Tell Me Something Tuesday: One Genre or Many?

Tell Me Something Tuesday, a meme started by CambriaHebert, but now hosted on Rainy Day Ramblings. It is a chance to get to know your fellow bloggers by sharing fun stuff, discussions and more. Grab the question and post your answer on your blog and link up at Rainy Day Ramblings! Have fun!

This weeks question:

Do you stick predominately with one genre or do you read numerous genres?

Well, I think that is obvious. I read lots of things. In fact before I had my blog I used to love to get 3 different books in decidedly 3 different genres and read them at the same time. What was weird is that I would ALWAYS find a theme running through the books. Don't know why, but I could pick out a theme. Perhaps I'm just weird like that... :D

So what about you? Do you read in other genres or do you stick to the same one. Also, have you ever tried reading multi genre books at the same time? Did you find a theme running through them? 

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Rainy Day Projects

Tell Me Something Tuesday, a meme started by CambriaHebert, but now hosted on Rainy Day Ramblings. It is a chance to get to know your fellow bloggers by sharing fun stuff, discussions and more. Grab the question and post your answer on your blog and link up at Rainy Day Ramblings! Have fun!

This weeks question:

What do you spend your fun, rainy day money on besides books?

Is there something besides books? LOL

No, actually I do have other things. One is usually crafts. I love to craft. And for what I do depends on what I want to do... It might be simple sewing stuff, crochet, craft painting, jewelry or just something I want to see if I can replicate. I just love anything creative. 

Some of my fave websites:

Sewing

Sew 4 Home

Sew Momma Sew

Crochet

Ravelry

Craftster

I was going to list more, but honestly the rest are all over the place. Those are the only consistent places I visit to figure out what I want to do in that category. Now go and find inspiration everywhere! :)

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Self-Advice

Tell Me Something Tuesday, a meme started by CambriaHebert, but now hosted on Rainy Day Ramblings. It is a chance to get to know your fellow bloggers by sharing fun stuff, discussions and more. Grab the question and post your answer on your blog and link up at Rainy Day Ramblings! Have fun!

This weeks question:

What advice do you wish you could go back and give yourself when you were starting your blog?

Honestly, I don't have much that I would have told myself. Most things would have to be found out at the proper time. Like I would have not believed that I would be turning down books I want to read because I would have too many to review. I wouldn't have believed that it really would have taken the time it takes to set things up and keep up with the schedule. Some things you just have to find out through experience.

I might have warned myself about NetGalley and Edelweiss and how dangerous those sites are... still, I doubt I would have listened... ;)

Still, at least one thing... hm...

I guess it would be prepare myself for the great community and bloggers there is out there. I doth my cap off to all of you reading this and I thank you for coming to my strange little blog with my badly done reviews. :) Also, I guess I would tell myself to be prepared for all the books you never knew you wanted because of all those bloggers. You all are quite evil... but in a good way. ;D

So any advice you would impart?

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Romantic Reads

Tell Me Something Tuesday, a meme started by CambriaHebert, but now hosted on Rainy Day Ramblings. It is a chance to get to know your fellow bloggers by sharing fun stuff, discussions and more. Grab the question and post your answer on your blog and link up at Rainy Day Ramblings! Have fun!

This weeks question:

What are some of your favorite romantic reads?

This is actually a hard question for me. I do love romantic reads, but I admit I tend toward UF where the romance is secondary, sometimes non-existent. However, when I do pick up a romance, I often find myself enjoying my time within those pages. Let me see if I can come up with a few..

YA

Okay, trying to figure out those that have romance as the prominent theme and not as a secondary one...

The Sea of Tranquility
by Katja Millay

"I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk." 

Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from her—her identity, her spirit, her will to live—pay. 

Josh Bennett’s story is no secret: every person he loves has been taken from his life until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left. Now all he wants is be left alone and people allow it because when your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space. 

Everyone except Nastya, the mysterious new girl at school who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. But the more he gets to know her, the more of an enigma she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he will ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding—or if he even wants to. 

The Sea of Tranquility is a rich, intense, and brilliantly imagined story about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.

Pushing the Limits series:

I am aware of the problems and why not everyone likes these as much as I do, but I consider them my guilty pleasure. :D

Graffiti Moon
by Cath Crowley

Senior year is over, and Lucy has the perfect way to celebrate: tonight, she's going to find Shadow, the mysterious graffiti artist whose work appears all over the city. He's out there somewhere—spraying color, spraying birds and blue sky on the night—and Lucy knows a guy who paints like Shadow is someone she could fall for. Really fall for. Instead, Lucy's stuck at a party with Ed, the guy she's managed to avoid since the most awkward date of her life. But when Ed tells her he knows where to find Shadow, they're suddenly on an all-night search around the city. And what Lucy can't see is the one thing that's right before her eyes.

NA

Okay, I admit I don't have much here yet. I still have to get into this genre and many of you have increased my list of what to try! *mumbles*... I'm going to die in a book avalanche... *mumbles* 

Just One Day
by Gayle Forman

A breathtaking journey toward self-discovery and true love, from the author of If I Stay

When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance ofTwelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.

Historical Romance

Highlander Most Wanted
by Maya Banks

In Highlander Most Wanted, a reclusive woman content to live in the shadows shows a Highland warrior the true meaning of love. 

Genevieve McInnes is locked behind the fortified walls of McHugh Keep, captive of a cruel laird who takes great pleasure in ruining her for any other man. Yet when Bowen Montgomery storms the gates on a mission of clan warfare, Genevieve finds that her spirit is bent but not broken. Still, her path toward freedom remains uncertain. Unable to bear the shame of returning to a family that believes her dead or to abandon others at the keep to an imposing new laird, Genevieve opts for the peaceful life of an abbess. But Bowen’s rugged sensuality stirs something deep inside her that longs to be awakened by his patient, gentle caress—something warm, wicked, and tempting. 

Bowen seizes his enemy’s keep, unprepared for the brooding and reclusive woman who captures his heart. He’s enchanted by her fierce determination, her unusual beauty, and her quiet, unfailing strength. But wooing her will take more than a seasoned seducer’s skill. For loving Genevieve, he discovers, means giving her back the freedom that was stolen from her—even if it means losing her forever.

The Scent of Jasmine
by Jude Deveraux

Would you risk your life—on the love of a lifetime? 

Charleston, 1799: A daughter of Southern gentility and a gifted painter, Catherine Edilean Harcourt has no lack of suitors at home in Virginia, waiting to fulfill her dream of marriage and family. But Cay’s adventurous spirit, fostered by growing up with her three brothers, is piqued while visiting her godfather in South Carolina. Bedridden with a broken leg, he asks Cay to fill in for him on an urgent task: on her way to a fancy dress ball, she must deliver a packed horse to an old friend’s son—who also happens to be an escaped convict charged with murdering his wife! Cay agrees to the plan, which doesn’t go at all as planned . . . whereupon she finds herself fleeing Alexander McDowell’s captors, riding blind into the night with the fugitive Scotsman. Though she should fear him, Cay finds herself overwhelmingly attracted to Alex, and drawn into his tale of misguided justice and his innocence as they seek refuge in the steamy Florida everglades. Will trusting him be the worst mistake of her life? Or will falling in love be the salvation both of them have been looking for?

The Devil Wears Plaid
by Teresa Mederios

AN INNOCENT WOMAN 

Emmaline Marlow is about to wed the ancient patriarch of the Hepburn clan to save her father from debtor's prison when the Hepburn's sworn enemy Jamie Sinclair bursts into the abbey on a magnificent black horse and whisks her away. Jamie is everything her bridegroom is not--young, handsome, virile...and a perilous temptation for her yearning heart. 

A DANGEROUS MAN 

Jamie expects Emma to be some milksop English miss, not a spirited beauty who will defy him at every turn. All of his plans to use her as a pawn in the centuries old Highland feud begin to go awry when irresistible passion flares between the two of them. A man can kidnap a bride, but is it possible for him to steal her innocence without losing his own heart?

Hm... not sure where I should stop... I mean there is romantic suspense... I so enjoy that genre. PNR, then of course the hundreds of other books where there is a lot of romance in the book, but I don't consider it a primary theme. I think I'll still with this lot since these are genres listed that I end up enjoying but don't end up reading a lot. 

So, any good romances in genre's you don't often read you can suggest?

Tell Me Something Tuesday: So You Want to Be a Blogger Edition

Tell Me Something Tuesday, a meme started by CambriaHebert, but now hosted on Rainy Day Ramblings. It is a chance to get to know your fellow bloggers by sharing fun stuff, discussions and more. Grab the question and post your answer on your blog and link up at Rainy Day Ramblings! Have fun!

This weeks question:

So You Want to Be a Blogger Edition: What are your tips for contacting authors and publishers for interviews, ARCS, etc.? 

I'm guessing this is mostly for the newbies... so for those of us doing it for a while, do add your tidbits in the comments.

So...

Best way to get ARCs? 

and

Just go and sign up for those services and start asking for ARCs. You should have a place or places in which you review and let them know as much about you as you feel comfortable. Having a blog is the easiest way since then you can also let them know how many followers you have to entice them for acceptance of your request.

This is another place where I hear about a lot of ARCs. You often fill out a form or just ask for the book and if you get chosen, you get the book. Sort of like a giveaway but with more chances at books.

You can also just go to the publisher's website where your coveted ARC is being produced. Just look at the contact page (sometimes you need to go to the main publishing house page to find the smaller houses e-mail) and find the area for reviewers. Then just send off a request. You may get it or not. You'll never know unless you try.

The other way I get them is being asked by the author, publisher, or tour host. Pretty easy to get on the tour hosts list. Just go to the website (check out the links on the side bar to the left) and sign up.

Not much of a science and I start to not mind getting rejected even for those I really want. Why? Because I have SO many to read. Seriously, I can always pick up a book later at the library if the funds get low. :)

As for the interviews for the authors that are hard to get, often you can contact them through the publisher and be specific as to what you want. They often go as a go between so the author doesn't have to give up privacy if it is a hard to reach person.

So any tidbits to add?

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Pick Me Up Reads

Tell Me Something Tuesday, a meme started by CambriaHebert, but now hosted on Rainy Day Ramblings. It is a chance to get to know your fellow bloggers by sharing fun stuff, discussions and more. Grab the question and post your answer on your blog and link up at Rainy Day Ramblings! Have fun!

This weeks question:

What are some of your favorite pick me up reads?

My fave type of reads that I feel will make me smile every time are magical realism genre. The book I reviewed yesterday, Lost Lake, is one of these that I enjoy.

Lost Lake
by Sarah Addison Allen

Suley, Georgia, is home to Lost Lake Cottages and not much else. Which is why it's the perfect place for newly-widowed Kate and her eccentric eight-year-old daughter Devin to heal. Kate spent one memorable childhood summer at Lost Lake, had her first almost-kiss at Lost Lake, and met a boy named Wes at Lost Lake. It was a place for dreaming. But Kate doesn't believe in dreams anymore, and her Aunt Eby, Lost Lake's owner, wants to sell the place and move on. Lost Lake's magic is gone. As Kate discovers that time has a way of standing still at Lost Lake can she bring the cottages—and her heart—back to life? Because sometimes the things you love have a funny way of turning up again. And sometimes you never even know they were lost . . . until they are found.

I also enjoyed another book by her:

Garden Spells
by Sarah Addison Allen

The women of the Waverley family -- whether they like it or not -- are heirs to an unusual legacy, one that grows in a fenced plot behind their Queen Anne home on Pendland Street in Bascom, North Carolina. There, an apple tree bearing fruit of magical properties looms over a garden filled with herbs and edible flowers that possess the power to affect in curious ways anyone who eats them.

For nearly a decade, 34-year-old Claire Waverley, at peace with her family inheritance, has lived in the house alone, embracing the spirit of the grandmother who raised her, ruing her mother's unfortunate destiny and seemingly unconcerned about the fate of her rebellious sister, Sydney, who freed herself long ago from their small town's constraints. Using her grandmother's mystical culinary traditions, Claire has built a successful catering business -- and a carefully controlled, utterly predictable life -- upon the family's peculiar gift for making life-altering delicacies: lilac jelly to engender humility, for instance, or rose geranium wine to call up fond memories. Garden Spells reveals what happens when Sydney returns to Bascom with her young daughter, turning Claire's routine existence upside down. With Sydney's homecoming, the magic that the quiet caterer has measured into recipes to shape the thoughts and moods of others begins to influence Claire's own emotions in terrifying and delightful ways.

As the sisters reconnect and learn to support one another, each finds romance where she least expects it, while Sydney's child, Bay, discovers both the safe home she has longed for and her own surprising gifts. With the help of their elderly cousin Evanelle, endowed with her own uncanny skills, the Waverley women redeem the past, embrace the present, and take a joyful leap into the future.

Oh yea... I do plan on reading more of her back titles when I get a chance.

I also enjoyed Of Bees and Mist in which I loved the symbolism and visuals used in this unusual book:

Of Bees and Mist
by Erick Setiawan

Of Bees and Mist is an engrossing fable that chronicles three generations of women under one family tree and places them in a mythical town where spirits and spells, witchcraft and demons, and prophets and clairvoyance are an everyday reality. 

Meridia grows up in a lonely home until she falls in love with Daniel at age sixteen. Soon, they marry, and Meridia can finally escape to live with her charming husband’s family—unaware that they harbor dark mysteries of their own. As Meridia struggles to embrace her life as a young bride, she discovers long-kept secrets about her own past as well as shocking truths about her new family that push her love, courage, and sanity to the brink. 

Erick Setiawan’s astonishing debut is a richly atmospheric and tumultuous ride of hope and heartbreak that is altogether touching, truthful, and memorable.

Of course there are many other examples of books I have enjoyed in this genre, but I do think you get the gist of the kind of books I like to pick up for a fun ride. So, do you have any magical realism titles you'd like to share with me? 

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Cookies!

Tell Me Something Tuesday, a meme started by CambriaHebert, but now hosted on Rainy Day Ramblings. It is a chance to get to know your fellow bloggers by sharing fun stuff, discussions and more. Grab the question and post your answer on your blog and link up at Rainy Day Ramblings! Have fun!

This weeks question:

Cookie Exchange: Share some of your favorite holiday cookie recipes.

I have to admit something... I don't cook. Okay, I hate to cook, but sort of the same thing. I am a slice and bake kind of cookie girl. Love it that way since you can make them hot and fresh at a moments notice. However, one of my fave cookies is peanut butter. Right now, for reasons untold, I cannot have my fave treat, but I did spy something on the web. It is from The Savy Saving Couple: Super Easy Three Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies #Recipe #GlutenFree. I've also spotted this recipe on Instructables.

Ingredients:

• 1 egg 
• 1 cup of creamy or chunky peanut butter 
• 1 cup of sugar-I found 3/4 of a cup also works!

I think when I make it I will substitute natural sugar (you can get it in the health food section) or see if I can convert it with agave nectar or Manuka honey. I'm just not a fan of processed refined sugar.

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350* 
• mix ingredients 
• place on ungreased cookie sheet in balls
• smoosh (technical term) down with a fork
• bake for 8-10 min.

Okay, I also found this (even though it's not cookies, still looks yummy!!):

Then you must eat! Tell me what I'm missing. I know this is a strange way to sell a cookie.. one that I haven't eaten, but these look so easy and yummy!

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Blogger Burnout

Tell Me Something Tuesday, a meme started by CambriaHebert, but now hosted on Rainy Day Ramblings. It is a chance to get to know your fellow bloggers by sharing fun stuff, discussions and more. Grab the question and post your answer on your blog and link up at Rainy Day Ramblings! Have fun!

This weeks question:

What do you do when you are feeling blogger burnout?

Actually this is a question I would really like to know how people handle it. Usually I either push through it or I just take a few days off of blogging. Getting posts ready ahead of time really help with this. Doing easy memes help. It fills up the page with things you don't mind talking about to others and it doesn't take a lot of energy. Usually they are fun. Trying a genre you don't usually read. Mostly I think that just doing something else helps the most. Giving yourself a break or just get a different perspective.

I also have been doing less in terms of accepting reviews. I'm TRYING to slow things down here a bit, but a author you want to help or a good book comes along... *sigh* Perhaps I'm not the one to suggest anything... LOL

So what do you do when you are feeling blogger burnout?

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Classics

Tell Me Something Tuesday, a meme started by CambriaHebert, but now hosted on Rainy Day Ramblings. It is a chance to get to know your fellow bloggers by sharing fun stuff, discussions and more. Grab the question and post your answer on your blog and link up at Rainy Day Ramblings! Have fun!

This weeks question:

Let's talk the classics....Do you read the classics? What are some of your favorites?

I don't read as many classics as I would like, but some of the stand bys do stick with me. Ones like Jane Eyre, Jane Austin books and others like that. I do have a couple that have stuck with me since I was a child. One is...

Black Beauty
by Anna Sewell

A timeless classic, this wonderfully evocative account of the joys and tribulations of a noble-hearted horse is one of the best loved of all animal stories. 

Black Beauty is handsome and spirited, with a sweet temper. When he is four years old he is sold to a new owner who gently breaks him in. He is no longer free to gallop around the fields yet there is happiness and adventure among the hardship as his station changes from being a carriage horse on a country estate to a cab horse in town. At the same time he is aware that his well-being and future depend very much on the kindness or cruelty of his various masters. 

The author's only book, Black Beauty was a huge success when it was first published in 1877. Its exposure of the ill-treatment of horses at the hands of their owners' led to a change in people's attitudes towards horses and domestic animals in general.

When I was small I did have the original story but couldn't read it yet. I was given the audiobook and a smaller more condensed children's version which I read when I was able. It was always a hard book for me to get through since there is abuse in it, but I did love the POV of the horse and how he ended up happy in the end. 

The other:

Little Women
by Louisa M. Alcott

Little Women is the delightful story of the four March girls and their approach towards womanhood. 

Meg, the eldest and most beautiful, shrugs off her vanity and social ambition, discovering fulfillment in romantic love. Boyish Jo on the other hand, with her contempt of all "lovering", turns impetuously towards writing for solace. Gentle Beth rejects worldly interests, preferring to devote her life to her family, to the joy of music and to timidly aiding all who suffer in life. Amy, the youngest and most imperfect of the March girls, continually tries to overcome her selfishness and girlish pretensions, though he has a hard task before her. 

The progress of these four "little women" is narrated along the lines of Bunyan's pilgrim, and we are shown how - encountering struggles and learning important lessons along the way - each one attains her own Celestial City.

I used to carry a copy my mom had given me around like a purse. Again, I couldn't read that well yet so I just remember how the book felt in my hands. I couldn't wait until I was old enough to read it. As I did get older, I forgot about the book and so my first exposure to it was in tv movie form. Still, I look back and remember it and it is one of my fond book memories and I was glad when I finally did read it.

So, any classics that bring up fond memories for you?

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Blog Book Tours

Tell Me Something Tuesday, a meme started by CambriaHebert, but now hosted on Rainy Day Ramblings. It is a chance to get to know your fellow bloggers by sharing fun stuff, discussions and more. Grab the question and post your answer on your blog and link up at Rainy Day Ramblings! Have fun!

This weeks question:

I want to be on the tour! What are some things that you like about being a book tour? What are things that you dislike?

What I like about a tour is that I don't have to do too much to set up the posts. Most of it is done for me and so my job is just to make sure it is done and ready when my turn comes. Also, depending on the tour, you can get a lot of good camaraderie going with the other participants in the tour. So, because of that, my fave tours are run by people I have already "met" through their blog.

Some of my fun tour hosts are:

Candace's Book Blog

and 

Maja at The Nocturnal Library 

(we had so much fun with the recent tour of Bronze Gods)

Oh I enjoy the bigger ones, but these are a little more cozy so they are just more fun for me. I also enjoy being a part of a tour for authors since I usually am such a fan of their work. 

What I dislike... hm... haven't ran into many problems specifically with tours. The one's I've been a part of are well run and I get all my information right on time. So, no complaints. Well, maybe one. I know the addy for this blog and the title for the blog are a bit confusing, but I still think it is obvious and should be corrected when I bring it to someones attention. Even that is really not a big deal though. *shrugs* Just the only thing I could think of right now. :)

So, how about you? Do you like blog tours? Do you participate?

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Series books

Tell Me Something Tuesday, a meme started by CambriaHebert, but now hosted on Rainy Day Ramblings. It is a chance to get to know your fellow bloggers by sharing fun stuff, discussions and more. Grab the question and post your answer on your blog and link up at Rainy Day Ramblings! Have fun!

This weeks question:

To continue or not to continue.....let's talk about series! What are some of your favorite series that you continue to read? What would cause you to not continue a series?

First, I'll talk about what it takes for me to not continue a series. Usually something I'm totally opposed. I've read a book where rape was seen as "okay" and in fact there was no reason for the rape. I just couldn't continue with a story like that and found out that the other books in the series had the same theme. Nope, once was enough for me.

My other reason for not continuing with a series is usually time. I'll get to it, but it will take time to get back into the series. Usually I hate when that happens. :)

However there are SO many I'm addicted to and to list them all would be impossible. Okay, it would be possible, but this would be one long arse post! LOL

I'll start with those I just reviewed or are coming out soon...

Yesterday I reviewed Other Oceans by Andrea Jones (adult series). Loved it and the first book in the series is:

Hook and Jill
Hook and Jill Saga #1
by Andrea Jones

An ageless fable grows up... 

Wendy Darling learns. What appears to be good may prove otherwise, and what seems to be evil…is irresistible. 

In this startling new vision of a cultural classic, Wendy intends to live happily ever after with Peter Pan. But Time, like this tale, behaves in a most unsettling way. 

As Wendy mothers the Lost Boys in Neverland, they thrive on adventure. She struggles to keep her boys safe from the Island’s many hazards, but she finds a more subtle threat encroaching from an unexpected quarter.…The children are growing up, and only Peter knows the punishment.
Yet in the inky edges of the Island, the tales Wendy tells to the Lost Boys come true. Captain Hook is real, and even the Wonderful Boy can’t defend his Wendy against this menace. Hook is a master manipulator, devising vengeance for his maiming. Insidious and seductive, Hook has his reasons for tempting Wendy to grow up. 

Revenge is only the first. 

Deepening the characters so artfully sketched by J.M. Barrie, Hook & Jill reveals the dark side of innocence at which Barrie hinted in the figure of Peter Pan. It brings alive a daring Wendy who asks questions and seeks truth; it delves into the man, Hook, the iconic villain. Striding from fairy-tale and thrusting into reality, Captain Hook becomes a frightening force indeed.

The Mythos Academy is a YA series I enjoy. The novella Spartan Frost just came out and the next novel is set to come out at the end of July:

Midnight Frost
Mythos Academy #5
by Jennifer Estep

Here we go again …

Just when it seems life at Mythos Academy can’t get any more dangerous, the Reapers of Chaos manage to prove me wrong. It was just a typical night at the Library of Antiquities — until a Reaper tried to poison me. The good news is I’m still alive and kicking. The bad news is the Reaper poisoned someone else instead.

As Nike’s Champion, everyone expects me to lead the charge against the Reapers, even though I’m still hurting over what happened with Spartan warrior Logan Quinn. I’ve got to get my hands on the antidote fast — otherwise, an innocent person will die. But the only known cure is hidden in some creepy ruins — and the Reapers are sure to be waiting for me there…

...and speaking of Jennifer Estep, I am also addicted to her Elemental Assassin series as well. 

I would also like to issue a total love of UF series. Some (and I mean SOME) of these are:

Horngate Witches Series

Charlie Madigan Series

Arcadia Bell Series

...and on and on and on...

these are just a few of my faves and I apologize to those that I haven't mentioned. My brain can only handle so much goodness at a time. :)

So, are there reasons you quit a series and what series would you like to mention?

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Ratings

Tell Me Something Tuesday, a meme started by CambriaHebert, but now hosted on Rainy Day Ramblings. It is a chance to get to know your fellow bloggers by sharing fun stuff, discussions and more. Grab the question and post your answer on your blog and link up at Rainy Day Ramblings! Have fun!

This weeks question:

“Let’s talk ratings, what rating scale do you use? How do you feel about reviewers that give out the high ratings on a regular basis?"

I use the 5 star scale (listed on the left column). I use the 5 star scale because it seemed like the most universal system and fits with other places I post reviews (like goodreads). 

As far as reviewers that give out high ratings, it doesn't bother me. Perhaps it is just because they love reading so much. Perhaps it is because they hate to give low ratings. It doesn't bother me because it is their choice. I don't really know bloggers like that off the top of my head. The ones I follow seem to have a good eye and a critical mind for the books they read.

Besides... aren't these scales really arbitrary anyway?

Still, I admit I do tend to stay in the 3-4 star range. Often if the book is flawed but still entertains and I enjoyed it, I don't usually give it a lower rating than a 3. That still is inline with what I list on the side there. I also admit to taking away 1/2 a star for cliffie endings. I really hate those and feel in most cases are totally unnecessary. If the book is good I'll read the next one without the cliffie! I also don't give 1 star ratings lately because I don't usually get through those with the volume of books that I have and so it often ends up as a DNF. 

So, what about you? What do you think about ratings?

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Banned Books

Tell Me Something Tuesday, a meme started by CambriaHebert, but now hosted on Rainy Day Ramblings. It is a chance to get to know your fellow bloggers by sharing fun stuff, discussions and more. Grab the question and post your answer on your blog and link up at 

Rainy Day Ramblings

! Have fun!

This weeks question:

Let's talk banned books. How do you feel about book banning? What are some of the banned books you have read?

My confession... I don't know how many banned books I read. I just read them and don't even always find out if they are banned or not. 

However...
I did purposely read Anne Frank's diary in grade school when I found out it was banned:

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

Discovered in the attic in which she spent the last years of her life, Anne Frank's remarkable diary has since become a world classic—a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit. 

In 1942, with Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, they and another family lived cloistered in the "Secret Annexe" of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death. 

In her diary Anne Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this period. By turns thoughtful, moving, and amusing, her account offers a fascinating commentary on human courage and frailty and a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman whose promise was tragically cut short.

I also was shocked to discover that Tiger Eyes (my fave Judy Blume book as a kid) was banned:

Tiger Eyes
by Judy Blume

Davey has never felt so alone in her life. Her father is dead—shot in a holdup—and now her mother is moving the family to New Mexico to try to recover. Climbing in Los Alamos Canyons, Davey meets mysterous Wolf, who seems to understand the rage and fear she feels. Slowly, with Wolf’s help, Davey realizes that she must get on with her life. But when will she be ready to leave the past behind? Will she ever stop hurting?

Heh... I wonder what those sensors will think when it comes out in movie form soon? (IMDb link) I suspect that this book will become popular again soon. But then haven't most young girls read Judy Blume? Even now with mom's telling their girls to read her, I suspect she is still popular. Plus, I do think that most of her books are banned. Another good reason to recommend her to everyone. :D

Oh and my parents didn't mind me reading banned books. They encouraged it.

The thing is, is that I know I've read a ton more than this that have been banned. Harry Potter series is banned so a lot of people have at least read one banned book. Even churches (in almost every religion) have read at least one banned book. :D

How about you? Are you more likely to read a book if it is banned?

"The fact is that censorship always defeats its own purpose, for it creates, in the end, the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion... In the long run it will create a generation incapable of appreciating the difference between independence of thought and subservience." ~Henry Steel Commager

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From goodreads:

“All censorships exist to prevent anyone from challenging current conceptions and existing institutions. All progress is initiated by challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting existing institutions. Consequently, the first condition of progress is the removal of censorship.”

― George Bernard Shaw, Mrs. Warren's Profession

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Novellas

Tell Me Something Tuesday, a meme started by CambriaHebert, but now hosted here on Rainy Day Ramblings. It is a chance to get to know your fellow bloggers by sharing fun stuff, discussions and more. Grab the question and post your answer on your blog and link up! Have fun!

Question:

Novellas...how do you feel about the current trend of novellas? What do you like about them? What don't you like? 

I like novellas when they are a part of an overall series. I like it when it fills in the gaps. Books like:

Nice holiday theme. Can be read as a stand alone, but much better within the series (Bigtime series for this one). Sometimes these are fun! (Review)

(Review) This was a gap filler  (#5.5) for those of us itching for the next book.

Same with:

(Review) And trust me, I do want that next book (this one is #2.5), but this one helped...

Then you have stories that only serve to frustrate you because it is NOT part of a series and you desperately want it to be one! :D

(Review)
Which was part of an anthology (as some of the novellas you can get now were) and also leads me to think of:

(Review) In which many of us are now begging Ann Aguirre to make Thistle and Thorne a real series.
(other anthologies I've reviewed)

Of course there are still novellas I do want to read... like those that give us the POV of another character:

Yep, it's Logan's POV (I really need this one... yes, need LOL).

So, all in all I don't LOVE novellas, but they do serve their purpose. :) I enjoy them but usually end up wanting more. What about you? Novellas? Yea or nay?

Tell Me Something Tuesday: New Adult

Tell Me Something Tuesday, a meme started by CambriaHebert, but now hosted here on Rainy Day Ramblings. It is a chance to get to know your fellow bloggers by sharing fun stuff, discussions and more. Grab the question and post your answer on your blog and link up! Have fun!

The Question:

What do you think of the New Adult category? Have you ever read a New Adult book and are there any you’d recommend?

I'm actually just starting to figure out new adult. I think it's more about the characters age and some of the content is more adult than YA. I've probably read more than I thought, but one I do believe I recognized as new adult is:

Just One Day
by Gayle Forman

A breathtaking journey toward self-discovery and true love, from the author of If I Stay

When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.

My review is HERE and yep, I did recommend this one. I really enjoyed the story.

Any new adult recommendations?

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Comfort Foods

Tell Me Something Tuesday, a meme started by CambriaHebert, but now hosted here on Rainy Day Ramblings. It is a chance to get to know your fellow bloggers by sharing fun stuff, discussions and more. Grab the question and post your answer on your blog and link up! Have fun!

What are your favorite Comfort Foods?

From Mike's Stinkin' Good Chile

I'll go with the one I've mentioned on the blog more than once. I have made this several times and it's the only thing I really cook (nope, I'm not a cook at all). You get it here in CO and NM. All other sauce is just imitation. 

From Mike's Stinkin' Good Chile

You can eat it as a stew with a side of tortilla, you can use it as a sauce (most often used this way) on your foods such as burritos, tamales, or anything you think needs a sauce. It's a staple here really. Oh and I put Mike's Stinking Green Chile here because you can get this stuff and it's the only store bought chile I've even liked. The canned stuff is horror. HORROR! Won't even mention that thing... *shudder* that comes in a can.

Anyway...

Mike Schelereth is a former Bronco football player who fell in love with the stuff and is now distributing it. I think it is a good way for those that have never had it to try it before making it. I suggest the medium pork Chile. I honestly haven't tried anything else. 

Hm... well I didn't mean to make it sound like a commercial for Mike's but it was better than me trying to figure out what I put in the chile. Only thing I don't use a recipe for.

Here is one recipe. It's different than mine, but close. If you don't like it too hot, you can skip the jalapeños and add dried red chiles to taste (I do that).
All Recipe for Pork Green Chilie

So, what is your comfort food?