Win Clockwork Angel!

If you visit this link it will take you to an awesome contest hosted at The Bodacious Pen. You want to check it out... TBP is giving away an ARC of Clockwork Angel (eeep!) and also a variety of other swag and other books. You definitely don't wanna miss it!

Jane

Win The Dark Divine at Squeaky Books!

Enna Isilee over at Squeaky Books is having a contest giving away Bree Despain's The Dark Divine! Head on over to Ennalee's blog (Click Here) to find out how to win. In the meantime, check out this awesome trailer for the book!

Originally from: http://www.squeakybooks.com/2010/07/bree-despain-giveaway.html#ixzz0tfGEFRZi

In My Mailbox: Week 2

Information about In My Mailbox can be found here on The Story Siren's blog!
Once again, no literal mailbox books. However, I did buy three books. =]

1. Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols

Why?
Well, I already own a copy of this book. Why might I need another one? First of all, it was a deal too good to pass up. Also, I am thinking of hosting something that starts with a "c" and ends with a "t". Sounds fun, huh?



2. College Girl by Patricia Weitz

Why?
I was on my way to my college orientation... anything having to do with college just made me excited. And once again, the deal was too good to pass up.






3. How it Ends by Laura Wiess

Why?
I LOVED her first two books, and I've wanted to read this for the longest time. Now I finally have the chance!





I also received a book from college orientation.

4. How Starbucks Saved My Life by Michael Gates Gill

Why?
We're supposed to read, and discuss at the beginning of the school year. Sounds good to me. :)





Jane

Wanna Win a Box of ARCs?

I sure do. =]

All you have to do is visit WORD for Teens, and you'll see how you can enter. I gotta say, the loot is awesome.

Go on, you know you want to!

Jane

back again. :)

I just got back from yet another mini-vacation. This time I went to college orientation, and I stayed at my aunt and uncle's house. They had a party this past weekend... a late 4th of July party. It was great fun.

Now that I'm back, I'm going to try and catch up with some fun things. Expect from me the following:

1. My second IMM post.
2. An author interview.
3. A WoW post.
andddd
4. Maybe a review. Just maybe.

Jane

Waiting on Wednesday: 9/7/10

Waiting on Wednesday originated here. =]

My Pick:

Aces Up
by Lauren Barnholdt
Release Date: August 10, 2010

Summary:

Seventeen-year-old high school senior Shannon Card needs money. And lots of it. She's been admitted to Wellesley, but her dad just lost his job, and somehow she has to come up with a year of tuition herself. But Shannon's dream of making big bucks waitressing at the local casino, the Collosio, disappears faster than a gambler's lucky streak. Her boss is a tyrant, her coworker is nuts, and her chances of balancing a tray full of drinks while wearing high-heeled shoes are slim to none. Worse, time is running out, and Shannon hasn't made even half the money she'd hoped.

When Shannon receives a mysterious invitation to join Aces Up, a secret network of highly talented college poker players, at first she thinks No way. She has enough to worry about: keeping her job, winning the coveted math scholarship at school, and tutoring her secret crush, Max. But when Shannon musters up the nerve to kiss Max and he doesn't react at all, the allure of Aces Up and its sexy eighteen-year-old leader, Cole, is suddenly too powerful to ignore.

Soon Shannon's caught up in a web of lies and deceit that makes worrying about tuition money or a high school crush seem like kid stuff. Still, when the money's this good, is the fear of getting caught reason enough to fold?

This fun, sexy, recession-proof story is a bubbly summer read with surprising depth—great for fans of Sarah Mlynowski.

Why?
1. I've heard good things about the author's other books.
2. I love playing cards.
3. I love the cover.
4. The summary reminds me of one of my favorite movies, 21, which happens to be based on a true story and book: Bringing Down the House.

Basically: it sounds wonderful to me.
PS. I think it's funny that her name is Shannon Card. Hehe.

Jane

In My Mailbox: Week 1

Information about In My Mailbox can be found here on The Story Siren's blog!

Sadly, nothing in my mailbox, but I did buy two books this week!

1. Charlie St. Cloud (AKA The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud) by Ben Sherwood

Why?
I saw the movie trailer, and it looks like an amazing movie. I saw that it was originally a book, and I thought I'd challenge myself to read the book before seeing the movie.



2. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Why?
I am a very dedicated reader of Entertainment Weekly, and the recent raves about this book have been overwhelming me. It is supposed to be absolutely amazing. I wanted to see what it was all about.

Neither of these are YA, which is my preferred genre, but I still like to try new things out every once in awhile. Anyone have any thoughts on these books?

Interview with Elizabeth Scott

Elizabeth Scott is a fantastic author, one of my absolute favorites, and that is why I chose her to be the first person I interviewed on my new blog. It took just a bit of courage to email her (what if she said no?!) but I'm glad I did.

A little background for anyone who may be interested, she has written eight books, dealing with some fluffy fun stuff like teen love, and going as dark and depressing as child abduction and captivity.

Her newest book, Grace, will be released on September 16th.

Now, onto the interview!


On Other Authors:

1. If you could compare your writing to any other author’s, who would you compare it to and why?

I think everyone's writing is unique and that's what makes reading books so much fun!

2. Who are some authors that you look up to or admire?

Too many to list!

3. If you could talk to any author, living or dead, who would it be and what would be one question that you ask him or her?

I have no idea! I have so many books I've read and loved that I could never pick one author to ask a question. I'd want to talk to all of them :-)

On your books/characters:

4. If you could have lunch with any of your characters, which would it be and why?

Not a single one. I can't read my own writing, so I definitely don't want to go to lunch with any of my characters!

5. Are any of your characters’ more funny/embarrassing experiences related to things that have happened in your own life?

Nope. I like making stuff up--for me, it's the best part about writing--you get paid to tell stories! Also, I'm very boring. (You've seen my answers!!)

6. If you could choose any one of your books to be required reading for a high school class, which would it be and why?

I have no idea. What do you--yep, you, reading this--think it should be?

On writing:

7. Is there a type of book that you’ve always wanted to write, but never had the guts to do?

Nope. I write what I want to write. If you don't believe in your own writing, then how in the world are your readers going to? Being afraid of the stories in your own head strikes me as strange. They're there for a reason--let them out!

8. What is your favorite part about being an established writer?

I don't know how established I am, but my favorite part of writing, other than the writing, is hearing from readers. I LOVE that!

9. Has writing always been your dream profession? (If yes, how was that dream realized? If no, what was your previous dream and why hasn’t it been fulfilled?)

No, it hasn't--I didn't start writing until I was 27 and bored out of my mind during a meeting at work. Before then, I went out of my way to avoid anything that had "creative writing" in it because I just didn't think I was creative. Writing, for me, was something I fell into--and I'm so glad I did!

My real dream job is to be paid to read books. If anyone out there has a lot of money for such a thing, get in touch with me! ;-)

---
Many thanks to Elizabeth Scott for agreeing to this interview! For more information on her or or her books, please visit the following links!

Elizabeth Scott's Website
Bloom (2007) / Perfect You (2008) / Stealing Heaven (2008) / Living Dead Girl (2008) / Something, Maybe (2009) / Love You Hate You Miss You (2009) / The Unwritten Rule (2010) / Grace (September 2010)

An Abundance of Katherines

I'd like to begin this review by saying that John Green is a fabulous author, and if you haven't read anything by him, then you need to pick up any one of his books, pronto.

Now, onto the review. An Abundance of Katherines did not disappoint. This is what I was expecting: an amazing, funny, and insightful book. What did I get? An amazing, funny, and insightful book.

I loved the characters. Colin was such a geek, and I love that about him. His friend Hassan was hilarious, and they were both wonderfully realistic.

I loved the humor, and also the footnotes were such an awesome way to share extra tidbits of insight. Books with footnotes have something special. (See: The Boyfriend List; Bad Kitty)

The insight was also incredible. It didn't sound at all preachy, like some books are. It was just a revelation made by a guy who wants to figure his life out. I really loved how things turned out for Colin!

There is only one bit of criticism, and that is that the book was predictable. However, I enjoyed it enough and was intrigued enough by the journey, that the predictable ending didn't bother me too much.

Overall, it was wonderful! Definitely give it a shot!

Movie Review: Eclipse

On Tuesday night I was one of the eager fans waiting three hours early to see Eclipse at 12:01.

The wait was not pleasant. Me + lack of sleep + giggly girls in movie theater = absolute crankiness. However, this post is not about that. This post will be about the movie.

First of all, I'd like to say that I am not a movie critic. I would just like to share my thoughts on a movie that has been highly anticipated by many fans of the Twilight series.

Overall, I really enjoyed the movie. It's been interesting to watch the actors develop and change from Twilight to Eclipse. I'd say, to an uneducated eye like mine the actors seem to be growing into their roles and becoming better actors in general. This makes Eclipse a much more pleasant movie to watch than Twilight.

I had a slight problem when it came to the fighting scene. When the vampires were attacked, it made a sound like glass breaking. That bothered me.

However, it was probably the only thing that bothered me about the movie. I really enjoyed it, and I am eagerly awaiting Breaking Dawn (which was my least favorite book, but I'll probably enjoy the movie.) Eclipse, the movie, is a good adaptation of an amazing book, and I think it'll delight Twilight Saga fans all over.

Now that that's over, I will go back to book reviews. After all, I'm a bit better at those!

Jane