Contest Update

REMEMBER, TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY TO ENTER ALL FOUR CONTESTS ON MY BLOG AND THERE ARE A FEW WAYS TO GET EXTRA ENTRIES, IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW. YOU CAN POST ABOUT THE CONTEST SOMEWHERE AND LEAVE A LINK OR WITH EVERYONE WHO YOU REFER, AND THEY LET ME KNOW THAT IT WAS YOU WHO REFERRED THEM, YOU AND THAT PERSON GET AN EXTRA ENTRY. THIS MEANS THE MORE PEOPLE YOU REFER THE MORE ENTRIES YOU GET!!!! SO SPREAD THE WORD AND GET THOSE EXTRAL ENTRIES!! ONE MORE DAY AFTER TODAY GUYS!!

Skipping Chirstmas by John Grisham

Skipping Christmas
John Grisham

This was my December RLA Challenge Pick.

OVERVIEW
With Blair’s very first Christmas away from home, dad, Luther Krank makes a crucial suggestion to mom, Nora Krank. How about just this once, they skip Christmas, along with the chaos that trails its path, save a large sum of money, and go on a cruise instead. Nora is hesitant at first, but soon finds favor in Luther’s crazy plan. With just a couple of weeks to spare before their cruise takes off on December 25, the Kranks do the best they can to prepare for the waiting beaches. They go on a diet, and even start tanning. Everything is going as planned; even the snide comments and looks don’t bother them anymore. On the 24th, as they pack for the waiting beaches, they think that nothing can stop them now. But with a single call, everything changes. The cruise is no more and Christmas is back in session. With only a few hours to play catch up, as much as the Kranks try to do everything secretly, nothing goes unnoticed on Hemlock.

REVIEW
This book was pretty funny. I felt soo sorry for the Kranks because of all the trouble they had to go through to avoid Christmas. All they faced from their neighbors and community members, without resistance. (All for nothing) They were really brave and didn’t give in/sell themselves out. (Till the end) The end was the funniest and my favorite part though. It sucked that all the Kranks had worked for didn’t matter and just went down the drain. Trying to set up for Christmas, last minute was a funny ride. That’s when I really got into the book more. Their neighbors were also great, especially when they pulled through for the Kranks. They really showed the true spirit Christmas. John Grisham did a great job with Skipping Christmas; it really was a good read for the holiday season.

I give this one three thumps up.



The movie Christmas with the Kranks did this book justice. Unlike other movies out there… *cough cough* Twilight *cough cough*

Teaser Tuesday IV

I saw this over at Fizzy Thoughts and I thought it was interesting, so I decided to try it.

GRAB your current read OR the closest book to you]
LET the book fall open to a random page.
SHARE with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
YOU also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
PLEASE avoid spoilers!

A Dating Game Novel: Breaking Up is Really, Really Hard To Do by Natalie Standiford.

Pg. 74

".....Rob polished off three brownies, lay on his back, closed his eyes, and rubbed his stomach contentedly. It was time."

"'I feel that way, too, sometimes,' Holly said. 'That's why I think maybe we should take a break....."

On My Door Step (On Monday)

I totally "borrowed" this from The Story Siren. On My Door Step is just another name for In my mailbox, a topic where you share with everyone, on Sunday, what you books you got during the week. It can be a book you borrowed, bought, or one you found on your door step. I thought I'd join in on the fun, when I can.

I can't believe I forgot to post yesterday. But I guess this is why.. hehe

This was one of those weeks

Guest Author and Giveaway 4

This Contest is Official Closed.

Day four and you know what that means, it's the LAST DAY!!! so YOU better get those entries in...NOW!!! Our fourth author is Carmen Rodrigues, author of NOT Anything. Carmen lives by the words, "One man's trash is another man's treasure." Give her your junk, and she'll be sure to turn it into art, just like her book. Here she is with a take on the best gifts man can give.

As a little girl on Christmas Eve, my sisters and I would wedge ourselves into adjacent twin beds to endure the mountain of hours that stood between bedtime and the arrival of our favorite white-haired geriatric, Santa Claus. I was the youngest of the brood, which meant that I got the unlucky spot--the seam between the beds. In between talking, laughing, and hushing (because we thought we heard adult footsteps prowling toward our door), we would sleep, rolling around in bed, a mass of tangled legs and matted hair. There, nestled safely between them, I dreamt of reindeer crashing through a snowy night to land safely on the roof of my yellow house. I never wondered how Santa would find his way into our home (we didn’t have a chimney for him to slide down) or how he knew exactly what to give me (I had never written him a note). I just trusted that when I awoke on Christmas morning, that empty space underneath our tree would overflow with gifts tailor-made for me.

I had faith—that kind of unquestioning faith that is necessary for a young girl to believe in the impossible notion that some magical man with mystical reindeer (one with a glow-in-the-dark red nose, no less) could and would fly across the planet to deliver gifts to all the deserving children. The older, skeptical me writing this piece would, given all of my adult-wisdom, joke that in order to pull off a task that monumental, Santa must have attached to his super-slick sled a U-haul filled with Red Bull, but, like I said, that’s just the jaded, adult me. The childhood me of the early 1980s, didn’t ponder the logistics of Santa’s feat; I merely accepted that Santa, like the holy trinity, could do anything.

Now I am grown up and well aware that Santa Claus does not exist. Still, I have faith in the power of Christmas. I have faith that this holiday and all the other holidays of this season serve a rich purpose in our lives: They bring us together to appreciate the joy that we give to one another, to understand that this world that we exist in is bigger than the sphere of our daily lives. So, on these special days, I encourage you to tell those around you how you feel. I suggest the following: I love you. I really enjoy your friendship. I’m happy that I know you. What would my world be without you? Trust me, these precious words of affirmation are the most valuable gifts we can give one another. And the best part? You don’t need a magical man in a red suit with mystical reindeer to deliver them. I bid you happy holidays.

XO,

Carmen Rodrigues
Author, NOT ANYTHING

So now, what's in stock for you? Carmen Rodriguiez has for one lucky winner, a copy of Not Anything! All you have to do is leave a comment... oh, and tell your friends.

Don't forget to also enter for a copy of Poison Ivy by Amy.
Don't forget to also enter for a copy of A Season of Eden by JM.
Don't forget to also enter for a copy of Sucks To Be Me by Kimberly Pauley

Extra Entries?
post about the contest and include the link in your comment--one extra entry
tell me where/who you heard about this contest from in your comment--one extra entry for you and the person

Merry Christmas

*Holding Up Glass of Sparkling Juice*

Here's to a MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS. I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas as much as I did if not better. And If you celebrate Hanukkah instead, then I also hoped you enjoyed your fifth day of Hanukkah as much as I enjoyed my ONE day of Christmas. But if you're more of a Kwanzaa person, I hope your Tomorrow can compare to My Today!


Happy Hanukkah
Merry Christmas
Happy Kwanzaa

*Takes a Drink and Lowers Glass*

Teaser Tuesday III

I saw this over at Fizzy Thoughts and I thought it was interesting, so I decided to try it.

GRAB your current read OR the closest book to you]
LET the book fall open to a random page.
SHARE with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
YOU also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
PLEASE avoid spoilers!


The Center Of the Universe. Yep, That Would Be ME by Anita Liberty

page 58/59

"(FYI: As a rule I prefer Lennon to McCartney, but the Yoko reference just isn't relevant in this situation.)"

"Saving a Rodent I didn't care about from an untimely (or timely) death."

Reader's Block

You know that thing they call writer's block, well I think I have a case of it, only it's reader's block. Like I have a TON of books I need to read and review and such, but I can't seem to sit myself down and read them. I don't know if it's that they're so many I can't decide where to start from (although I do have a one that needs to be read by this month) OR maybe I'm just lazy--which is probably it. It's like the mood just isn't set right. But how do you get out of reader's block, if you've ever found yourself in it?

On My Door Step

I totally "borrowed" this from The Story Siren. On My Door Step is just another name for In my mailbox, a topic where you share with everyone, on Sunday, what you books you got during the week. It can be a book you borrowed, bought, or one you found on your door step. I thought I'd join in on the fun, when I can.

This week was one of those weeks...

Teaser Tuesday II (on Satruday)

I saw this over at Fizzy Thoughts and I thought it was interesting, so I decided to try it.

GRAB your current read.
LET the book fall open to a random page.
SHARE with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
YOU also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
PLEASE avoid spoilers!



Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

pg. 104

"Otherwise, Hemlock took another sip and grinned smugly at the world."

" Last year they'd fed fifty."

Did Some Just Put FREE and ARC in the same sentence?

Lisa Schroeder, author of I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME, is celebrating the release of her upcoming YA novel, FAR FROM YOU, and hosting a contest with LOTS of great prizes!

For three days leading up to the book’s release date of December 23rd, you can watch VLOGs and hear some excerpts read from the book. The VLOG schedule is as follows:
Sunday, December 21st – Liv’s Book Reviews - http://livsbookreviews.blogspot.com/
Monday, December 22nd – What Vanessa Reads - http://whatvanessareads.wordpress.com/
Tuesday, December 23rd – Lisa Schroeder, author - http://lisa-schroeder.livejournal.com/ AND http://myspace.com/writerlisa

Help spread the word, and you might win a fabulous prize!

Copy and paste THIS entire blog entry into your blog between now and December 21st, then come back to Lisa’s blog at either Livejournal OR Myspace and leave a comment with the link to your blog and you will get TWO enteries to win a number of prizes.

Wondering what you might win? Here is the list (there will be multiple winners):
~ An Advanced Review Copy of THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH, by Carrie Ryan
~ An Advanced Review Copy of SOMETHING, MAYBE, by Elizabeth Scott
~ Young adult novel GIRL, HERO by Carrie Jones
~ Young adult novel, THE POSSIBILITIES OF SAINTHOOD by Donna Freitas
~ Young adult novel, UGLIES by Scott Westerfield
~ Pair of YA fairy tale retellings by Cameron Dokey (BELLE and BEFORE MIDNIGHT)
~ TWILIGHT movie soundtrack
~ $15.00 Barnes and Noble gift card along with some Harry & David’s chocolate moose munch
~ And of course, a signed copy of FAR FROM YOU

For more chances to win, watch one or all of the VLOGs and leave a comment on that vlogger’s page, and you get another entry. That means if you post the schedule on your blog AND comment on all three VLOGs, you can have FIVE entries for the contest!

A live drawing with winners announced will be done by Lisa Thursday morning, December 24th, in a special holiday VLOG.

Guest Author and Giveaway 3

This Contest is Official Closed.

I can't believe it's already week 3. YAY. It's going by faster than I thought, which means there will be winners posted soon. (might be even earlier than anticipated so cross your fingers!) Today we have with us the lovely Kimberly Pauley, author of Sucks To Be Me, The All-True Confessions of Mia Hamilton, Teen Vampire (Maybe). Although most of us know her as the YA Book Goddess over at YABC and a brand new Mommy! But let's get down to business. Today, Kim's going to share with us about the beginning of a new tradition.

Right now, I'm actually looking forward to building new traditions. We had a baby this year (cutest little boy ever) and he is giving the whole holiday season more meaning than ever before. Not that I didn't already love Christmas (it's the only day of the year I willingly get up early)! But I can't wait to see how excited he is going to be on Christmas morning. This year I know that he'll likely be much more excited about the wrapping paper and the boxes than what's actually in the boxes and he'll have no clue who Santa is, but I still know it is going to be very special.

We always put up the tree on Thanksgiving day after the turkey stupor wears off (this year we visited family out of state, something we usually don't do on the holiday, so we put it up on Sunday instead...though I felt like I was still under a bit of turkey influence!). We took little Max to go pick out the tree with us, even though it was snowing outside! We just bundled him up really warm in a little snowbunny kind of outfit. He's lucky we didn't get a picture of him, though I wish we had.

I just ordered matching personalized stockings for us -- one that says Mommy, one for Daddy, and one for Max (okay, I can be cheesy, but it'll be cute!). Stockings are, of course, the first thing opened up on Christmas morning. And in our house, Santa actually wraps the stocking gifts in tissue paper, so you feel like you're getting even more presents (the tissue paper is then wadded up and thrown at the cat to chase).

And we're definitely going to be putting out some milk and cookies for Santa too. I'm thinking chocolate chip, but maybe peanut butter (since they are my favorite). Other holiday treats I can't get through the season without include hot chocolate and egg nog. Hmmm...it's probably a good thing I don't drink that all year long...

We also will take turns opening up the presents and later on, once Max is older, he'll have the job of passing them out. Since we'll be too excited to get dressed first, this will all be done in our jammies. :-)

When I was little, we always used to put all the presents back under the tree after they were unwrapped, so everyone could see what everyone else got. We might do tha t too, I'm not sure yet. It's kind of a nice thing, since it reminds you of what you received and what you should be thankful for. We'll have to see how that goes as Max gets older. He may not be able to wait to play with it all!

It's hard to say what new traditions will arise, now that Max is here, but I'm looking forward to all of them and I know my husband is too.

~~~Kimberly

So now, what's in stock for you? Kimberly is willing to mail to one lucky winner Sucks To Be Me AND a Vampire Themed Goodie Bag (don't you just love those?) All you have to do is leave a comment... oh, and tell your friends.

Don't forget to also enter for a copy of Poison Ivy by Amy.
Don't forget to also enter for a copy of A Season of Eden by JM.

Extra Entries?
post about the contest and include the link in your comment--one extra entry
tell me where/who you heard about this contest from in your comment--one extra entry for you and the person

In My Hands

I guess I better explain that big ole stack I've got going on in a series of BOOK, AUTHOR, and REASON for reading the book.






The Season
Sarah MacLean
Pleasure and Review









Marley: A Dog Like No Other
John Grogan
November Read Learn and Serve Club requirement. I was suppose to finish this in November, but yea, that didn't happen.










Skipping Christmas
John Grisham
RLA Challange for December at the YABC Forum. I need to read and review by the end of December.










The Dating Game: Breaking Up Is Really Really Hard To Do
Natalie Standiford
Pleasure and maybe review.










A Separate Peace
John Knowles
English Class. Must finish by Thursday and I'm still in Chapter 8






And where is book number six? Well I don't have one....... YET

On My Door Step

I totally "borrowed" this from The Story Siren. On My Door Step is just another name for In my mailbox, a topic where you share with everyone, on Sunday, what you books you got during the week. It can be a book you borrowed, bought, or one you found on your door step. I thought I'd join in on the fun, when I can.























































































A HEAP of thanks to The Page Flipper, Amy Goldman Koss, and The Authors at Author2Author.

Guest Author and Giveaway 2

This Contest is Official Closed.

This is the second day of the Guest Author giveaway and it's been going on well. Today we have with us JM Warwick, author of A Season of Eden and her latest, An Open Vein. "JM like to write edgy YA fiction that pushes boundaries and leaves questions. Fiction with gutsey twists and unforgettable characters...characters that see inside of you." Now it's our turn to see inside of her as she shares with us a Christmas tradition of hers.

Every Christmas Eve since I can remember, we open gifts. My friends thought this was odd, as most of them opened gifts Christmas Day morning. I always counted myself lucky to enjoy a haul on Christmas Eve, then "Santa" prezzies Christmas morning -- along with gifts form visiting family and friends Christmas Day. Okay, so I was an only child and the gifts under the tree WERE rather lopsided in my direction. But after a lovely traditional meal of Cornish game hens, wild rice, baked apples and chocolate cookie/cream dessert, opening gifts around the tree was a memory I carried over with my family now.

So now, what's in stock for you? JM has donated a copy of A Season of Eden for one lucky winner, all you have to do is leave a comment... oh, and tell your friends.

Don't forget to also enter for a copy of Poison Ivy by Amy. The contest is still going on. And come back Next Friday for a new author and giveaway.

Extra Entries?
post about the contest and include the link in your comment--one extra entry
tell me where/who you heard about this contest from in your comment--one extra entry for you and the person

Airhead by Meg Cabot

Airhead
Meg Cabot

OVERVIEW
Emerson Watts is anything but an airhead. Embracing her boyish name, Em, is a total tomboy. She spends her time playing computer games, and hanging out with best friend and crush Christopher, while making fun of the Walking Dead--Whitney Robertson and her group of friends and followers at Tribeca Alternative (TAHS) who think they are at the top of the pyramid. Em would rather die than become a Walking Dead. But what happens when that choice is, literally, made for her? Will she ever accept this whole new body that's turning heads everywhere she goes? Does she finally have what it takes to get noticed by the one she loves?



REVIEW
Going into this book, I really didn't know what it was about. Sure I knew that he main character, Em, gets a whole new look, but I didn't know how, although I thought I knew why. Meg Cabot is an awesome author, and Airhead was no exception of hers. The plot is totally original and very well written. Meg keeps you in suspense long enough to want to know what's going on, but not for too long to where you get tired with the book. It's just enough gist to keep you on the edge of your seat, while awaiting the sequel. Being Nikki hits stores in May 2009.
The only problem I had with the book was Christopher and Em's relationship. I think Meg should have emphasized more on it, before the incident. That way afterwards, we could have had a better idea of what was going on in Christopher's mind. Hopefully, there's more of him in Being Nikki.

I GIVE THIS ONE FIVE THUMBS UP