Review: The Boyfriend List

Title The Boyfriend List
By E. Lockhart
For Fun
Source Library

First Line
Before anyone reading this thinks to call me a slut-or even just imagines I'm incredibly popular- let me point out that this list includes absolutely every single boy I have ever had the slightest little any-kind-of-anything with.


Synopsis
Ruby's having a bad day. Actually she's having a bad month. Her boyfriend dumped her for her so called best friend, her friends are mad at her for kissing the boy after he was an ex and she's become an outcast at her too small private school. And to top it all off, she's having panic attacks and has to see a shrink!

General thoughts
I think because of the title of the books and the funny little frog I expected to laugh my way through this one and write it off as fluffy and silly. That's just not possible anymore. Sure, it was fun and incredibly easy to read but that doesn't mean there wasn't some great depth to it. I was so engaged in this one I almost stayed up too late (sorry, people, I love reading but rarely, RARELY, does a book keep me from precious sleep) and at one point was so mad at Ruby's "best friend" I slammed the book down on my knees. I love books that can evoke physical reactions out of you! Don't you? This one was a surprisingly relatable, and coming from me...that's saying something. I don't easily relate to silly teenager thoughts and feelings. Great read! I'm excited to get to the rest of these books.  My only complaint was the footnotes, what was that all about?! Argh! I'm still thinking of things I like about it but I won't go on and on just read this one, read them all!

Characters
Oh boy, don't get me started! Ruby was perfectly flawed. Her voice makes you take her side but it's more than that, she may have had some problems but did she really deserve what she got? I definitely want more Ruby. Ruby's parents were just plain crazy but they were real and present and I haven't seen that for awhile in YA books.  Kim, the supposed "best" friend...What. A. Bitch!!!! I liked Norah and Meghan, Ruby's real friends and wanted to get to know more about them. And then there's the 15 boys. I won't name them all but I will say: I loved Noel and when he takes Ruby's hand when she apologizes to let her know he's not mad I think I girly sighed a little.

Would I recommend it?
YES! Even if you think it looks fluffy and too immature for the likes of "well read" you, YES!

Review: The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

Title The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
By Aimee Bender
For Fun
Source Library

First Line It happened for the first time on a Tuesday afternoon, a warm spring day in the flatlands near Hollywood, a light breeze moving east from the ocean and stirring the black-eyed pansy petals newly planted in our flower boxes.


Synopsis
It starts when she turns nine, Rose takes a bite of her mothers homemade lemon cake and can taste her mother's emotions. For the rest of her life food becomes a burden.

General thoughts
I honestly have no idea what to say about this one. The writing was beautiful and oddly soothing, but the story...hmmm, I don't know! It was OK, a little sad, a little hopeful, and had an interesting moral but does that mean I liked it? I still don't know. I thought if I gave it a few days I'd be able to decide but it's just not coming. Well, at least it go me thinking. It was much deeper than some things I read and for that I enjoyed it, well, that and the writing; that soothing calming writing that pulled me in and kept me reading till the end.

Characters 
Rose was an interesting narrator, her voice and her description was easy to read and beautiful. In the end the decisions she made had me content and fulfilled but what about the other characters? Joseph, Rose's brother, is probably the biggest enigma I've ever know. I think that's half the reason I don't know what to think of the whole book. He was so withdrawn and tortured and I never truly felt like I got enough info on him. Rose's parents were layers deep! Her mother was so desperately unfulfilled and I'm sure it was from her upbringing but it was never really explained and that had me wondering if I even liked her. Through Rose I could like her but on her own? No, I don't think so. At least with Rose's father there was some explanation and closure at the end but I couldn't admire his cowardice. And then there was George. Sigh! I truly loved this kind caring good listener. What more can I say? He was beautifully human but a kinder gentler human.

Would I recommend it?
Yes, for the beautiful soothing writing and the thought provoking storyline, but be warned, it's a little depressing and confusing, but maybe that was just me.

Hey, Don't forget to enter my giveaway! Click HERE.  It ends Saturday July 2nd.

Argh!

Stupid internet connection! I can't get it to stay connected. So, you'll have to excuse my lame posting for today and my lack of comments until I can get the dang thing working. It took me 45 minutes just to get this! Don't forget to enter my giveaway if you haven't yet. Thanks.

5 "Obsuscure" Books You Should Read. My first Givaway!

So to keep my role as a book pusher intact I wanted to highlight 5 obscure books you may not know about that you should. And what better way to do that then to talk them up and then offer you one for FREE?! So, here they are. You can click on each title and read the synopsis on Goodreads.

A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb
This one might not be too obscure or unknown but I feel like I haven't heard enough praise for it so it belongs on my list. This book absolutely blew me away! I was so engrossed in the story I shoved it on my family when I was done and those who read it LOVED it too. 

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Now, you might have heard of this one too but passed it by because it wasn't a YA, or it didn't look like the type you might like. That's fine, but you're missing out on a book lovers book. This is one of the most beautiful, poetic, mysterious books I've ever read! You've got to stick with this one, though. A friend of mine was reading it and called me out of the blue asking what on earth I liked about it and I told her to KEEP reading. She did and a few days later...she LOVED it! I think her exact words were: "This author is awesome!" Believe me, you don't want to miss this one.

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
I dare you, I DARE you to read this first book in the series and to stop there. Yeah, it's not YA either and it's a Koontz book but wow! I mean Wow! It has a paranormal element, (you know that intrigues you) it has one of the best protagonist's EVER, and it even has romance, the sweetest kind.

A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin
If you've followed me long enough you know I've gushed about these books and Matthew Swift  before. This urban fantasy series are some of my favorite books of all time. You won't meet such a sarcastic, self deprecating, lovable character any where else. Plus he has quite the mysterious little secret that I find absolutely fascinating. The series takes place in London and the description and creations this amazing author comes up with are pure bliss!

The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty
This is on the lighter side of things and it's the second in a series, but it's OK to read out of order. I laughed my way through this one in one day. It's silly and light and just made me smile. I love books that make you smile long after you've read them.







So, that's five books I think everyone should read. Now, if you're thinking, but why would I want to read any of these? Well, first, did I not just gush about each and every one? Plus, hello, you'd be getting it for free, but I hope you read all of them. ;)  Have a great week, everyone!

The Sunday Salon

And now a bunch of useless information you never wanted to know about me. ;-)

Outside my window: It's another hot one!

I am listening to: Not much this week. :(

I am watching: I re-watched for the millionth time Anne of Green Gables and still laughed.

I am thinking: If only my cat weren't so needy I could go travel. I know, awful of me. 

I am grateful for: My mom. ;) Yeah, so sue me! I'm a momma's girl.

I am reading: Still, working on Middlemarch and have started The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, which is surprisingly good.
 
I am photographing: Nothing this week. Next week I hope to have some fun stuff though.

I am listing: Ideas for how to organize my bookshelves at long last.

I am creating: Well, I gave my Blog a new look. It probably won't stay that way and I know you shouldn't change your blog's appearance but I figure I can do what ever I want! Hmph! ;) You like? 

Around the house: It's HOT! I finally gave in and turned on the AC.

From the kitchen: I want to try to make these S'more cookies. I won't be putting blicky nuts in mine, though. I'll try it and report next week.

One of my favorite things: A clean house!

The children this week: No kids, just my cat Buns and she made terrific progress this week. She went outside once during daylight. Yeah, alright, it was only for 30 seconds but it's something.

Plans for the week: Ah, it's nice to have a pool but now I've got to vacuum it. Sigh!

Thanks to Ibeeeg of Polishing Mud Balls for the inspiration for this post's layout.

Shelving Saturday

  

Shelving Saturday is a fun new meme hosted by Eastern Sunset Reads that deals with, you guessed it, our shelving dilemmas. It's a fun way to see and hear about other bloggers book shelves that I personally love! This weeks dilemma:

We have our shelves, we definitely have our books but do we have them organized yet? Lets see those bookshelves!  Over the next couple of weeks I would like to re-organize some shelves with all of you.

As you can see, there is absolutely NO organization going on besides series being shelved together. So come on, people. You know You want to organize you're shelves with us. Think how fun it will be to see everyone's shelves go from unorganized to organized.

Review: The Vampire Stalker

Title The Vampire Stalker
By Allison Van Diepen
For Fun
Source So, Janssen from Everyday Reading had the envious opportunity to go to BEA and came home with stacks and stacks of books. I commented on how jealous I was and she asked me specifically what book I was jealous about and when I told her...she actually sent her copy to me! Wasn't that nice?!


First line There was a festive vibe in the air that reminded me of the Fourth of July.


Synopsis We've all had our book crushes, but what would you do if you saw yours in real life and he's just saved you from a vampire? This very thing has just happened to Amy and things are about to get a lot more exciting and maybe even a little dangerous.

General thoughts
Well, first off I have to thank Janssen again for sending me this copy of her book. I'm still so stunned at her kindness. I guess I'm not so willing to part with my books. I know, selfish much? So, onto the review. I think I expected a very silly story. I mean, a book character you have a crush on coming to life?! I expected much laughter but it was actually much more action packed. Not that, that's a bad thing it just wasn't quite what I had expected. But I digress, I enjoyed the book well enough, it was a fun fast read with lots of action and, come on, what a great premise. My only complaint was there were a few things to easily explained away that just weren't believable and the writing bothered me a little but I still liked the story and isn't that the main point?

Characters
Amy was what really made this story for me. She was sweet and helpful and could stand up for herself if necessary. She cared about her family and at one point when they're in danger instead of sticking around to make sure her guy's OK and making things worse, cause we all know that always makes things worse, she got the heck out of there and I was nodding my head thinking, "FINALLY!"  Alexander was quite the gentleman and yet he was a little to hard for my taste but he didn't irk me and that's something. Amy's friends were slightly absent and the relationship wasn't always believable but they came back strong in the end. Chrissy drove me properly nuts and was believable as an annoying eighth grader. Amy's mom?...yeah, way too absent to be believable.

Would I recommend it?
Yeah, but it's not amazing so I don't want to hear it if you hated it and are mad at me for recommending it. ;)

Thoughts and Questions

Yeah, it's one of those posts. One where I share a few thoughts and questions. I hope they aren't too annoying.

So first up, a question: I've been told replying to all comments on my blog is very important but sometimes it's so hard. I mean, if there's a direct question it's easier but others are hard to reply to. Plus I always wonder how many people actually come back to check or hit that nifty button to receive the emails with any follow up comments. I personally don't ever hit that button or my inbox is overwhelmed, and I only occasionally check back on other peoples blogs if I KNOW they respond. So what about you? How do you handle it all? Do you ever check back to see my replies? Should I continue? Hmmm, it's all so confusing.

Me, the nerdy bookworm and the arrogant new book?

Is it only fun to read reviews of "new" books? If I read something someone's never heard of, that's old or unknown does anyone really care? I mean, I know that sounds ridiculous but sometimes I feel like one of the un-cool lame kids in school who just is not with it when I read obscure books. To tell you the truth after seeing over three or more reviews for the same "in now"  book I tend to get a little bored.

Anyone see the premiere of Falling Skies on TNT? I was actually impressed. Some of the characters instantly made me so mad I wanted to reach into the TV screen and bash their heads into my knee! I love\hate when a show can influence me that much, that fast! Or, what about MTV's Teen Wolf? Oh, please don't laugh at me.  It's summer and I'm having TV withdrawls. I checked it out and am ridiculously hooked. Alas, I'm afraid this one won't make it. So, anyone else see these? What say you?

And last but definitely not least. Brodi Ashton, a writer and blogger you should really check out, has her first novel due out in January 2012. I'm so excited! Today the cover was released and...OH. MY. GOSH! Check it out!

Isn't it beautiful?!!! So get your butts over to Goodreads and mark it to read.

 Have a great Friday!

Review: Bruiser

Title Bruiser
By Neal Shusterman
For Fun
Source I own it

First sentance
If her touches her, I swear I'm going to rip out his guts with my bare hands and send them to his next of kin for lunch.

Synopsis
Told from the view points of four different characters we learn about the mystery that is Brewster (Bruiser).

General thoughts
This is going to be hard to review. I don't want to give anything away about the mystery that was revealed in the pages of this great book so I'll just tell you that I really enjoyed this one! Neal Shusterman has a way of writing that has you laughing one minute and crying the next that I rarely experience with other authors.  Bruiser had a great moral to the story that had me smiling sadly and hoping somehow it would all end OK. If I HAD to complain about it I would say, that for a brief number of pages after the big reveal I felt let down just enough that I had a hard time jumping back into the story again. Still, it was a great read, one of those books that reminds me why I love reading.

Characters
Tennyson was easily loveable despite his "jock" status. I enjoyed watching him pretend to be so tough and yet, he was probably the biggest softie in the whole book. He was wise beyond his years and I think I developed a bit of a crush on him. Bronte was harder for me to like. She was a little too bossy and  a bit of a know it all, which is funny considering she was the most clueless character in the book! She does redeem herself in the end and I liked her a little better, but if I'm being truthful, I just couldn't like her. Brewster (Bruiser) was such a wonderful, tortured character. He could have come off as a holier-than-thou and self righteous but he didn't and I felt such sympathy for him. And Cody. I loved reading from his point of view the best. Yeah, he was young and a little selfish but it was all he'd ever known and I really liked him.

Would I recommend it?
Do you have to ask? Of course I would!

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting On Wednesday, is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and asks the question, "What are books are you anxiously waiting on?" 

I always get so excited for a book and wait and wait soooo anxiously, and then when it comes out I rush out and buy it, come home, admire the cover and then put it on my bookshelf and take forever to get to it! Some books I just can't wait on, though. I read them as soon as I buy them and this is one I'm going to have to read as soon as it comes out.

  I know, I know, its ages until this one gets released but I can't help it! I'm so excited! It's such a long way away, it doesn't even have a synopsis on Goodreads yet. Sigh!

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 His eyes.
I know those eyes.
   Uncle Hoyt's gone foul, and Brew is nowhere to be seen, and I don't know what I'm gonna to do, so I just stand there staring at him, afraid to open that door, knowing it's only going to make it worse; but still I just stand there anyway, watching those eyes get fouler and fouler as he screams, "Open this goddamn door! " Finally, he punches his fist through the screen and reaches inside, pulling the door open. 


From Bruiser by Neal Shusterman. 
I know that makes it sound awful but I promise you it's amazing so far! 
So, what's your teaser for the day? Does mine make you want to read the book? Cause, um, that's sort of the whole point. ;)

The Sunday Salon

And now a bunch of useless information you never wanted to know about me. ;-)

Outside my window: It's seems to have cooled down a bit and is raining, but that's fine by me!

I am listening to: I've been having a blast finding old Nintendo songs online and editing them down to use as ring tones.

I am watching:  I saw Green Lantern this week, It wasn't great but it was fun and Ryan Reynolds cracks me up so that was worth it. 

I am thinking: I don't want to think, you know what I  mean? 

I am grateful for: Family, I know, I know, crazy right?!

I am reading: Slowly but surely making my way through Middlemarch and I'm reading Bruiser my Neal Shusterman which is really great so far!

I am photographing: Nothing this week.

I am listing: I posted this week about books I've never read that might be shocking to some people.  

I am creating: I'm in charge of my family's reunion this year and I think I've got it all planned out but I'm still thinking of ideas.

Around the house: I'm so cotton pickin' sick of sweeping outside my door! Every time I do the dang wind picks up and every leaf and speck of dirt decides right outside my front door is the best place to hang out!

From the kitchen: I made some egg salad the other day and since I don't like or have mayo I substituted ranch dressing and was pleasantly surprised.

One of my favorite things: Fruit, when it's it season. Soooo good!

The children this week: No kids, just my cat Buns and she's been having fun playing with a new toy a friend gave her.

Plans for the week: We finally got the pool filled and will need to be getting the chemicals in it. I plan on laying out and braving the frigid waters at least once. Well, if it stops raining.



Thanks to Ibeeeg of Polishing Mud Balls for the inspiration for this post's layout.

Review: The Ghost and the Goth

Title The Ghost and the Goth
By Stacey Kade
For Fun
Source I own it, lucky me!




Synopsis
Alona Dare appears to have everything she could want: Homecoming Queen three years running, cute boy friend and she hangs with the most popular kids in school but that doesn't stop her from walking in front of a bus.  Will Killian never goes anywhere without his iPod, it's the only way to keep from hearing the dead. Will can see, hear and interact with ghosts but he definitely doesn't want to. That is, until the ghost of Alona Dare starts hanging around.

General thoughts
Sounds like a fun, light, fluffy read, right? Oh, it is, but don't let that fool you. It actually had some depth to it. It took me by surprise. I love when I pick up a book I bought, based solely on the cover, that has been sitting on my shelf for quite awhile and am thoroughly engaged! This book had me smiling nearly all the way through it. I even bought the sequel, Queen of the Dead before I finished it because I knew I'd love it too. It's one of those books where everyone and everything has it's reason for being there and everything comes together seamlessly.  Gee, what else can I say? I really liked it, and after a few bad reads I needed to like something.

Characters
Alona was one of those love to hate characters...at first. Obviously, you get to like her more and more as the story progresses and you get to know her better. Will was by far my favorite character! I loved his sarcasm. I love sarcastic people especially guys and Will was great. He was perfectly written. I love when a male character is believable as a guy when the author of the book is a girl. I want to mention most of the characters because even if they had minor roles they stuck out. Principle Brewster was a perfectly awful authority figure I could hate with relish. Will's mom was concerned enough about her son to invoke sympathy. Joonie...oh, poor Joonie. Ben, Misty, Chris cliche or not, they were perfectly annoying. Dr Miller...what a slimy, gross...well I won't say what he was.

 Would I recommend it? 
For a light, fluffy read with a little more depth than I expected, hell yes!

Little Un-read Secrets!

I stole this idea from Fragments of Fiction, one of the most beautiful blogs I feast my eyes on everyday. She confessed her dirty little secret of the books she hasn't read but probably should have and I loved the idea. We all have books that we haven't read that might shock some people (can you believe she hasn't read the Harry Potters?!) but does it follow that we should be ashamed? So here's some of the books I haven't read that may, or may not shock you. 

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S Lewis
I have read the first one but I never read the rest. For shame, I know!

The Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Not only have I not read these? I don't like them?! K, I know you're thinking, how can she not like them if she hasn't read them. Good question. I tried reading them and just couldn't do it! I hated that goody goody Mary and, all in all, I just got bored with them.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M Montgomery
The only one I've read was Anne's House of Dreams, and that was only by request of a friend. I LOVE the movies but I just could never get into the books.

Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
Yeah, I think it's no surprise that since I hated the rest I just gave up on this series. But don't you worry, lots of people felt it was there duty to fill me in on what happened. In detail! Hey, at least I didn't read the end of it right when in came out just so I could ruin it for all the fans who were frantically reading it like one of my friends did. 

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
So, some of you might not have read this one either, but you wouldn't believe the flack I get for not having read this one. Sheesh! I have it on my TBR list. Give me a break!







I could go on and on, especially with the classics. There is a lot I haven't read, yet, and I may never read. So how about you? What have you not read that might be shocking? And is it really all that bad of a thing to NOT have read something?

Review: Mermaid

Title Mermaid
By Carolyn Turgeon
For Supposed to be fun!
Source I own it




Synopsis
A retelling of The Little Mermaid from the POV of Lenia the mermaid and Margerthe the princess that marries the prince.

General thoughts
I didn't really even want to write this review. I was very disappointed in this one. I had such high hopes and they all came crashing down. I liked that the author told the story from both point of views but I didn't like the liberties she took with the ending, and the writing was fine but just bothered me.

Characters 
I liked Lenia (the mermaid) I felt for her and enjoyed reading about her more than Margerthe (the princess). Margerethe was OK but I had a hard time believing either of these women actually could like the moron that was Prince Christopher. Oh, kill me now! The prince was so awful! Why would anyone actually fall for him?! He's not even worth venting about.

Would I recommend it? 
If you really LOVE fairytale retellings then sure, but this is not a YA book. This is an adult book and there are "adult situations". So if that bothers you, you might want to pass this one by.

Top Ten Tuesday

Today  The Broke and the Bookish asks the question: What are your top ten AWWW book moments? You know, those cute lines, charming kisses, or any other sentimental moment that made you say "AWWW!" Link on over and join us.


1 When Harry Potter finally kissed Ginny for the first time. 

The movie got it so wrong, oh well.

2 In I Am the Messenger when Ed gives Sophie the shoe box with no shoes. If you haven't read this one yet, what on earth are you waiting for?!  

3 In The Schwa Was Here when Antsy graffitis the whole neighborhood.

4 In The Wednesday Wars when Holling saves his sister from being hit by a bus. And, yes, this was a gasp moment too.

5 In White Cat when Cassel shares a moment with Maura on the stairs at his brothers house. 

6 Almost any moment between Eragon and Saphira from The Inheritance series.

7 In Persuasion when Anne get the letter from Captain Wentworth. 

8 In Odd Thomas when...OK, almost any time Odd opens his mouth I say, AWWW! 

9 In Pride and Prejudice when Darcy goes and finds Lydia and Wickham and forces them to get married.

10 In Wives and Daughters when Roger finds Molly crying in the garden. 

  I could go on and on with my list. So how about you, what are your favorite AWWW moments?

Summer, My Love\Hate Relationship

Alright this is really random but I'm having a hard summer so I'm trying to think of things I like to balance all the things I hate!

1 (Hate) I miss soccer so bad in the summer I want to scream!!!! Yeah, so every other year I get the Euro Cup or the World Cup but this is an off year and I'm losing it!

Who wouldn't miss Arbeloa's abs?!

2 (Love) Laying out by the pool reading. Especially after I've vacuumed it and cleaned all the leaves off so it's so blue and sparkly. It's one of the only things I take pleasure in. Shhh, don't tell anyone, though. ;)

Can you believe I didn't have one picture of my pool? But this depicts that blue I was talking about. 

3 (Hate)  I miss all my TV series! Sure, there's a few in the summer but they're not usually that impressive.

4 (Love) All the festivals and summer celebrations are something I look forward to and enjoy.

5 (Hate) The heat!!!! OK, it's not THAT hot yet but it's very frustrating sometimes.

6 (Love) At least all that heat means no snow which is soooo much more vexing to me!

Alright I'm done venting. I just miss soccer, I start having withdrawals and watching MLS! AHHH! So what do you love and hate about Summer? Please tell me I'm not alone in this awkward relationship.

The Sunday Salon

And now a bunch of useless information you never wanted to know about me. ;-)

Outside my window: It's Beautiful! I think summer is finally here.

I am listening to: I downloaded some new songs this week by ADELE, Earlimart and Fauxliage.

I am watching: I went and saw the new Xmen movie on Friday for my b-day. They took a few liberties, and yes, I'm nerdy enough to know, but it was a lot of fun and I loved, loved James McAvoy as Charles Xavier\professor X!

I am thinking: I need to finish the book I'm reading so I can get to some fun ones.

I am grateful for: The delicious, drool inducing chocolate chocolate chip bunt cake dripping with ganache that my sister is making me this evening for a late birthday celebration. 

I am reading: Mermaid, a retelling of The Little Mermaid. Meh, I'm struggling through it.

I am photographing: A few pictures for my blog lately but not much.

I am listing: Nothing. 

I am creating: Nothing. I know, I know. Boring!

Around the house: It's either time for a new bookshelf or I need to stop buying books....LOL! Yeah, right!

From the kitchen: Urgh, I'm still trying to decide what to do for dinner. Not fun! 

One of my favorite things: Borders coupons and Borders Bucks! It saves me so much money.

The children this week: No kids, just my cat Buns and she seems a little depressed lately. Sigh, maybe I should invest in a pet therapist. Kidding.

Plans for the week: I've got to go to the dentist. :'(   



Thanks to Ibeeeg of Polishing Mud Balls for the inspiration for this post's layout.

Shelving Saturday

  

Shelving Saturday is a fun new meme hosted by Eastern Sunset Reads that deals with, you guessed it, our shelving dilemmas. It's a fun way to see and hear about other bloggers book shelves that I personally love! This weeks question:

What do you do with all your special books; your ARCs or signed books? 

  Well, unfortunately I don't have any ARCs. :( I'm still new to the blogging thing and haven't quite figured out the best way to get any. I do have quite a few signed books, however and as you may know about me by now, I'm not horribly organized when it comes to my books shelves. So, of course, they're just shoved in there with the rest of my books. I should organize them though because sometimes I forget they're signed and I don't want to lend out my signed ones in fear that they'll get destroyed. 

These are the books I have signed. See, now that I have them all off out I should just clear a shelf just for them. Ah, now I'm thinking!  So, what books do you have signed. How many ARCs do you have? And do you have a nice shelf just for them? I'd love to know, so go on over and link up so you can join us.

Happy Birthday to me!

K, I know most people just ignore their birthdays and you can call me crazy and just plain arrogant but ever since I was a kid I've loved my birthdays. I get very excited about them. I don't know why it's not like I do anything horribly fun or anything, I just like my birthday, so sue me! Anywho, I bought some books that I probably would have bought anyway but I'm excusing my spending by calling it a birthday present from me...cause I can. Here's what I got.

These are the ones I've ordered and am waiting for in the mail.
Antsy Does Time by Neal Shusterman
The Schwa Was Here by Neal Shusterman
Colonel Brandon's Diary by Amanda Grange
Bruiser by Neal Shusterman

As you can see I'm a little obsessed with Shusterman. The Antsy books are absolutely amazing!
These are the books I bought at Borders.

Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan
The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross
Possession by Elana Johnson

So, my birthday plans are...cause I know you care...I'm getting a manicure\ pedicure with my awesome sister. Going to lunch with my equally awesome sister in law and then....wait for it...I'm going to see the new Xmen!!!! Yeah, I'm a geek! Can't wait. Have a great Friday, everyone!