Here is the cover! Enjoy :)
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Cover Reveal: True by Hilary Duff
I have been a big fan of Hilary Duff for awhile. I think her music is fun and I think her movies are sweet. She is one of the most age appropriate starlets. She has been writing a series of books, Elixir. The last book in the trilogy comes out April 16, 2013. I have to be honest, I haven't actually read any of the books but I do plan on reading the first two before the third comes out.
Here is the cover! Enjoy :)
Here is the cover! Enjoy :)
Monday, July 23, 2012
Book Review: Losing Elizabeth AND my first book giveaway!!!
I read the novel on a flight from Toronto to Regina. It is a really quick read. The story is very simple but still incredibly powerful and speaks to a lot of things that young people are starting to deal with. The characters are all very interesting and you can definitely relate to a lot of them at different times in the story. I think it would be a great book for schools to adopt.
A GIVEAWAY!
I have a giveaway this week as well for a copy of Tanya J. Peterson's Losing Elizabeth. To enter all you need to do is leave a comment on this post and tell me what book you are reading right now! The contest closes on August 1st and I will randomly draw a name from the entries.
Good luck everyone :)
Sunday, July 1, 2012
My Very First Book Tour: PLEDGED!
Hello!
I have recently joined a book tour for an upcoming YA novel called Pledged. For the next few months I will be posting different things about this book AND I have 5 copies of the book to give away to my readers :)!
Today I am going to start by releasing the book cover and synopsis of the book!
Here is the cover reveal:
Everyone has a soul mate. But what do you do when your soul mate would rather give his soul to the demons than be with you?
Seventeen-year-old Erin has a problem. Seth has been hers forever, but now an ancient promise is tearing him away. And Reuel, the demon to whom the promise was made, will stop at nothing to force Seth to forsake Erin and to worship him.
How can Erin win against a pledge so binding that it has damned countless others to the same fate she and Seth will face if Reuel wins – an eternity alone?
The answer lies in the past. To find it, Erin and Seth must risk all, travelling back in time to a dangerous world where love is forbidden, and life – and death – hang on a promise.
Follow Erin and Seth as they travel to ancient Shenaya to break the pledge that has plagued their families for millennia. Caught in a war between the Angelic Guardians and the Gefallen, the disembodied dead, they must fight to keep their souls in tact and their love untainted.
I am really excited to read this book and keep you posted about my thoughts on it! I am going to be doing an interview with the author in a few weeks so please keep an eye out for that!
I have recently joined a book tour for an upcoming YA novel called Pledged. For the next few months I will be posting different things about this book AND I have 5 copies of the book to give away to my readers :)!
Today I am going to start by releasing the book cover and synopsis of the book!
Here is the cover reveal:
Seventeen-year-old Erin has a problem. Seth has been hers forever, but now an ancient promise is tearing him away. And Reuel, the demon to whom the promise was made, will stop at nothing to force Seth to forsake Erin and to worship him.
How can Erin win against a pledge so binding that it has damned countless others to the same fate she and Seth will face if Reuel wins – an eternity alone?
The answer lies in the past. To find it, Erin and Seth must risk all, travelling back in time to a dangerous world where love is forbidden, and life – and death – hang on a promise.
Follow Erin and Seth as they travel to ancient Shenaya to break the pledge that has plagued their families for millennia. Caught in a war between the Angelic Guardians and the Gefallen, the disembodied dead, they must fight to keep their souls in tact and their love untainted.
I am really excited to read this book and keep you posted about my thoughts on it! I am going to be doing an interview with the author in a few weeks so please keep an eye out for that!
I was nominated for a Liebster Award!
Hello!
I was nominated for a Liebster Award by Book Crazed Girl and GingerRead! Thank you for your nominations!
What is the Liebster Award? The award is for bloggers with fewer than 200 followers. Awardees get to share 11 facts about themselves, answer the 11 questions written by the person who tagged them, choose 11 more questions, and tag 11 more bloggers to answer those 11 questions.
Here are 11 facts about me:
1. I watch A LOT of TV - maybe too much. Just this summer I have watched Community, Breaking Bad, Twin Peaks, Californication on top of the shows I already watch weekly. I am always looking for a great show to watch and love talking about them!
2. I have no siblings and no cousins.
3. I have never broken a bone.
4. I have or will be flying on 10 separate planes this summer.
5. I am a HUGE Kirsten Dunst fan.
6. I would rather spend a night in playing board games with my friends than go out to a bar.
7. My favourite movies is Garden State and my favourite song is Colorblind by Counting Crows.
8. I hate raw onions
9. I am currently working on my third university degree (and if I could be a student forever I would)
10. I can't eat fries without sweet and sour or plum sauce.
11. Fall is my favourite season.
Nine Questions For Me:
1. What "paranormal"-being would you choose to be and why?
I would probably choose to be a witch because I was mildly obsessed with the movie The Craft when I was younger.
2.When did you start blogging?
I started blogging about 2 months ago. I started because I was inspired by a friend of mine Browsing Bookshelves
3. How do you choose whether or not to read a book?
I TRY really hard not to judge a book my its cover but I do put a lot of weight in the title of the book. I also will usually give it a chapter or two and if I'm not totally invested I'll try to move on to another book. Although I have a tendency to feel the need to finish a book once I start it even if this means I sometimes waste my time reading pretty awful books.
4. Name your favorite bookish couple? and why?
My favourite bookish couple... hmmm... Is it super obvious if I say Romeo and Juliet? It is one of my favourite Shakespeare plays and I love every film adaptation! (also Daisy and Gatsby as a close second)
5. How did you come up with your blog name?
This is pretty simple - I am currently in library school to become a librarian and every time I enter a bookstore I have to stop myself from buying everything.
6. Why did you start blogging?
I started blogging to try and motivate myself to do a bit more reading and try and read different types of books. I also really wanted to get more involved in this community and make connections with authors and publishers.
7. How many books are in your to-read pile?
Too many to count.
8. Do you usually read mainstream or indie authors?
I think a mixture of both. Unlike movies I don't really think of books in those types of terms - I really try and read what I like and what I think is good. Whether an other is mainstream or "indie" doesn't have any influence on it.
9. Name a book that you could have done without reading? And why?
Ask Alice - I say this not because it was a bad book (because it was really a wonderfully written book) but it made me so devastatingly sad.
10. If you could teleport yourself into any fictional world, where would you go? And why?
This would definitely have to be Hogwarts. Probably not a very unique answer but come on! Who wouldn't love to live in Hogwarts!
11.If you could be any Character from a book, who would you be and why?
I would chose Lux from The Virgin Suicides.. I know she has a rather tragic ending but I think she is a such a beautifully written character.
My 11 Questions:
1. What is the first book you can remember reading?
2. What is one book that hasn't been made into a movie that should?
3. Who is your least favourite character in a book?
4. How many books to you read at once?
5. If you could recommend one book to a complete stranger (not knowing the type of books they usually read) what book would it be?
6. What is your favourite part of blogging?
7. What book is the most over rated?
8. Have you ever stayed up for 24 hours reading a book you couldn't put down?
9. If there was a book written about you what would it be called?
10. Who is your favourite character from a book?
11. What book have you reread the most?
People I have Tagged:
I was nominated for a Liebster Award by Book Crazed Girl and GingerRead! Thank you for your nominations!
What is the Liebster Award? The award is for bloggers with fewer than 200 followers. Awardees get to share 11 facts about themselves, answer the 11 questions written by the person who tagged them, choose 11 more questions, and tag 11 more bloggers to answer those 11 questions.
Here are 11 facts about me:
1. I watch A LOT of TV - maybe too much. Just this summer I have watched Community, Breaking Bad, Twin Peaks, Californication on top of the shows I already watch weekly. I am always looking for a great show to watch and love talking about them!
2. I have no siblings and no cousins.
3. I have never broken a bone.
4. I have or will be flying on 10 separate planes this summer.
5. I am a HUGE Kirsten Dunst fan.
6. I would rather spend a night in playing board games with my friends than go out to a bar.
7. My favourite movies is Garden State and my favourite song is Colorblind by Counting Crows.
8. I hate raw onions
9. I am currently working on my third university degree (and if I could be a student forever I would)
10. I can't eat fries without sweet and sour or plum sauce.
11. Fall is my favourite season.
Nine Questions For Me:
1. What "paranormal"-being would you choose to be and why?
I would probably choose to be a witch because I was mildly obsessed with the movie The Craft when I was younger.
2.When did you start blogging?
I started blogging about 2 months ago. I started because I was inspired by a friend of mine Browsing Bookshelves
3. How do you choose whether or not to read a book?
I TRY really hard not to judge a book my its cover but I do put a lot of weight in the title of the book. I also will usually give it a chapter or two and if I'm not totally invested I'll try to move on to another book. Although I have a tendency to feel the need to finish a book once I start it even if this means I sometimes waste my time reading pretty awful books.
4. Name your favorite bookish couple? and why?
My favourite bookish couple... hmmm... Is it super obvious if I say Romeo and Juliet? It is one of my favourite Shakespeare plays and I love every film adaptation! (also Daisy and Gatsby as a close second)
5. How did you come up with your blog name?
This is pretty simple - I am currently in library school to become a librarian and every time I enter a bookstore I have to stop myself from buying everything.
6. Why did you start blogging?
I started blogging to try and motivate myself to do a bit more reading and try and read different types of books. I also really wanted to get more involved in this community and make connections with authors and publishers.
7. How many books are in your to-read pile?
Too many to count.
8. Do you usually read mainstream or indie authors?
I think a mixture of both. Unlike movies I don't really think of books in those types of terms - I really try and read what I like and what I think is good. Whether an other is mainstream or "indie" doesn't have any influence on it.
9. Name a book that you could have done without reading? And why?
Ask Alice - I say this not because it was a bad book (because it was really a wonderfully written book) but it made me so devastatingly sad.
10. If you could teleport yourself into any fictional world, where would you go? And why?
This would definitely have to be Hogwarts. Probably not a very unique answer but come on! Who wouldn't love to live in Hogwarts!
11.If you could be any Character from a book, who would you be and why?
I would chose Lux from The Virgin Suicides.. I know she has a rather tragic ending but I think she is a such a beautifully written character.
My 11 Questions:
1. What is the first book you can remember reading?
2. What is one book that hasn't been made into a movie that should?
3. Who is your least favourite character in a book?
4. How many books to you read at once?
5. If you could recommend one book to a complete stranger (not knowing the type of books they usually read) what book would it be?
6. What is your favourite part of blogging?
7. What book is the most over rated?
8. Have you ever stayed up for 24 hours reading a book you couldn't put down?
9. If there was a book written about you what would it be called?
10. Who is your favourite character from a book?
11. What book have you reread the most?
People I have Tagged:
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
They did WHAT to Sweet Valley High?!?
Remember that time I said I would post a review on Sunday? Well I never did, did I? Shame on me.
But I have TWO reviews for you now and they were worth the wait!
Did any of you read the Sweet Valley High books when you were young? (or are you reading them now if you are currently still young?) You know those books "written" by Francine Pascal but actually written by her team of ghost writers.
Well I did. I loved the SVH, SVU, thrillers, even the TV show. I was both Jessica and Elizabeth at the same time (probably more actually like Elizabeth but wanted to be Jessica). I recently came across the UPDATED version. Did you know they updated the books and filled them with current pop culture references.
The first book in the series is Double Love and tells the story about how Todd and
Elizabeth start dating. It also introduces us to how absolutely evil and manipulative Jessica is. If she were my sister, I would not have gotten over things the way Elizabeth always seems to. We are also introduced to Jessica's BFF Lila Fowler and Elizabeth's BFF Enid Rollins. The story itself is similar to the original expect for the super blatant pop references to things like The Fast and the Furious and Louis Vuitton. 
The second book is called Secrets and we learn a lot more about Enid in this story. We also learn even more about how much of a evil person/sister Jessica is and how much of a massive pushover Elizabeth is - why did I worship these two so much when I was little? And where did I learn to have self-respect if I was constantly reading these books...
But I digress...
I give these revamped versions of Sweet Valley High 2 soon to be out of date references out of 10. HOWEVER, I do encourage you to go and find the ORIGINAL 1983 versions. It's a nice walk down stirrup pant lane.
ASIDE: Diablo Cody is currently working on a new Sweet Valley High project and considering how much I LOVED Young Adult I think it's going to be AH-MAZING!
But I have TWO reviews for you now and they were worth the wait!
Did any of you read the Sweet Valley High books when you were young? (or are you reading them now if you are currently still young?) You know those books "written" by Francine Pascal but actually written by her team of ghost writers.
Well I did. I loved the SVH, SVU, thrillers, even the TV show. I was both Jessica and Elizabeth at the same time (probably more actually like Elizabeth but wanted to be Jessica). I recently came across the UPDATED version. Did you know they updated the books and filled them with current pop culture references.
The first book in the series is Double Love and tells the story about how Todd and
Elizabeth start dating. It also introduces us to how absolutely evil and manipulative Jessica is. If she were my sister, I would not have gotten over things the way Elizabeth always seems to. We are also introduced to Jessica's BFF Lila Fowler and Elizabeth's BFF Enid Rollins. The story itself is similar to the original expect for the super blatant pop references to things like The Fast and the Furious and Louis Vuitton. 
The second book is called Secrets and we learn a lot more about Enid in this story. We also learn even more about how much of a evil person/sister Jessica is and how much of a massive pushover Elizabeth is - why did I worship these two so much when I was little? And where did I learn to have self-respect if I was constantly reading these books...
But I digress...
I give these revamped versions of Sweet Valley High 2 soon to be out of date references out of 10. HOWEVER, I do encourage you to go and find the ORIGINAL 1983 versions. It's a nice walk down stirrup pant lane.
ASIDE: Diablo Cody is currently working on a new Sweet Valley High project and considering how much I LOVED Young Adult I think it's going to be AH-MAZING!
Saturday, June 16, 2012
A Month Later...
I am officially the worst blogger. Here is my excuse: I am still kicking it in Regina and the adjustment was a bit more difficult than I thought it would be. Somethings got neglected and this was one but I do have some things to discuss a new review post is coming today! I also have some books sent to me by authors sitting at home in Ontario but I will be home in a week and a half to pick them up. Look for those reviews soon. Until then... here are some fabulous looking movie trailers all based on books. Ch-ch-ch-ch-check it out!
1. Les Miserables - release date: December 14th, 2012
2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower - release date: September 21, 2012
3. Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter - release date: June 20, 2012
Those are some that I am most excited for! Any movies (book related or not) that you are excited about?
1. Les Miserables - release date: December 14th, 2012
2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower - release date: September 21, 2012
3. Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter - release date: June 20, 2012
Those are some that I am most excited for! Any movies (book related or not) that you are excited about?
Thursday, May 17, 2012
A rant about libraries
OK, I am a currently in library school training to be a librarian. I feel strongly about libraries and what they stand for. Free and open access to information is something that we should all stand behind. I have been a patron of a library ever since I can remember. Libraries are places of comfort and familiarity. No matter what city you are in you can count on the public library to be there for you.
This summer I am living in Regina, Saskatchewan. I am working a co-op in a health library. I have been here for about two weeks and the other night I went to the public library to sign up for a library card. Signing up for a library card in a new town that you live in is almost a rite of passage. I don't truly feel like I belong to a community until I have done this. I went to the library armed with a copy of my job contract because I knew I would be asked for proof that I am a citizen of Regina (even if it is just for a little while). I was disappointed to learn that this wasn't good enough. The staff member helping me didn't even seem to think that my lease would be good enough either. Instead, she suggested that I could have the library mail me a letter and then I could bring that in to prove that I live there.
Let me pause for a moment to explain that I understand how library funding works. I recognize the importance of patrons being a residence of the region (or surrounding region) that the library serves because it is their tax dollars that help to fund the library.
However, I felt that I had provided sufficient information to prove that I am indeed living here for the period of my job contract. While I will take the extra steps to provide more information about my housing, most people would not. I feel like I am a bit of an oddity when it comes to enthusiasm about library use. I believe that it is fair to say that most people use the library because it is a convenient alternative to purchasing information materials. I'm not saying that this is the only thing the library offers. It is a community space, a centre of enriching programming for all ages and and educational institution among others. If the library was inconvenient people would not use it. As librarians, one of our biggest issues is how to increase our patronage and ensure that patrons continually use our services. Without patrons, the library itself is meaningless. It is policies like this one that discourages people from using the library. Instead of setting up roadblocks we should be creating bridges for our patrons to help them use the library.
So, am I going to go back to the library with even more proof that I am real person who is really living here? Yes, of course I am. But would you?
This summer I am living in Regina, Saskatchewan. I am working a co-op in a health library. I have been here for about two weeks and the other night I went to the public library to sign up for a library card. Signing up for a library card in a new town that you live in is almost a rite of passage. I don't truly feel like I belong to a community until I have done this. I went to the library armed with a copy of my job contract because I knew I would be asked for proof that I am a citizen of Regina (even if it is just for a little while). I was disappointed to learn that this wasn't good enough. The staff member helping me didn't even seem to think that my lease would be good enough either. Instead, she suggested that I could have the library mail me a letter and then I could bring that in to prove that I live there.
Let me pause for a moment to explain that I understand how library funding works. I recognize the importance of patrons being a residence of the region (or surrounding region) that the library serves because it is their tax dollars that help to fund the library.
However, I felt that I had provided sufficient information to prove that I am indeed living here for the period of my job contract. While I will take the extra steps to provide more information about my housing, most people would not. I feel like I am a bit of an oddity when it comes to enthusiasm about library use. I believe that it is fair to say that most people use the library because it is a convenient alternative to purchasing information materials. I'm not saying that this is the only thing the library offers. It is a community space, a centre of enriching programming for all ages and and educational institution among others. If the library was inconvenient people would not use it. As librarians, one of our biggest issues is how to increase our patronage and ensure that patrons continually use our services. Without patrons, the library itself is meaningless. It is policies like this one that discourages people from using the library. Instead of setting up roadblocks we should be creating bridges for our patrons to help them use the library.
So, am I going to go back to the library with even more proof that I am real person who is really living here? Yes, of course I am. But would you?
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