Just In Time... for Halloween

Happy Halloween Weekend everyone! I hope you have a great time enjoying the festivities. Since it is the Halloween weekend, I thought I'd post an appropriately themed comic. Have fun!


*Taken from Creators comic strip (C) 2010 Creators Syndicate, Inc.*

Eve

Eve is over and I don't know whether I am relieved or, well, not relieved. It was a definite "quick read" but the first half was almost too "quick" for me. I wish Ms. Carey had taken her time in building the plot instead of jumping head first into it. I would of rather her spread the first two chapters out into four chapters, and really let the plot thicken. But hey, she's the published author here.
Eve takes place sixteen years after a deadly virus has taken most of the human population. The name sake of the book is an eighteen year old girl- Eve, who was taken as as a child, from her dying mother, and raised at a school for girls. On the night before her graduation she discovers the truth behind the school and what her promised future actually is, which was nothing like she could have ever dreamed (or feared). She flees into the wild and after meeting up with an old friend from the past, the two set off west to Califia, the dreamlike land of a secure present and a safe future. The two must discover a way to survive in a world they never really knew. Along the way, they will encounter danger, betrayal, friendship and, for Eve, ultimately- love.

Excerpt from Eve: "Arden?" I said again, softer this time. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her cheeks pink and contorted. She turned over, her chest heaving. I stood, reaching out my hand, but she didn't move. Instead her body curled into a tight ball, tensing with great effort. She hacked loudly, her coughs splitting the air. I dropped to the floor. My hand rested on her back as she lurched forwards, trying to free her lungs. When she pulled away we both looked down. Her palms were covered with blood.

Title: Eve
Author: Anna Carey
Purchase Eve here

This song is a little old... but oh so addicting!
Cee Lo Green "Forget You"

Katy Perry "E.T."

Here is the official music video, featuring Kanye West:


and here is the fan-made, Gossip Girl version. You choose!

Shiver: the Movie: Trailer

I recently read "Shiver" by Michael Prescott, and I just came upon the trailer for the movie version of "Shiver"- due out later this year. Here it is: Enjoy!

Just In Time... for The Weekend

Hope you have a great weekend!

*Comic strip taken from the "Dilbert" comics by. Scott Adams, (C) 1989 United Feature Syndicate, Inc.*

I just can't get enough of this catchy tune! Footloose anyone?
Martin Solveig & Dragonette "Hello"

Paying the Bills & Staying True to Yourself

I just had a wonderful chat with my sister over the phone. She lives in South Korea, so we haven't seen each other in over a year and I miss her terribly. I've been conflicted with decisions about my future lately. School and careers... ugh. Everyone who's older than me keeps telling me to stay with nursing, and I’m not sure whether they’re right or not. It was really nice getting to talk out my frustrations with her. Although we're 12 hours and thousands of miles apart, I felt as if she was sitting here with me, venting and laughing, like we did when we were younger. Cheesy, I know, but boy was it nice to have a lending ear. The nice thing about having a sister is the "knowing me inside and out" without explanations, like the ones you have to give with friends. Friends are great but sisters are even better. At least, this one is. So here it is, what the conversation was about and what her advice was.
I love to read, I mean REALLY love to read. I always have and always will. Authors always talk about how long and hard the road to getting a book published can be and if it wasn't for that one editor or publisher, then that book wouldn't have made it.
Wuthering Heights is my favorite book ever written and to think if whoever received that manuscript didn't give it their time, then it wouldn't have been apart of my life. I'm not an author, but I still want to have a small part of that affect on someone. So naturally, I thought- wouldn't it be great to be an editor or publisher? I would still have a hand in the creation of books, behind the scenes- of course, but still- I would have a chance to help someone affect someone else's life. Sounds great, right? Well, at least, I think so. The thought of taking home five or six manuscripts on the weekends, and spending hours reading through them, giving that author and that story a chance was intriguing. That to me, was it. The answer to what I wanted to do... until life came into the equation.
"Go into teaching or nursing," everyone says. "It pays the bills..." "With nursing you'll always have a job..." "You'll have retirement and health insurance..." But should I live my life by what pays the bills? That is the question I've been facing.
Then, recently I met an author (yes, I blogged about it, already) and when she asked me what I was going to school for, I told her I was going into nursing, or possibly, I would like to be an editor or publisher. Her response, "Stay with nursing, it pays the bills." My reaction- I was disappointed. I guess I had the hopes that she would tell me to follow my heart, to do what I already know I love and if that is the book business (even if you may not always be making the big bucks) then do it. But- she didn't.
So, what do I do? That is the question I asked my sister tonight. And this is what she told me- "Do what you love and you will be successful in life. Trust me, if you do, then not only will you be successful... you'll be able to pay the bills."
I love you, sis!

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In My Mailbox is a weekly feature hosted by The Story Siren, where book bloggers share what books they bought or borrowed in the past week.

This past week, I bought one book from the "banned book" selection, "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood, and one new release, "Eve" by Anna Carey.
I'm going on a quick vay-cay this week, so I had to have something good for the ride down. Now comes the fun part, reading them!

Just In Time... for The Weekend

Have a GREAT weekend everyone!


*Comic strip taken from the "Dilbert" comics by. Scott Adams, (C) 1989 United Feature Syndicate, Inc.*

Thirteen Reasons Why

I just finished Thirteen Reasons Why. All I can say is "Wow." It was so moving, so surprising. Hannah's story changed something in me, something permanent. I wish I could go back and say those words, the secret- the absolute dire- words that others needed to hear. But, I can't and that's what's so sad.

One day, Hannah Baker, normal teenage- high school- girl, doesn't show up for school. She's just another no-show, until the words get out that she killed herself, one day, for "no reason" she takes a handful of pills and she's gone. Then two weeks later, Clay Jensen, receives a box of tapes on his front door. Compelled to listen, because really... who listens to tapes anymore?, let alone packages them up and sends them around to random people?, he pops in the first of seven tapes and hears the voice of Hannah Baker crackle into the headset. She's going to tell the listeners why she killed herself and surprise, if you received them, then you're one of the reasons why, one of thirteen reasons why. The rules- you must listen to each tape and pass them along to the next person in line- or a second set will be released and then everyone will hear what it was exactly that you did to help Hannah seal off her life. And so the story begins...

Excerpt from "Thirteen Reasons Why" : In the back of our class, Mrs. Bradley also had a paper bag. It hung with the rest of ours on the spinning bookrack. We could use it - and she encouraged it- for notes about her teaching. Critical or otherwise. She also wanted us to recommend topics for future discussions. So I did just that. I wrote a note to Mrs. Bradley that read: "Suicide. It's something I've been thinking about. Not too seriously, but I have been thinking about it." That's the note. Word for word. And I know it's word for word because I wrote it dozens of times before delivering it. I'd write it, throw it away, write it, crumple it up, throw it away. But why was I writing it to begin with? I asked myself that question every time I printed the words onto a new sheet of paper. Why was I writing this note? It was a lie. I hadn't been thinking about it. Not really. Not in detail. The thought would come into my head and I'd push it away. But I pushed it away a lot.

Are you, or someone you know, considering suicide? Then know that there is help, visit The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline's website: www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org or call 1-800-273-TALK.

Title: Thirteen Reasons Why
Author: Jay Asher
Purchase Thirteen Reasons Why here

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In My Mailbox is a weekly feature hosted by The Story Siren, where book bloggers share what books they bought or borrowed in the past week.
Welcome to my first "In My Mailbox." This week I only bought one book. I have about thirty unread books on my shelf right now, so this week- I stuck with just the one.

You probably recognize this author, seeing as I have read and previewed two of his books already. I can't help but to buy his books every time a new re-issue comes out. This one is "Blind Pursuit," by Michael Prescott.

Shiver

I'm finally finished with "Shiver" by Michael Prescott. Overall, it was good but I wouldn't read it again. Every now and then, I felt like it was a waste of time, but that feeling was far-and-few between. About 3/4 of the way through, it gets a little repetitive. Shiver is about a serial-killer called the Gryphon, who hunts women on the west side of Los Angeles. He strikes at random, when they're alone and most vulnerable and leaves them dead, headless and always clutching a clay Gryphon statue. Wendy Alden was just another victim till her "death"-gone-wrong, left her a survivor. The Gryphon is rendered furious and left feeling incompetent. A feeling- new to him. He is determined to end her existence and strikes again and again. Now, Wendy must find a way to survive him and to once and for all bring an end to the mythical- and deadly- "Gryphon."

Title: Shiver
Author: Michael Prescott
Purchase Shiver here

Happy 1st day of October!
Love this song! (Thanks Lydia)
Adele "Someone Like You"