Just a few of my favorite things

1) Favorite childhood book(s)?

Really anything Dr.Seuss (when I was very very little). However as a teenager I was a big lover of The Diary Of Anne Frank. I have read it at least six times one summer. I was also loved The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.

2) My book reading rituals…


I love to curl up with my Hello Kitty fleece blanket, a steaming cup of peppermint tea with honey in my Owl mug. It also has to be completely silent.

3) Favorite book I read in 2013?


Hands down City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. I was behind the times on reading it. But once I started I could not put it down and devoured all the books quickly. Now I must wait until April for the final book of that series. 

4) What am I currently reading?


I am currently reading Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare. I have been slow to finish it up because I am currently working on my masters degree and have no time to read ;(

5) What’s on my TBR list for the holiday break?


I will be finishing up Clockwork Princess and starting I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai.

6) What two books are on my book list?

 
I actually have quite a few; my most immediate buys would be The Bookman’s Tale by Charles C. Lovett and The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan.

7) Favorite book turned Movie?


Catching Fire. I loved the book and the movie was exactly what I imagined. Can’t wait for Mockingjay.

8) Favorite book fandoms…


I have such a huge love for Harry Potter. I love love love those books and JK Rowling is my idol. My second favorite is definitely Mortal Instruments. Jace Wayland is my book boyfriend lol.

9) One book I would recommend to others?

This is a hard one. I would have to say Sex God by Rob Bell. That book makes you think about relationships, sex and religion a whole new way. I am always inspired by Bell’s work.

10) One book that has been unread on your shelves for years?


Great Expectations. As much as I love Dickens I have never read this book but it is on my priority read list for 2014!

Reading thankfulness

I am most thankful for all the books I have ever loved. All the characters. All the love books have given me. My most beloved characters...Fern (Charolette's Web), The Little Prince, Addy, Robert Langston, Jay Gatsby, Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. All the wonderful authors..Dickens, Fitzgerald, King, Tan, Rowling and many more. I have found such love hidden amongst the pages of many books and may I continue to find even more in the years to come

Nothing better than owning books

***sigh***

Yea I want that library <3

Exactly how I feel about my books 💜

Books really do allow you to live thousands of lives. There really is no greater joy then getting caught up in between the pages of a book.

Nothing better than wine and books <3

Book Haul October 2013

Here are the new books that I purchased last month...I am trying to keep a budget of 30$ a month for books.

Total amt spent in October: 19.24$

I think I did really well don't you :) 

The Racketeer List Price $9.99 Purchased for $ 7.49 (Target Stores)

The Bone Setters Daughter (used) List Price $16.00 Purchased for $ 5.75 ( Acorn Books)
Brida (used) $5.00 ( Acorn Books)
Have a Little Faith (used) List Price $14.00 Purchased for $2.00 (Dover Public Library)
Daughter of Fortune (used) List Price$ 16.95 Purchased for $0.50 (Dover Public Library)
The 19th Wife (used) List Price $15.00 Purchased for $1.00
The Memory Keepers Daughter (used) List Price $14.00 Purchased for $1.00 (Dover Public Library)
The Time Traveler's Wife (used) List Price $14.95 Purchased for $0.50
The Kitchen House (used) List Price $16.00 Purchased for $1.00 (Dover Public Library)

Happy halloween <3

NaNoWriMo 2013 Participation

Okay so...I am in the middle of my last year of my masters and I decide to do this....NaNoWriMo aka National Novel Writing Month. I have decided to give it a shot and write 50K words in one month. This will be my first shot at a book. It is pure ambition and a love for words and a need to write whats in my heart and to want to share it with the world. I will be tracking my progress at www.nanowrimo.org. I will also try to participate in some of the local write ins. Here is a brief overlook of what I am writing....

Synopsis:
Song for Marie is a story about three generations of women. The story opens with a young woman at odds with her emotions towards her mother, who left her at the five months and never explained her absence. The story also has several over strong female voices. A grandmother seeking absolution for not raising her own children. A young mother trying to come to terms with her mothers secrets and a sibling at odds with them all because she feels unloved and unwelcomed among a family that she thinks are strangers. She seeks comfort in religion and her own family. The common tie between these women...a name...Marie. To each the name defines them differently. One is strong, One bitter, One lost, and another abandoned.

This will most likely always be my problem I do not really care for shoes lol

Clockwork Angel: The Infernal Devices Book One by Cassandra Clare

Here is the first book of the Prequel series to Mortal Instruments. I honestly will say that I was expected something very different. A lot more background about how the Angel appears etc. But that was not the case with this book. Instead we meet Tessa Gray on her way to London to live with her brother Nate after the unexpected death of their Aunt in New York. Tessa is greeted by the Dark Sisters; who are members of the Pandemonium Club. This club is not an innocent social club but instead a group of downworlders and mundanes that cast spells and gamble and party. The club is dangerous and Nate has somehow gotten himself mixed up in it all. All hell breaks lose once the Shadowhunters get involved. The book is not without its mix of action. There of course is a love triangle blossoming. And it will perhaps end a friendship and one of my beloved characters will be left feeling very discarded. I can only hope that this will not be the case. I did really enjoy the book - however I wanted a lot more history. Perhaps that is something that the other books will previde.

Books I absolutely Despised....some may surprise people...

I have been thinking of this list for a while....things that I have read and that made my head hurt....lol

Breaking Dawn....Oh this book pissed me off...all of Jacob's whining....ugh..That whole middle section could have been cut out completely. And the weird baby thing and then introducing new characters at the end of the series...really...and the writing was just horrid.

As much as I love Harry I really struggled with this book...it was entirely to long and was BORING! In this case the movie was a lot better.

I think this might be sacrilegious...but I really could not stand these as a kid. 

I couldn't get past the fact that her name was Sookie...I couldn't take her seriously with that name. 

I can not express how much I hated this book....lets not even get into it...ugh!

One of the driest damn books that I have ever ever read. I wanted to pluck my eyes out.

I am sure there are many many many many more lol.....but theses are some of the ones that really really stand out.

Paperback release: Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling

For those of us that did not want to pay 35.99$ for the hardcover. We now have the chance to purchase the paperback for 9.99$ on amazon. The book is now available for pre-order and will be available on July 23rd, 2013. 

Personal note: I am really excited about getting my hands on this book. I did not buy it as a hardcover for several reasons...1) Cosmetic: the hardcover's cover was ugly lol....2) I carry by books in my purse along with a ton of other things. Honestly I can not deal with a hard back book adding to much weight to my already heavy bag lol :) 3) and also the price...i love JK Rowling but I could not see spending that much on a book. I will never pay over 18$ for a book, not even from one of my favorite authors.

Book Happenings....JK Rowling

Can you smell the excitement? The Queen is coming to the small screen...Casual Vacancy will air as a mini series some time in 2014.

Here is the article from: http://www.hypable.com

J.K. Rowling and the BBC surprised the world earlier this month when the pair announced that The Casual Vacancy would be adapted for television.

Via Rowling’s agent, we’re learning today that casting will begin in the spring.

When news of the television show was announced, Rowling seemed thrilled. “I always felt that, if it were to be adapted, this novel was best suited to television,” Rowling said. “I think the BBC is the perfect home.”

She had said while promoting the book earlier in the year that the book was not very “filmable.” “That is one of the things I like about it. I think it’s a very novelly novel in that a lot of what goes on happens internally. You need to understand what’s going on inside people’s heads. So even though a lot happens in the novel, part of the appeal of it for me is that so much of it happens in people’s interior life, and film isn’t necessarily the best medium to portray that.”

We’ll continue to keep an eye on the Casual Vacancy television show developments as they arrive. It will air as a miniseries in 2014.

Review....The Strain (Book one) by Guillermo Del Toro And Chucnk Hogan

This book rested on my book shelf collecting dust for some time. If memory serves me right I have had this book for the better part of about three years. After reading so much young adult lately I wanted to dive back into the realm of good old hard core fiction/horror. So I started off with this. When I first started off reading the book I was pretty sure that I would like it. I truly believed that it was going to be "another one of those" vampire novels. You know the ones...all talk no bite (lol). Well this turned out not to be the case. I actually found the book to be rather rad. Del Toro and Hogan were influenced both by Stephen King and Bram Stoker. Stokers influence is evident in the way that the vampire uses dirt from him home land to travel across the sea to the Manhattan. They use one of our most populated cities to show us what a vampire out break could look like. And man does it turn into one hot mess. I loved the way that Del Toro and Hogan set this book up as back story for the trilogy. It is obvious, even within the conflict of this book that there is something bigger coming. Something much more dangerous is lurking in the dark and there is nothing that anyone is going to be able to do to stop it because the wheels are already in motion. Another really great thing about this book is that all the characters are flawed. The main character Doctor Eph Goodweather, is a recently divorced, recovering alcoholic who is in the midst of a fierce custody battle with his ex wife Kelly. Kelly has been eclipsed by her ex husbands shadow for way to long. She uses their son Zack as a way of hurting Eph. Eph finds some comfort in his on again off again fling with co-worker Nora; who has to take a backseat to Eph's job and his love and devotion to Kelly and Zack. And there is the old man; the professor. The professor is the most interesting of all the characters. He holds the kings to the kingdom so to speak. He knows all the dirty secrets about the vampires but somehow you get the feeling at the end of the book that he is still holding out. Still holding back from Eph, Nora and Fet. The Professor has been on the hunt for the "master" for some time. He has devoted his life to hunting him down and killing him. Of course we know that this is because of his past or at least that's what we think so far. However, I get the feeling that there is a deeper cause for this hatred of "the master". Maybe he took the life of someone the professor deeply cared for. That is the beauty of a well paced series...all the secrets are not given at once. I must say that I was deeply surprised by this book. I expected something all to different and I can not wait to read the next two in the series. I only hope that the books are as good as the first and that the magic captured in the first book continues until the very last page of The Night Eternal.

Interesting scenes: Gus in the police van....that was most likely the best vampire kill of the book...not going to write any of the details...but damn the kid got the job done right. Can't wait to see what he does in the rest of the series. The vampire in times square (also with Gus) was rather intense.

Creepiest Scene: When Zack was unable to sleep, looks out the window to see a naked man standing under the street lamp. He knew that it was weird and perhaps even a little funny, a homeless, naked, possibly drunk dude just chilling outside under the lamp light. Until the guy turns and locks eyes with him. Later Zack thinks back on seeing the "Y" shaped incision in the mans chest and knowing what that means (he thinks that the guy is a zombie).

Mortal Instruments vs. Twilight Saga (my opinion)

I have a funny feeling that someone will ask me this..."How does the Mortal Instruments series compare to the Twilight Saga?" (rolling my eyes thinking about this dumb ass question). If asked I would have to say it all comes down to writing style, pacing and plotting. Cassandra Clare's story line is much more developed and the story is much more interesting. There are strong female characters. By far best I have seen in a book in a Long time. Twilight is entirely over hyped...yes I read and own the books, yes I own some of the movies. But...I found Bella wimpy, boring and typical of most female lead characters I have read of in the past few years. (It does not help
that Kristen Stewart portrayed the poor girl in the movies...which added to my dislike of the character). While Clary is not perfect, she is likeable. She is not sitting in a room going nuts because the guy she loves has left her. Even though she is in love and hurting because she is missing Jace. She still pushes through her pain and does what must be done to keep those that she loves safe. It is fair to say that Clary has a sense of purpose while Bella does not (at least not until the last book). Also Mortal Instruments is much more of an action backed book. The drama in the book has a purpose...a real meaning. Its as simple as we have to do this and this to save the world and stop the demons from taking over earth vs we have to save Bella or Edward or keep their child a secret. I honestly feel like I wasted money, time and brain cells reading the Twilight Saga. Mainly do to a poor plot and really terrible writing!

Last Saturday Night...

Real grown and sexy on a saturday night....this is what bookworms do on saturday nights...

 All that reading has exhausted me!!!!

My newest addiction

 Got these from Acorn Books in my hometown...Great indie bookseller. I got City of Ashes for 10% off and City of Glass was 5.75$ used. I was really happy with my buy. I was so happy I went back a few days later and purchased City of Falling Angels...

I will be starting this one this week :)

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (overview and review)

 Brief Overview

This book started an addiction for me. It has been quite a long time since I have felt this much love for a series. The begins innocently enough with Clary Fray and Simon Lewis going to the Pandemonium club. It is at this club that Clary witnesses Jace, Alec and Isabella Lightwood kill a demon. Little does Clary know but she is the only person that can see these "Shadow hunters". Over the next few days and weeks Clary's life is turned upside down. She is being followed by Jace. Who is interested to find out how is it that a "mundane" can see them. He can only come up with the fact that she is one of them by blood. Clary's mother also goes missing and Clary has to battle a demon in her own home. Jace against the wishes of Isabella and Alec bring Clary to the Institute in order to help her get some answers into her past and discover why demons would be so interested in her mother. It is during her time here that Clary discovers that he mother, Jocelyn, is a disgraced "shadow hunter". Who ran away after an uprising in Iridis ( the home of all shadow hunters ), which was a power play set into motion by her husband Valentine. Valentine, a hunter himself, wants to rid the world of "downworlders" (such as werewolves, vampires etc). In order to do so he begins to go after the most powerful and sacred objects in the shadowhunters world; the mortal instruments. With these instruments it is believed that Valentine will create an army of new warriors so that he can finally rule over their world. As well as destroy as many downworlders as possible. It is believed that Valentine kidnapped Clary's mother because she was in possession of the mortal cup.

Review

Wow....all I can say is wow. I was so impressed with the book. Cassandra Clare had me completely hooked within the first five pages of the book. I think it was a mixture of writing style and pacing. The book throws you right into the action. As the book went on I found myself head over heels in literay love with Jace and Simon. Jace's quick wit and bravery is what makes you really love him. Simon is gentle and head over heels with Clary. Though she does not know it. The book also has some very strong female characters. Isabella is funny and dangerous and very strong welled. It is hard not to instantly like her even though you are  pretty sure that she most likely hates Clary. At first I was not a fan of Clary; I thought that she was a little whiny but my feelings changed halfway through the book. I really found myself rooting for Clary. I am really happy to have read the books and I will definitely be recommending it to others.

City of Bones: Mortal Instruments Book One by Cassandra Clare

Wow! All I can say is wow! The first installment of this series is amazing. The book is infused with such a powerful, believable world that its hard for a reader not to get addicted to the story. Clare's writing style and prose are effortless and easy to follow. The characters are easy to love and root for. I think what I loved most about the book was the use of religious mythology to help create the overall premise of the story. I was also very surprised by the two sudden twists at the end. Hodges betrayal and Valentine's revelation. I really can not wait to see what comes of it.


(my review from goodreads...detailed review to come soon)

Delaware born...New Yorker at heart....Bostonian in solidarity

Happy 204th Birthday, President Lincoln

Finishing Sex God

Well I couldn't sleep! Being as though February is a short month and I have to still read for book club I took advantage of my sleeplessness and finished this amazing work by Rob Bell... here is my review:

Wow...Bell hit another out of the Park for me. The book really deepened my already held beliefs on the importance of a deep and lasting relationship. A lot of this really hit home at the end of book. When Bell discusses what it really means to be "naked" with someone. There is something so inspiring and enduring in the way that he describes this bond that we seek to have for the opposite (or same) sex. We all seek to be loved unconditionally. We all want to have an Agape love. (Or at least thats what I want.) Bell gives the reader some soul searching concepts to think about. The book made me ask a lot of questions of myself on what is important, what my needs are and how these needs may have not been meant in the past. And are my needs in sink with what God would want me to experience in my personal relationships (both with friends and any man I may date). I also love how Bell stresses the importance of "building" a strong foundation for any relationship. Basing things on values. I really couldn't get enough of this book. I feel really blessed to have read it ;)

Funny thing happened on they way to find a reading challenge

So I was looking for info on this Jane Austen is my homegirl reading Challenge and I came across a rap video. A Jane Austen rap video lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b_xiWmFWgY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Funny quote about Reading

“Reading in bed is a self-centered act, immobile, free from ordinary social conventions, invisible to the world, and one that, because it takes place between the sheets, in the realm of lust and sinful idleness, has something of the thrill of things forbidden.”

― Alberto Manguel, A History of Reading

What I am current reading....

After reading King of Lies by Jon Hart I wanted to read another book to tied me over until the book clubs Feb selection...so I am currently reading Sex God By Rob Bell (author of Love Wins). The book is AMAZING. So glad that I decided to read it...

The book is all about connections...of course Rob talks about Lust and Desire...but he talks about how our sexuality drives us and how it is connected to our spirituality.

Here is a quote from the book ~ 

“Love is giving up control. It’s surrendering the desire to control the other person. The two—love and controlling power over the other person—are mutually exclusive. If we are serious about loving someone, we have to surrender all the desires within us to manipulate the relationship.

TheBookBabes book club choices for Feb 2013

So its that time again...my book club is picking our second book of the year. It was particularly hard for me to pick something for the coming month because Feb is not only a short month but also African American History month and the month of Love (lol). I wanted our picks to be a mix of African American authors and chick-lit. I started by choosing from about nine books.

Among them where the following ~
1) The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
2) The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James
3) The Book of Night Women by Marlon James
4) The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
5) Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
6) Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
7) Bring on the Blessings by Beverly Jenkins
8) The Art of Devotion by Samantha Bruce - Benjamin (second month running)
9) Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart by Beth Pattilo

The Process of weeding out the selections doesn't really take much time. I read a few reviews of each of the books and look at their individual ratings on Goodreads ( http://www.goodreads.com ). From there I decide on two and then post them to the forum page on facebook. And our two choices for this month are......

We will be deciding on what to read by Feb 3rd....

New books....

These are the newest additions to my collection...here are the descriptions from www.goodreads.com... I will be reading Sex God first....


Jesus Wants to Save the Christians

"We want you to discover the Bible as its own best commentary. We offer you a way to read the Bible that doesn't require a library or a preacher or a politician or an academic to interpret for you. Once justice is seen as the thread woven into the fabric of biblical history, the whole Bible becomes much clearer. Justice is the issue when God redeems Israel from Pharaoh. Justice is at the heart of the Sinai law and justice is what Israel must show the world as a kingdom of priests. Justice is the measure the Jews failed to meet in their days of power and empire in Jerusalem. It was justice the prophets proclaimed as the way of return during the exile of the Jews in Babylon and it was justice that Jesus incarnated."

--from "Jesus Wants to Save Christians"

Sex God 

"You can't talk about sexuality without talking about how we were made. And that will inevitably lead you to who made us. At some point you have to talk about God. Sex. God. They're connected. And they can't be separated. Where the one is, you will always find the other."

--from Sex God

Review of King of Lies by John Hart

Jackson Workman Pickens was not a hard man like his father Ezra. He hated his life. Everything in his life 
is not his own. He is in a career that he hates, working for a man that hates him, and living with a woman 
that would rather spend money that they don't have then have sex with him. When Ezra goes missing and is later found dead all hell breaks lose. Work is considered a suspect. He suspects his sister. His sister suspects him and so does everyone else in the small town in which he lives. I really loved this book. It was a quick, easy read and very beautifully written. What I loved most about this book was that the characters were well written and well developed. They were believable and came to life on the page. Can't wait to read more from this author.

Best Christian book ....so far

Love Wins...( informal review of over all impression as posted on goodreads.com)


This was my first time reading anything by Rob Bell. I was introduced to the premise of the book by a close friend. We had a very thought provoking conversation on some of the topics covered within this book. He believed that because I thought like Bell does about what the true message of Christ is that I would love this book. And boy was he right. Bell answers some the questions that have driven people away from the Christian faith. He makes you think of the over all message of Christ, which is one of love and hope and not of "us versus them". I can see why several evangelical groups/pastors did not appreciate this book. The book presents some very radical ideas. None that are new or even shocking, most have been taught for years and most pastors that have taught them have been shunned for doing so. However, this book presents Christ message in such a wonderful and easy to understand way. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in deepening their relationship with Christ.

More on this book to come in the next week...