So Many Books, So Little Time

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Book Contest--Defining Twilight

Thanks to the author, Brian Leaf, I have 2 copies of Twilight: Vocabulary Workbook for Unlocking the SAT, ACT, GED, and SSAT to give away!

From Amazon.com

Can you resist the allure of Edward’s myriad charms—his ocher eyes and tousled hair, the cadence of his speech, his chiseled alabaster skin, and his gratuitous charm? Will you hunt surreptitiously and tolerate the ceaseless deluge in Forks to evade the sun and uphold the facade? Join Edward and Bella as you learn more than 600 vocabulary words to improve your score on the *SAT, ACT®, GED®, and SSAT® exams!

Use this workbook side-by-side with your own copy of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight!

Each chapter of the workbook gives you eight words taken from Twilight, with page references for you to read the words in the context of your favorite novel

Define the words on your own before turning back to the workbook for their actual definitions

At the end of each section you’ll take SAT, ACT, GED, and SSAT drills and quizzes to review and integrate what you’ve learned

Plus, you’ll learn synonyms, Latin word parts, and memorization tools throughout the workbook

Visit these sites to learn more!

Teen Vogue
GalleyCat

Brian Leaf's website

HOW TO ENTER:
+1 Post a comment saying that you would like to be entered (make sure to leave your e-mail address or your comment won't count!)
+1 Post about the contest on your blog and leave the link in your comment
+1 Become a follower (or if you already follow me, let me know!)
~~For each thing that you do, please leave a separate comment or you will only be entered once!!

~~The contest will end on Tuesday September 8th at 11:59pm

~~This contest is open to everyone.

Teaser Tuesday - September 1, 2009

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

My two teasers:

"A lifetime spent in the Highlands hadn't inured her to the breathtaking beauty around her, but she passed spectacular mountain scenery, rugged glens, raging cataracts, and dramatic seascapres, without taking notice at all. Jerrod's words still troubled her."

~pg 48, Highland Rebel by Judith James

Book Review- Millie's Fling

I finished reading Millie's Fling by Jill Mansell last night.

From the back cover:

Millie's life is about to turn around...

Bestselling romance author Orla Hart decides to make her friend Millie Brady the heroine of her next novel, even though Millie doubts her boring life will inspire a steamy page-turner. But whatever excitement doesn't happen to Millie naturally, Orla is secretly determined to stir up...

While Millie faithfully recounts the hilarious mishaps of her friends and family, Orla schemes to match Millie with the perfect romantic hero to really spice things up. But Orla doesn't know that Millie has deliberately left out the juiciest recent development.

This was another cute story by Jill Mansell. A lot of the story was pretty predictable but it was still a fun read. I really liked the characters. All of them had a lot of warmth to me. I enjoyed reading about Millie, but for some reason, she seemed to be an older character than twenty-five years old. I liked Hugh and his struggle between the feelings he was having for Millie and the guilt over betraying his deceased wife. I enjoyed Orla and her scheming (in a good way) ways. And I want to know more about Lucas. He was portrayed as such a player, but towards the end he seemed to have such a good heart and I wanted to know why. This was a long book--499 pages, but it easily could have been longer. I want to know more about what happens to all of the characters!

I gave this story a rating of 3.5/5.

Thanks to Danielle from Sourcebooks for setting this up! Millie's Fling is being released in stores today!!

What An Animal II Challenge- September Update

The rules for the What an Animal II Challenge are the same as the original What an Animal Challenge:

1. Read at least 6 books that have any of the following requirements: 

a. there is an animal in the title of the book

b. there is an animal on the cover of the book 

c. an animal plays a major role in the book 

d. a main character is (or turns into) an animal (define that however you'd like ;o)

2. The animal can be any type of animal (real or fictitious)--dog, cat, monkey, wolf, snake, insect, hedgehog, aardvark...dragon, mermaid, centaur, vampire, werewolf...you get the idea... 

3. Challenge runs from July 1, 2009 to February 28, 2010. That’s 8 months to read at least 6 books (you can read more if you’d like). You can still sign up after July 1st as long as you can get 6 books read by February 28th ;o). 

4. Books can be fiction or nonfiction. 

5. You may make a list of books at the beginning of the challenge or you can just list them as you find them. 

6. Book titles may be swapped out at anytime (assuming you made a list to begin with). 

7. Crossovers with other challenges are permitted and encouraged. 

8. You don't have to have a blog or write a review, but you can if you want to. 

Here's the link to my original post: What An Animal II Challenge

Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge- September Update

Welcome to the Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge!
Here's your chance to catch up on Sookie and all her friends -- living and undead, fully human and not.
It's easy, it's fun, it's for you! And you have an entire year to complete the challenge.

The Rules:
1. Between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010, catch up on Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire series. No matter if you're starting with book 1 or book 8, you have a year to read all about Sookie. Read Sookie in print, listen to the audio, read an eBook -- format is not an issue.

Here is a link to my original post: Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge

The Books:
Dead Until Dark
Living Dead in Dallas
Club Dead
Dead to the World
Dead as a Doornail
Definitely Dead
All Together Dead
From Dead to Worse
Dead and Gone

There are also Sookie and gang short stories and an up-coming anthology! For more, see Charlaine Harris's website.

Chick Lit Challenge 2- September Update

Chick Lit Challenge 2

I am participating in another Chick-lit Challenge on Paperback Swap.

So of course I have to blog about it here!

Here is a link to my original post: Chick-Lit Challenge 2

1) Pick a Chic Lit book that's been on your TBR for a year or more.
2)Pick a book that hasn't had a movie made from it. --The Agency by Ally O'Brien
3)Read a new to you author--American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
4)Read a book with a hair color in the title example: Bergdorf Blondes
5)Start a series! (you don't need to finish it) The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
6)Read a book with some kind of beverage in the title (i.e.:Cocktails for Three, Milk Run)

A to Z Reading Challenge- September Update

Option B: Read titles A to Z. Commit to reading 26 books theoretically speaking. (since X and Z are hard to find, I will count the book if the letter is anywhere in the title)

Here is a link to my original post: A to Z Reading Challenge

A. Another One Bites the Dust by Jennifer Rardin
B. Biting the Bullet by Jennifer Rardin
C. Countdown by Michelle Maddox
D. Demons Are Forever by Julie Kenner
E. Excuse Me, Your Soul Mate is Waiting by Marla Martenson
F. Follow Me by Joanna Scott
G.
H. Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice by Maureen McCormick
I. In Over Her Head by Judi Fennell
J. Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace by MaryJanice Davidson and Anthony Alongi
K. Knit Two by Kate Jacobs
L. Look Both Ways by Jacquelyn Mitchard
M. Modern Magic by Anne Cordwainer
N.
O. Oh My Goth by Gena Showalter
P.Playing With Fire by Katie MacAlister
Q.
R. Revelations by Melissa De La Cruz
S. Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead
T. The Silver Moon Elm by MaryJanice Davidson and Anthony Alongi
U. Untamed by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
V. Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani
W. Wait Till Your Vampire Gets Home by Michele Bardsley
X.
Y. Your Coffin or Mine? by Kimberly Raye
Z. Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith

What's In A Name Challenge- September Update

*This is a challenge that anyone can join, no matter what types of books they like to read. You should be able to find books from any genre that will work.

*Dates: January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009

*The Challenge: Choose one book from each of the following categories.
1. A book with a "profession" in its title. Examples might include: The Book Thief, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Historian
2.A book with a "time of day" in its title. Examples might include: Twilight, Four Past Midnight, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
3. A book with a "relative" in its title. Examples might include: Eight Cousins, My Father's Dragon, The Daughter of Time
4. A book with a "body part" in its title. Examples might include: The Bluest Eye, Bag of Bones, The Heart of Darkness
5. A book with a "building" in its title. Examples might include: Uncle Tom's Cabin, Little House on the Prairie, The Looming Tower
6. A book with a "medical condition" in its title. Examples might include: Insomnia, Coma, The Plague

*You may overlap books with other challenges, but please don't use the same book for more than one category.

*If you join, please leave a comment here with a link to your challenge page, and click on the image above to leave a comment on the original page as well.

Here is a link to my original post: What's In A Name Challenge

PROFESSION-
TIME OF DAY-The Midnight Twins by Jacquelyn Mitchard
RELATIVE- American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
BODY PART- In Over Her Head by Judi Fennell
BUILDING- Wait Till Your Vampire Gets Home by Michele Bardsley
MEDICAL CONDITION- Dead End Dating by Kimberly Raye

Read Your Name Challenge- September Update

The challenge is to read your name in book title first letters, ultimately spelling out your name. That means:

1. Using your first name, or blogger name, or your pets name, or even your favorite literary character's name; whichever you like, choose books with first title letters that spell out your name. (Audio books and eBooks are also okay.)
2. The challenge runs from Jan. 1st 2009, to Dec. 31st 2009. You may join at any time.
3. If you join, please leave a comment here with a link to your challenge page, and click on the image above to leave a comment on the original page as well.

Here is the link to my original post: Read Your Name Challenge

A. Another One Bites the Dust by Jennifer Rardin
N.
D. Demons are Forever by Julie Kenner
R. Revelations by Melissa De La Cruz
E. Excuse Me, Your Sould Mate Is Waiting by Marla Martenson
A. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

Paranormal 999 Challenge- September Update

Description: 9 books in 9 different categories, all read in 2009. For an added challenge, try completing your books by 9/9/09!This group is to help you track your progress on the Paranormal 999 challenge.You choose your own categories.... but you must have 9 categories and they must be paranormal....some examples are:

Vampires

Werewolves

Ghost

Witches

Wizards

Demons

Psychic

Vampires
If you join, please leave a comment here with a link to your challenge page, and click on the image above to leave a comment on the original page as well.
Here is a link to my original post: Paranormal 999 Challenge

Vampires