the perfect light, fun afternoon read.

Honoria Smythe-Smith grew up in a large family, but as the youngest she was always a little apart from the rest. She grew up idolizing her older brother Daniel and his best friend, Earl Marcus Holroyd. Now she's 21 and the last still living with her mother. Daniel is out of the country, and Honoria is starting to feel desperate to move out and start a family of her own - she hates living in an empty house with her mother. When Honoria runs into Marcus while out one day, it starts the rekindling of their childhood friendship. When they were kids, Marcus was practically part of her family, but with Daniel gone she doesn't see much of him anymore.

When Marcus falls into Honoria's mole hole (seriously) and twists his ankle at a social event, Honoria is quick to help him recuperate. He's an only child and has no other family. And him getting injured may be the best thing that's ever happened, because they start to realize that friendship could be the perfect starting point of romance.

OK, so this was a great romance for a few reasons. Firstly, it wasn't insta-love, which is usually what romance novels are. Since they've known each other for fifteen years, there's already a decent foundation there. There's also no huge dilemma or problem or big misunderstanding. They're friends, and they bond while Honoria is helping to nurse him back to health. And there's no super-sexy-stuff until the very end, which is how I prefer my romance novels. I don't read them for the graphic stuff, I read them because they're light-hearted and funny and they make me smile. This book totally did.

Also, I liked both of the main characters. Honoria was sweet and not too dramatic. And she totally steps up and does what she needs to for the people she cares about. And Marcus is a surprisingly funny guy for being such the shy, quiet type. There were quite a few parts that had me laughing out loud. Plus, they both like sweets. It's just great to read about a male main character trying to get his hands on an eclair.

So basically, this was a great fluffy romance read. Was it super emotional or passionate? No. But it was light and breezy and I'm totally in a good mood just after finishing it. So it's a win for me.

Sarah Says: 4.5 stars

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

2011-07-01T15:09:00.004-04:00

Woot! I finally finished this! I'm SO sorry you guys, it took me way too long to read this chunky book. It was 1128 pages, and normally that wouldn't take me two weeks... but it did. What can I say, I've been busy and also a slacker all at the same time.

So for those not already familiar, this is the 3rd book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series by Martin, the first of which was recently turned into an HBO show. Therefore, this might be a bit spoiler-y and you should really read the other two books first, kay?

So, at the start of this book a lot of shit has just gone down. Four kings are still clamoring for power in the kingdom of Westeros - Robb Stark, Balon Greyjoy, Joffrey Baratheon, and Stannis Baratheon. Stannis kind of got his ass handed to him during the big battle at the end of the 2nd book. Oh yeah, and Daenerys is still protecting her dragons and attempting to amass an army so that she can go to Westeros and try to take the throne.

Meanwhile, in the North at the Wall, major bad crap is happening. The Others (the zombies that are really cold and have bright blue eyes) are killing folk. And the Wildlings are getting ready to breach the Wall and fight the Night's Watch and come live in Westeros.

Those are pretty much two big things in the book - the war going on in the North trying to keep the Wall safe, and the war everywhere else trying to claim the throne. For me, this wasn't quite and plot & intrigue heavy as the last book. That was a good thing - it was easier for me to follow along. However I think I liked this book slightly less than the first two only because it seemed a little heavy on the "filler" material. Some stuff just got a little too repetitous - yes, I know this one chick has bright red hair and that's supposed to be lucky. I don't need to be reminded every time she's mentioned.

Anyhoo, this book boasts an impressive TEN different character POV's. Once again, I am amazed that with so many different points of view and storylines in the air, I don't get them mixed up. But everyone is so different and has such a distinctive voice that it's actually just super awesome. Here's the characters that you read along with...

Jaime Lannister: This is the first time the infamous Kingslayer gets his own chapter. (He's Tyrion AKA The Imp's older brother, Cersei's brother/lover, and Joffrey's father/uncle.)The first two books kind of make you hate him, because he seems really blood-thirsty and you know... he's a Lannister. They're kind of not good. But I actually ended up kind of liking Jaime. Sure, he's a bit arrogant but you also kind of get why he is the way he is, and how much the whole Kingslayer thing bothers him.

Tyrion Lannister: Dude, I still love The Imp. And man he had it rough in this book. He gets kind of messed up in that big battle at the end of book two, and has a rough time of everything throughout this book. I hope he's around through all four of the next novels.

Davos Seaworth: He was in the last book too - he's Stannis's man, and while he's a good guy, he's borrrring. His only real use is to give us glimpses to what Stannis is up to.

Catelyn Stark/Tully: Catelyn has also bored me to tears in the past. Okay, not to tears, but she's not an enjoyable character. Granted, she's had a lot of grief piled on her.

Daenerys: She's not as annoying in this book as in the last one. In fact, she's getting to be pretty crafty and she's growing more assertive in her quest for power. Not a great thing, but still.

Jon Snow: I really like Jon. Even though he was Eddard Stark's bastard and bastards are apparently naturally deceitful and sly, Jon is a pretty honorable guy. He tries to do the right thing, he knows how to man up, but still be compassionate to his brothers of the Night Watch. Yay for Jon.

Bran: Honestly, there was too little storyline for Bran here. He's not as whiny as in the last book, but throughout the whole book him and his friends didn't really do much. His chapters could have stood to be cut completely.

Sansa: I still don't really care about Sansa. I don't wish bad things on her, but I wouldn't be broken-hearted if something bad did happen to her.

Arya: Is AMAZING. I love Arya, she's a total little tiny badass. I'm really excited to see where her story goes.

Samwell Tarly: Sam is a friend of Jon's in the Night's Watch. He's a total wuss (and apparently quite a chunkster), but he's really sweet and can do things well, once he gets over his nervousness and fear. Sam really grows a lot as a character in this book, I'll be happy if he still gets his own chapters in the next book.

So that's bout it. Sorry for those of you who haven't read the series yet, cause this isn't very exciting for you. But I get really caught up in these characters as I read. I find myself thinking about them when I'm not reading. That's always a good sign.

So, I love this series and I really want to read the next one, A Feast for Crows, but I think I'm going to wait awhile. These books are hella long and I need to get some other reading done.

Sarah Says: 4 stars

Summer Mini-Readathon Reminder! And some updates!

2011-06-28T12:33:00.004-04:00

You guys! The Mini-Readathon is only TWELVE DAYS away! So here's a little recap, reminder, update thingamajig...

Will take place on Sunday, July 10th for any 12 hour block of your choosing. I am reading from 10 AM to 10 PM Eastern time.

There will be five mini-challenges, one of which will be hosted by the fabulous Jenn from Booksessed. I am SO excited to have Jenn hosting one of the challenges!

Taking part in the 5 mini-challenges will get you up to five entries to win one of the three gift card prizes!

First winner will receive a $30 Amazon gift card.

Two second prize winners will each receive a $10 Amazon gift card.

There will also be a BONUS mini-challenge & giveaway, held by my wonderful sister Heather at All You Need Designs. Heather not only designed my blog, she also makes awesome handmade jewelry, bookmarks, and more. If you take part in her bonus challenge, you'll be entered to win a beaded bookmark made by her! She's going to make one especially reading-themed to giveaway, but visit her very successful Etsy shop for some examples!

I know this is a lot more low-key than other Readathons. It's shorter so that you don't burn out. It has fewer mini-challenges so that you can focus on reading. There's not a bajillion giveaways and prizes, because for the most part this is all coming out of my pocket. And because I want people to participate because they want to read, not just because they want to win free stuff.

I'm really looking forward to this! I already have several books in mind to work on throughout the readathon. And I'm really, really excited to have Jenn & Heather helping out too. Please visit here to sign up if you haven't already joined.

See you guys on the July 10th!

~Sarah

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Websites, Apps, Organizations, etc.

2011-06-28T08:44:00.004-04:00

Good morning my pretties! It's time for Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the lovely The Broke and The Bookish, and today's topic is Top Ten Bookish Websites, Apps, Organizations, etc. I don't think I'm going to be able to make it to ten, but we'll see...

1. Goodreads - Now I feel like a hypocrite for even suggesting Goodreads, because I'm never on it anymore. But it is a pretty awesome website - you can add books to your "shelves", post reviews, make friends, join groups, etc. I used to use Goodreads everyday, but my job finally blocked it and I spend most of my online time at home doing bloggy stuff instead. I do still use to it keep track of my books though - I just don't get to take part in groups like I used to. If you join Goodreads, I highly suggest the Chicks on Lit group, as well as the College Students group.

2. Amazon - I love Amazon because I can almost always find the book that I'm looking for, it's usually way cheaper than it would be in the store, and I can get free shipping if I spend over $25. (Plus I love it for buying music & DVD's). The only thing I wouldn't use Amazon for is to look at the ratings of something. Amazon's ratings are usually skewed by a people complaining about the price, or typos. And the people complaining about the price are usually referring to the Kindle prices, but those reviews show up on ALL editions of a book. Use Goodreads for ratings instead.

3. Amazon App - I don't have a lot of apps on my phone, but one I use often is the Amazon app. It's really hand when I'm out & about and want to look up a release date for a book, or see what their price is compared to in a store. And occassionally I look at it for the ratings too, but that's only because I don't have a Goodreads app!

4. Paperbackswap - I love PBS. You can post your unwanted books on there and ship them off to others, and use the credits you get for that to "purchase" the used books that you want. I have over 90 items on my PBS wishlist, and I love when I get that email saying that a book I'm waiting for is finally available. And because I don't get rid of books very often, I just pay the $3.45 per book. I have SO much money this way!

5. Wordle - I don't know if it counts as bookish, but wordle is just a really fun time-waster. You type in a bunch of words, and it creates a pretty jumbled up picture of all of those words. You can change the font, colors, etc. But Wordle doesn't really let you save the stuff you make, so if you like it you should do a screenshot of it and then save it directly onto your computer. Try it, it's fun!

6. Collectorz.com - I daydream about one day finally splurging and trying out this book cataloging software! You can buy the package that comes with a scanner, and you can literally scan all of the books on your shelves to catalog them! It would be so much easier than me typing all of the info into my Microsoft Works datebase, since I have over 800 books and counting.

7. Amazon Kindle for PC - OK, those of you that know me also know that I am one of those obnoxious people that HATE e-readers. I think they will eventually be the downfall of real books and real bookstores, and I am very partial to my real books. I have however noticed something very annoying lately - a couple of authors that I like have recently released short stories that are only available in e-book format. So to be able to try enjoy these short stories, I've recently downloaded the Kindle for PC app. I purchased two short stories by authors that I like, one for $1 and one for $2.

***Authors, pay attention here - I would be willing to buy your short stories in REAL book format for $5, or even for the cost of a regular mass market paperback. Please don't cater only to the e-book crowd, it sucks. ***

I haven't actually read anything on the Kindle for PC app yet, because I'm saving those short stories for my Summer Mini-Readathon in July. But I guess I appreciate that I don't have to go buy the stupid Kindle to read these stories.

8. Borders (store and website) - I know a store probably doesn't count here, but I'm doing it anyways. Borders is my absolute favorite place to buy books. Sadly their selection has been kind of sucky lately, but I think that's part of the whole being-broke thing. I love the store though - I love the way my Borders store is organized, and I love the coffee bar. I LOVE my Borders Rewards Plus membership - I get 10% off of all of my purchases, I can earn Borders Bucks, and I get every 6th beverage free. For instance...

The other day I went into Borders and selected a baby book for my sister for $12.99, and a book I'd been wanting for $7.99. But I had a 40% off coupon to use on the baby book, plus I had $5 in Borders Bucks from shopping there a lot in the previous month, plus I got an extra 10% off with my membership... I only paid $10 and some change for those two books. I pretty much got my book for free, and still saved money on the most expensive book. How awesome is that??? Plus your membership and coupons are still usable on their website, and all Plus members get free shipping ALL THE TIME. Again, awesomeness.

9. JaneAusten.org - So, say that you're at your desk job and pretty bored. You're not allowed to read a book, but you've finished all of your work and are trying to kill time. How about you read a Jane Austen novel online? I encountered this problem about two years ago - I was so efficient at my job that I'd have an extra couple hours EVERY DAY with nothing to do. But we were allowed to go online.... see where this is going? I found this website and I was able to read the entire novel of Pride & Prejudice while I was at work on the computer. NO DOWNLOADING REQUIRED. So if you're bored at work, need to look like you're working, but want to read some Austen, then here ya go. My gift to you :-)

10. The Author's Attic - This website is ah-mazing. This website features jewelry to cater to lovers of Charlotte Bronte, Anya Seton, Diana Gabaldon, and Jane Austen. (Plus some other random jewelry as well). For the past three years, my wonderful honeyman has gotten me a piece of Outlander / Diana Gabaldon jewelry for Christmas, and this is where he gets it. So far I have Claire's ring, the Thistle pendant necklace, and the Da Mi Basia Mille heart necklace. I just have to decide which piece of Outlander jewelry to ask him for this year :-) So if you're a fan of any of the authors listed above, please visit this awesome website. Or, contact the authors and suggest other authors! I'd love to see a wider selection someday.

Holy crap I made it to ten! Yay me! Please, check out some of these website because they truly are worth visiting. And if you have a special bookish website you want me to check out, tell me about and leave a link in your comment!

Book Blogger Hop!

2011-06-24T15:23:00.003-04:00

Hola, readers! I'm participating in this week's Book Blogger Hop (hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books) for a couple reasons:

I haven't done one in a while and I liked this week's question.

I'm about 300 pages into a 1200 page book... so it's probably going to be a couple more days before I get to post a review. Sorry about that. But after this book I'll be in the mood for some quicker reads!

Anyhoo, this week's topic is a good one. Here's the question:

“When did you realize reading was your passion and a truly important part of your life?”

And here's my answer: I don't know if I've ever actually had that realization - reading has been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember. My parents weren't bookish. Neither of them read for pleasure. Ever. But I did learn to read pretty quickly in school and it just took off from there. I also had not the best childhood (boo-hoo), and I remember being able to completely sink into books as a kid and everything else around me just vanished. I wouldn't even hear when someone called my name, I was in a completely other world. And people never really made fun of me for being such a reader as I grew up - I didn't really hang out with people like that in school. So it never seemed anything other than normal to me.

I guess the closest I can come to "realizing" that reading was a truly important part of my life was when I was discussing tattoo options with my boyfriend (who dislikes tattoos, btw). I was trying to express my frustration because I decided I wanted a bookish tattoo but couldn't find or think of one that would represent my love for reading accurately. And as I was talking about it, I realized how much I really do want a tattoo to represent my bookish ways, because reading has been the one great, constant love in my life. (Obviously I love my honeyman more, but reading has been a continuous presence in my life since the age of about 6.) As of yet, I haven't though of that perfect bookish tattoo, but I will dammit!

So I guess that's my answer. And I'd love for you guys to tell me when you had this epiphany about reading! (Or give me reader-themed tattoo suggests, I'd appreciate the ideas!) :-)

BTW, before you leave you should check out my Summer Mini-Readathon, on July 10th! It's going to be so fun, and I have recently had news of a BONUS challenge / giveaway... I'll announce more on that sometime in the beginning of next week.

Happy Hopping!

Top Ten Tuesday: Why I Love Books & Blogging

2011-06-21T09:05:00.002-04:00

Good morning everyone! And Happy Blogoversary to the hosts of Top Ten Tuesday - The Broke and The Bookish! It's been a fantastic year, and I love following your blog :-)

OK so TTT is my favorite meme of the week, and let's get to it - this week's topic is Why I Love Book Blogging! This should be an easy one :-)

1. Because the book-blogging community is awesome! Honestly, everyone is so nice and social and all have such a STRONG common interest in books and reading. The highlight of my morning is making coffee and sitting down to go through google reader. Now, I started a tv/games/movies/music type of blog over on Wordpress, and I tried searching for a "media" type of community like we book-bloggers have, and it just doesn't exist. Which makes that blog a little less fun. The support that book bloggers give each other is just astounding.

2. Learning about new books! For reals, my to-read list is ever expanding thanks to book blogging. There are such awesome books that I never would have known about or even tried if it wasn't for seeing them on other blogs.

3. "Meeting" people with similar interests! I know it's all just online... but I adore some of you guys! I love finding new book bloggers who are funny or who have similar tastes in books. And I love that thanks to Twitter, I get to actually get to know you guys better. Again, such an awesome community. And while I hope to go to some big book-blogging convention some day so I can meet all of you IRL, that's probably ages away. And I have gotten to meet one awesome book blogger, Steph the Bookworm, because it turns out we live in the same city. She is such a cool person and I can't wait until we can hang out again (when life gets a little less hectic, lol).

4. I get to blab about books. Most of my family aren't readers. It's pretty much me & my older sister, and since she has a job/husband/kids we don't read at the same pace, and sometimes don't read the same things. So a year or two ago, it really sucked to read this AMAZING book, or even a really awful book, and not really be able to talk to anyone about it. Sure, I can talk my boyfriend's ear off, but it's all a one-sided conversation at that point. I love that thanks to my book blog, I can blab on and on about books; about what I like, don't like, want to try, pet peeves, favorite genres, and the various controversies that pop up. And I get feedback! I sometimes almost wish that AIM was still a big thing, so that it would be easier to have these bookish convos with people. But I love that I'm not so alone in my book-love anymore.

5. Memes! OK, some of them are annoying. Actually, the only ones I do regularly is Top Ten Tuesday, and about twice a month or so I'll do an In My Mailbox vlog (IMM is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren). But I do really enjoy a lot of the memes - they're a fun way to blog without posting a review, and they're a GREAT way to find cool new blogs that you might not have discovered otherwise.

6. Readathons! Seriously, I love attempting the semi-annual Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon. The lead-up to it is so exciting... picking books, hoarding snacks and coffee, trying to clear your schedule... and then it's a WHOLE day of reading! Plus coming online to see how my fellow book-bloggers are doing, and trying to support each other to stay awake via Twitter or commenting. It's just too fun. And so that's why I'm trying to host my own little Mini-Readathon next month! It's going to be very laid-back, but also tons of fun! I can't wait!

7. Hearing about bookish news! It's always fun to come online and be surprised by the latest bookish controversy going on. Sometimes it's a news article, sometimes it's a snarky author - but it's always kind of entertaining to see. And book blogging is how I learn about new releases, big bookish events, bookish "holidays", etc.

8. Occassional author feedback! Now I don't get this a lot, because I don't usually accept books from authors or publishers for review. (I'm kind of one of the book-blogging oddballs in that respect, but it's how I roll). But every once in a great while, an author will acknowledge me and my review of their book and that is just the coolest feeling. Not to mention that thanks to my semi-new Twitter account, I can interact with authors once every now and then. I'm telling ya, THESE are the good things about living in the digital age.

9. Challenges! So, I didn't really aim for any challenges this year because I wanted to focus on kind of reading whatever I felt like, and re-reading some of my faves. But I really do love reading challenges. I did a bunch last year and they're so fun! I like interacting with fellow challenge-takers, I like posting challenge updates, and I like that challenges encourage me to broaden my horizons reading-wise. There are so many books and authors that I might not have been familiar with today if it wasn't for challenges.

10. And lastly, hosting giveaways! In all honesty, I get really bored with blogs that host constant giveaways, and I get bored with those giveaway hops. I don't actually enter many giveaways, maybe a couple a year if it's something special. But I do love hosting giveaways! I usually do it in celebration of something, like my birthday or my upcoming readathon. And I haven't given away a book yet - it's usually a gift card so that I don't need the winner's mailing address. But I love that giveaways give me the chance to give something back to my readers, and that makes me happy. Because my readers are the bestest :-)

So that's about it! In short, I LOVE being a book blogger. And I love the book-blogging community to pieces! XOXO guys!

Come Vote! July Poll is up! (beach-read edition!)

2011-06-20T16:33:00.008-04:00

Hey there readers :-) OK, so since next month is July - THE most summer-y month of the year - I'm listing five beach reads for the poll. I don't normally go with a theme for the poills, so this is new. But I'm doing it because I plan to go to the beach at least once, darn it. And because it will provide me with some excellent reading options during the Summer Mini-Readathon on July 10th! So here's the choices, with descriptions from Goodreads:

Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand (because of the cover-love)

Three women arrive at the local airport, observed by Josh, a Nantucket native home from college for the summer. Burdened with small children, unwieldy straw hats, and some obvious emotional issues, the women—two sisters and one friend—make their way to the sisters' tiny cottage, inherited from an aunt. They're all trying to escape from something: Melanie, after seven failed in-vitro attempts, learned her husband was having an affair, and then discovered she's pregnant; Brenda embarked on a passionate affair with an older student that got her fired from her prestigious job as a professor in New York; and her sister Vicki, mother to two small boys, has been diagnosed with lung cancer. Soon Josh is part of the chaotic household, acting as babysitter, confidant, and, eventually, lover.

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray (because it's the YA option, and I like the lipstick bullets)
From bestselling, Printz Award-winning author Libba Bray, the story of a plane of beauty pageant contestants that crashes on a desert island. Teen beauty queens. A "Lost"-like island. Mysteries and dangers. No access to email. And the spirit of fierce, feral competition that lives underground in girls, a savage brutality that can only be revealed by a journey into the heart of non-exfoliated darkness. Oh, the horror, the horror! Only funnier. With evening gowns. And a body count.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (because it's a classic I've never read, and takes place on water as far as I can tell)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain's sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, became an instant success in the year of its publication, 1884, but was seen by some as unfit for children to read because of its language, grammar, and "uncivilized hero." The book has sparked controversy ever since, but most scholars continue to praise it as a modern masterpiece, an essential read, and one of the greatest novels in all of American literature. Twain's satiric treatment of racism, religious excess, and rural simplicity and his accuracy in presenting dialects mark Huck Finn as a classic. His unswerving confidence in Huck's wisdom and maturity, along with the well-rounded and sympathetic portrayal of Jim draw readers into the book, holding them until Huck's last words rejecting all attempts to "sivilize" him.

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell (the school summer-reading pick, that I know I read in middle school but don't really remember)
In the Pacific there is an island that looks like a big fish sunning itself in the sea. Around it, blue dolphins swim, otters play, and sea elephants and sea birds abound. Once, Indians also lived on the island. And when they left and sailed to the east, one young girl was left behind.
This is the story of Karana, the Indian girl who lived alone for years on the Island of the Blue Dolphins. Year after year, she watched one season pass into another and waited for a ship to take her away. But while she waited, she kept herself alive by building a shelter, making weapons, finding food, and fighting her enemies, the wild dogs. It is not only an unusual adventure of survival, but also a tale of natural beauty and personal discovery.

The Beach House by Jane Green (the chick-lit pick with a good beachy title)
Nan Powell is a free-spirited, sixty-five-year-old widow who's not above skinny-dipping in her neighbors' pools when they're away and who dearly loves her Nantucket home. But when she discovers that the money she thought would last forever is dwindling, she realizes she must make drastic changes to save her beloved house. So Nan takes out an ad: Rooms to rent for the summer in a beautiful old Nantucket home with water views and direct access to the beach.
Slowly people start moving in to the house, filling it with noise, laughter, and with tears. As the house comes alive again, Nan finds her family and friends expanding. Her son comes home for the summer, and then an unexpected visitor turns all their lives upside down.

So those are the choices! Poll is in the upper right corner. Ready..... set...... VOTE!

The Violets of March by Sarah Jio

2011-06-19T20:48:00.002-04:00

Okay, where to start? This is a lovely debut novel by Sarah Jio, and one of the poll winners for June's read. I really enjoyed it.

The Violets of March centers on Emily. An author with a severe case of writer's block and now newly divorced, Emily decides to spend some time healing at her great-aunt Bee's house on Bainbridge Island, WA. As she uses the peace and sound of the sea to clear her mind, she stumbles upon a secret diary from 1943. The diary tells the story of Esther, and Emily is sucked into the story as she notices more similarities between the diary and her own life. I really can't say much about Esther's story, because I don't want to spoil anything.

There were so many things I liked about this novel. I loved the double story-line; while getting to know Emily, I also got to read Esther's story. And I have to say that the writing is beautiful and mystery of the plot stays with you even when you put the book down. I love books that take place on cozy islands, and this is no different. The sounds of the sea, the descriptions of gardens, of friendly neighbors and small local shops... it's all so idyllic.

Emily is a great main character. Besides her being sweet and honest with herself, I noticed that she's also a foodie - the book goes into detail about food when mentioned, and Emily always admits to unabashedly digging in. It's such a small detail, but I really liked that about her. I really liked the secondary characters too - when I'm a little old lady, I want to be spunky like Bee and her friend Evelyn.

The only thing about this novel that I wasn't crazy about was Emily's romantic interests. Once on Bainbridge Island, she's asked out a bit and I never really warmed up to the man that she found herself attracted to. And while I really like a bit of romance in books (I'm a sap), Emily did just get to divorced before she comes to the island. It all happened a bit too fast for my taste.

Anyways, this is a great novel and probably perfect for some pretty, mysterious beach-reading. I'm really glad that it's one of the novels that won the June poll :-)

Sarah Says: 4 stars

Wicked by Gregory Maguire

2011-06-17T15:13:00.004-04:00

OK, let me start by saying that...
~Though I love the movie, I've never actually read the Oz books by Baum. Yet.
~I've never seen the play.
~I went into this book expecting to be disappointed... I'd heard a lot of mixed reviews, and a lot of people said it was hard to get into and they couldn't even finish it.
~I FINALLY read this because it was one of the winners for the June poll. And I'm so glad I did.

Now most of us are familiar with the story of The Wizard of Oz... The movie is about Dorothy, a girl whose house is caught up in a tornado, and her house (with her and her dog Toto inside) lands in the wonderful land of Oz - right on top of the Wicked Witch of the East. The Wicked Witch of the West (distinguished by her green witch skin) shows up and is pissed, but goes to grab her sister's magical shoes. Then Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, puts the magical shoes on Dorothy's feet and directs her to Emerald City to see the Wizard of Oz, who will hopefully help her get home. There's also Munchkins, a yellow brick road, flying monkeys, a tin man, a talking lion, and an animated scarecrow.

Wicked is the intricate story of the sadly misunderstood Wicked Witch of the West - here now known as Elphaba. The story starts with Elphaba's birth to a minister and his wife in Munchkinland. From there we see Elphaba as a young adult attending Shiz University and rooming with an ambitious socialite, Gelinda (AKA Glinda). Nessarose, Elphie's sister and later known as The Wicked Witch of the East, is introduced. I don't want to ruin the story for anyone, but you basically see Elphie develop her passions and purposes - for better or worse. Throughout the book I really grew to love Elphaba, to feel for her, and to totally side with her. And the book raises some very thought-provoking issues of what exactly evil is, and whether it actually exists.

I love how detailed the land of Oz has become in the hands of Gregory Maguire. Oz is divided into four main areas - the tribal Vinkus, agricultural Munchkinland, poor Quadling Country, and elite Gillikin - with Emerald City smack dab in the middle. There's religious and political turmoil and plots. There's moral and ethical dilemmas, there's discrimination, there's deception and intrigue. It's all just SO GOOD. And Elphie is a great heroine - yes, that's right. This book really does explain why the Wicked Witch seems so darn wicked, and you can't help but cheer for her, even though you know that her fate is doomed.

Honestly, I could go into a LOT of detail here. I could go on and on about the things I loved about this book, the issues it raises, etc. But I'm going to save all that for when I meet others who've read the book, cause I don't want to get all spoiler-y on you. But I do HIGHLY recommend this book, and I do plan to read the sequel, Son of a Witch. Also I'm totally dying to see the famous Wicked play now, even though I read up on it and I don't think I really like the changes that were made. (For those of you who have read the book AND seen the play - what is up with Fiyero being a white guy on stage? I was looking forward to a cool dark-skinned guy with little blue diamond tattoos!)

Anyways, that's my verdict and I'm sticking to it.

Sarah Says: 5 stars, and I'm going to go buy the soundtrack to the play tonight.

Top Ten Tuesday: Moments That Make You Say "Awwwww"

2011-06-14T10:54:00.003-04:00

Good morning errbody! I'm feeling pretty good today - I actually worked out this morning (an epic accomplishment, for me) and it's Tuesday, which means Top Ten Tuesday! TTT is hosted by the lovely peeps over at The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is Favorite Awww Moments.

1. "I will find you," he whispered in my ear. "I promise. If I must endure two hundred years of purgatory, two hundred years without you---then that is my punishment, which I have earned for my crimes. For I have lied, and killed, and stolen; betrayed and broken trust. But there is one thing that shall lie in the balance. When I shall stand before God, I shall have one thing to say, to weigh against the rest." His voice dropped, nearly to a whisper, and his arms tightened around me. "Lord, ye gave me a rare woman, and God! I loved her well."
- That heartbreaking little scene is between Jamie & Claire, near the end of Dragonfly in Amber. While I said "awwww" when I read it, I was crying at the same time.

2. Any moment between Elphie and Fiyero in Wicked. I'm reading Wicked right now, and I'm SO into it.

3. The letter from Captain Wentworth to Anne in Persuasion by Jane Austen. For an "awww" Austen moment, you'd think that I'd go with Pride & Prejudice, but nope. The best part in P&P is probably when Darcy proposes to Lizzie, but he insulted her while he did it, so not so romantic.

4. When Heathcliff begs Catherine to haunt him in Wuthering Heights. It's SO romantically tragic.

5. Bonnie & Roger's whole relationship in Bet Me. While they're not the main characters, they're so instantly sure that they're meant to be together, and they fall in love immediately and everything's perfect. It's very sweet.

6. Any time between Tatiana and Alexander in The Bronze Horseman. I love them. Another tragic romantic situation... apparently romance + some sadness equals "aww" to me...

7, 8, 9, 10: So I'm going to say that pretty much any scene between Jamie & Claire from the Outlander series can finish off this list. They're my favorite couple in books, and Jamie says just the sweetest things to Claire - and with a Scottish accent to boot :-)

So that's my ten! Kind of. While you're here, sign up for my Summer Mini-Readathon! It's less than a month away, and I'm soooo excited!

Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story by Carolyn Turgeon

2011-06-08T15:53:00.002-04:00

The last book I read was Mermaid by Carolyn Turgeon, and I really enjoyed it. Which is why I immediately started this book, by the same author. I can't say that I enjoyed this one as much though.

OK, so this is about an old lady named Lil. Lil works daily at a used bookstore shelving and cleaning, and spends her nights lonely in her apartment, remembering her old life. Lil has a secret - she used to be Cinderella's fairy godmother. But on the night that she was supposed to bring Cinderella to the ball to meet Prince Charming, she went to the ball herself instead - and has been living out her days as a human as punishment. When she meets a vibrant young woman named Veronica, she sees instantly what a great match she'd make for Lil's employer, George. And if she can successfully pair them up, maybe it will be her redemption and she'll be allowed to come back to the fairy realm.

I really loved the first half of this book. It alternates between Lil's present life, and her fairy life up to the night of Cinderella's ball. I liked the glimpses into Lil's fairy world - it was pretty and exciting and vivid. I enjoyed Lil's present-day life as well - her working in a used bookstore, her conversations with George and (later) Veronica. It all had that fairy-tale feel to it.

Something went wonky during the last 100 pages... Lil suddenly seems more like a crazy person that anything else. And while I still enjoyed her friendship with Veronica, internally Lil was turning into a mess. I just spent the last 100 pages of the book half confused and half frustrated. And now that I'm done with the book, I still don't know 100% what exactly just happened. I hate that.

Since I enjoyed Mermaid so much, and I did enjoy most of this book, then I'll probably read whatever else Turgeon writes. I just wish that this story had gone a little differently.

Sarah Says: 2.5 stars

Top Ten Tuesday: Fave Book Settings

2011-06-07T10:23:00.004-04:00

Good morning everyone! It's Tuesday, and time for my favorite meme - Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is Favorite Book Settings. Let's get to it, shall we?

1. England (Harry Potter style): So, I know a TON of people would love to live in HP's world and so would I. It has all the conveniences of the modern day, but this uber-cool hidden world of magic and wizards and elfs, etc... Plus the magical part of the world is more old-timey - no computers, no cars, etc. It's all about quills and cauldrons and apparating. TOO COOL.

2. Shadow (The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin): So in this 2nd book of the series, the setting is mostly Shadow - the city that has sprouted up underneath the World Tree in the city of Sky. It's kind of your basic old-timey world (no modern stuff), except that gods play a big part in life, and godlings live in this city. They live among the humans, using their powers and either helping or hindering human life. I just think it would be HELLA cool to live in a village where godlings are just walking around.

3. England (The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde): Like Harry Potter, it's a modern world. Except that literature is taken VERY seriously. Books are protected, people walk around debating who Shakespeare really is, characters jump in and out of books, and there's a whole police force dedicated to protecting literature - the LiteraTecs. Not the mention that there's also routine cloning, time travel, etc. But any place that glorifies books like that is awesome.

4. Seattle (Married with Zombies by Jesse Petersen): So, I'm all about a zombie apocolypse. I think I could not only handle myself well, but that it'd be kind of fun too. Killing zombies, scavenging for supplies, being able to carry around weapons without a permit, etc. And this has to be one of the best zombie books I've read. They're entertaining, and the main character (Sarah) is a great narrator. I wouldn't mind being in zombified Seattle with her and her husband David.

5. The Four Corners of Civilization (The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss): This is another one of those awesome back-in-the-day type settings, with the added magic of the arcanists. Like the magical Harry Potter world, there are a lot of different magical aspects to study in - runes, alchemy, etc... with the coolest being naming. If you know the true name of something, you can control / use it. Also, Kvothe is a kick ass character and I love experiencing this world through his eyes.

6. Scotland, 1700's to present (Outlander series): So, Outlander makes me love Scotland. And while I love it the most back in the 1700's when kilts and broadswords were all the rage, I also like modern-day-ish Scotland because... well, I really like Scottish accents. And the people seem really cool. Also, the standing stones add that tiny bit of magic / mysticism that I love.

7. Pine Cove, CA (Christopher Moore books): So a lot of Chris Moore's books take place in the quaint little town of Pine Cove, and I think I'd love living there. Stuff always seems to be happening there - demons, vampires, angels, zombies, talking bats, and so on.

8. The Seven Kingdoms (Graceling by Kristin Cashore): Another one of my favorite fantasy books, and yes it's set back-in-the-day. Apparently my favorite time period is when people still used horses and wagons and fires. Anyways, what's super special about this world that Cashore has created is the Gracelings. Gracelings are people who are "graced" with an extreme ability - whether it be fighting, swimming, lying, killing, cooking... and you can recognize a Graced person because they have two different colored eyes. Also, in the book Fire, we learn that there are also "monsters" in the Seven Kingdoms as well, although they're rarer. I absolutely cannot wait for more books in this series to come out.

9. England (Jane Austen style): OK, now overall it would suck being a woman in Jane Austen's novels. You don't have any real rights, and money / status matter way too much. But I do love the romance of this time period - the awesome cool clothes, love letters, the witty banter, etc.

10. North Carolina (via Sarah Addison Allen's novels): SAA always makes me want to move to some tiny little town in NC, where there are hints of magic almost everywhere. And it's never magic that someone can really control, but natural magic in people. I love the way she seeps magic into everyday people and life.

So that's about it! Apparently, England and any old-timey world have the monopoly on my favorite book settings.

While you're hear, don't forget to sign up for the Summer Mini-Readathon in July! It's only about a month away!

In My Mailbox VLOG 6/6/11

2011-06-06T13:06:00.003-04:00

Hey errbody. So this is my pitifully small IMM. In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren, you should check it out.

Books mentioned this week:

Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn
The Sleeping Beauty by Mercedes Lackey
An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon
The Violets of March by Sarah Jio
From Eternity to Here by Sean Carroll
Godmother by Carolyn Turgeon
Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me by Chelsea's family, friends, and other victims

Happy IMM!

Mermaid by Carolyn Turgeon

2011-06-04T14:29:00.003-04:00

I'm a little sad it's over. I wanted to keep reading!

Lenia is the youngest mermaid princess, and she's always been entranced by all things related to the "upper world", the world where humans live. Merpeople are only allowed to go to the surface of the sea for one day, on their 18th birthday, and have to be careful not to be seen. But when Lenia's birthday finally comes, there's a huge storm and when she gets to the surface of the sea, she's in the midst of a shipwreck. She sees the humans she's fantasized about for years dying all around her, but she manages to save just one. She brings him to the shore, and has to leave him in the care of a girl on the beach. But even when she returns to her undersea home, she can't stop thinking about the man she left behind.

Margrethe is a princess in the North, hiding at a convent by the sea while her country prepares for war with the South. One day as she's looking out at the cold sea, she sees a glittery mermaid come from the sea, bringing a man to shore. Margrethe is entranced and runs to meet them, but the mermaid has already disappeared, so she focuses on saving the man in front of her. When he awakes, Margrethe realizes who he really is - and sets in motion a plan that will allow her to satisfy her heart and save her kingdom at the same time.

BTW, this is based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. I've never read the actual fairy tale, but I looked it up online and this story doesn't seem to be too different until the ending.

So yes, this book is basically one big love triangle. It SO worked though. The chapters alternate between Lenia and Margrethe, and I loved and sympathized with them both. The man, Christopher, doesn't really get much story-time until the last 1/4 of the book or so. Lenia desperately wants the chance to experience the human world, and the chance to gain a human soul. Margrethe wants to bring more beauty and happiness into the world, and it only seems possible when she sees the mermaid. Though these women are really at odds for being in love with the same man, they also share a connection. It's rare for me to want BOTH the girls to win the guy, but I couldn't pick a side. Both girls were just great. And I loved learning about the mermaid world.

My only real complaint is that I wish it was longer, so that the girls characters could have grown a bit more. They were both throwing themselves headfirst into getting what they desired, and I just wanted to see them enjoy it a little longer.

This is my first novel by Turgeon and I'm very excited to read more by her. I actually only heard of this book because I saw it on some tables at Borders, and the cover caught my eye. I finally rented it from the library, and it's definitely going to be a book I purchase for myself. The writing was just beautiful. Life under the sea as a mermaid sounded wonderful and magical and exotic. And Margrethe's time at the convent was filled with feelings of peace and tranquility. Turgeon's an extremely skilled author, and I think I'm going to start her novel Godmother this weekend.

Sarah Says: 4 stars

Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill

2011-06-03T16:08:00.004-04:00

Just finished this book... first heard about it on Goodreads probably a year or so ago, and finally got around to reading the copy on my shelf. It always makes me a little happy when I manage to read a book I already own, instead of library books or brand new books. Anyways...

The story is about Aminata Diallo, who is kidnapped from Africa when she is 11 years old and sold into slavery. The story starts when Aminata is an old lady in England, writing the story of her life to help the cause of the abolitionists. She recounts her long and tumultuous life. Her enslaved life starts in South Carolina, lasting for years and through a lot of hurt and heartache. She eventually escapes in Manhattan and works as a scribe for the British army during the American Revolution. She records the names of blacks who helped the British and thereby earned their freedom in the famous "Book of Negroes" ( a real historical document) and as a reward sets off for Nova Scotia. From there Aminata manages to head back to Africa, before she finally makes her way to London to try and help the abolitionists. (Don't worry, that's not spoiler-y. It's all on the back of the book.)

Aminata, AKA Meena, is an amazing character. She soaks up knowledge like a sponge. And while she goes through periods of grief and anguish, she astoundingly always comes back stronger. I love that so much emphasis was placed on her ability to read and write, and how much those skills helped her to gain her freedom, earn a living, and try to help other enslaved Africans. I also liked that the book showed her confusion upon arriving in America. As soon as she learns English and can communicate with the slaves around her, she begins to question the nature of slavery, how it even exists, how these toubabu (white people) could possibly claim to own her when she was born free. It's a question that still confuses even me - I'll never understand the basis for racism, and therefore slavery.

While this was a good book with a strong main character, there was something lacking but I'm not sure what it is. That "IT" factor that makes me gush about a book just wasn't there. It was good historical fiction, but not something I'll rave about. I'd recommend it to those interested in books about slavery, historical fiction, or those in the mood for something more contemplative rather than exciting.

Sarah Says: 3.5 stars

Because I wanna... Book Survey

2011-06-02T11:02:00.003-04:00

Sadly, I have not finished a book since Sunday. My little sister kind of threw all my reading plans off track this week when she came to visit on Monday & Tuesday. I love seeing her :o) and of course would rather spend time with her than read, but I'm very behind now. Anyhoo, since I have no review to post, I decided to do this little survey.

I found this a few days ago on Jenn's blog at Booksessed, and she found it on Amber's blog at Me, My Shelf, and I. And so now I'm joining the fun, cause I wanna. And then I'm getting my butt offline and reading!

Book next to your bed right now: Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill

Favorite series: The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon

Favorite book: Outlander. Also, Wuthering Heights, The Poisonwood Bible, anything by Christopher Moore, and a bunch more.

The one book you would have with you if stranded on a desert island: Seven Novels by Jane Austen, that big pretty B&N leatherbound classic. It's massive, should take me a while to get through!

Book / series you would take with you on a long flight: Harry Potter series, or The Hunger Games series.

Worst book you were made to read in school: Hamlet. We read it in like 7th grade and I didn't have a clue what was going on.

Book that everyone should be made to read in school: To Kill a Mockingbird, Ender's Game, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, etc....

Book that everyone should read, period: Well obviously the ones I listed to read in school.

Favorite character: Too many really. Jamie & Claire from Outlander for the most part. I've also been liking Tyrion from the A Song of Ice and Fire series.

Best villian: Hades from The Eyre Affair. I really liked him, even though he was a baddie.

Favorite invented world: Any old-time-y setting, with magic and dragons and stuff.

Most beautifully written book: The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran comes to mind.

Funniest book: Lamb by Christopher Moore. Just cracks me up.

Top Ten Tuesday: Perfect Beach Reads

2011-05-31T09:02:00.003-04:00

Good morning ya'll! Time for my favorite meme of the week, Top Ten Tuesday, which is hosted by the fabulous peeps over at The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is Top Ten Books That Should Be In Your Beach Bag. Perfect topic for today, since it's going to be about 90 degrees here. I wish I was going to the beach...

1. The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd - This books takes place for the most part on a small island. The main character, Jessie, comes home to Egret Island to re-evaluate her life and rediscover who she is and her passion for life. There's a lot of local mermaid history too. Good if you want kind of a deep beach read.

2. Mrs. Whippy by Cecelia Ahern - This is a SUPER-short book, so it's perfect for those beach-goers who fall in asleep in the sun, or who get distracted by friends and family. It's about a lady and her interest in an ice-cream man. This might make you want to go visit the ice cream stand by your beach, if you're lucky enough to have one.

3. Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler - Basically a bunch of hilarious stories about Chelsea's life, it's funny and it has short chapters, so again perfect if you can't really concentrate. Or if you're drinking while you're at the beach.

4. The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey - If you like fairy-tale retellings with a little bit of romance, this novel is right up your alley. And it's light and cute, perfect for the beach.

5. anything by Christopher Moore - Moore's books are all hilarious, and they take place for the most part in California. Fluke in particular takes place a lot in the ocean.

6. Married With Zombies by Jesse Petersen - Cute book about how a couple close to divorce reconnects when the zombie apocoplyse hits. It's the start of a series too. The newest, Eat Slay Love, is coming out in June.

7. Harry Potter books - Because most of us have read and read them again, these are perfect comfort reads. And yet they're still SO good that you won't want to put them down.

8. Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand - Honestly, I haven't read anything by this author yet. But if I was going to the beach today, I'd stop at the library and borrow this book. Look up the author and look at the book covers - they're all beach scenes!

9. anything by Jennifer Crusie - She's my favorite contemporary romance author. Her books are always fun and sweet and fluffy.

10. The Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris - Especially if you already like True Blood, give the books a try. They're not great, but they're easy and fun and have vampires.

This list was surprisingly harder than I thought. I know that "chick lit" is usually the go-to genre for beach reads, but I haven't read a lot of it. At least not that I've liked. Anyhoo, those are my suggestions! What are yours?

BTW, this list is PERFECT for my Summer Mini-Readathon coming up in July! It's only 12 hours long, and there are prizes to win at the end, so check it out and sign up before you leave! It'll be fun, I promise.

Bossypants by Tina Fey

2011-05-29T15:44:00.003-04:00

For reals, I love Tina Fey. I used to feel like a jerk for saying that, because I really only noticed her when she did those Palin sketches on SNL, and then fell in love when I started watching 30 Rock (Liz Lemon is like the best TV character ever). I've been wanting to read this since it came out, but a couple weeks ago I was STILL like #40 on my library's hold list, so when I got a good coupon for Borders, I caved and bought Bossypants. (Seriously though - Little, Brown, & Co publishers - it's criminal that you've priced a hardcover book with less than 300 pages at $27. Are you insane? Good thing I had that 50% off coupon, and my extra 10% membership discount.) So now, having read this book and thoroughly enjoyed it, I feel justified in saying that yeah, Tina Fey rocks.

This is Tina's recollections of childhood, school, awkward dating situations, jobs, and finally her awesome shows and being a mom. She's witty and funny throughout the whole darn thing, while still remaining cool and intelligent. She's one of those famous people that you could totally picture being friends with. And that's saying something for me, because I honestly don't have a lot of female friends.

A couple highlights / my favorite parts:

"Two peanuts are walking down the street. And one was a salted." (This was just a random joke in the intro - TOTALLY perfect for my corny sense of humor.)

She dedicates a whole chapter to addressing some of the rude comments she's seen about herself online. And man does she know how to bite back :o)

She defends the use of Photoshop, pointing out that it's not inherently evil and there's nothing wrong with wanting to look good. And that it's better than plastic surgery.

While she pokes fun at her single-life encounters with the opposite sex, she's respectful whenever she mentions her husband. She doesn't get vulgar or sexual when she talks about him, it's cool that she respects her married life.

She talks a bit about sexism she's encountered over the years and voices her feminist stance. I have issues with modern-day feminists - mainly because the ones I meet are too "girls rule and boys drool", and they tend to be really jerky about my desire to be a childless housewife. But Tina writing about how tough it is for female comedians, and talking about how infuriating it is to deal with people who have working-mom issues... it reminded me what feminism is SUPPOSED to be about. Choosing what YOU want to do, and not having to deal with someone else's bullshit, criticizing you because what you want to do goes against the preconceived notions people have for what women are supposed to be like. So props to her for that.

She talks about the Sarah Palin sketches that brought her so much attention during the last election.

She talks about her work on SNL & how 30 Rock was created, which I really enjoyed because I love 30 Rock so much.

Overall, this was a great look into Tina Fey's life and psyche. She seems like such a fun person. It gave me a lot of laughs along the way. The only bad thing I can say is that it's too short. And I didn't know she wrote that Mean Girls movie... it kind of makes me want to see it now.

Sarah Says: 4 stars!

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

2011-05-28T15:18:00.003-04:00

*SPOILERS FOR BOOK ONE - OUTLANDER - HERE. SHOULD PROBABLY ONLY READ THIS IF YOU'VE READ THE FIRST NOVEL. OR IF YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT SPOILERS.*

So, my re-read of the second novel in the Outlander series, Dragonfly in Amber. My god I love this series. And the first two novels are my favorite :-) Outlander ends with Claire telling Jamie that she's pregnant, and they decide to set off for France in hopes of preventing the Battle of Culloden and saving thousands of Scottish lives.

The book starts off kind of confusing - it's 1968, and Claire and her daughter Brianna are in Scotland, visiting Roger Wakefield (the son of an acquaintance from book one). When I first read this series (I can't believe it's only been about 4 years since then!), I was confused and thought that maybe I didn't have the right book. But keep reading - Claire has brought Brianna to Scotland to tell her who her father is. And from there the book picks up where Outlander left off. Claire and Jamie are France, constantly trying to prevent the slaughter of thousands of Highlanders. From plots and courtly intrigues in France, to danger in England and Scotland, there are plenty of plot twists, action, and big surprises that make this probably the most exciting novel in the series.

I actually might like this book even MORE than I like Outlander, for a couple of reasons. The main reason is that we learn so much about Claire and Jamie. They're together for the majority of the book, and it's so nice to see their early married life. They also go through a LOT of heart-wrenching hell. This is my third time reading this book, and the ending STILL makes me cry.

Another reason this might be my absolute favorite of the whole series is that it introduces SO many characters critical to the rest of the series. My favorite are the introduction of Master Raymond- a knowledgable apothecary in Paris, and Fergus - the 9-year old French pickpocket that Jamie hires. These are two fantastic characters (and Gabaldon has hinted about novellas revolving around Raymond, which I would love). Also important are Brianna and Roger.

And of course, if you like historical fiction then you'll eat this up. You'll learn A LOT about the Jacobites, and the events leading up the The Battle of Culloden, 1745.

Basically, you HAVE to read this series. It's amazing. I am so in love with Jamie & Claire. So much so that every year for Christmas, the honeyman gets me a piece of Outlander jewelry from http://theauthorsattic.com/. The first he gave me was the replica of Claire's wedding ring from Jamie. I wear it every day :o)

Now that I've finished re-reading this one, I REALLY feel like starting my re-read of book three; Voyager. I think I have to read a couple other books first though. At least it'll give me something to look forward to!

Sarah Says: 5 huge freaking stars.

Sorry for the delay...

2011-05-26T00:35:00.002-04:00

Hey errbody. Just wanted to let you know that I'm still alive. Haven't posted since Monday AM for a few reasons:

1. I'm re-reading Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon, which is like 900 pages. Should finish it in the next day or two, and then there will be a review. And THEN I'll be starting Bossypants.

2. My preggers little sister, Amanda, came into town Monday afternoon. She only lives like 1.5 hours away, but I haven't seen her in a long while. So we hung out the rest of the day Monday and all day on Tuesday. It involved a lot of visiting the rest of the family so they can see her 7-month belly. It was exhausting, but fun. I like her visiting.

3. I would've managed to post this week's Top Ten Tuesday meme, except that I seriously couldn't really think of any books I've lied about. I actually tried making the list up Sunday at work, and couldn't think of freaking anything. That might be the first TTT post I've missed in a long time.

4. Playstation Network is back online, so when I have free time and I'm not catching up on the blogosphere, I've been getting my Black Ops fix.

But now my work week is starting, in about 2 hours. So for the next 4 days, I should get A LOT of reading done while I'm working. As long as I'm not too sleepy. So reviews to come, I promise. I'm gettin there.

In the meantime...

vote for June's read

sign-up for the Summer Mini-Readathon

Come Vote! June Poll is up!!!!

2011-05-23T11:19:00.007-04:00

Good morning! It's time for you lovely peeps to vote for what book you want me to read & review in June! The poll is on top of my right sidebar. Here are the books I'm proposing. Descriptions come from www.goodreads.com. Vote!

Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me by Chelsea's family, friends, & other victims - the non-fiction pick:
'My tendency to make up stories and lie compulsively for the sake of my own amusement takes up a good portion of my day and provides me with a peace of mind not easily attainable in this economic climate.' - Chelsea Handler, from Chapter 10 of Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang. It's no lie: Chelsea Handler loves to smoke out 'dumbassness,' the condition people suffer from that allows them to fall prey to her brand of complete and utter nonsense. Friends, family, co-workers - they've all been tricked by Chelsea into believing stories of total foolishness and into behaving like total fools. Luckily, they've lived to tell the tales and, for the very first time, write about them.

The Violets of March by Sarah Jio - the modern lit pick:

In her twenties, Emily Wilson was on top of the world: she had a bestselling novel, a husband plucked from the pages of GQ, and a one-way ticket to happily ever after.
Ten years later, the tide has turned on Emily's good fortune. So when her great-aunt Bee invites her to spend the month of March on Bainbridge Island in Washington State, Emily accepts, longing to be healed by the sea. Researching her next book, Emily discovers a red velvet diary, dated 1943, whose contents reveal startling connections to her own life.
A mesmerizing debut with an idyllic setting and intriguing dual story line, The Violets of March announces Sarah Jio as a writer to watch.

Wicked by Gregory Maguire - the fairytale retelling pick:
When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? Gregory Maguire has created a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again.

Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn - the romance pick:
Honoria Smythe-Smith is:

A) a really bad violinist

B) still miffed at being nicknamed "Bug" as a child

C) NOT in love with her older brother's best friend

D) all of the above

Marcus Holroyd is:

A) the Earl of Chatteris

B) regrettably prone to sprained ankles

C) NOT in love with his best friend's younger sister

D) all of the above

Together they:

A) eat quite a bit of chocolate cake

B) survive a deadly fever AND the world's worst musical performance

C) fall quite desperately in love

It's Julia Quinn at her best, so you KNOW the answer is...

D) all of the above

Changing Planes by Ursula le Guin - the sci-fi pick:
The misery of waiting for a connecting flight at an airport leads to the accidental discovery of alighting on other planes--not airplanes but planes of existence. Ursula Le Guin's deadpan premise frames a series of travel accounts by the tourist-narrator who describes bizarre societies and cultures that sometimes mirror our own, and sometimes open puzzling doors into the alien.

So that's it! Get voting! You have until June 1st!

In My Mailbox VLOG 5/22/11

2011-05-22T20:53:00.002-04:00

Hey ya'll. It's been a little while and I haven't bought a lot of books lately, but here's a In My Mailbox post. IMM is hosted weekly by The Story Siren, check there for more details.

Here's the books mentioned:- The Sonnets by William Shakespeare
- Die for Me by Karen Rose
- Cyanide & Happiness by Kris, Rob, Matt, & Dave (visit the webcomic here)
- Bossypants by Tina Fey
- morning in the burned house by Margaret Atwood
- Selected Poems of William Wordsworth
- A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
- Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Leave me a comment with your IMM for the week!

Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore

2011-05-18T12:42:00.002-04:00

I cannot believe I haven't reviewed a Christopher Moore book on this blog yet!!! Chris Moore is one of my very favorite authors - he's absolutely weird and hysterical. I re-read his novel Lamb last year, but apparently it was before I really got into the swing of things on the blog.

So, this is Moore's debut novel. Surprisingly I hadn't read it yet - actually, I've now read all but 3 of his books. Kind of like Jane Austen, I try to spread them out. Luckily, Chris Moore is still alive and kicking and still writing, so there will be more from him, but still. I like to spread his novels out for pure enjoyment.

Practical Demonkeeping is about a man named Travis, who has been traveling the country with the demon Catch for the last hundred years. Travis looks about 25 but he's actually been around since the 1920s-ish, constantly traveling and trying to find a way to send Catch back to hell. Catch has a nasty habit of eating people, and while Travis can try to hold him back, he can't rest until he sends the creepy bastard back where he came from. Finally, his search leads him to the tiny California town of Pine Cove, where he hopefully finds the answers he's looking for.

I enjoyed this novel for a bunch of reasons. Partly because Pine Cove and it's residents appear in future Christopher Moore books, so I was able to see them again and learn more about them. Catch also appears in another novel (Lamb), and while he's technically a bad guy cause he's a people-eating demon - he's also really snarky and kind of funny. I was glad to see so much of him in this book. There's also a hint of mythological and biblical backstory, in which we learn who exactly Catch is and when he was Earth-side up before.

While there weren't a whole lot of laugh-out-loud moments, there was a lot of witty wordplay. And I liked this quote the best:

"Are you saying," Brine interrupted, "that the human race was created to irritate Satan?"
"That is correct. Jehovah is infinite in his snottiness."

I totally enjoyed meeting the residents of Pine Cove all over again, but I will say that sometimes I got kind of lost in the big cast. I guess that's where this really shows that it's Moore's first novel. It's my only complaint.

If you're new to Christopher Moore, I wouldn't recommend starting with this one. Try Lamb, A Dirty Job, or Bloodsucking Fiends first. This is still a worthy read though, and I'm glad I own it and can add it to my Moore collection.

Sarah Says: 4 stars

Cyanide & Happiness: Volume 1

2011-05-17T11:07:00.007-04:00

This is my first time reviewing comics here, but I'm VERY excited about this. Cyanide & Happiness is my favorite comic. Sadly, it's not like it's in the daily newspaper - but there's a new comic almost daily on the website here. It features relatively crude stick figures, and never really any one main character. But the comics are absolutely HYSTERICAL. They are also mean, rude, offensive, dark, cynical... they're for people with a pretty twisted sense of humor. Which means they're right up my alley. If you like dark humor, this is for you.

This is the FIRST collection of Cyanide & Happiness comics in book form. I finally bought it at Borders last night, and read through it just now sitting at the table. It's SO FUNNY. Like, I laughed out loud, and kept telling the honeyman about different particularly funny ones while he's trying to play the video game. There are four authors to this collection of comics, though according to Wikipedia there are five authors of the comic online. I'm not sure why only four contributed here, but whatevs.

Also, these comic authors are unique in that they actually encourage showing off their comics on your blog, Myspace, Twitter, etc. Each daily comic has a little "Share" button at the bottom so that people can display them. I'm going to take advantage of that and give you a little taste here. Some of them might be kind of graphic, tasteless, or offensive but you know... they're hilarious.

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net
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Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net
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Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net
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I tried not to post ones that were TOO graphic...

Anyways, these comics are hilarious. Check it out on their website, or next time you're in Borders or Barnes & Noble, go to the humor section and look for Cyanide & Happiness, or their second book Ice Cream & Sadness.

Sarah Says: 5 stars!

Top Ten Tuesday: Fave Minor Characters!

2011-05-17T09:33:00.003-04:00

Good morning everyone! It's time for Top Ten Tuesday, my favorite meme and hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is Top Ten Favorite Minor Characters. Hopefully I can think up ten!

1. The Weasley twins from Harry Potter: Fred and George were really only there for comic relief and because they are crazy geniuses are inventing, but I just adore them.

2. Jenks from Dead Witch Walking: I actually hate this book, mainly because the main character annoyed the crap out of me. However, Jenks is awesome. Jenks is a pixy who makes really snide remarks but deep down is caring and stuff. He's a little tiny bundle of cool.

3. Mary from Pride and Prejudice: I always feel a little bad for Mary. But she's so cool in her own way - she loves to read and wants to be thought of as smart, and she's not as stupid and annoying as Kitty and Lydia. Sure, she's a bit pretentious, but brains in a girl count for a lot.

4. Abby from You Suck: A Love Story by Christopher Moore: Abby is a Goth girl with a snarky sense of humor, and all about helping her vampire friends attempt to live a somewhat normal life and escape those trying to do them in. Abby makes me laugh out loud A LOT.

5. Kona from Fluke by Christopher Moore: Kona is a white fake Rastafarian with a horrid Jamaican accent, but he is absolutely hysterical. He was definitely one of my favorite characters in Fluke.

6. Vizzini from The Princess Bride: Okay, he's not around for long and he's a total jerk, but his constant "Inconceivable!" just makes me giggle. I'm seriously giggling as I type this.

7. Young Ian from the Outlander series: Young Ian and funny as a youngster, and then later grows really serious but kind of badass after some bad shit happens to him. I would love it if Diana Gabaldon gave Ian his own whole book someday.

8. Sieh in The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms: Sieh is a really old god who often looks like a child, because... he pretty much is. His disposition and personality are very child-like, but he's also really powerful and smart. I'm very, very excited that the third book in this series is going to be all about him.

9. Devi from The Name of the Wind: Devi is one of those characters who seems really likable and trustworthy, but might turn into a problem at a moment's notice. She is however super-cool - she's an illegal moneylender, and used to be a member of the Arcanum. She's really, really powerful, but also cute as a button.

10. Roran from the Eragon series: Roran is Eragon's cousin, but I love how tough he is. His role definitely grows as the series goes on and he grows up in many ways. And his weapon of choice is a hammer! Awesome in so many ways.

Alright, I did it! Minor characters add so much to a book, I think. What are some of your faves?

P.S. Come sign up for my Summer Mini-Readathon if you haven't done so yet!

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

2011-05-13T16:49:00.002-04:00

This was the winner for the May poll, and so here you go readers - you'll be happy to know that I really enjoyed this book. I'm warning you though - even though this book is only about 220 pages long, I have a LOT to say.

Ender's Game is about a child named Andrew Wiggen, called Ender as a nickname. The setting in the book is America, though in the future - space travel / war is not uncommon, what seems to be iPads are used by EVERYONE, even kids, and technology just seems more advanced. However, the world is still weirdly familiar - references to the U.S., Russia, Islam, school, insurance, and a couple other modern-day things that I don't normally see in sci-fi books. Ender is picked on a lot for being a "Third" - in this time, parents are only allowed to have two childen, but he's their third. Since Ender's parents seemed particularly good at producing genius children, they had them conceive a third time. Genetic experimintation has been going on for decades to try to create the perfect military commander to defeat "the buggers" - aliens that have been at war with Earth for about a century.

Ender is picked on a lot - he's small for being almost 6 years old, and being a Third makes him an outcast. Also, children have "monitors" implanted at a very young age so the military can see what kind of person they are and what their intellect is like. Ender's picked on for having his implant a lot longer than normal, meaning that the military is interested in him. He's also picked on by his brother Peter, who has clear psychopathic tendancies and hates that Ender is still being monitored, but he's not. Ender's one consolation is his sister Valentine, who protects Ender and also deals with Peter's scariness. All three of them are super-genius children.

The story starts off when Ender gets his monitor removed. He's relieved, hoping that he won't be picked on by every one now. He just wants to be normal. Unfortunately, the opposite happens - now that he's no longer monitored, the kids can actually hurt him worse without fear of being discovered. That day at school Ender is confronted with a bully named Stilson, who he fights. Surprisingly, he wins, and then continues to beat Stilson even after falling so that people will know not to try to bully him anymore.

It's after this fight that Colonel Graff comes to Ender's house and offers him a position at Battle School - something a lot of kids aspire to. He accepts, and from there travels to space to go through Battle School and prepare to fight the buggers. There have been two bugger invasions and it's a constant fear of everyone's that the third invasion will be successful and humankind will be eliminated.

There are a lot of things I enjoyed about this book. At the beginning of each chapter are snippets of conversation among some of the military leaders, talking about the ways they are trying to manipulate Ender and hoping that he is the miracle that will save them from the buggers. I liked those little behind-the-scenes moments. I also really enjoyed Ender's character. As a child, he's a genius but he's also incredibly compassionate. When forced to fight and hurt Stilson, he's regretful that it had to happen if he wanted bullies to stop picking on him. He only hurts those who want to hurt him, and he's never happy about it - but he is smart enough to make sure that he's ruthless about it, so those same people don't just try again. His high intelligence and the descriptions of various tactics and manipulations of people he uses in Battle School were fascinating. I will say this though - that while I really liked Ender and admire a LOT about him, his conscious was a little TOO conflicted for my taste. If you have to hurt someone and succeed, fine - but don't spiral into some deep emotional conflict about it.

There's also a sidestory about what his siblings are doing while he's away. I won't go into it too much here, except that it's important for the set-up for the next books.

Now, to address some of the controversies surrounding this book. Let's start with the racism issues. Here is the passage that invites a whole lot of criticism and debate (on page 45 in my copy):

They grinned. Then Ender said, "Better invite Bernard.”
Alai cocked an eyebrow. "Oh?”
"And Shen.”
"That little slanty-eyed butt-wiggler?”
Ender decided that Alai was joking. "Hey, we can't all be n******.”
Alai grinned. "My grandpa would've killed you for that.”
"My great great grandpa would have sold him first,”
"Let's go get Bernard and Shen and freeze these bugger-lovers.”

Obviously, I put those stars there myself - in the book, that racial slur is spelled out. The use of the N-word, in any book, is always jarring for me. It's a word I can't stand, I can't even think of while reading without feeling uncomfortable. It drew so much attention that some years later, Orson Scott Card himself changed it in all future reprints - that passage is now gone. According to Card, the intention of this passage was to show Ender telling his friend Alai not to be racist by used the term "slanty-eyed". But Card saw how many people were talking about the use of the N-word and decided that it was distracting too much from the story, so he removed it. I have to say - I don't know why this passage was in here to begin with. Card doesn't really give any physical descriptions of any of the characters except in relating to their size. In fact, until this passage I didn't realize that Alai is apparently a person of color. Before this passage, I had no idea what the race of ANY of the characters was, including Ender. So I don't know why he chose to bring race into the story in this passage, and then drop the matter entirely the rest of the book. And no, I don't really consider it censorship because he chose to remove it himself - and I'm glad he did. It had ZERO relevance to the story and it really did distract from the flow of the book.

The other major controversy about this book is that it justifies the use of violence among children. I understand that parents don't like to expose their children to violence in movies, books, music, etc. I get that. I don't however understand the trend among parents these days of teaching their children that if someone hits them, to not hit back. I fully support self-defense, and in the book Ender is completely right; if he didn't hurt his bullies worse than any one thought possible of him, he would have KEPT being bullied. Then after the fight, Ender suffers emotionally because he doesn't WANT to hurt anyone, but it was necessary for his own self-preservation. This is a perfect example to younger people to defend themselves but to never feel good about fighting. Seriously, maybe adults should hand a copy of this book to the kids being bullied a lot these days.

Anyways, this is a great book. I got really wrapped up in it, and can't wait to discuss it with a friend of mine, who's been recommending it for years. I also can totally see why this book is recommended reading for the Marine Corps - it displays a compassionate, intelligent person who isn't cruel, but who is a brilliant tactian and strategist and knows earn loyalty from his troops. All that being said - I don't know if I'll read the rest of the series. Ender is a great character and the ending was interesting, but this IS the most celebrated book of the series. I'm not sure the rest of the series will be as great... and not sure I want to keep reading Card. His recent outspoken anti-gay sentiments are a real turn-off. I may read the sequel if I find it used somewhere, or on a whim if it's at the library. We'll see.

Sarah Says: 4.5 stars

Mini-Readathon Update: Challenge Prizes

2011-05-11T23:26:00.002-04:00

OKAY, so after a lot of consideration (and by that I mean the last half hour or so), I've decided how I want to do the prizes for my Summer Mini-Readathon.

Now, there will 5 be mini-challenges in that 12-hour block. I'll post one every 3 hours - so one at the beginning, three in the middle, and one at the end for a total of five.

You don't have to do them right away. The point of the readathon is to get some reading done, right? So since it's taking place on Sunday, July 10th - you'll have until 6 PM (Eastern) on Monday July 11th to post the links / complete the mini-challenges you feel like doing. Cause I'm nice like that. I'll pick winners and announce them on Tuesday, July 12th.

Each challenge you complete is an entry for the prize, so you can potentially earn yourself 5 entries. Awesomeness, right?

I'll be picking three winners via random.org.

1st winner - $30 Amazon e-gift card
2nd & 3rd place winners - $10 Amazon e-gift card each

So I'll be giving away a total of $50 in prizes. The cool thing? With e-gift cards, you don't need to give me your mailing address, just an email address. Plus, this comes out of my own pocket, so I save on shipping costs too and therefore can give cool prizes like this, that are exciting for anybody.

Here's the link to go sign-up! You don't wanna miss it. I promise.

Top Ten Tuesday: Biggest Literary Jerks

2011-05-10T09:41:00.003-04:00

Good morning everyone! Before we get to this week's Top Ten Tuesday, I wanted to post a quick announcement. I've started a second blog called Sarah Says Watch It, where I can review and talk about tv shows, movies, video games, music, and so on. Don't worry - THIS blog will always be my #1 concern, because I love books more than all of those other things combined. But I wanted to try out Wordpress.com, and I wanted somewhere where I could talk about more media-related things other than books. So ta-da! I've already done 1 post and hope to do around one or two a week. Please check it out :o)

Now, on to the good stuff! Top Ten Tuesday is hosted weekly by the lovely bloggers over at The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is a lot of fun: Top Ten Biggest Jerky Men in Literature. This should be a lot of fun, cause there are some major-league assholes in a lot of books! I should also mention that there are a couple jerks who I also really like. As my honeyman always tells me, I'm attracted to assholes. And while I love my honeyman dearly, he does have jerk-ish tendancies, so I guess he's right :o)

1. Hades from The Eyre Affair: Okay, Hades is an evil mofo. He's evil just for a sake of being evil, and while he's a jerk and dangerous and keeps trying to destroy major literary works - he's also really witty and kind of funny while he does it. While he's jerk, I actually loved Hades. He was my favorite character in this book!

2. Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights: Again, he's a total asshole. He very carefully and skillfully ruins EVERYONE who has ever wronged him in the worst ways. But yet - I love Heathcliff. He's one of my favorite characters EVER. (See what I mean, about liking jerks?)

3. Dimitri from The Bronze Horseman: Man is this guy a leech. This book is set in Russia during WW2 and he is in the military, but he is the BIGGEST candy-ass ever. And not only does he know it, but he uses his "friend" mercilessly to try to save himself, no matter who he hurts or screws over in the end. I can't stand Dimitri.

4. King Leck from Graceling: Maaaaann, this guy a pyschopath. I can't go into too much detail for fear of spoilers, but he's a bad mamajama.

5. Ambrose from The Name of the Wind: Ambrose is ALWAYS on Kvothe's junk. (Kvothe is the main character for those of you who don't know.) Ambrose ia rich, full of himself, and tortures Kvothe for no other reason than he's jealous and an asshole.

6. Francis Reynaud from Chocolat: Though it was a bit stereotypical, he was the jerk of a parish curate. He decides that he doesn't like the new pretty woman who moves into town and starts a chocolate shop because she is unmarried, associates with people he doesn't approve of, and he thinks she's a witch. He's one of those jerks who takes his religion a LITTLE too seriously and condemns everyone in sight for his own torment.

7. David from Bet Me: He is the heroine's ex-boyfriend and he is such a tool. The book starts with him dumping her, he then tries to make a slimy bet about her, and throughout the book decides to try to win her back because now someone else wants her. He's a total asshole.

8. Prince Joffery from A Game of Thrones: He's the youngest jerk on this list. He's about 12 and already thinks that he's God's gift to the world. Seriously, only his stupid mama likes him. Near everyone else seems him for the jerk he is.

9. Bob Ewell from To Kill A Mockingbird: Seriously, who does not hate this man? In my book, there are no bigger assholes than racist trash, and Ewell fits that description perfectly.

10. Holden from Catcher in the Rye: This kid is such an ass. Full of whiny, bratty teen angst, he acts like a huge jerk. And I don't think his teen angst is any good excuse.

Ok, so those are my jerks. I feel like I'm forgetting some... I wrote down a bunch last week but lost my list and I don't know if I remembered everyone that I had on it. Grrr. Oh well. Who do you think some literary huge jerks are?

P.S. - Have you signed up for the Summer Mini-Readathon yet? There are now some cool buttons along my right sidebar that you can add to your blog to help spread the word and show your excitement :o) My blog's columns are a little narrow so they look big, but they should fit just fine. (Buttons made by the awesome Heather at All You Need Designs. )

A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

2011-05-09T11:16:00.003-04:00

So, this is book #2 in the series A Song of Ice and Fire. I have to say, that's a crappy series name. Too long. Anyways, so keep in mind that there *may be some slight spoilers ahead*. So read A Game of Thrones first! I won't go too much into detail, because it's hard to do with such an epic story with like 60 different storylines. Okay, not that many but you get what I'm saying.

Man if I thought that the first book was full of plots and courtly intrigues, this one is has about ten times more. Seriously, there are a lot of balls in the air in this one. War is breaking out all over the place - suddenly there are FOUR KINGS battling for power. Plus, war is brewing beyond that Wall, where there are like creepy zombies and other magical stuff.

What also becomes obvious in this book is that Martin is careful not to give any of the possible kings a P.O.V. There are NINE different P.O.V.s in this book, and none of them are kings. Daenerys is possibly the only exception here, because she wants to come back to Westeros and take the throne... but I'm guessing that she's not a real contender for the throne because she's a woman. Maybe she doesn't realize it, but by giving her a P.O.V. I think Martin's saying that she'll have to marry a man and attempt to rule through him if she wants to be in power, because these peeps wouldn't stand to be ruled by a chick.

OK, so here's a break-down of character P.O.V's...

Sansa - Still annoying and helpless.

Arya - LOVE her. She's bad-ass, especially for someone so young. Can't wait to see how her story goes as she gets older.

Bran - Still seems older than 9 or so, but liking him more. He's less whiny, and gains some interesting abilities.

Jon - Still an awesome guy, still serving the Night Watch. I feel bad for him... he's completely cut off from his family.

Catelyn - I hope she gets cut out of the next book. Her P.O.V. is only useful as an occasional telling of how Robb is doing in the war. Otherwise it's just her whining about missing her kids and how she has to do her duty, blah blah blah.

Tyrion - LOVE the Imp. He's crazy smart and tricky and always plotting. Love that he seems to really love Shae, I hope she doesn't screw him over.

Daenerys - She's had a tough time. I liked her more in the last book... her ambition to try to become ruler in Westeros is annoying and seems pointless... And she's still only like 15 or 16.

Theon - New POV to the story - He sucks. I hate him. He was a "ward" (hostage kind-of) of Eddard Stark, but grew up among the Starks for 10 years. He's an evil jerk. He's a dick towards women and screws over EVERYONE and I can't stand him.

Davos - New POV to the story - Like Catelyn, he was likable but boring and only served as useful to know what was going on with King Stannis.

As you may have noticed, Eddard Stark is the only P.O.V. missing from the last book. If you read it, you know why.

So that's basically it. I really want to start the third book, A Storm of Swords, but I need to get some other reading done first. Maybe by the end of the month I'll be able to get to it. It's already waiting on my shelf :)

Sarah Says: 4 stars

The Warlord Wants Forever by Kresley Cole

2011-05-08T15:06:00.002-04:00

OK... I can't believe I'm trying out this series. Paranormal romance that borders on erotica isn't really my cup of tea. However, an acquaintance / friend really loves this series and we kind of traded some books of each other's to try. So you know... that's my excuse.

Also, in all fairness, this isn't a whole book. It's a 180-ish page short story featured in a collection of erotica called Playing Easy to Get. So I'm hoping that this means the rest of the series isn't quite to sex-heavy, and that there will be a better plot in the next book since there will be at least twice the number of pages.

So, this is the start of the Immortals After Dark series. Basically there are groups of supernatural beings that make up The Lore, which is basically a way of saying various supernatural beings. Two of those groups are Vampires and Valkyrie, both immortal.

From what I gathered in this story, two factions in the Vampires are warring - the Vampire Horde versus the Forebearers. Essentially the vamps in the Horde are kind of insane from drinking their victims to death - their eyes turn red and they go insane from the accumulated memories of all of their victims. The Forebearer vamps are humans turned into vampires who don't drink blood from any living being because they're afraid of going insane. Also, vampires walk around completely undead until "blooded" by their pre-destined Bride. Essentially meeting this chickadee will make a vamps heart start beating, and their blood will start flowing again. Ummmm... for lack of a classier way to say this - a vamp can't pitch a tent in his pants until he meets his Bride, and then can only get "relief" from her. Also, I can't tell if there are female vamps or not... it didn't really mention in the book.

Little was really said about the Valkyrie - they're comprised of some bad-ass women, they like to kill vampires and ghouls. They're also really mesmerized by shiny objects, which seems like a very silly weakness. Oh, and they feed off of electricity, like lightening.

Anyways.... Wroth is a Vampire who discovers the Valkyrie Myst in a dungeon when his army overtakes a castle. They flirt a little, trying to figure out who the other is. Not surprisingly, Myst is apparently his Bride because he gets "blooded". She apparently has made a career out of blooding vampires (and then killing them - badass!), but she doesn't. Instead, she ditches him for the next 5 years. Again, unsurprisingly, he finds her and blah, blah, blah they suppose they're meant to be together and will go against the grain to stay together.

Again, not the best story but the plot isn't the main point of this short story. The point is all the doin' it. Now I like romance novels and sexy scenes don't really make me blush or anything, but these scenes were too frequent and vulgar for my cup of tea. I don't really think that name-calling, violence, or being magically forced to do things is sexy. Call me crazy, but whatever.

Gross sex-stuff aside, I can see why the paranormal aspects attract some readers. The author is almost as crazy as Stephanie Meyer in her deciding to make up some weird-ass paranormal character traits. Luckily, there's no sparkling vamps but some of the stuff is still kind of out-of-the-blue. But, it's different. If immortal beings were written the same way in every book it wouldn't be such an uber-popular genre, right?

Also, I really liked the character of Myst. She was really snarky and I love snark. For instance, one quote:

Wroth: "You're the most malicious bitch I've ever known."
Myst: "Flatterer."

That's a good example of the name-calling I was referring to, but anyways. I like that Myst is snarky and kind of crazy and a totally bad-ass warrior. I actually wish that her character hadn't been wasted in this little novella, cause she was pretty great. Wroth on the other hand was okay... nothing special really made him stand out.

I can't believe I've gone this in-depth here. Anyways, it was okay. I'm hoping that the second ACTUAL book, A Hunger Like No Other, will be better. Hopefully more plot, more character development, and less focus on the hanky-panky. I'll probably be disappointed, but we'll see.

Sarah Says: 2.5 stars - 2 for Myst, and .5 for inventive paranormal world-creation

In My Mailbox VLOG 5/5/11

2011-05-05T21:08:00.002-04:00

Hey there peeps. In My Mailbox is hosted weekly by The Story Siren. My IMM is super-late this week - sorry bout that. It's been a bit busy. I'm still reading a long book, so since I haven't posted a review in a bit, I decided to post this instead!

Books mentioned:

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

Comanche Magic by Catherine Anderson

Lost In a Good Book (Thursday Next #2) by Jasper Fforde

An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin

Pride & Prejudice & Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After by Steve Hockensmith

The Illiad & The Odyssey

My Life in France by Julia Child

There's No Place Like Here by Cecelia Ahern

ALSO, come sign up for my Summer Mini-Readathon! 12 hours of reading fun, on July 10th! Go here to join in!

Have a good rest of your week!

Top Ten Tuesday: Recommended Books I Love

2011-05-03T11:22:00.002-04:00

Well I gotta say, I'm glad I spent time at work last night thinking up books for this week's list because my brain is not functioning 100% yet. I'm a bit sleepy. But gots stuff to do, so onward! Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the amazing peeps over at The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is Top Ten Books I'm SO Happy Were Recommended to Me.

1. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon: You're all probably so sick of seeing this on like every list ever from me. But seriously, it's awesome. It was recommended to me several times by customers when I worked at Waldenbooks, but I kinda turned my nose up at it because it was shelved in romance (and I was a major book snob). Then I started dating The Honeyman, and he said he actually read it for a college class and thought I was really enjoy it. So, I FINALLY read it and LOVVVVED it! It's my favorite book of all-time (well the whole series really). Thanks, honeyman <3

2. Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie: First romance novel I ever read, recommended to me by my friend Doni. And there ended my book snobbery.

3. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen: Came recommended to my by a pen pal some years ago, but I really ended up enjoying it and went on to read all of SAA's other novels as well.

4. Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman: This book was actually given to me by Ken, my high school homeroom teacher back in the day. It took me EIGHT years to finally get around to reading it, and it was beautiful. And thoughtful. And great. Stupid me for not reading it sooner. Thanks Ken!

5. It's Called a Break-Up Because It's Broken by Greg Behrendt: Recommended by a combination of friends, and by just having seen it's popularity while working at Waldenbooks. It's one of the few "self-help" books I own, but it's awesome. Definitely perked me up after I ended a 5-year long relationship, and it's written to definitely give girls a confidence boost. I actually kind of want to just go browse through it right now - not because I'm breaking up with anyone (I love my honeyman :o) but because it's just a funny read.

6. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant: A great biblical / historical novel, and it was recommended to me by a previous employer. She recognized that I liked historical fiction and suggested it.

7. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver: This is one of my favorite books, still. It was suggested to me by a friend like 8 or 9 years ago, and I still love it.

8. I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb: This is a really great novel about two brothers. It's actually pretty sad. Suggested by no one other than Oprah. I saw her sticker on the book and figured I'd give it a try. Give me a break, I was like 14. But she does know how to pick good books.

9. The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey: Another book recommended by Doni, and it was totally cute. And I went and read all the others in the Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms series.

10. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory: For reals, the only reason I read this was major cover love. The cover just screamed at me every time I walked by it, and so one day I gave up and tried it, even though the description didn't sound to great. OMG the love I have for this book. It's one of those books that I find something new to like about it with each read. So thanks to the peeps who designed the cover.

So there we have it. I apologize because you've probably seen me mention these books like a thousand times. But I have very few people IRL that recommend books to me. It's usually me shoving books in people's faces, lol.

If you have any recommendations for me, leave me a comment and let me know! I love suggestions :o)

P.S. Sign-up for the Summer Mini-Readathon has started! Go sign up!

Summer Mini-Readathon 2011 Sign-Up

2011-05-02T08:32:00.004-04:00

OK ladies and gents, it's time to get the sign-up started for the readathon I'm hosting!

The Sarah Says Summer Mini-Readathon is going to be on Sunday, July 10th. Mark your calendars!

I'm thinking that I will be reading from 10 am to 10 pm, Eastern time. For those of you elsewhere in the US, that's...

9 am to 9 pm Central time

8 am to 8 pm Mountain time

7 am to 7 pm Pacific time

For those of you elsewhere, I really have no idea what time that is, lol. But please know that no matter where any one is, feel free to participate ANYTIME on Sunday. I'm choosing 10 to 10 because those are pretty general awake-time hours for me. Choose whatever hours work best for you.

There will be 5 mini-challenges total, so about every three hours from beginning to end. I figure that's a fun amount without it being too tedious to get up and log on for a couple minutes. I don't wanna disturb anyone's reading time. Also, you can complete the mini-challenges until NOON on Monday the 11th (Eastern time again). So no rush if you don't feel up to them.

Each mini-challenge you complete will count as one entry into a major prize at the end. I might do one or two smaller prizes as well. So, you'll have 5 potential entries. I haven't decided what the major prize will be yet, but I'll draw the winner (or winners?) at noon on Monday.

I think that's all the info I have for now. There will be a tab at the top of my blog with Readathon info, including some fun readathon logos / buttons later. So you know, keep checking back.

Sign-up below! Sign-up will stay open until Friday, July 8th.

The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

2011-04-30T15:45:00.003-04:00

Ahh... yet another brilliant concept, but not brilliantly executed. Sylvia, Bernadette, Jocelyn, Prudie, Allegra, and Grigg all get together to form a Jane Austen book club - they'll read each of Austen's six novels over a 6-month period, and get together and talk about them. Sylvia and Jocelyn have been best friends since they were 11, and the club is part of an effort to cheer Sylvia up - her marriage is ending after 32 years.

Sylvia's a quiet librarian; Jocelyn is a dog breeder; Bernadette does a lot of things, and yoga; Allegra is Sylvia's fiesty lesbian daughter; Prudie is a 28-year old high school French teacher, and Grigg is a computer tech guy that Jocelyn meets out-of-town, and who agrees to join their book club so they "have a male perspective". Together they get to know each other, and slowly pick through Jane Austen's novels - what she meant by what she wrote, the advice and life lessons to take away from each, etc. In a way, the club helps them navigate their own messy love lives. You also learn a lot about the characters' pasts. It was kind of nice to learn a little more about the childhood lives of some of the members.

I honestly can't say exactly how I like the book, because I saw the movie first. (In my defense, I saw the movie before I realized it was based on a book. I think. It was years ago.) I love the movie. This book paled in comparison for me. The style of writing was a little hard to get used to... I can't put my finger on exactly what it was. Almost like the author was just announcing everything, instead of letting the story try to tell itself. Or maybe she just didn't have enough pages to write it in. Or maybe it's because the chapters are organized by book / month, instead of switching among characters' perspectives. I don't know.

Of course the movie is different than the book, but not by a whole lot. A lot of the dialogue comes directly from the book. And I approve of the changes made in the movie. For instance, I mentioned above that the club helps the members sort out their own love lives. Except that the book kind of leaves Prudie out. It hints at the small troubles in her marriage, but nothing really comes of it. At least in the movie they gave Prudie more of a relationship story that needed fixing, so that by the end truly ALL characters had used Austen to help themselves.

Overall, I'd recommend the book. But then go watch the movie. Don't do it the other way around, because it will taint your opinion of the book and you'll be unable to decide how you really feel. Like me.

Sarah Says: This is the first book I'm officially not rating. I can't decide. If you've read the book, and never seen the movie, or seen it afterwards, then leave me a comment and share your thoughts!

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

2011-04-30T00:23:00.004-04:00

It's been awhile since I've dabbled in some YA. At least it feels that way. But I felt like reading something short before I started the sequel to A Game of Thrones. They're pretty lengthy books. Anyhoo, I've been wanting to read this for a long time now, mainly because of the cover. MAJOR cover love here. I love the creepy, sharp and dangling objuects over the cradle there. Unfortunately for me, I like the cover better than the actual book.

Basically, Mackie is a weirdo. The scent of blood and iron makes him freak out - like there can't be any iron in his household cause he can sense it. And he's a high school kid who doesn't know quite how to fit in. And everyone knows that there's just something off about him, but no one knows what. Well, as the blurb on the cover states, Mackie is not the real Malcolm Doyle - he's something else. Switched into a crib in the place of a human child, he's not quite sure what he is. Until he starts to run into a lot more people like him, and he finds out that he can live an almost-normal human lifestyle, if he does what the others want him to.

I don't wanna give away more than that, cause you know, spoilers and all. But Mackie has a great cast of friends around him. Emma is his sister who has always known that he wasn't her REAL brother, but she loves him fiercely and will do anything for him. She's a cool girl. Plus she reads a lot, so she gets smart points too. And Roswell is Mackie's best friend. He gets that there's something off about Mackie, but he never asks questions. He just rolls with it, like the perfect BFF. Mackie himself was a little too emo for my taste, but you know. Personal preferences and all that.

When the book started to explain exactly what the hell Mackie was, and why he was switched out with some real kid as a child... it just seemed a bit far-fetched for my taste. And that's coming from someone who generally likes fantasy and a little paranormal. But the explanation for everything seemed to always be "Because that's how it is." Just because. Great reason to get a girl flowers, not a great reason to go switchin babies out with fakes. Also, Mackie's other friends - some twin scientists and a troubled girl named Tate - all seemed a little too okay when it came to Mackie's big bad secret. They all just kind of rolled with it.

And, this may be a sign that I should stop reading YA because this was when I first started to get bored with the book - I think I'm getting too old for these cool music scenes in books. You know, like in Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. These kids go to cool "underground" clubs and listen to un-famous bands sing about fighting the man and blah blah blah, and they just get so lost in the music and BLAH. I think I'm just over the age that this kind of scene is supposed to strike some chord within me. When I come across this in books now, I'm just like *YAWN* turn page.

Anyways, I can see why some might like this book. It definitely wasn't bad. I think it's just that I need to stop being lured in by pretty YA covers, because this sort of thing isn't going to pass my taste test anymore. So I liked the characters, but the overall story for me really fell flat. Maybe 15-year old me might have liked it more, I don't know.

Sarah Says: 2.5 stars

P.S. This book was hella dark, gloomy, and emo. So I'm gonna read something short and happy before moving on to the sequel to A Game of Thrones.

Cause it's been awhile.... Book Blogger Hop!

2011-04-29T08:06:00.003-04:00

Hoppy Friday! (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Jen over at Crazy-For-Books - and Happy Birthday to her!

It's been a bit since I've done a blog-hopping thingy, but I liked this week's question and I could use the distraction while I'm at work today :-)

This week's question is....

"Summer is coming quickly - what 2011 summer release are you are most looking forward to?"

My Answer: Sadly, the two books I'm most looking forward to technically aren't new releases, but rather re-prints.

A special 20th Anniversary edition of Outlander by Diana Gabaldon is being released on July 5th, and I'm super-excited about that. I love Outlander dearly, and can't wait to have the new edition all pretty-ed up.

And secondly, on June 21st The Summer Garden by Paullina Simons will be released in paperback in the U.S. It was originally published a few years back but it's HARD to find a used copy for sale at a decent price anywhere. It's the last in the trilogy about Tatiana and Alexander (from The Bronze Horseman, and Tatiana and Alexander), and I can't wait to finally see how their story ends. :o)

So those are mine! What books are you excited for this summer?

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A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

2011-04-28T22:16:00.004-04:00

I'm sure ya'll have heard about the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin before. If you haven't heard of it as one of those epic fantasy stories, or walked by it in the bookstore, you've probably heard about the new HBO series starting, titled A Game of Thrones after the first novel. I've actually been wanting to try this series for quite some time, but never got around to it. Hearing so much about the new show kind of increased my curiosity, even though I won't be able to watch it since I don't have HBO. Anyhoo, here's my review of the first novel.

This novel alone is covers so many different characters that I'm not sure I'm going to make a lot of sense. I'll try. Here, let's try it super-simple:

Sarah likes. Story good. Characters awesome.

If you want more info than that, read on...

Basic plot is that there is a king and several major "houses", basically several major royalty-ish bloodlines. Robert Baratheon is the king. He became king when him and his crew overthrew the Targaryens. Only two Targaryens survived. He's married to Cersei Lannister. His BFF is Eddard Stark, one of the lords in the North. Some sketchy situations start going down at court, and you know, kingdom-ish, courtly plots and intrigues and stuff start unfolding. Also, there is a big Wall in the North that no one really goes past. The Night Watch keep an eye on it, though even they don't seem to realize why. Summers and winters last like years. Summers can last a decade or more, and winters even longer.

I really don't want to go into more than that, because that's already more than the back of the book tells you. I will go more into the characters though, because the characters are what make this book. The book switches POV's between 8 different characters. That's right, EIGHT. It seems like a lot, but the characters are all so different that I didn't find it confusing at all. I actually really enjoyed it. And those characters are;

Eddard Stark: Lord of Winterfell in the north. Very honorable man. The Starks are kind of known for being hard-asses. Their motto is "Winter is coming."

Jon Snow: Eddard Stark's bastard son. I like him. He's an outcast because he's a bastard, but he's a good kid.

Bran Stark: One of Eddard Stark's sons, about 8 years old. He's a cool kid. He likes to climb.

Catelyn Stark: Eddard's wife. She was born a Tully, one of the other great Houses.

Sansa Stark: Eddard's very prissy 11-year old daughter. She sucks.

Ayra Stark: Eddard's 9-year old daughter. Complete opposite of Sansa. She rocks.

Tyrion Lannister: One of the Lannister siblings. He's a dwarf. Kind of snarky, very smart and witty. I like him.

Daenerys Targaryen: An 11-year old girl, one of the remaining Targaryens. She's hiding out in the East with her older brother, both waiting until he can come back and take back his crown. I like Daenerys, but her brother is a total douche.

George Martin is REALLY skilled at making a complicated storyline with multiple plots move forward through SO many different characters. My only complaint is that Sansa, Ayra, and Bran kind of seem older than their ages. Obviously, since the Starks kind of dominate the POV's, you can tell that they're supposed to be the "good guys". The Lannisters are sneaky jerks. Have you ever seen the movie Billy Madison? Remember the annoying O'Doyles, constantly bullying others and saying "O'Doyle Rules!". That's kind of how I picture the Lannisters, but less red-neck.

Anyways, I hope that this made some amount of sense. It's a pretty big book, with kind of a whole hell of a lot going on in it. Plus I have a headache. LAME.

But this was a good book, and I already bought the next in the series, A Clash of Kings, to start this weekend.

Sarah Says: 4 stars. Winter is coming.

Top Ten Tuesday: Chick Characters I Can't Stand

2011-04-26T08:49:00.007-04:00

Welcome, welcome! It's that time of the week, time for Top Ten Tuesday! This meme is hosted by the lovely peeps over at The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is Top Ten Mean Girls in Books, or as I call it - Top Ten Chick Characters I Can't Stand. (Or, even better, Jamie at TB&TB is calling it Top Ten Female Characters She'd Like to Bitch Slap - LOL.)

1. Laoghaire from the Outlander series: Even as a teenage girl, she almost gets Claire killed. As a grown woman throughout the other books in the series, she's even worse - mean, selfish, stupid, cruel - the list could go on and on here.

2. Sansa in A Game of Thrones: I'm actually reading this book right now, and Sansa is one annoying young girl. She's prissy and mean to her WAY-cooler younger sister, and she's a complete idiot.

3. Rachel Morgan from Dead Witch Walking (The Hollows series): I actually think this book would have been okay, except that Rachel - the main character - was SO annoying that I don't think I'll ever be able to continue with the series. She's supposed to be such a bad-ass witch, but the book is basically her f-ing up over and over and over again. Could not freaking stand her.

4. Jane Eyre from Jane Eyre: OK, I know this will draw a lot of hate, but I'm doin it. I can't stand Jane. She was a cool little tyke and showed a lot of spunk when she was younger - but as soon as she gets to Thornfield and meets that jerk Mr. Rochester, she turns into a human doormat. Not only did I wanna shake some sense into her, but it bored the crap out of me as well. *let the hate commence*

5. Lydia from Pride and Prejudice: I'm sure this one will be pretty common. Lydia is ridiculously conceited, and a major dummy. All she cares about is dancing, flirting, and buying new bonnets. And then she goes and gets herself in major trouble, and she's too damn blind to even notice that she was in a bad, bad situation. In the fiction realm, I really hope she ends up barren and poor, then catches some bad sickness and kicks the bucket while she's still young.

6. Cathy from Wuthering Heights: WH is one of my favorite classics, but I honestly cannot stand Cathy (the first one). ALLLLL of the drama and bad shit that eventually goes down can be traced to her becoming a little stuck-up b-word and betraying Heathcliff. I don't blame him a bit for turning so darn mean after that.

7. Bianca / Bean from The Weird Sisters: Apparently not being able to cope as a middle child leads her to greed, drinking too much, and sleeping around on a daily basis. She just kept doing stupid things and while she felt mildly guilty about it, she never had a good reason to do those things in the first place. I'm a middle child, and I didn't turn into some whiny thirty-year-old that just can't stop drowning her childhood issues in alcohol and dirty men. I feel NO sympathy, only disgust for Bean.

8. Marie Grosholtz from Madame Tussaud - A Novel of the French Revolution: Another main character that frustrated me. I don't really like these old-time-y overly ambitious women. Yes, she was talented, but she could have made wax figures any time, any where. She only had one chance at real love though. It was so annoying to see her constantly denying herself some romance so that she could work.

9. Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Who DIDN'T want to push this psycho down a huge flight of ever-changing stairs? I hate her more than Lord Voldemort.

10. Dasha Metanov from The Bronze Horseman: Alright, she had some good reason to be kind of mad at Tatiana. But seriously, they're sisters. And Tatiana constantly worked so hard to be good, and to help her family. All Dasha ever cared about was messing around with boys and getting Tatiana into trouble. I spent most of the book hoping that bad things would happen to Dasha.

Happy Easter!!!

2011-04-24T09:20:00.004-04:00

Good morning peeps (haha, get it?), and Happy Easter! Even if you don't celebrate it, I hope it's a wonderful Sunday for you :o) Technically, I don't really celebrate - kind of like Christmas, the holiday doesn't hold any religious significance for me, but my family likes to eat a huge fancy meal together anyways. And guess who gets to cook it all this year? That's right, THIS girl.

As a quick update...

Almost halfway through A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin and really enjoying it. Very tempted to go buy my own copy sometime soon, because this library copy is musty-smelling and totally impeding my reading.

As you can see by the poll on the left there, the Summertime Mini-Readathon is ON! I'm keeping the poll open for a couple more days, just to give myself an idea of the number of people interested. In the first week of May, I'll do a sign-up post complete with Mr. Linky - so keep an eye out for it!

No IMM this week - I've only received two books in the mail, and haven't bought anything else. *major sad face* We've had a lot of friends' birthdays lately, so my funds have gone to presents instead of feeding my own book addiction. I'm such a strong friend, I know.

ALSO sometime in May, I'll be doing a giveaway! Not sure of the specifics yet, but I'm going to do it jointly with my sister at All You Need Designs, and it's going to be awesome. More details on that laterz.

OK, that's it. You get out there and have an awesome Easter Sunday!

Mini-Readathon, Anyone?

2011-04-22T14:25:00.004-04:00

OKAYS, so here's the dealio - I was sitting at work today, and instead of focusing on my book I was thinking about how cool it is that I've read 10 books so far in April. And then I was thinking how that was in part to the awesome Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon on 4/9. And then I was thinking that I wanted to do my own little readathon, but that I suck at trying to do it for 24 hours and that I don't want to do it all by my lonesome. I was doing an awful lot of thinking, and so here's my idea.... Hosting a little 12-Hour Readathon here at Sarah Says in July!

Now, I've never hosted something like this before and I don't know EXACTLY what it would involve, but here's my ideas so far:

~12 hours long, on a Sunday in early July (Why July? Because people aren't in school, and are on vacation, and because it's exactly 3 month in between the April and October 24-hour readathons).

~ That would be ANY 12 hours on that Sunday - I don't care when you start or end - sometimes our schedules just don't work out that way. So choose whatever 12-hour block works for you.

~ I'm thinking maybe 4 or 5 mini-challenges along the way - fewer challenges means fewer distractions, which means more reading!

~ And either a small prize for each mini-challenge, or each mini-challenge will count as an entry to one bigger prize at the end.

~ No cheerleading or anything like that, since it's a shorter time and so that we can all focus on reading instead.

~ And I'm thinking MAYBE doing like #minireadathon hashtag updates on Twitter, if you were so inclined.

So, the thing is that that I need to know if any of you lovely peeps out there would be interested in doing this with me! I figured it'd be worth it if I had at least ten or so people out there willing to join in.

Please see the poll on the left-hand side and vote yea or nay on the mini-readathon idea. If I get at least ten yes's, then it's ON and I'll start planning and posting info within the next few weeks. If no, well then I'll be doing my own lonely little private readathon anyways, but this would be funner :o)

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

2011-04-21T18:53:00.002-04:00

OK, my feelings about this book are a bit mixed up but overall positive. Let's start with what it's about.

The novel takes place in 1985-ish Britain, but a bit quirky - time travel just kind of happens, cloned pets are all the rage, and literature is a SERIOUS thing. Like, people will fight over who was the real Shakespeare, and there's a whole SpecOps field for protecting the sanctity of the written word - Thursday Next is one such Literary Detective. When people start disappearing into books and characters in major classics start going missing, Thursday is the girl to call. But she'll have to face a serious big-time baddie to save the day.

So, overall an awesome premise and I found the whole world created pretty fascinating. I loved reading about how different things were. And Thursday herself is a pretty cool gal. She's tough, although a little damaged from her time as a soldier. And then there was my favorite character - Hades. Acheron Hades is the big bad guy, and I LOVED him. I know, I know - I'm generally not supposed to like the villain. But I loved his intellect, sharp humor, and just general psychopath-ness.

Now, I have two kind of small complaints. One is that this is all uber-British, which is fine. I like England. However, since I'm not British, I found that a whole lot of things just went right over my head. I didn't get a lot of little jokes that I feel like I should have gotten. There's an online reference guide somewhere for that stuff, but I wasn't always near the computer while reading so I kind of had to just gloss over the wacky British things I didn't get.

My other small complaint is that the title, and the blurb on the back of the book, lead most to think that majority of this book concerns the fact that Jane Eyre goes missing from that famous Charlotte Bronte novel. But it actually kind of took a long time to get to that, so I was mildly disappointed by that. I'd be more disappointed if I was actually a fan of Jane Eyre, but I'm not. That kind of worked in my favor here.

Anyhoo, this was a fun, different novel with equally fun and different characters. Also, some of these characters just have the BEST names. I won't type them here, cause you should go read it and find out for yourself. So go give it a try. I'll be picking up the sequels eventually.

Sarah Says: 4 stars

May Poll Open!!! Come vote!

2011-04-20T11:21:00.005-04:00

OK folks, it's time to cast your vote for what YOU want to see read & reviewed here on Sarah Says. The description for each book comes from http://www.goodreads.com/

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card - the sci-fi pick:
Ender Wiggin is a very bright young boy with a powerful skill. One of a group of children bred to be military geniuses and save Earth from an inevitable attack by aliens, known here as "buggers," Ender becomes unbeatable in war games and seems poised to lead Earth to triumph over the buggers. Meanwhile, his brother and sister plot to wrest power from Ender. Twists, surprises and interesting characters elevate this novel into status as a bona fide page turner. It captured the Nebula and Hugo Awards.

If You Were Here by Jen Lancaster - the modern fiction pick:
Told in the uproariously entertaining voice readers have come to expect from Jen Lancaster, If You Were Here follows Amish-zombie-teen- romance author Mia and her husband Mac (and their pets) through the alternately frustrating, exciting, terrifying-but always funny-process of buying and renovating their first home in the Chicago suburbs that John hughes's movies made famous. Along their harrowing renovation journey, Mia and Mac get caught up in various wars with the homeowners' association, meet some less-than-friendly neighbors, and are joined by a hilarious cast of supporting characters, including a celebutard ex- landlady. As they struggle to adapt to their new surroundings- with Mac taking on the renovations himself- Mia and Mac will discover if their marriage is strong enough to survive months of DIY renovations.

Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence - the classics pick:
Perhaps the most famous of Lawrence's novels, the 1928 Lady Chatterley's Lover is no longer distinguished for the once-shockingly explicit treatment of its subject matter--the adulterous affair between a sexually unfulfilled upper-class married woman and the game keeper who works for the estate owned by her wheelchaired husband. Now that we're used to reading about sex, and seeing it in the movies, it's apparent that the novel is memorable for better reasons: namely, that Lawrence was a masterful and lyrical writer, whose story takes us bodily into the world of its characters

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld - the YA pick:
Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license -- for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there. But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world -- and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.

Ahab's Wife: or, The Star-Gazer by Sena Jeter Naslund - the historical fiction pick:
A magnificent, vast, and enthralling saga, Sena Jeter Naslund's Ahab's Wife is a remarkable epic spanning a rich, eventful, and dramatic life. Inspired by a brief passage in Moby Dick, it is the story of Una, exiled as a child to live in a lighthouse, removed from the physical and emotional abuse of a religion-mad father. It is the romantic adventure of a young woman setting sail in a cabin boy's disguise to encounter darkness, wonder, and catastrophe; the story of a devoted wife who witnesses her husband's destruction by obsession and madness. Ultimately it is the powerful and moving story of a woman's triumph over tragedy and loss through her courage, creativity, and intelligence.

So those are the options! Get voting - poll ends May 1st! (Poll is on the upper right corner)

Top Ten Tuesday: Rewind!

2011-04-19T12:02:00.002-04:00

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.

I'm kind of excited about this week's topic - pick an old topic that you missed, or want to re-do. I has missed the first 16 TTT posts, so I'm looking forward to getting to do one of the ones I missed! I think I'll go with Books I'd Want on A Desert Island, originally posted on June 28th, 2010.

1. Seven Novels - Jane Austen: This is one of those super-pretty Barnes and Noble leatherbound classics, and it contains all seven of her works. This would definitely keep me busy a while!

2. The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook - You laugh, but there's some pretty good stuff in here that may be able to help me survive desert island life.

3. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - It's my favorite book ever. Of course it gets on this list. Of course it's only the first in the series, so that's a bummer, but oh well.(I would die and go to heaven if all the Outlander books could be put in a giant anthology.)

4. Wicked & Son of a Witch - Another one of those B&N leatherbound classics that I haven't read yet.

5. Lamb by Christopher Moore - Because I might need a good laugh, and this book just cracks me up.

6. The Treasured Writings of Kahlil Gibran - A big collection of various Kahlil Gibran works, who is a wonderful poet and writer.

7. The Odyssey & The Illiad - Another one of those Barnes and Noble leatherbound classics. And I'm sure it would take me years to get through these stories... not that they're not good, just hard to read without falling asleep.

8. The Arabian Nights translated by Sir Richard Burton - Again, a good long ass book that would take me a while to get through.

9. 1984 by George Orwell - To remind myself that maybe it's not such a bad thing being away from the civilized world.

10. Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie - It's almost a little sad to put a romance novel on here, but I love it. And it'll make me laugh and feel all happy inside. Of course it'll also make me crave chicken marsala and bread. Darn.

OK, those are my desert island books! Also considered are all of the various religious texts (The Quran, The Bible, The Torah, etc.), a collection of poetry by Rumi, a collection of Bronte novels, etc...

In My Mailbox VLOG #5

2011-04-18T15:28:00.001-04:00

Hey peeps, welcome to my edition of In My Mailbox, which is hosted by The Story Siren. Please visit that link for the info. Books mentioned:

The Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

Postsecret: Confessions of Life, Death, and God

The Innocent Mage (Kingmaker, Kingbreaker #1) by Karen Miller

The Fellowship of the Ring (Lord of the Rings #1) by J.R.R. Tolkien

King Arthur by Norma Lorre Goodrich

The Magician's Guild (Black Magician Trilogy #1) by Trudi Canavan

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Lady Chatterley's Love by D.H. Lawrence

Hadji Murad by Leo Tolstoy

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

The Time Machine & The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells

Oh, and I lied - I did use the word interesting. Darn.

Living Dead in Dallas (Sookie Stackhouse #2) by Charlaine Harris

2011-04-17T18:31:00.003-04:00

Yup, I read book two already. Warning, there will probably be spoilers.

Once again, I like season two of True Blood better than I liked this book. In both, the storyline is just kind of messy, but it's more so in the short book-version.

In this book, a mysterious creature called a maenad comes to Bon Temps and attacks Sookie, as a message to Eric. In an unrelated matter, Eric convinces Sookie and Bill to go to Dallas for him, so that she can use her mind-reading to find a missing vampire. Also, one of the employees at Merlotte's is found dead in Andy's car, and Sookie eventually works on trying to find out who's responsible for that as well, mainly by attending an orgy.

I liked this book less than book #1 for a couple reasons. One is that Sookie was more annoying to me in this one... a bit more air-headed and nonchalant about things. There was also a lot more sex, which just seemed like wasted time. Yes, I get that Sookie and Bill have an erotic relationship - instead of the constant examples, I wish Harris had spent more time on the plot. The maenad really has no connection to anything important - she's more of a mild annoyance. Eric's interest in the Dallas vampire didn't feel real, although there was a lot of Eric-and-Sookie flirting, which I loved. I really like Eric, so I liked almost all of his parts. And pretty much all of the action at the Fellowship of the Sun was skipped over.

Some good things about this book? Tara finally makes an appearance, we get a glimpse of other shifters and werewolves, the Fellowship of the Sun is introduced, and woot! for more Eric time. But otherwise, the storyline is kind of a mess. I love what the tv show added to it, because they made everything fit together more coherently.

Anyhoo, I want to start the third book, but I'm going to wait. I've only seen half of season three and since I watch it with my boyfriend, I'm going to wait and watch it on DVD next month, and then I'll read the book afterwards.

Sarah Says: 2 stars

Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse #1) by Charlaine Harris

2011-04-15T16:07:00.004-04:00

OK, so I did it. I finally read the first novel in a series of books that inspired the AWESOME show True Blood. The first book is called Dead Until Dark. I've heard a lot of differing opinions about these books. It seems lots of folks didn't like this book and couldn't continue on with the series, but later ended up liking the show.

I have seen 2 and a half seasons of True Blood, and I love it. So it's hard for me to separate my feelings here. But I'll try to be as objective as I can.

For those of you that haven't heard the premise, these books (and the show) are about Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress in her 20's living in Bon Temps, LA. She's able to read minds, which actually makes her kind of a homebody because it's hard to block out everyone's thoughts all the time. Anyways, vampires have been "out of the coffin" for about two years, with some of them mainstreaming and trying to live among humans. This is thanks to scientific advances that led to the creation of bottled synthetic blood. One night a vampire named Bill walks into the bar that Sookie works at, and she's immediately intrigued - and pleasantly surprised when she realizes that she can't hear his thoughts. Almost right after Bill moves to town, a bunch of chickadees start getting murdered, and things get tense from there.

OK, as a fluff book - this is pretty good. I didn't find Sookie unbearablely stupid like some people, but that may be because I'm used to True Blood. She is a bit ditzy, but it didn't irritate me. Her world is just interesting - her being a mind-reader, and the fact that in this book series a whole new culture has come about as a result of vampires letting their existance be known. If you like fluff, this is pretty decent. I'll definitely continue to read the series - I'll probably read the next one tomorrow, since I got the first three from the library. The writing isn't the best - I found the writing a little too direct. Almost like the author couldn't think of a way to convey the thoughts and feelings of the characters without just plain saying it outloud. It got easier to ignore as the book went on.

If you're a True Blood fan (POSSIBLE SPOILERS PEOPLE), there are some differences, of course. True Blood definitely improved on this book - the book only revolves around Sookie, so there's no Jason, Lafayette, and Tara storylines. In fact, Tara doesn't exist in the book, which kind of stinks. And there isn't any mention of the vampire politics going on - they're not on the news, there's no VRA, etc. For creating such a new unique society, you'd think Harris could have made it a bit more detailed. Luckily the peeps who made True Blood did all that, or the show would have really fallen flat. One thing not in the show but in the book is the appearance of the vampire Bubba, which I think the show should definitely work in somehow.

Anyways, I once again half-wish that I'd read this before I had seen the tv show. The first book and the first season are pretty similar overall. I say, give it a try. It's less than 300 pages, so you have nothing to lose.

Sarah Says: 3 stars

55 Book-Related Questions

2011-04-13T20:44:00.003-04:00

55 Question Book-Related Survey (That I saw on another blog like two months ago and asked if I could use, but I never got a response, so I'm stealin it!)

1. Favorite childhood book?
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom!

2. What are you reading right now?
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde & Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable.

3. What books do you have on request at the library?
A Game of Thrones by George Martin.

4. Bad book habit?
Buying books and never getting around to reading them.

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
Bloodroot by Amy Greene, and the first three Sookie Stackhouse books.

6. Do you have an e-reader?
NOOOOOOO. Screw e-readers, I am officially against them. I wish I could find some cool logo to put in my sidebar to express this sentiment, but haven’t found or made anything yet.

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
Usually one at a time, it’s just more enjoyable that way.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
Not really, except I read what wins in my monthly poll.

9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far?)
The Lover’s Dictionary. Yuck.

10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?
The Bronze Horseman, or Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand. Luckily it’s only April and I’ve only read 38 books so far, or this question would have been a whole lot harder.

11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
Well, I don’t know… the only things I wouldn’t feel comfortable reading is some right-wing propaganda stuff. I don’t think I could manage to get through a Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck book. I’d feel awkward if people saw me reading something of that nature (or any political propaganda book, right or left), and reading something so heavily right-wing would probably just piss me off.

12. What is your reading comfort zone?
I’ll read almost anything – I’ll read fiction, non-fiction, sci-fi, YA, fantasy, romance, children’s, humor, etc. And though they’re not something I usually read just cause I don’t prefer them, I’ll read mystery and westerns.

13. Can you read on the bus?
YUP. But haven’t had to in years.

14. Favorite place to read?
Bathtub, the recliner, work, my car…

15. What is your policy on book lending?
I’ll lend a book to someone if I trust them. And if it’s not a particularly special book to me. And of course I write it down in a little journal, the name of the book, person borrowing, and date.

16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
No, I usually have a bookmark nearby.

17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
Yes, sometimes. Usually in classics, if it’s a cheap MM copy.

18. Not even with text books?
Oh yeah, I did that all the time in school. Highlighting EVERYWHERE.

19. What is your favorite language to read in?
English. It’s the only one I can read.

20. What makes you love a book?
A captivating story, characters I can connect to, good writing, etc…

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
I usually don’t bother recommending a book to friends / family unless I think it’s something that they would like. For instance, my sister really likes paranormal and chick lit, so I’m not going to suggest some heavy non-fiction book to her.

22. Favorite genre?
Fiction. That’s as specific as I can be, because I love sci-fi, fantasy, romance, historical fiction, modern fiction, etc…

23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)
I just wish I read more non-fiction.

24. Favorite biography?
The Autobiography of Malcolm X. One of my top ten favorite books, actually.

25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
I’ve read It’s Called a Break-Up Because It’s Broken. Makes SO much sense, and I wish my little sister and mom would read it and take it’s advice.

26. Favorite cookbook?
The Pioneer Woman. AWESOME recipes.

27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?
Are You There Vodka, It’s Me Chelsea makes me want to go out and be more social and go drinking more, so I can have ridiculous and stupid stories to tell.

28. Favorite reading snack?
I’m a total foodie, so pretty much anything. However, there’s something really satisfying about eating some soup, bread, and a glass of milk while reading.

29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
Twilight. I wish I had read it before it got so uber-annoyingly-popular. I read it last year and admit it’s not as bad as I thought, but the hype still ruined it for me.

30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
I don’t know, because I try not to read a WHOLE lotta reviews / critiques about books before I read them. I like to form my own opinions.

31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
Not bad. If I don’t like a book, I don’t like a book. I’m allowed to have an opinion.

32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?
Italian. I don’t know why.

33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?
Pride and Prejudice. It was the first old-language-y classic I ever read.

34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?
War and Peace. I don’t know if I’ll ever even try that.

35. Favorite poet?
Kahlil Gibran and Saul Williams.

36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?
Anywhere from 1-10 ish.

37. How often have you returned book to the library unread?
At least half of them go back unread. I’m so bad about that. I’m going to try to rent less and focus on reading the books I have.

38. Favorite fictional character?
There is absolutely no way I can pick just one. Or three. So here’s my top ten:
Claire Fraser
Jamie Fraser
Heathcliff
Min Dobbs
Kvothe
Lucy Valentine
Joshua & Biff
Tatiana & Alexander

39. Favorite fictional villain?
Heathcliff. He’s the best bad guy. Oh and of course Lord Voldy.

40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?
Anything by Jennifer Crusie. I love her romance novels.

41. The longest I’ve gone without reading.
A week? When I was on unemployment like 4 years ago, I spent a lot of time being social or creative, so I didn’t read as often.

42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.
When God Was A Woman. It’s a really interesting book about how deities were originally female, but the author’s lack of good punctuation and the fact that she NEVER cited her sources was just too frustrating.

43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
If I’m at home, it’s my honeyman or Call of Duty: Black Ops. If I’m at work, it’s the fact that I’m too tired, or too busy taking phone calls.

44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
The Time Traveler’s Wife, or Marley and Me. I like both better than the books.

45. Most disappointing film adaptation?
The Other Boleyn Girl, by far. Eric Bana was NOT a good pick for Henry VIII, even though he’s awesome. And Henry VIII never raped Anne in the book. WTF.

46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?
I think $80. Although I know I spent a whole lotta money when Waldenbooks closed – I was working there, and was able to put a TON of stuff on hold until it went on sale like 75% off.

47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
Rarely. I don’t want to spoil anything.

48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
Frustrating characters, or if it’s really boring.

49. Do you like to keep your books organized?
Yes. They’re on my four bookshelves kind of by genres: romance, poetry, non-fiction, children’s, sci-fi / fantasy, classics, favorites, and general fiction.

50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
I keep them, unless I absolutely hate it. Or eventually if I’m purging I get rid of the ones that were only so-so.

51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?
Books that my friend Doni recommends, even though I do want to read some of them. I’m avoiding her recommendations until she finally reads the copy of Outlander I lent her about 6 months ago.

52. Name a book that made you angry.
Water for Elephants, and Dead Witch Walking.

53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
Twilight I guess. I gave it 4 stars. But don’t plan to read the rest, cause I can just watch the movies.

54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?
Dead Witch Walking. The actual setting of the story has so much promise, but I can’t stand the main character.

55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading?
I don’t feel guilty about any book that I read. I read total just-for-fun books, usually referred to as fluff or brain candy, but I never feel bad about it.

I mainly did this cause I was a bit bored. Feel free to steal, but please leave a comment so I can come see your answers! :o)

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Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie

2011-04-13T15:31:00.003-04:00

OK, just gonna say it - I LOVE Bet me. This is probably my third or fourth time reading it, although I believe it's the first time I'm reviewing it here.

Min Dobbs and Cal Morrisey meet as a result of a bet - her jerk of an ex-boyfriend bets him that he can't get Min to go to dinner with him. Cal always wins the bets he makes and sure enough they go to dinner. But dinner doesn't quite go as planned - Min doesn't respond to Cal's normal charming lines, and Cal accidentally elbows her in the face. After dinner they tell each other to have a nice life and go their separate ways. Fate however seems to keep throwing them together, and slowly but surely they develop an attraction, a friendship, and then a true love. This is the first romance book I ever read, and it's still my absolute favorite. In all fairness, it doesn't even seem to belong in the romance category - there's not a ton of sex, there's a great cast of characters, it's funny... it seems more like fiction to me. But anyways.

Min is a GREAT main character. She's self-conscious about her weight (she's kinda chubby), but she's also smart enough to know she doesn't deserve to be treated crappily. She's snarky and witty and has a sweet-side. And she has some great best friends - Liza is tall, skinny, and kind of shark-like; she likes change, and is a bit of pessimest. Bonnie is the exact opposite - a short blonde pixie-ish woman, who believes in fairy tales. I honestly wish I had a little group of friends this awesome.

Cal is also one of the best male characters I've seen in a romance. He has the whole dark & chiseled look going on, and he's been known to date and dump a lot of women (though cheating is not in his history, so he's not a man-slut). He's runs a business with her two best friends Roger and Tony, and he's a bit of a gambler but he's good at it. Not like casino gambling mind you, but he likes to make bets. He's a total softie on the inside, and had a lot more depth than Min initially gives him credit for. And he makes her feel sexy. His friends are awesome too - Roger is big and lovable and instantly has the hots for Bonnie. And Tony is a big manly-man who likes his life nice and uncomplicated. Again, a great little group.

Throw in some great shoes, interferring exes, kid's baseball, mangy cats, and lots of chicken marsala and voila! You've got Bet Me. And if my rambling hasn't convinced you how awesome this book is, know this: I got my boyfriend to read it, and even HE really liked it. He gave it 4 stars on Goodreads.

Sarah Says: 5 stars!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Want to See Made Into Movies

2011-04-12T10:52:00.003-04:00

Hey folks, it's Tuesday. Unfortunately, thanks to staying out last night until 3:30 in the morning, I'm a bit tired, so I apologize if any of this is an incoherent mess. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke and The Bookish, and this week's topic is Books You Want to See Made Into Movies. Should be fun, cause I've said this about certain books before.

1. The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown: OK, I actually said this wouldn't make a good movie because there's too little action. But I'd still like to see it in movie form, because it might make a decent chick flick kind of movie. Also, when I read the book I pictured each of the characters as certain celebrities anyways, and I honestly don't usually do that with books. Maybe this is the reason why I did with this one.

2. Graceling or Fire by Kristin Cashore: Cashore's fantasy books are absolutely wonderful. They're fun and exciting and full of action and intrigue. Mix that with the possibility for some very cool special effects, and I think her books would make some pretty darn good movies.

3. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin: I just read this recently and loved it. I'd be afraid to see the movie version for fear that they'd mess it up somehow, but I also really would like to see this world on the big screen - between the Sky palace that practically floats above the earth, to the incredibly powerful but enslaved gods walking around, the potential for coolness in a movie is just too much.

4. Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan: This book is by the peeps who also wrote Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, and that was made into a movie. Except here's the thing - D&L is a hundred times better than N&N, so I bet it would make a WAY better movie.

5. Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison: Honestly, I HATED this book. It was horrendous, and I'll never read any others in the series. However, a movie version would make my friend Doni VERY happy, and the setting of the world would be really cool. And since movies rarely stay true to the books anyways, maybe they could make the main character less annoying and more likable.

6. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova: I'm actually a little surprised this hasn't been made a movie already, since vampires are all mega-popular right now. But a movie would do this book a lot of good. It's a great book, but historical detail can drag a bit, and that can be cut down a whole lot in the movie.

7. Lamb by Christopher Moore: Actually, I bet pretty much any Moore book would make a good movie. I'm sure the religious nuts out there would FREAK OUT if this was turned into a movie - it's an extremely funny book about Jesus's (AKA Joshua's) life from the age of about 12 to 30, which is skipped in the Bible. He goes on a journey with his best friend Biff to find the wise men there at his birth so that they can teach him how to be the Messiah. It's an absolutely hysterical book - hell, Seth Rogen and his gang could make it and it'd probably be a huge hit.

8. Madame Tussuad by Michelle Moran: This book was kind of a snore for me. It focused a lot more on the events going on and too little on the main character. However, in movie format that would probably be a good thing because it'd be all action-packed and tense and blah blah blah.

9. The Living With the Dead series by Jesse Petersen: There are two books in the series right now - Married With Zombies and Flip This Zombie. I think it's about time Hollywood made a zombie movie that focuses a little bit more of the alive people, and these books are perfect. Essentially, Sarah and David are on their way to divorce when the zombie apocalypse hits, and it helps them save their marriage. The potential for cool zombies, humor, and romance are all there - almost a guaranteed success.

10. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson: This would be a great British flick. Colin Firth or Bill Nighy could play the Major, and it'd be one of those quietly funny and really endearing movies. Aww.

So that's my list. I can't even remember when TTT was this easy for me! Of course, most of these books would be a hundred times better than their movie counterparts, but still. Except for Dead Witch Walking. I don't think it could get any worse.

What books would you like to see in movie form?

Post-Readathon Wrap-Up

2011-04-10T09:35:00.004-04:00

Good morning everybody. Well, it's the day after the read-a-thon. Here's how I did...

-I lasted 21.5 hours. SO CLOSE! But I was so sleepy, and I didn't want to enjoy the book I was reading less because I was too sleepy. I know, I'm such a wuss.
- I only finished TWO books. (The Peach Keeper, and The Beloved. Reviews already posted.)
- I got 32 pages into The Time Machine by H.G. Wells but set it aside because it was making me drowsy.
- I also started Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde, and started re-reading Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie. I'm going to aim to keep reading those while I'm at work today.
- Total pages read: 698

Seriously, I should have been able to get a LOT more reading done. But the last two hours of work yesterday were busier than normal, and then once I got home I just kept getting distracted. I logged on and spent some time visiting other blogs and chatting with other readathoners on Twitter. I spent an hour (okay, maybe a little more) with my honeyman when he got home from work, because I hadn't seen him since 1 AM before the readathon and I missed him. Yeah.... I really have to get better at this!

I'm thinking that I'm going to start doing my own little self-imposed readathons. Partly because they're fun, and partly so that maybe I'll get better at staying awake and not getting so off-track! And 6 months is a long time to wait for the next one!

Anyways, I had a TON of fun and loved chatting with everyone during the readathon. I think it's awesome that so many people signed up for it. And I even participated in a couple of the mini-challenges this time! (Last time I was too new and intimidated to really get involved.) I also found some new bloggers to follow, which is always nice.

So, that's my update. I'm actually looking forward to going to work today and finishing some more books. Especially because I know that I won't get ANY reading done tomorrow, cause I'm going out-of-town to visit my little sister and go to her sonogram with her! (I have a nephew on the way!)

So, Happy Readathon Everyone! It's been fun, and I really enjoyed "hanging out" with you all!

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The Beloved by Kahlil Gibran

2011-04-09T12:25:00.004-04:00

I love Kahlil Gibran. He had such an amazing way with words. He also loved love. As the blurb on the back of this book says...

"For Kahlil Gibran (1883 - 1931), love was a way - perhaps the supreme way - of achieving self-realization and completeness as a human being."

Essentially - Gibran was a romantic at heart. I'm totally one of those sappy gals who loves being in love. This book is right up my alley.

This here is a short (about 100 page long) collection of some of his writings, short stories, and poems revolving around love. If you are ever in the mood for some poetry, or for something beautiful and profound-sounding, read Gibran. His most famous work is The Prophet, which I HIGHLY recommend.

My favorite story in this book was probably "Rose al-Hani", in which a woman defends her choice to leave the rich husband that showered her with wealth and riches for the poor man she truly falls in love with. I actually read it outloud (but quietly) to myself, because it just sounds good that way. Several of these stories also kind of ranted against the materialism of people, and that's something I can always get behind.

Again, you should read Gibran. He's awesome. And this book is definitely worth the read. Especially aloud to yourself if you're alone and don't mind feeling a little silly.

Sarah Says: 4 stars

And NOW... time to start my 3rd book of the readathon - not sure if it's going to be Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde, or a re-read of Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie. Hmmmmm...

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The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

2011-04-09T07:41:00.002-04:00

Alrighty, this was my first book finished as part of the readathon. It was also the poll winner for what you lovely readers wanted to see read & reviewed here in April.

I love Sarah Addison Allen. Her past three novels were all filled with such a wonderful, magical, delight. I lost myself in each story, and I love them each for different reasons. All that being said... this is unfortunately my least favorite of hers so far.

The Peach Keeper revolves around two 30-year old women, Paxton and Willa. Both live in the little town of Walls of Water, NC. While vastly different, these two women have a lot more in common than they think. Paxton's very well-off family buys the mansion The Blue Ridge Madam, and Paxton's working hard to see it restored to it's former glory so that she can host the 75-year anniversary of the local ladies' club there. A bit of a mystery comes up when something is found buried on the land there, and it draws Paxton and Willa together - learning about their family's histories, and themselves, in the process.

This novel is really different from Allen's other novels, which isn't by itself a bad thing. The mystery aspect of the story was kind of intriguing, though mystery isn't usually my thing. The magical realism so often found in Allen's other books isn't as strong here, and I think that's part of why I like it less. The magic was less pronounced - there were spooky little hints of it here and there, making it more gothic and mysterious-feeling than her other books.

As for the characters: they were interesting and I liked them all a lot. I found the dialogue among them to be a bit forced though. The conversations that some of them had, especially with those other characters that they weren't close to, just didn't feel real to me.

All this being said though, it was a good book. Things like mystery, less magic, and the dialogue are just some of my little issues / preferences. And it did convey that wonderful small, hometown feel that I love about Allen's books. They always make me want to drop everything and move to a tiny little town in North Carolina where everyone knows everyone else. Also, there were some very cute quotes (though a bit cheesy). One quote I really liked:

"Her grandmother used to tell her that a pink sky meant someone in the distance had just fallen in love..."

Just that one line is great to me. I wish my parents or grandparents had said such plainly fanciful things to me as I was growing up. It's such a beautiful way to look at the world. I think maybe I'll try to think of things like this to say to my nieces and nephews as they grow up.

Anyways, good book overall. If you're familiar with Sarah Addison Allen, expect it to be a bit different than her other novels.

Sarah Says: 3.5 stars

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The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

2011-04-08T15:15:00.003-04:00

Goodness, goodness me - I am loving this trilogy. My only slight disappointment is that the third book doesn't come out until this fall. I don't wanna wait that long!

This is the second book in Jemisin's Inheritance Trilogy (not to be confused with Christopher Paolini's Inheritance series AKA Eragon), and it's every bit as wonderful as the first book, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. While this is written so that it could be a stand alone novel, I really think you're better off reading these books in order.

Anyways, this story takes place ten years after the events in the first book. Our heroine is Oree Shoth, a blind street artist living in Shadow. Oree's life kind of revolves around magic, gods, and godlings. This causes problems for her one day when she discovers a godling murdered in an alley. From there Oree and her mysterious mute house guest are thrown into a brand new conspiracy. And that's all I really want to say about this plot, because I don't want to give anything away. Just go start reading this series now.

A couple characters from the first book make an appearance here as well - namely the Three gods. Sieh, a child-god from the first book, also shows up (I <3 him). A whole bunch of new characters are introduced as well, my favorite probably being a godling named Madding. I am totally engrossed in this world in which gods interact so closely with humanity. The whole world that Jemisin has created is just fascinating to me. I actually wish we lived in this kind of crazy world.

The most exciting thing is that I won't have to wait long for the third book, titled The Kingdom of Gods - according to the author's site, it'll be out on October 27th. And I believe the main character of the third book will be Sieh. I am beyong excited about that!

So, go start this trilogy. Now. Please?

Sarah Says: 4.5 stars

Getting Ready: Read-A-Thon

2011-04-07T10:30:00.003-04:00

SO! The Dewey's 24-Hour Read-A-Thon starts 8 am EST on Saturday April 9th! I'm very excited, I've been craving a readathon lately. Now, here's the thing though: I work 2 am to 2 pm on weekends. My job basically allows me to sit there and watch DVD's and read all day anyways, so time isn't a problem - I just have to answer the phone every now and then. Hopefully it's extra-slow on Saturday. But the issue is that I need to start reading earlier. See, I work 2 am to 2 pm on Saturday - no biggie, I can get lots of reading done. But I normally would have to be back at work again 2 am on Sunday. I switched shifts with someone, so I don't have to go to work again until 2 PM on Sunday - but that means I need to catch some sleep Sunday morning before I work, which means I can't be reading until 8 am. Did that make any sense? Anyways, so my participation in the readathon will be 3 am Saturday to 3 am Sunday (EST), so that I can catch some sleep before work at 2 pm on Sunday. I'll be reviewing each book I read and finish, just to warn you. Anyways, here's the pile I'm going to tackle - and I know I have no hope of reading all of them, but I'll aim to finish at least 4.

Listed above is:

My Antonia by Willa Cather - classic pick

Changing Planes by Ursula le Guin - sci-fi pick

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells - classic sci-fi pick

Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie - romance & re-read pick

The Beloved by Kahlil Gibran - poetry-ish pick

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde - fiction pick

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom - fiction pick

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen - fiction / April poll winner pick

A Life of Reinvention: Malcolm X by Manning Marable - non-fiction pick

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte - audio pick (for while I'm driving)

I know I'm going to read and finish Bet Me and The Peach Keeper. And I'm going to read a bit of that Malcolm X book (I've already started it and have been reads a chapter here and there). Everything else is kind of going to be based on what I feel like reading at the moment.

Oh, and did you notice the tan purse / tote bag behind the books? I bought that at Target specifically to carry all those books to work with me. Dedication I tell ya.

Of course, the 2nd most important part of the Read-A-Thon is the food. I'm thinking of bringing some fruit, popcorn, Monster energy drinks, and maybe some Lunchables to work with me. I like snacky food while I read. I'm thinking soup and fresh bread for when I get home from work, or as a midnight snack. (I love to eat soup while I read as well... not sure why.) I'm still debating what to plan for dinner Saturday night so that I don't have to cook. Either frozen pizza, or ordering pizza, or sending the honeyman out to get Taco Bell... not quite sure. No matter what though, I'll need lots of this the whole night:

(Treland (the honeyman) got me that mug around Valentine's Day. Man he's a sweetie.)

Anyways, so that's my readathon prep so far! I'm sooooo looking forward to this. Especially because I didn't have Twitter during the last readathon. I hope I don't end up spending too much time blogging / tweeting instead of reading....

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Covers I Want to Redesign

2011-04-05T08:51:00.009-04:00

Good morning everyone! It's Tuesday :o) which means it's time for Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is Covers I Wish I Could Redesign. This is gonna be kind of a hard one for me, because I don't generally have problems with a lot of covers. I'm pretty easy-going. But let's get to it...

1. My problem with The Wives of Henry Oades is that I don't really like when real people are on fiction covers. And this cover looks so pretty and sensual, but the story is actually kind of dry and... well, the opposite of pretty and sensual.

2. I actually think that the Shiver cover is pretty cool. It's one of the reasons I read it. Unfortunately, I think more effort was put into the cover than the actual book. I'm just not a fan.

3. Again, I really like the cover for Dash & Lily's Book of Dares. And I love the book itself. But I think it'd be really cool if the book was made to look like a read moleskin journal, which is how the story starts. Maybe they'll do that for the paperback copy someday?

4. White Oleander is a good book, though kind of sad. While this is certainly a sad cover, it has squat to do with the story. A plain background with a picture of a hmmm... I don't know... a white oleander? Would be much cooler.

5. This is where my hatred of people on covers started. Tell me, where in The Forest of Hands and Teeth did the main character have time or resources to put on this much eye-liner?

6. Luckily, there are plenty of other covers for The Lathe of Heaven. But I can't believe this one even exists. Were the cover designers trying to give sci-fi a bad name?

7. Oh how I love Tina Fey. And I totally want to read Bossypants. But her head on a big gross man body freaks me out.

Like I said, I don't usually have a problem with most covers, so I'm stopping at 7. I could name 3 covers that I really like, but I wouldn't want to stop at just 3... I could probably actually do a whole nother 10 on that. Anyhoo, what covers do you want to re-do?

In My Mailbox VLOG #4

2011-04-04T16:11:00.002-04:00

Hey ya'll. In My Mailbox is hosted by Krisi over at The Story Siren. It's a meme that let's us share all of the books we've bought / received / borrowed lately.

Here are the books (and websites) mentioned:

The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin (visit Jemisin's website here)
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde (visit What Red Read here)
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom (visit Tangled Up In Blue here)
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan
Amaryllis in Blueberry by Christina Meldrum
Emeril's TV Dinners by Emeril Lagasse
A Life of Reinvention: Malcolm X by Manning Marable

Thanks for stopping by!

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Chocolat by Joanne Harris

2011-04-03T18:00:00.003-04:00

I've had this book on my shelf forEVER and finally got around to reading it. I'm glad I did.

Chocolat is about a young unmarried mother named Vianne Rocher who comes to a small French town during Lent and opens a gourmet chocolate shop. Her and her daughter have been drifters for years and are finally feeling the desire to settle in one place. The parish curate, Francis Reynaud, takes an almost immediate dislike to her when he learns that she is not religious. Vianne immediately starts attracting the attention of the townspeople and slowly works her way into many of their lives. Vianne has some magical powers it seems, though she rarely admits it even to herself.

The novel alternates between the POVs of Vianne and Reynaud. Vianne is trying desperately to evade what her and her late mother referred to as "the Black Man" and settle down, for the sake of her daughter Anouk. She doesn't necessarily want a conflict with Reynaud, but refuses to back down from her beliefs. Reynaud is a bitter religious man - he is outraged that Vianne flaunts her chocolate during Lent, and believes that she is leading his flock astray. He preaches against her every Sunday, and tries to run her out of town.

Overall, the story here is very subtle - Vianne slowly helps change the life of the townspeople. She's kind of like an adult version of Nanny McPhee - she showed up there because the people needed her and her chocolate to help them rediscover themselves and their passion. The writing was really beautiful - it felt luxurious just to be reading it. And for me, some of the most interesting parts were Reynaud - he seemed really insane to me, and I enjoyed disliking him. And for those of you wondering - I haven't seen the movie version of this book. I want to though, because the movie cover of the book (seen above) makes it seem like a love story, which it isn't.

Also, this book makes me want to sit around and drink chocolate coffee and eat chocolate candies.

Sarah Says: 3.5 stars

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

2011-04-02T15:20:00.002-04:00

LOVED this!

Yeine is the young ruler of a relatively poor nation called Darre (or Darr? it's spelled both ways in the book), whose mother has recently passed away. Still greiving, she's summoned by her grandfather Dakarta Arameri - the Arameri are the elite, and the most elite live in the palace of Sky, which actually is a city in the sky. Her grandfather disowned her mother and therefore she's never met him before, but she sets off when he calls.

Dakarta names her his third heir, leaving her as a contender to the throne, along with her two cousins. While at the palace, Yeine learns more about the Arameri ways and learns a lot of horrifying things. For instance, that there are so many servants and family members forced to serve there. And that there are enslaved gods there, forced to serve the god Itempas, and controlled by the Arameri. Yeine has very little time to learn enough to try to save her own life.

It took me a little bit to get into, because of all the unfamiliar names and places, but once I settled into the story it flew by. (Plus, I realized later that there's a glossary in the back in case I forgot what a word meant).

Yeine is an awesome character - She was intelligent, tough, and bad-ass (I'm all about girls carrying knives), but she was also very compassionate. She felt badly for the servants in the world of the Arameri, she feels badly for the enslaved gods, and she does her darndest to protect those she cares about. She has a great sense of right and wrong.

The story wasn't so much about the power struggle between her and her cousins for the throne. That actually kind of fell into the background as it became apparent that the conspiracies and intrigues surrounding the enslaved gods were more important. And the gods were some of my favorite characters - Nahadoth is creepy and insane and scary, but we see different sides of him. Sieh is most child-like, but he was also intelligent and sneaky and incredibly endearing. Even the other gods were interesting to read about, though not quite as fun. I really enjoyed reading about the Gods' War. And I loved that the deceit and manipulation of the Itempas priests mirrored that of Catholicism and Christianity - the falsifying or destroying of historical records to suit their own purposes. It made the plight of the gods easier to relate to.

Overall, this book just has it all - great story, amazing characters, fantastic imagery, wonderful writing... I absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on the sequel, The Broken Kingdoms.

Also while this isn't THAT important - it's nice to come across a book, especially a sci-fi book, that has a non-white girl as the heroine. I never really notice it, but 90% of the characters I read about are white, so the fact that Yeine is bi-racial made is just a bit more awesome.

Sarah Says: 4 stars

When Harry Met Molly by Kiernan Kramer

2011-04-01T15:16:00.003-04:00

Normally, I'm very hesitant to try new romance authors. However, I came across this one at the library - the title caught my eye, and Julia Quinn's blurb on the cover convinced me to borrow it.

Molly is a feisty daughter of an earl, who has been closeted away in strict schools for the last 8 years. She's dying to escape from that boring life, and means to elope with a friend of the family's when her plans go awry.

Harry is the son of a duke, who had a career in the army but ran into a disgraceful situation. He's back home and spending time sleeping around with any compromisable woman. He and his friends are sick of being chased by scheming mamas and maids trying to get married, and therefore are sucked into a wager - they must each bring a mistress to a weeklong event, and the man whose mistress is voted most "delectable" will get to avoid being chased into marriage for one whole year.

Harry and Molly hate each other. However, they're thrown together when Molly's intended abandons her, and when Harry's mistress abandons him. Harry agrees to be Molly's chaperone home if she'll first join him for a week pretend to be his mistress. If he doesn't show up with a mistress, he'll have to marry someone ASAP. Molly agrees, and if she wins, Harry will have to find her a suitable husband. And course, they start to feel a spark between them.

I'm getting kind of bored with historical romances. They all seem to follow this basic formula:
feisty, beautiful girl + handsome, rich horndog = romance blooms unexpectedly

So while I kind of liked Molly, she seemed very much just the typical romance main character. Of course, this book did have it's differences. Molly befriends several other mistresses (aka whores), for example. And there's a hateful, evil little man involved in the bet that of course makes matters more difficult. If you really dig historical romances, this will probably be just your kind of thing. For me, it was okay but a little predictable.

Sarah Says: 3 stars

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

2011-03-30T15:04:00.003-04:00

For those of you who are new to my blog or haven't caught on yet - the Outlander series is my favorite series in the whole wide world. Pictured above are just some of the covers for this one book - the copy I actually re-read this time isn't pictured above. That blue one is the one you'll find in stores today. And goodluck finding the last one, it's the UK version, titled "Cross Stitch" when the series first came out.

Anyways.... I re-read and reviewed this book about two years ago. But then I never reviewed any of the sequels, because I was a) lazy about my blog at that time and b) didn't want to post spoilers. Well, this time around I'm going to re-read AND review all 7 books. I'll just post a spoiler warning for all the books after this one.

OK, so Outlander is a time-travel, romance-y, historical fiction adventure. And it starts the epic story of Jamie and Claire. I love epic love stories - it's one reason why I love the books about Tatiana and Alexander by Paullina Simons. But anyways, I'm getting off track here. Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp is an English WW2 nurse on a second honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands with her husband Frank. They've been separated for most of their marriage because of the war, and they're finally getting re-acquainted with one another. While searching out some plant near a circle of standing stones, Claire seems to "fall" through them - and ends up in the middle of a skirmish between the English redcoats and Scottish Highlanders in the year 1743. She's assaulted by an Redcoat captain, and rescued by a Scotsman. She's then taken captive by the Scots, and patches up a young injured clansman named Jamie. She's brought to Castle Leoch and meets the Laird of the clan MacKenzie - who decides that she's staying there until they figure out exactly who she is. Claire bides her time trying to find a way to escape and get back to the standing stones - and in the mean time, she grows closer to Jamie. Eventually, she'll have to choose - whether to go back to the future, or to stay in the past with the possible love of her life.

Even though this book is long (850 pages, actually), I enjoy every minute of it. There's action, intrigue, love, history, men in kilts... it's just amazing. My boyfriend is actually the one who talked me into reading this book, and it might just be the best thing he's ever done for me. (He also went out and bought me each book in the series as I devoured them. What a sweet man.) I actually MISS these books when I'm not reading them. And they make me desparately want to go to Scotland. (I looked up plane tickets though - 1300 bucks one way. Bloody hell.)

Anyways, I HIGHLY recommend trying out this series. They're just such perfect excape reading. I'll be spreading out my re-reads of this series though, so that I don't overwhelm myself and so that they don't all start blurring together in my head, lol. So hopefully by the time I read and review the next one, Dragonfly in Amber, some of you will have taken my advice and read Outlander ASAP :o)

Sarah Says: 5 stars! My most favorite book ever.