January 1, 2012

Books for Christmas and a Happy New Year

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. Since I am always pleased to receive books as gifts - that is pretty much what I got. This year I mostly bought my own presents or told hubby what to buy. I received:

  1. Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder
  2. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
  3. Zombie Haiku by Ryan Mecum
Mini reviews
  • Lola - I loved this book so much I spent all day after Christmas reading it. I loved Lola because she likes to costume herself. It's an art form. She goes for themes and goes all out including wigs and making her own clothing. I am so not like that, but if I had an alternate personality or a limitless shopping account I could imagine myself like that.
  • Zombies - First off I have wanted to read this book since hearing about it some time ago. I even wrote my own zombie haiku  - Spam is Good Brain Food. I saw the book at B&N while Christmas shopping and bought it for myself. I must say it was exactly what I expected and beyond. Yes, I admit it grossed me out just a bit. A lot of it was quite humorous though. It's a quick, fun read, but maybe better if you're not eating something while reading. If you are squeamish I probably wouldn't pick it up. Lovely visuals (pictures of scary zombie people) and faux blood-splattered pages too. I am inspired. Maybe I should write a haiku book...only less gruesome.

I haven't read Touch of Power yet, but I can't wait. I haven't read a book by Maria Snyder that I didn't love. 

Which books did you receive for Christmas? 

Photobucket

August 18, 2011

Fandom Quilting

Hi Bookish Friends.

Not so very long ago I came across a website run by Jennifer Ofenstein called SewHooked. It featured quilt block patterns in the medium of paper piecing, among other things. For those of you who don't know what that is, its just a way of assembling a quilt block where you actually sew your fabric to the paper. Once your block is created you rip the paper off and throw it away. Not too long after I found SewHooked, Jen created a new website called Fandom in Stitches. This is the perfect place for book lovers as she has many blocks for popular book series as well as some video games, sports and movie themed blocks. The patterns, created by a team of designers, include Harry Potter, Twilight/Vampires, Hunger Games, Glee, Legend of Zelda, Disney, Sci-fi and more.
Also for your enjoyment, the Fandom in Stitches Flickr group.

This year SewHooked featured the Harry Potter Project of Doom. Each week a new pattern was revealed for 30 weeks until the final quilt came together. I didn't participate, but have enjoyed viewing all the blocks.

The next project of this magnitude is There and Back Again. This is a block of the month mystery quilt based on The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. It is scheduled to start in October, so I wanted to let anyone know about it who may be interested in joining. Go check out Fandom in Stitches for more details. Anyone else out there enjoy fan-themed projects?








Photobucket

August 17, 2011

Where Am I? - Haiku

Whence dark den removed
Twixt track, town, and fruited fen
Box, garage, and van.

Photobucket

June 1, 2011

Reading Journal March to May 2011

Just a few books I have read lately:
Evidences of the True Church by Dennis K. Brown - Non-Fiction
Heaven Is For Real by Todd Burpo - Non-Fiction
Forest Born by Shannon Hale - Bayern Books #4
River Secrets by Shannon Hale - Bayern Books #3
Nightshade by Andrea Cremer - Nightshade #1
Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr - Wicked Lovely #5
Secondhand Charm by Julie Berry
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Smokescreen by Traci Hunter Abramson
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Spy Glass by Maria V. Snyder - Glass Books #3
The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan - The Heroes of Olympus #1
Fallen by Lauren Kate - Fallen #1
The Lost Saint by Bree Despain - Dark Divine #2
What the Doctor Ordered by Sierra St. James

Attempted or skimmed but didn't finish:
I'll Hold You In Heaven by Jack W. Hayford - Non-Fiction
The Memory Bible by Gary W. Small - Non-Fiction
The Autoimmune Connection by Rita Baron-Faust, Jill P. Buyon - Non-Fiction

I keep thinking I am missing some, but my brain truly cannot dredge up any other titles. Sorry, no reviews, recaps, summaries etc. I am severely lacking the interest right now, but thought I would jot down titles for my record. If I had to pick a top 3 favorites from that list, however, I choose Anna and the French Kiss, The Book Thief and The Lost Hero. Happy Reading Everyone!!


Photobucket

March 9, 2011

Reading Journal February 2011 part 2

This is pretty funny. After I posted the last reading journal I went way back and checked some of my older posts. Ha ha, I already mentioned once I had read Kings of Clonmel by John Flanagan. Oh well, I got a little more detailed this time.

At any rate, I remembered one other book I read awhile back, and thought I could add books for the remainder of February.

Saphyre Snow by Marcia Lynn McClure - I only gave this 2 of 5 stars. It was just o.k. for me. It is basically a retelling of Snow White with an added love story. Saphyre Snow is the princess whose step-grandmother tries to kill her. She runs for her life, but ends up in an abandoned fortress of some sort. There she discovers a band of misfit men. They let her stay and keep her safe while trying to figure out what her step grandmother is up to. They suspect the evil queen has a hand in the mysterious deaths of Saphyre's grandfather and mother and the illness of her father. Of course it is inevitable that Saphyre falls in love with one of the men, and he is the surliest one of them all.

Sabotaged (The Missing Book #3) by Margaret Peterson Haddix - This may contain spoilers from previous books. Jonah and Katherine are going back in time with Andrea, another of the missing children from history. Her true identity is Virginia Dare, the first baby born in the New England colony of Roanoke. When they arrive in the 17th century there is no trace of anyone, and they lost the elucidator (the only contact they had with the future and JB). The only thing they have to go on is a couple of tracer natives and Katherine's vague recall of what she learned in history class. They soon realize that they are following the instructions of a man called Second who they believe is trying to sabotage their mission.

I didn't enjoy this installment quite as much as I enjoyed the first two, but things got a little more exciting at the end. At the most it left me wondering what is going to happen in the next book. Which means eventually I will continue on with the series. I gave this book 3 of 5 stars.

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous - This book is about a teenage girl circa 1970's. It is basically her diary; she talks about feelings of loneliness, weight issues, family troubles and being inadequate. During the story she goes to a party of a popular girl and finds out it was a drug party after she drinks a coke laced with LSD and goes on her first trip. This is the beginning of her life with drugs. This is an eye opening book that I believe can be a good talking point between teens and parents about drugs. I gave this book 5 of 5 stars.

Jane by April Lindner - This is a modern day retelling of Jane Eyre. Jane Moore becomes a nanny working for the famous rock star Nico Rathburn. A romance ensues with the suggestion of a mysterious past. Well, if you have read Jane Eyre then you pretty much know what happens after that. I thought this retelling was pretty straightforward. I liked it because it was like revisiting an old friend who'd had a makeover, but nothing to drastic. I also like this book because there are a million retellings of Pride and Prejudice, and this is the first I have ever encountered with Jane Eyre. I gave it 4 of 5 stars.

Photobucket