Abducted by Blog Hop April 1st.

It is time for the Blog Hop hosted by CRAZY FOR BOOKS

This week the question is:

"Since today is April Fool's Day in the USA,
what is the best prank you have ever played on someone
OR that someone has played on you?"

That is really hard to answer because I'm horrible at playing pranks. The best I can say is that I'm really sarcastic so sometimes I'll say something as a joke and let people believe me for a little while before I tell them I'm kidding. Also, I've been a part of other pranks like when someone else comes up with a good prank and I just play my part.

Yeah, unfortunately I'm not that creative when it comes to pranks but I can't wait to see what everyone else comes up with!


And for Follow Me Friday hosted by Parajunkee

What is the book you really don't want to admit to loving??

for me it is Don't Die My Love by Laurene McDaniel. I read it when I was in middle school and cried my eyes out! A part of me wants to go back and re-read it but I just don't know. I have changed a lot since middle school, what if I read it and it turns out to be total crap?



ALSO

don't forget to sign up for my 1 year anniversary giveaway! It is for a $15 gift card to Amazon, just click on the abduction below!!!






ALSO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been asked to be a part of a collaborative website and I am really excited about it.

Instead of reviewing books though, we will be reviewing MOVIES!!!

The idea is that each month our followers will suggest an actor/actress for us to review and then 5 of their movies. My friends Andrea and Jeremy and I will watch all the movies and together write a review for each one. A new review will be posted every 5 days and in between a different personal piece will be posted each Monday

We go live today!!! And we are reviewing Natalie Portman since she just won the Oscar and is really popular right now. We will be discussing The Professional, Beautiful Girls, Garden State, The Other Woman, and Black Swan.

Our review for The Professional is published today and then MY first personal piece where I discuss my Top Five Guilty Pleasure movies is published on Monday!

PLEASE!!!

PLEASE!!!

I BEG YOU PLEASE!!!

Give this site a chance. I really think it is going to be awesome! So come over, check it out and let us know what you think!
the site is: Reveiws in 5

Abducted by Sweet Valley

I need a little assistance and I am turning to the wonderful members of my book blogging community for help.






Sweet Valley Confidential came out today!

I really want to read this book because I do remember watching the tv show that was based off the books. And I thought I remembered reading the books too, but as I investigated further into it I realized that the only books I actually read were part of the "Super Snooper Editions". In fact the only one I have a vivid memory of reading was The Case of the Haunted Camp.

So I don't think I read any of the normal "life in high school" books. But, I really want to before reading Sweet Valley Confidential. Believe me, I have no hesitation when it comes toward taking a trip down nostalgia lane.

In fact just looking into the Sweet Valley twins makes me wonder what those Boxcar Children are up to!

But that is where I need help. From what I gathered on Wikipedia there were over 152 books published in the Sweet Valley collection, including spin-offs.


So, where does a girl start?

Granted, since I am currently not allowed to buy books, the ones I end up reading will be dependent upon which ones are offered at my local library. But still, I would love any and all suggestions.

Teaser Tuesday 3.29.11

It is time for another Teaser Tuesday!!!




I love Teaser Tuesday! I just think it is a really fun opportunity to showcase books you are excited about before you have a chance to read them. Even when we are excited about books it still may take some time before we get around to reading them so it is nice to share them first.

I am currently reading Scarlet Feather by Maeve Binchy for my book club selection. But I figured I have shared a lot about Maeve Binchy recently so I would give a teaser of another book this time. As soon as I finish Scarlet Feather I am going to start a book called Beatle Meets Destiny.






Here is a brief description of the book...

Imagine your name is John Lennon, but everyone calls you Beatle.

And then you meet your dream girl, and her name is Destiny McCartney.

But you meet her on Friday the 13th-and you're very superstitious. Not to mention that you're already dating the perfect girl, who happens to be your twin sister's best friend...

Beatle can't imagine ever leaving his girlfriend, Cilla, who supported him after the stroke that changed his life and left him with a limp. Still, he knows that the only thing worse than staying with the wrong person is missing the chance to be with the right one.

Beatle Meets Destiny is a novel about love, change, chance, and everybody doing the wrong thing.


So, this is the teaser from page 177...


"Saturday night was not-so-good. There was something wrong. Something making him feel all tense and irritable. A trapped feeling. A suffocating in his throat feeling. A this-girl-isn't-Destiny feeling."

Abducted by Anna and the French Kiss

I'm going to start by saying... I hated this book!

Yep that is right! I said it! I am so mad at this book it is ridiculous!!!

Three reasons...

1. This book was just so freaking adorable it makes you sick!!!

2. I will never be able to write something as freaking adorable as this book!!!

3. Because this book is so freaking adorable I can't say anything about it!!! How infuriating is that!?!

With so many other people out there raving about how freaking adorable this book is, we run the risk of turning people off. It will be like when people tell you "Oh, this one is so funny!" "Oh, this one is so scary!" "Oh, this one will make you bawl your eyes out!" and then you finally read what they are talking about and you are like "That's it?"

OR...

Because so many people are raving about this book other readers will read it and purposefully try to find fault with it so they can feel like the superior book lover because they didn't surrender to all of this books freaking adorableness.

Conundrum

Here is how I plan on rectifying this problem. I'm only going to blog about all the lame things about this book. People may disagree with my approach but I have to do what I think is best.

So here we go...

1. Our main character has a hobby of reviewing movies. She has her own blog where she writes about the movies she sees and through out the novel she mentions her some of her favorites. And I would say that at times her quick references to her favorite movies might come across as pretentious.

2. I'm a little odd about nicknames. Personally, I'm not a fan. It has taken me many years to get to a point where I can be tolerable of people calling me "Court" instead of "Courtney" and yet, even though I do my best to not react on the outside, inside I'm cringing. What is weird though is I love when people use their last name as a nickname. Odd right? I know.

So, when they call Etienne, St. Clair, I actually really liked that one. But all of the "Banana" stuff was a little annoying. But what was really irksome was that she called her little brother "Seany" all the time. Ugh! I hated that! I get when you have a little brother who is like 5, you call him Seany when you are playing with him or whatever. BUT when you are on another continent and just talking to your friends and you are going off about "Seany this..." or "Seany that..." Seriously?

3. Our main character suffers from the all to common flaw of not being able to see the obvious right in front of her. By this I am referring to her relationship with her friend Bridgette and how Anna does the same thing to a friend in Paris that she get's mad at her friend Bridgette for doing.

Which again, is what we as humans do sometimes, so I guess in a way it was a little touch of reality. But, still, for some reason when characters do this in books it get's a bit annoying.



***NOW, for those of you who have not read this book yet and fear you may be the type of reader that may get your hopes too high OR that you may sub-consciously, look for reasons to hate this book, when so many others choose to surrender to its charms, PLEASE QUIT READING***







I loved loved LOVED this book! I love that St. Clair was afraid of heights all the time, it was adorable. Like Ron Weasley and his fear of spiders. I love the chapter when they were on winter break and all the emails were going back and forth! I smiled so much my teeth hurt! I LOVED the ending where they actually talked about things instead of glossing over it all.

I know that above I listed all those flaws in the book but I swear that they didn't really bother me that much, I was just making a point. This book could not have been cuter or more perfect! I really loved it!

Abducted by Blog Hop March 25th

It is time for the friday blog hop!!! Hosted by Crazy for books!






"If you could physically put yourself into a book or series...which one would it be and why?"




For me, my first, gut instinct answer, would be Harry Potter of course! I would have loved to go to boarding school, add some magical powers on to that and who could resist!?!



Other then that, I'm not really sure there is another series I would want to stay in. Like there are parts of the Narnia series that I would love to expierence but I don't know if I would want to live in Narnia. I mean it just seems to me that there are tons of creatures and animals walking around but in the books, you don't hear about a lot of humans. I'm sure they are there but, as far as humans go it just seems that it would be kind of lonely.

And, I'm a creature of comfort and habit, so I'm not looking to be taken away from my technology unless you are going to give me a wand to make up for it.





Or, Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy because it is set in this amazing little Irish Village! I plan on growing old in some little cabin in an Irish village near a wood, so Whitethorn Woods would be amazing!








Don't forget to sign up for my giveaway of a $15 gift card for Amazon! Just click below!

Abducted by The Return Journey

Well, we made it! Today is my last day in my week long marathon of posting!!!

Completing this challenge has really helped me complete another challenge I set out for myself back in October.
I published a post on October 5th titled ABDUCTED BY MY OWN DISAPPOINTING ABDUCTIONS. Basically I wrote about how disappointed in myself I was because at the time I had my own book blog for 6 months and yet, had only published SIX posts total and only ONE of them had been an actual review of a book. So I issued myself a challenge, the goal was that by the time I reached my one year anniversary I would have published 50 distinct posts and that out of those 25 of them would be real reviews for books. And during this week long marathon of posting I have officially past the 50 posts mark (WHOO HOO!!!) and as far as my reviews go, after today I will have published 22 posts featuring reviews (GO ME!!!)

My one year anniversary takes place on April 13th so that gives me a little less then a month to publish 3 more reviews after today! I could never have accomplished that original challenge if I hadn't completed my week long marathon of posting, so thank you all for sticking with me and actually reading all I had to say. It is out of my appreciation for my followers that I am hosting my giveaway of a $15 gift certificate to Amazon, so please be sure to enter by clicking on the abduction below...





Now on to my review for today:





The Return Journey by Maeve Binchy

I am really excited to finish this book today because not only is it a Maeve Binchy book (and you guys know how much I love my Binchy!) but also because it was one of the books I checked out from the library!

I went to the public library for the first time in at least 6 years about three weeks ago. I got The Duff and The Return Journey, I finished The Duff a while ago so I just need to finish this one. And now that I am done, I can return it (ON TIME!!! they are due tomorrow) and see what new books the library has to offer me.

I love Maeve Binchy's collections of short stories! I posted on her collection of holiday themed stories when I was ABDUCTED BY THIS YEAR WILL BE DIFFERENT. I enjoyed the stories in The Return Journey more because there weren't nearly as many stories about infidelity. I don't know if that is a European thing or an Irish thing, but it seems to be a common theme in Binchy's writing.

Some of the stories I liked in The Return Journey included one titled "The Wrong Suitcase". It involves a man who is on a business trip where he is planning a take over of a small business, and a woman who is going to a hotel to meet her lover, who happens to be married. When at the airport they accidentally switch bags. In an effort to recover their own belongings they search through each others bags looking for phone numbers or addresses. In doing so they discover each others secrets. Then when they meet they feel a connection or an attraction, but can't look past what they learned about the other person.

Another story that I thought was really well written was "The Home Sitter". Basically this mellow, go with the flow, kind of hippie woman enters the lives of this family, and she charms everybody but the wife. The wife is in constant fear of her husband cheating on her with this new woman and can't relax until she is gone. I can't really explain it, I mean the story is only 16 pages long and it would probably take me half that length to explain what is really going on. So just trust me, this little short story was very unsettling and thought provoking.

"The Package Tour" was a really simple storyline of these two people who meet and decide to vacation together. I mean that is literally all that the plot is about. And yet the way that Binchy reveals the information about the two characters, they way she switches talking about each one, it is captivating. It was one of my favorite stories even though it doesn't have a "happy" ending because it was just so enjoyable to read.

What can I say, I am a Maeve Binchy addict! I love the way she tells a story, I love the way she opens up her characters to the readers, and I love how her stories are about nothing more then simply observing one brief moment in her characters' lives. This month, it was my turn to pick a book for my book club, and I chose an older one by Binchy called Scarlet Feather. I'm really nervous that the girls wont finish it because it is kind of long, but all of her shorter novels I had already read and I wanted to branch out. Plus, because I love her so much I really want the other girls to love her too. But I have to be open to the possibility that may not happen, and to not take it personally. But I mean come on? How can anyone not like Maeve Binchy?

Abducted by It's Kind Of A Funny Story

It is time for my #6 post in my week long marathon of posting! I am so excited that this week is coming to a close! Mainly just because I am proud of myself for actually completing it! I mean for going so long without any real posts and to then do a real post every day for a week! I can't believe I made it! YAY!!!

It was exactly the kind of kick in the butt that I needed to get back on track. I'm looking forward to taking a break from writing so much everyday but I promise to keep up with my blog more.

Today I'm going to post on a book I read called It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini.



Ned Vizzini started writing articles for the New York Press at the age of 15 and not long after began writing essays that were published in The New York Times Magazine. Some of these letters were combined to make his first book, Teen Angst? Naah... that was published when he was 19! Then 4 years later his first fictional novel was published; Be More Chill. It was around this same time that Vizzini suffered a minor bout of depression and checked himself into a mental hospital for 4 days. Just 6 days later he began writing It's Kind of a Funny Story, and he finished it in less then a month!

I really loved this story and it was written with such humor.

One of the quotes from Teen Vogue on the back of the cover says "A book about depression that's not the least bit depressing."

Okay, well that is just not true. I mean, maybe if you have never experienced a day of depression in your life then you might be able to gloss over certain parts that hit a little too close to home for the rest of us. But it is quiet funny. Vizzini has a great ability to include sarcasm and absurd humor in very dark scenes without taking away from the emotion of the moment.

There were a lot of lines in this book that I could easily relate to, but one in particular was when the main boy in the story says "It's when they compliment you that you're in trouble. That means they expect you to keep it up."

All my life I've never been able to take a compliment and it always shakes my confidence as soon as someone does compliment me. Seems weird right? But to me, a compliment always registered in my mind as a standard. A standard I would never be able to live up to or top again.

A movie was made based off this novel just last year, and it was when I saw the trailer for the movie that I knew I really wanted to read this book. The book was really good but the movie version turned out to be only okay. They didn't make too many changes from the main storyline and the changes they did make were all justifiable. It had a great cast, my only wish is that Lauren Graham had been in it more. She played the main boy's mom and in the book the mom has quiet a few scenes but I guess there wasn't time for all of them in the movie version.

Okay I guess that is all for today. I'll see you all tomorrow with my last post in my week long marathon of posting!

Don't forget to sign up for a chance to win a $15 gift certificate for Amazon! Just click on the abduction below!