-Awards!

thanks to Casey from A Passion For Books for giving me this award!!
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Blogs that receive the Lets Be Friends Award are exceedingly charming. These kind of bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more information to these writers. Deliever this award to eight bloggers.
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I'm passing this to... (( drumroll ))

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♥ Krysten (( I LOVE to ReaD )) --> She seems like she's got a great personality
♥ Brandé (( Book Junkie )) --> Everyone knows she's a sweetheart! When I first started blogging not too long ago she gave me a lot of advice.

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Thanks Andrea @ the Little Bookworm for giving me this!

Your blog rocks too! ;]
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I'm passing this to...

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♥ Kilee (Kilee's Closet) --> She totally deserves some attention! You should definitely follow her blog, if you're not already.

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-Sorry!

What a week!

Sorry if it seems like I disappeared! I had my little boy Sunday night (Actually, I was having contractions as I was typing up the 'Catcher' review, lol!)--6 lb 13 oz & his name is Marshawn Jay :) I'll post some pics with my next review, which will hopefully be soon! I promise it'll be ASAP, things have just been a little hectic!

-Review: The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger

The Catcher In The Rye-J.D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye is the story of teenager Holden Caulfield's turbulent last few days before his Christmas vacation. During these days, Holden leaves Pencey Prep, a boys' school he's been kicked out of, and takes off for a few nights alone in New York City. ~bookrags.com

I finally gave in and read Catcher In The Rye after my dad begging me to read it forever. I was hesitant to read it for a couple of reasons...first, I remember some teachers making their students read it when I was in high school (I never did like those books, because I hate being forced to read something, I'd rather choose to do so on my own--authority issues, lol). I was also skeptical because I felt like it was so far out of my usual genre-even though all I knew about it was it was written in the 1940s-I'm more accustomed to modern, young adult books.

I must admit that I had the wrong idea about Catcher In The Rye, though. I love the main character, Holden Caulfield-he was very entertaining, sarcastic, and witty. When I first started reading, I was worried that since the book was written so long ago, it would be written in a very old-fashioned style, but it was actually refreshing & fun to read some of the lingo & such from that time, & it wasn't too extreme or used annoyingly.

 - Some parts were quite boring-overall, it was J.D. Salinger's style of writing, and Holden's humor & way he tells the story, which kept me reading. Good book, though! ;]

-New template + Summer Boys contest!

So I finally decided on a template :] It looks like me, with my dog! Lol, thanks to Brandé (Book Junkie) for suggesting the website that I found it at! Let me know what you all think!

In celebration (or even just for the hell of it!) I'm going to give away a book from my collection. And the book is...

Summer Boys

by Hailey Abbott

It's summer. It's hot. And it's time to hook up.Cousins Ella, Beth, and Jamie are at their family's beach house, and they're gearing up for the wildest time of their lives.

Sassy Ella is majorly crushing on a cute older boy -- who just happens to be her sister's new boyfriend. Meanwhile, practical Beth is surprised when she finds herself falling for her best friend George. And shy, creative Jamie gets her heart broken when her summer love abandons her. Three girls, too many boys, and some seriously stormy romances...it all adds up to one unforgettable summer. -summary from barnesandnoble.com

It's a fun, light, young adult read.
 The book is followed up by 3 more in the series: Next Summer, After Summer, & Last Summer.

 Entering is very easy, as it should be. Just leave a comment with your name & e-mail, & you get one entry!
Extra entries are as follows:

+ 4 already following
+3 becoming a follower
+2 posting on your blog linking back to this contest
+1 telling me who referred you w/ a link to their blog (this gets you AND them an extra entry)

Contest will end 9/15/09 @ 5pm central time.

-Review: The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

The Notebook is an epic love story centered around an older man who reads aloud to an older, invalid woman whom he regularly visits. From a faded notebook, the old man's words bring to life the story about a couple who is separated by World War II, and is then passionately reunited, seven years later, after they have taken different paths. Though her memory has faded, his words give her the chance to relive her turbulent youth and the unforgettable love they shared.

As teenagers, Allie and Noah begin a whirlwind courtship that soon blossoms into tender intimacy. The young couple is quickly separated by Allie's upper-class parents who insist that Noah isn't right for her. Several years pass, and, when they meet again, their passion is rekindled, forcing Allie to choose between her soul mate and class order. ~newline.com

Well it's not very often I end up liking a movie more than the book, but this is one of those situations.

The Notebook was a great book, no doubt, but I wish it would have went more in-depth into Noah & Allie's past (the summer that they met). That is one reason I like the movie more: you actually get to see what happened that summer and how it came about that they fell so in love & remained that way for the rest of their lives. The book just BARELY skimmed over the details of their first summer & mostly focused on the later years, when they meet back up, & their old-age years.

It did make me cry, just like the movie, though ;]

 - Romance novels aren't really my thing. I guess I just prefer watching sappy movies to reading sappy books. *chuckle* However it did keep me interested throughout, for the most part..

-Review: The Secret Lives of Fortunate Wives by Sarah Strohmeyer

The Secret Lives of Fortunate Wives by Sarah Strohmeyer

Pampered Hunting Hills, Ohio, socialite Marti Denton never realized she was madly in love with John Harding until he impulsively married Claire Stark, a beautiful but socially awkward newspaper reporter to whom a "coming-out" party is a controversy, not a tradition.

It's not until the Hunting Hills wives are plunged into a series of explosive scandals that the two women reach a new understanding of each other and what it means to be a fortunate wife in the twenty-first century.

In The Secret Lives of Fortunate Wives, Sarah Strohmeyer has written a Stepford Wives for our time--funny, wise, and eye-opening. ~summary: banesandnoble.com

Eh. This book wasn't all that I hoped for. I picked it up at my library b/c it reminded me of the TV show Desperate Housewives and, I can't really explain why, but it kinda got on my nerves at times. I think the first half of the book was okay, but by the time I got halfway through I was only reading to get it over with. It is similar to Desperate Housewives, but not nearly as exciting, in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, there are some catchy sub-plots going on here, & some funnies also (i.e. erections lasting long enough to make one lose one's job, lol) but overall...bleh. I think one reason might be that I can't relate so much to these older women (the book was in the fiction section) as much as I can relate to young adult books.

 - Like i said, bleh..

-Review: Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris

Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris

 Harper Connelly has what you might call a strange job: she finds dead people. She can sense the final location of a person who's passed, and share their very last moment. The way Harper sees it, she's providing a service to the dead while bringing some closure to the living-but she's used to most people treating her like a blood-sucking leech.

Traveling with her step-brother Tolliver as manager and sometime-bodyguard, she's become an expert at getting in, getting paid, and getting out fast. Because for the living it's always urgent-even if the dead can wait forever. ~summary: barnesandnoble.com

I'm usually not a big fan of mysteries--well actually, I'm never a fan. But I read this for two reasons: I've never heard of a story plot even similar to this, & also because I'm already a fan of Charlaine Harris. Either way I'm glad I read it!

The book follows Harper Connelly, who was struck by lightning when she was 15 & therefore now has the power to track corpses, & see the moments right before they died. People hire her to find their missing loved ones. I really liked Harper's character--of course she feels a little out of place in the world since so many people look at her like the anti-Christ, or like she's crazy, but she still continues to do her job to help bring closure to people & despite what people think she feels like she's doing something good.

Series followed by Grave Surprise and An Ice Cold Grave. The fourth book, Grave Secret, is scheduled to be published in October 2009. If you read this, you'll want to read the whole series!

- Very good book; fast-paced; very unique storyline. Was enough to make me read the sequel. I could see this being made into a TV show or a movie, just like her Sookie books.

-Upcoming Releases-9/1-Hate List by Jennifer Brown & The Hollow by Jessida Verday

These two caught my attention; they are both scheduled to be released on September 1st, 2009:

Hate List by Jennifer Brown

 

Five months ago, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on their school cafeteria. Shot trying to stop him, Valerie inadvertently saved the life of a classmate, but was implicated in the shootings because of the list she helped create. A list of people and things she and Nick hated. The list he used to pick his targets.

 

Now, after a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she returns to school to complete her senior year. Haunted by the memory of the boyfriend she still loves and navigating rocky relationships with her family, former friends and the girl whose life she saved, Val must come to grips with the tragedy that took place and her role in it, in order to make amends and move on with her life. ~summary from Amazon.com

 

The Hollow by Jessica Verday

When Abbey's best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, everyone else is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead and rumors fly that her death was no accident. Abbey goes through the motions of mourning her best friend, but privately, she refuses to believe that Kristen is really gone. Then she meets Caspian, the gorgeous and mysterious boy who shows up out of nowhere at Kristen's funeral, and keeps reappearing in Abbey's life. Caspian clearly has secrets of his own, but he's the only person who makes Abbey feel normal again...but also special.

Just when Abbey starts to feel that she might survive all this, she learns a secret that makes her question everything she thought she knew about her best friend. How could Kristen have kept silent about so much? And could this secret have led to her death? As Abbey struggles to understand Kristen's betrayal, she uncovers a frightening truth that nearly unravels her—one that will challenge her emerging love for Caspian, as well as her own sanity. ~summary from amazon.com

- Reviews: Beautiful Disaster by Kate Brian / Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

So yay, it's my first real post. Um wellll... this is the first time I've ever done anything like this, so I'ma play it by ear here.

After wasting away in a mental institution for a year and a half, Ariana Osgood is finally back where she belongs. She has a new look, a new name, and a new life -- all thanks to her former friend Briana Leigh Covington.

Now enrolled as a junior at the exclusive Atherton-Pryce boarding school just outside of D.C., Ariana sleeps in Frette sheets, flirts with the captain of the crew team, and gossips with the most beautiful girls on campus. She killed to get back her life of privilege. Just how far will she go to keep it? -summary from back cover

I just finished Beautiful Disaster (Privilege series, book #2) by Kate Brian. I'm addicted to this series! When I first picked it up at the library I thought it would be more Gossip Girl/Summer Boy-ish & I wasn't really interested, just picked it up out of boredom...but I'm seriously addicted now. Highly recommend it if you haven't read it.

The series is about a girl named Ariana, her escape from a mental instituition, & her fight to start a new life without being found out for who she really is. It's not at all the annoying high school-ish book I thought it would be & takes a lot of crazy turns that'll keep you turning the pages. I haven't even read the Private series, I didn't even know they were related (other than same author) until recently, but I feel like I'm following Privilege pretty easily without Private. But from what I hear, you should read the 1st 4 Private books before reading the Privilege books. I can't wait for the 3rd book, Perfect Mistake. I would love to hear from someone else who has read this series, as I'm so obsessed with it, haha :]

-- I seriously couldn't put this down!

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Twilight is a young adult vampire-romance novel written by author Stephenie Meyer. It was originally published in hardcover in 2005. It is the first book of the Twilight series, and introduces seventeen-year-old Isabella "Bella" Swan who moves from Phoenix, Arizona, to Forks, Washington, and finds her life in danger when she falls in love with a vampire, Edward Cullen. The novel is followed by New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. -snippet from wikisummaries.org

Ah, Twilight. Now I made the mistake of seeing the movie first, & after hating that, I let the book collect dust on my shelf for a good 6 months before finally making myself read it. & then I regretted letting it sit on my shelf & waiting so long to read it, because I loved it :] I still don't like the movie though! Everyone told me, "you have to read the book to appreciate the movie!" but the movie still just never rubbed me the right way. My mom is bringing the whole series down (from Michigan) for me when I have my baby... from what I hear New Moon is the worst of the four. Any comments on that, anyone?

 - I can't say too much BAD about it, I'm just giving giving it a 4 because there is so much hooplah behind this book. You'd think you would "be changed" after reading it or something, lol. True, it is one of my favorites now, but I honestly dont understand why it's become such a cult thing...