Jun 30, 2009

Guest Post: Don't Judge Me By My Cover, by Shesten

Shesten at IHeartMonster kindly agreed to write a guest post for me, my first guest post!
Thanks Shesten!

***
I love to travel. I love to take good books with me when I do, but doing so has been quite the social ordeal in my past. So, I thought I'd share with you a little about my bookish traveling past to make a point. What point? You'll see :o)

The first experience I had with traveling with a book on a plane was when I was 14, the summer before I was a sophomore in high school. It was also my first time on an airplane, and I had just finished my Freshman year in high school. I was on my way to Portland, Oregon to play basketball with a club team. All of my teammates on the plane had all kinds of music and headphones, and one simple CD in their players, Hanson. Remember them and the horrid MMmmmmbob thing they sang? Yeah, being more into hip hop at the time, I did not connect with these snobbish girls on the musical front. In reality, I didn't connect with them via my socio-economic class, where I lived, or their utter need to cling to everything girly. I was a tomboy who grew up in the barrio whose parents thought it was a good idea for her to learn to live within her means and love her neighbors no matter what kind of car they drove. I didn't really LOVE reading yet, and I don't even remember the name of the novel that I had taken with me on the airplane, but I do remember that they made fun of me for it in the locker room before our first game and that I never put another book in my gymbag. I think I took three trips that summer with some of those same girls. I wised up immediately and grabbed teen girl magazines to take on the flights with me instead of books. I vaguely remember my coach, who was a junior in college, tell me not to listen to the others because I was both smarter and more talented than they were, but it still didn't make me feel good inside. And the teen girl magazines were kind of addicting, I'll admit that much. I especially enjoyed the quizzes.

Fast forward to the next summer. I'm chosen out of all of these girls to go on a trip to Texas Tech and play with the local community college team on their summer tournament schedule. This time we drove from Arizona to Lubbock. I had since procured a portable CD player and headphones. That morning, as we were waiting to be picked up in the parking lot of the local mall, I had gone into Warehouse Music (the predecessor to fye stores) and purchased the new Sublime album. Yeah, maybe I'm dating myself with the whole CD player and Sublime thing, but hey... it's true. The big deal about Sublime was that I loved the music, but my parents didn't want me to have it. So, by taking this trip with the college girls, I thought I'd be sneaky to my 'rents and cool with the girls all in one swoop. Once the van arrived to pick us up, I quickly learned I was wrong. Not only did none of them like the album I had purchased, most of them had books with them to read. Wait, what? Didn't I just get made fun of for that last summer? Ugh. I felt like I was never going to figure out what forms of entertainment were acceptable for bball trips, and I had to listen to that Sublime album for about 12 hours straight as 14 very tall girls were all piled and crammed into a 15 passenger van. Not a fond memory. (but I still heart Sublime, go figure)

Fast forward again, now about 8 years after the college trip and books. My first business trip. I had worked my way up the ladder after starting out as the receptionist, and now started taking business trips with my boss. I knew from doing her expense reports for many years before I moved up the ladder that she bought at least one magazine at each airport that she went through. So, I thought I'd take the chance and I'd take my Real Simple with me in my pack, but I'd also take Victoria and the Rogue by Meg Cabot, a stand alone YA historical chicklit book (which is great btw). We've procured some seats on Southwest so that the middle is free and we don't have to have anyone in between us. I pull out my book to test the waters and get a polite, "What is that you're reading?" from my boss. I say, "Oh, Victoria and the Rogue by Meg Cabot." She replies, "Meg Cabot. Isn't that the woman behind those dreadful Princess Diaries novels?" To which I stammer, "Yeah, I think so, but I haven't read those," and she harumphs and buries her nose in an architectural magazine. I feel ashamed to be reading YA, but keep reading nonetheless.

After I start flying at least once a quarter, I start to get the hang of grabbing a quick book to take with me on the flight, one that I can finish on the plane or at least on the plane and the flight back if it's a short flight. I very seldom schedule the same flight as my boss again, trying to find a reason to not get on the same flight so that I can have some quiet time to read my book. Hey, if I have to fly on company time, and I can't bust out my laptop and work, then I'm going to do something that's pleasurable, not talk about all of the office gossip and our strategic plan for the next year.

About a year later, I finally realized that audiobooks were the way to go when you're on a plane. You can look zombie-ish and most people will just leave you alone. Until the one flight I had into LAX. I was meeting a colleague at LAX and we were going to share a cab to the office in West Hollywood. My flight was supposed to arrive about 20 minutes before hers, which would probably have worked out perfectly, but it didn't because her flight was two hours late. As I sat at LAX waiting for her to show, I was listening to Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer on my Creative Zen Micro, when some random lady sat down next to me. She motioned for me to take out my headphones, which I respectfully did. She said, "What are you listening to?" I said, "An audiobook called Eclipse." I started to put my headphones back in and she said, "Who writes it?" I reply, "Stephenie Meyer." She says, "Is it good?" I say, "I don't know, I'm not finished with it." At which time, I full on stop the player because it's clear that she wants to talk rather than let me be. At which time, I conclude that audiobooks are not the way to go in airports.

Fast forward one more time, to me now traveling for pleasure a couple of weeks ago. I get on a plane next to a lady who pulls out a Kindle. I think Hmmmm coool. I'll ask her about it. I do and she says she loves it. Then we're cleared for takeoff and we have to turn off all electronic devices, but I don't have to turn off my book. We have some turbulence in the flight at which time we're asked to turn off our electronics again, but I don't have to turn off my book. After being a little precocious and pointing out that I never have to turn off my book, the lady sneers at me. When we're about to land, the lady in front of us turns to ask us what we're reading (a question I seem to hear a lot when I travel!). I'm reading Carpe Corpus by Rachel Caine. I go on and on about how great it is and how everyone should read the Morganville Vampires series. The lady next to me with the Kindle just smirks and says something to the effect of "If you want to read childrens books, then fine." The lady in front of us and I exchange a glance and both roll our eyes. Finally, I have the guts to speak up for myself and defend my choice of literature on a plane. I say, "Judge all you want, but you're the one missing out." Then as we're getting our bags and getting off of the plane, the lady turns to me and says, "By the way, I do not approve of your blue hair." I reply (and rather quickly to my satisfaction) "I don't really care what you think," give her a snide smile and look the other way. But I'm really thinking, "So what if I'm 27 and like YA? Wanna fight? Huh? Bring it on!"

Now, why did I share all of these little anecdotes with you? Like I said before, to make a point. My point is not for you to be who you are no matter what others think ('cause I was good at that even back in HS, despite what you might read through in these anecdotes). No, my point is that what you read and what entertains you is not going to be the same as what entertains me. Obviously since you're reading Ella's blog, we have similar tastes, but we're not going to see eye to eye on every volume. But, I promise to respect your opinions if you'll respect mine and I promise not to judge a girl by her cover. The cover someone holds in their hands has nothing to do with who they are as a person. Don't forget that! Can you join Ella and I in making a promise not to judge a person by the cover that he or she holds in their hands? I know it will be hard, but I also know we can do it! Si se puede!

Shesten
**********

I take books with me wherever I go; I've learned not to pay too much attention to the "oh-you're-reading-a-'children's-book'-huh" kind of people. I don't only read YA, but that's the genre I'm most attracted to -I think I'm entitled to be, seeing that I'm 17-, and it really annoys me to find people that think they can tell every book you've read just by looking at what you're reading now. And many of those same people don't even read as much as we do. That's interesting.

I heart Ray Bradbury and Isabel Allende, just as much as I heart Stephenie Meyer.
So, like Shesten says,
don't judge someone by their cover! Who knows, you might end up loving the book that someone's holding.

xo,


ps: I was little, and I don't know how, but I remember MmmBop! And I liked it!
You can laugh at me now... :oP



(seriously? LMAO)

LAST DAY TO ENTER THE NIGHT GARDENER GIVEAWAY


Today's the last day to enter my first giveaway:
The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos.
Enter now!
Tomorrow I'll draw five winners!







Don't forget to enter my other 2 giveaways:


*Soul Survivor by Andrea and Bruce Leininger, with Ken Gross,











*and Off Season by Anne Rivers Siddons

both open until Thursday, July 9th.


Stay tuned for an awesome Guest Post by IHeartMonster!
Up next!

xo,

Jun 29, 2009

So, my Internet Connection is finally back on, after having been down all weekend.
My headache hasn't entirely abandoned me, so I'll make this short, and go back to bed.

I love sleeping and lying down in bed watching a film, or my favourite TV show, but when you HAVE to stay in bed, it's not that nice.
I'm sick, I've got the flu (the normal kind, being winter here in Arg) and it sucks!

But these lovely women have given me reason to write this post:

Diane @ The Book Resort awarded me with the Proximidade Award!

This blog invests and believes in the Proximity - nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this clever-written text into the body of their award.

Sheila @
One Persons Journey through a world of Books has granted me with the Humanity Award!

The Humane Award is in order to honor certain bloggers that I feel are kindhearted individuals. They regularly take part in my blog and always leave the sweetest comments. If it wasn’t for them, my site would just be an ordinary book review blog. Their blogs are also amazing and are tastefully done on a daily basis. I thank them and look forward to our growing friendships through the blog world.


I'm going to pass these on later, when I feel better.
********

I'm still (!) waiting for my books, TBS, Kathryn's Beach, The Alchemist, Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs!
The first two should get here soon, I've been waiting for them for over 2 and a half weeks.
The Pillowman must be MIA, cause Elise sent it over a month and a half ago and it still didn't get here.
But I think this is teaching me how to be patient, don't you think?

*******

I've began writing a new Fan Fiction,
Vampire Academy. It's got nothing to do with the Book Series, I didn't even know about them until last month. It is based on a Role Play I used to be a part of in The Twilight Saga. The vamps from my VA are way different than the ones from the series, these are like the ones in Twilight.
You can read the First Chapter here. I'll be posting a new chapter every Thursday or Friday.

********

You have until TOMORROW to enter my Giveaway for The Night Gardener! Make sure you enter! I've got five copies to five winners!
(open to US and Canada only, sorry!)

And be sure to check out my other giveaways, and my Giveaway List on my Left Sidebar, with International Giveaways!

**********

You haven't read my short story The Mattress? Then go read it and leave a thought!

*********

Check back later for today's Musing Mondays

xo,

Jun 25, 2009

"Nothing But Ghosts" Book Drive

Amy @ My Friend Amy is hosting a Book Drive to promote Beth Kephart's new book "Nothing But Ghosts".

Here are the details of the Book Drive:

When: June 23-June 30 at 9 PM EST.
Where: Well, here, of course!
What: The book drive is an intentional effort to expand the readership of Nothing But Ghosts by driving sales. It is the book buying fun part of a book party!
Why: Because I believe Beth is a very gifted author who deserves a wider audience. Also, first week sales for a book are always important. Lastly, I'd love to have a measurable example of how book blogs can drive sales for a book.
The Goal: 200 books sold.
from http://www.myfriendamysblog.com/

Go over to Amy's blog and learn more about it! Help her and Lenore do an amazing thing for a cool author! There will be giveaways!

I think that what they're doing is awesome! A great way to get people into a new book! I hopr you girls reach your goal, and pass it too!

xoxo,


Off Season Giveaway

Courtesy of the Hachette Book Group, open to residents of U.S. and Canada only please and no P.O. boxes, ends Thursday, July 9th.

Book Information:

Acclaimed novelist Anne Rivers Siddons's new novel is a stunning tale of love and loss.

For as long as she can remember, they were Cam and Lilly--happily married, totally in love with each other, parents of a beautiful family, and partners in life. Then, after decades of marriage, it ended as every great love story does...in loss. After Cam's death, Lilly takes a lone road trip to her and Cam's favorite spot on the remote coast of Maine, the place where they fell in love over and over again, where their ghosts still dance. There, she looks hard to her past--to a first love that ended in tragedy; to falling in love with Cam; to a marriage filled with exuberance, sheer life, and safety-- to try to figure out her future. It is a journey begun with tender memories and culminating in a revelation that will make Lilly re-evaluate everything she thought was true about her husband and her marriage.
********

I have 5 copies to give away to five lucky people!
All you have to do to win this is
leave a comment with your e-mail address in it. If you don't leave your e-mail address, you will not be entered in this giveaway.

Extra entries are as follows:

+2 Existing Followers/Subscribers (tell me!).
+1 New Followers/Subscribers (tell me!).
+3 Link to this giveaway (blog post/sidebar, and leave link for me).
+1 Tweet this contest (make sure you put @EllaPress in the tweet somewhere, and tell me in your comment).
+1 New or Existing Twitter followers (tell me and leave your username in the comment).
+5 if you tell me about a book you liked/know of that featured love that ended in tragedy.

I'll ramdomly select a winner on July 9th, and blog the result on the 10th.
Good luck!


Jun 24, 2009

Waiting on Wednesday #1



This is the first time I'm doing a
WoW, and it's because I found some cool books to write a post about.
WoW is sponsored by Breaking The Spine.

Blue Moon by Alison Noël.
Release Date: July 7th, 2009

Synopses from Powell's Books:

Eager to learn everything she can about her new abilities as an Immortal, Ever turns to her beloved Damen to show her the way. But just as her powers are increasing, Damens are waning.

In an attempt to save him, Ever travels to the magical dimension of Summerland, where she learns the secrets of Damens tortured past; a past which he has always kept hidden from her. But in her quest to cure Damen, Ever discovers an ancient text that details the workings of time. Now Ever must chose between turning back the past and saving her family from the accident that claimed their livesor staying in the present and saving Damen, who grows sicker every day...

Pre-order it:
*At Powell's Books
*At Amazon

After by Amy Efaw
Release Date: August 11, 2009

Summary: An infant left in the trash to die. A teenage mother who never knew she was pregnant . . .Before That Morning, these were the words most often used to describe straight-A student and star soccer player Devon Davenport: responsible, hardworking, mature. But all that changes when the police find Devon home sick from school as they investigate the case of an abandoned baby. Soon the connection is made—Devon has just given birth; the baby in the trash is hers. After That Morning, there’s only one way to define Devon: attempted murderer. And yet gifted author Amy Efaw does the impossible— she turns Devon into an empathetic character, a girl who was in such deep denial that she refused to believe she was pregnant. Through airtight writing and fast-paced, gripping storytelling, Ms. Efaw takes the reader on Devon’s unforgettable journey toward clarity, acceptance, and redemption.

Pre-order it:
*At Amazon

These two books' summaries sound awesome, don't you think?
I can't wait to read them! Remember, being in Argentina makes it a bit difficult for me to buy these new books. I have to wait till they get here :o(
But they are worth the wait!

xoxo,

Jun 23, 2009

Twilight Tuesday Inspiration Challenge #3 (TTIC36)

This Tuesday's Challenge is: What Says Twilight To You?

Whenever I think of Twilight
LOVE is the first thing that comes to my mind <3
****

These are some of the other pics I took:
-Here you can see the heart's colours (Edward's heart): blue and silver. I thought about a crystal heart, and went from there. I think these colours evoke him and what he feels, he's got a frozen heart- cold and blue- but now that Bella's here, it's shining, hence silver.

Thanks to Twilight Tuesday for these cool Challenges!
Leave a thought!

Edit: looking at the rest of the players' projects, I discovered that the quote I used is rather popular... I'll have to go with another one next time!
xo,

New Moon Book's New Cover and Fan Reaction to the Trailer!

New book Cover!
Jacob, get your hands off of her!!!
-though I like this photo better than the official poster, at least in this one "Bella" actually looks
sad?
well kinda...-
Is that Edward on the back?
Can't see him properly... Too much eyeliner if it is him.
Is Alice experimenting with you Eddie? I'll tell her to back off, don't worry.

PLEASE! CHECK THIS OUT!!!
AND WATCH THE GUY AT THE ENDING!!! ROTFLMAO!!!
SERIOUSLY, KUDOS TO HIM! I LOVE YOU MAN! (hahahah)





My Short "The Mattress" featured on IHM.com and SoGoPro.com!

You haven't read my story "The Mattress"? Then, what are you waiting for?
You can read it here, on my blog (click on the title above), or at:

*SoGoPro.com! They chose my story! YAY!
The SGP team chooses a story every once in a while to post on their website. This time, it was my story, next time it could be yours!
D'you have stories you'd like to share? Send them to: SoGoProScratchPad@gmail.com
You don't know what SGP is?
Hilarie Burton, Nick Gray and Kelly Tenney have formed an amazing team, and created Southern Gothic Productions, a film company set in Wilmington, NC.
Us fans contribute in any way we can, as little as it may seem, to the SGP Team it means a great deal. We form the SGP Street Team. Go to their website to find out more.

*IHeartMonster.com

My dear friend Shesten, over at IHeartMonster.com has posted my story under her weekly "Minimal Investment"!
You haven't checked out her site yet? Shame on you! Click on the link above to go, NOW!

LOL

Jun 22, 2009

Kate Voegele's New Video : 99 Times!


Kate Voegele : Now Playing : 99 Times

Check this out! Great new music video by the wonderful Kate Voegele!

Shared via AddThis

Love ya, Kate!
xoxo,

Monday Games


Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about library borrowing…

Do you restrict yourself on how many books you take out from the library at a time? Do you borrow books if you already have some out? Do you always reborrow books you don’t get to?

I don't really go to the library. I would if they had more recent books, but the ones they have in my local library are old and don't call out to me.
They do have some new books, but new means last-year-books.
I haven't gone there in a while, perhaps I should go one more time, and see what new book they have.

When I do take books out, I usually borrow one or two. I read in the evenings, or if I've got nothing else to do, in the afternoons. I like reading in bed, especially when I'm too awake, and I know reading will make me fall asleep.
But if I'm way too hooked on the book, I'll read it any chance I can get.

-Musing Monday is hosted by Rebecca at Just One More Page-

What are you reading on Mondays? is hosted by J. Kaye Book Blog to discuss your reading week ~ the books you've read and those you plan on reading in the coming week.

This week I'm reading Someone Like You by Sarah Dressen, I'm loving this book and can't wait to read the end of it, but it's an e-book and my head is not functioning very well today, so I'm technically not reading this.

Also, I'm reading Betrayed by PC and Kristin Cast, I love Marked, and I'm on the 4th chapter of this book, but Sarah's SLY has me hooked!

And I'm listening to the Audiobook of The Kite Runner. I've heard this is an awesome book, and since I found this audiobook through legal channels, I thought I should give it a try. This is the 1st Audiobook I've heard!

xo,


Jun 21, 2009

Happy Father's Day!

To all of you Fathers out there, I wish you a HAPPY DAY!
May you spend it with your loved ones!
This is my gift to you:
xoxo,


Jun 20, 2009

Soul Survivor Giveaway!

I just found a way to express my happiness with y'all!
I'm doing a Giveaway!
Courtesy of the Hachette Book Group, open to residents of
U.S. and Canada only please and no P.O. boxes, ends Thursday, July 9th.

Soul Survivor by Andrea and Bruce Leininger, with Ken Gross.

Book Information:
This is the story of James Leininger, who-- a little more than two weeks after his second birthday-- began having blood-curdling nightmares that just would not stop. When James began screaming out recurring phrases like, "Plane on fire! Little man can't get out!" the Leiningers finally admitted that they truly had to take notice.

When details of planes and war tragedies no two-year-old boy could know continued-- even in stark daylight-- Bruce and Andrea Leininger began to realize that this was an incredible situation. SOUL SURVIVOR is the story of how the Leiningers pieced together what their son was communicating and eventually discovered that he was reliving the past life of World War II fighter pilot James Huston. As Bruce Leininger struggled to understand what was happening to his son, he also uncovered details of James Huston's life-- and death-- as a pilot that will fascinate military buffs everywhere.

In SOUL SURVIVOR, readers are taken for a gripping ride as the Leiningers' belief system is shaken to the core, and both of these families come to know a little boy who, against all odds and even in the face of true skeptics, harbors the soul of this man who died long ago.

This is a story about reincarnation, something which I truly believe in.

And I'm giving it away to five lucky people!
All you have to do to win this is
leave a comment with your e-mail address in it. If you don't leave your e-mail address, you will not be entered in this giveaway.

Extra entries are as follows:

+2 Existing Followers/Subscribers (tell me!).
+1 New Followers/Subscribers (tell me!).
+3 Link to this giveaway (blog post/sidebar, and leave link for me).
+1 Tweet this contest (make sure you put @EllaPress in the tweet somewhere, and tell me in your comment).
+1 New or Existing Twitter followers (tell me and leave your username in the comment).

I'll ramdomly select a winner on July 9th, and blog the result on the 10th.
Good luck!

-organize the giveaway, done! (Bloggiesta goal achieved!)-

xo,

Bloggiesta Updates -Saturday-

I just had the coolest of ideas!!!
Wanna know what it is?

I just created my very own Monkey Award!
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you:
The Funny Blog Award!

Award's Description:
The Funny Blog Award is to be given to a Blog
whose Posts and/or Features make you smile :o)
Do you have a Blog whose
funny posts make you laugh out loud?
Then spread the monkey-love
and give this Award to 5 Funny Bloggers!

I'm not giving this award to anyone right now,
I'm going to leave it here for you to grab and and spread the monkey-love!

MIDNIGHT EDIT: Check out the cool button I made for my Reviews!
(look for it on the left column)
So cute!

I finished my Reading Challenges!

YAY for me!
OK, not so much. I had set myself to read four books for the Spring Thing Challenge, and I ended up reading three. But, no harm done... so, on to my read books!

* El Pequeño Vampiro y el Paciente Misterioso, by Angela Sommer-Bodenburg.

Not one of the best Children's Books I've read. Read my review here.

-This book was in my list for:
* the Spring Thing
*and Read your Name Challenges (ELLA: A from Angela -author).




* Las Crónicas de Narnia: La Travesía del Viajero del Alba, by C. S. Lewis.

I loved this book! Here's my review.

This book was on my list for the following challenges:
*Spring Reading Thing,
*Read Your Name Challenge (E
LLA: L from Las Crónicas...)
*and Once Upon a Time III Challenge.




* Let's All Kill Constance, by Ray Bradbury.

Another book I liked, not loved, just liked. Read my review here.

This book was on my list for the following challenges:
*Spring Reading Thing,
*Read Your Name Challenge (E
LLA: L from Let's...).



I'm still reading
Eva Luna (ELLA : E for Eva). The reading for that book is going somewhat slow. I'm more into Sarah Dressen and the Cast girls atm.

- write a post for my finished reading challenges, done! (Bloggiesta Update)-

xoxo,

Jun 19, 2009

Bloggiesta Updates

*OK, so, earlier I had this dilemma: to go to WordPress or not to go to WordPress...
Right now I'm creating a WP blog, and I'll work on it this weekend, to try to see which blog -this one or the WP one- I'm keeping.
I'll see.

*I've contacted a blogger friend of mine, and asked her to be a guest blogger for my blog. To which she said yes!
Goal achieved!

Bloggiesta To Do List

Things I want to achieve by the end of the Bloggiesta:

1) Separate my posts into:
*Book Reviews:
-Children's Books
-YA Books
-Others
-Interviews,

*My Writings,

*Reading Challenges,

*Things that make me say YAY,


*Sunday Edition,


*From Me, To You,
-TTIC,
-SoGoPro,
-Boludeces,
-Blog Events,
-Photos;

2) Organize my Authors's Websites links;

3) Write a blog post about my finished Reading Challenges;

4) Separate my Blogroll into:
-Book Blogs, -Cool Blogs;

5) Continue writing my About Me post;

6) Try to record an Audiobook for Betrayed, since I haven't been able to find one anywhere -for free I mean, and through legal channels.
I search the entire Internet and wasn't able to find one, neither for Marked nor Betrayed. Meg Cabot books' don't have free downloadable audiobooks, so what I'm thinking is:
-I record the first chapter of Betrayed, and then post it here. If you think if ok, or if sth needs to be changed, you'll tell me, and I'll do it.
Librivox has a lot of books, but none of which I was looking for.
I found a lot of Audiobooks for the Classics, so why can't these books have audiobooks as well?


That's it for now, I'll keep on adding them as they come to my mind.

EDIT: I found this article on why you shouldn't have your blog on a Blogger platform.
(actually, why
bussiness blogs shouldn't, but it's applies here too). I'm seriously considering moving my blog on to WordPress.
My dad has his radio show site (http://aldemedianoche.com.ar/) on a WP platform, and he warned me that sometimes Blogger could not be trusted.
So, I would like your opinion on this.
What d'you think I should do?
I might change to WP anyway, but feedback on this matter would be great!

Another thing that I can't fix is my banner. Since I changed my template to a 3-column one, Blogger won't let me upload the cool banner I made (!) (another con to Blogger). It does upload but you can't see it!
What can I do about this?

xo,

Jun 18, 2009

My First Award!

Today I received my very own first award!
Diane from The Book Resort awarded me with the
"Let's Be Friends" Award, and I couldn't be happier! Thanks Diane!

Blogs that receive the Let’s Be Friends Award are exceedingly charming. These kind 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 attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers.

I'm passing this award on to: (random order)

*Shesten from IHeartMonster
*Lauren from Lauren's Bite
*Nadine from First Draft
*Senfaye from A Maze Of Books
*Susanne from Chick With Books
*
Kristi from The Story Siren
*Jo from Ink and Paper
*
Wdebo from The Electrical Book Café... and More

Congrats and thank you for being such cool bloggers!
xo,

Jun 17, 2009

Today's Book: The Little Vampire and The Mystery Patient by Angela Sommer-Bodenburg

The Little Vampire (original title: Der kleine Vampir) is a children's fantasy series by German author Angela Sommer-Bodenburg that follows the adventures of young Anton Bohnsack and the child vampire Rüdiger von Schlotterstein (Tony and Rudolph in the English Version).

In this particular book (there are 19 in total) Anton goes to the psychologist, Mr. Schwartenfeger, who tells him he has a pacient that could be a real vampire. Anton proves that no member of the Schlotterstein family is such patient, but it's a new character (Igno Rant), who indeed is pale and leaves a rather strong moldy scent around him.

My Opinion: I didn't like it very much. It was OK, but it left out too many things, left me with a lot of questions. And I thought it ended at the last page, but apparently, you have to read the entire collection to know everything about it, the ending was a bit off. No one told me this.

Monkeyshines:
*How long did it take Ella to read the book?
-Five days. Not in hours, though. Maybe, 20 some hs. In the course of 5 days. :P

*Did she like or relate to any of the characters?
No, the characters are too young, and she didn't relate to any one of them.

*What was her favourite line/part of the book?
There wasn't one.

*Was this a good read for Ella?
It was OK. She liked it, but the rather abrupt ending threw her off. Maybe she should read the next installment to find out what happens next...

Monkey Rating: 3 Monkeys.

*Authors' Website?
http://www.angelasommer-bodenburg.com/

*Statistics:
  • Hardcover: 128 pages
  • Publisher: Hodder Wayland (April 1992)
  • ISBN-10: 0750011858
  • ISBN-13: 978-0750011853
xo,

Jun 16, 2009

Tuesday Book Update

I got this idea from Teen Tuesday...

Books I've finished reading:

*The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of The Dawn Treader ---> Loved it! Read my review here.
*Marked by PC & Kristin Cast---> Loved it too! Read my thoughts here.
*The View From A One-Man World, The Way I See It by J.S. Buckingham ---> Liked it, not loved it ;) Here's my review, and it's got a giveaway! Enter now!

Books I'm Reading:

*Betrayed by PC & Kristin Cast ---> I'm really liking it, this is just my type of book! Review will be up soon!
*Someone Like You by Sarah Dressen ---> I'm too busy reading Betrayed, and I've left this book for later! But the first pages were good, I'll tell you what I thought about it, when I'm done with it!

*Books I'll be Reading:

*The Pillowman by Martin MacDonough ---> When it gets here! I've been waiting for this one for over a month! Mail can be so unpredictable!
*Kathryn's Beach by Nadine Laman ---> Should get here soon, when it does I'll get right on it, and write a review, and possibly an interview!
*Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler ---> I have said this before, but... I won this book in a Giveaway (my 1st win ever!) and I'm expecting it to get here in a week or two.
*A Poetry Book from Mariana, from BookCrossing --->My 1st BC Book!
*The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, from a BCer in Germany!
*The Golden Apples of the Sun by Ray Bradbury ---> Love him! (his writing, that is!) Can't wait to read it!
*The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong ---> I've read some really good review on it, so I obviously have to read it!

I'll be busy this month, and next!
What are you reading, going to read?
xo,

Jun 15, 2009

Join the Bloggiesta!

(click on the pic to go to MBB)

Natasha from Maw Books Blog is hosting the Bloggiesta this weekend, a party that, like she puts it, "will focus on blog content, improving/cleaning up your blog or working on your social network profiles. I’m pretty open on what you can do during the bloggiesta but reading actually won’t count! I know, I know. The point is to catch up instead of adding another book to the “to be reviewed” pile.

Actual blog content is what I’m really aiming for with some technical/housekeeping bloggy stuff mixed in for good measure."

Head over to her blog and join the Bloggiesta!

xoxo,


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