TGIF {16}

TGIF is a fun post created by Ginger at GReads.  It’s to recap what you’ve posted about through the week and then Ginger asks a fun question.


Friday, Dec. 30th - First & Last: What was the first book you read in 2011 and the last you finished in 2011? How do you feel about these books? Would you recommend them to other readers?


Had to run over to goodreads to see which book I started with! And WOW! I've read 60 books this year. O.O 




First - I Am Number Four - This is also the first book I bought on my kindle. I loved this book. And I recommend this book all the time. Every time i see someone mention the movie I have to butt in and say THE BOOK WAS SO MUCH BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This year I've also read The Power of Six and I Am Number Four: The Lost Files. Both were excellent. I can't wait to find out what the next book in the series will be. And as I typed that I went to google and found it! The Rise of Nine will be released in August 21, 2012! Can. Not. Wait!


Last - The last book of 2011 was a little bit of a disappointment for me. I've had Water For Elephants since March of this year but kept putting it off. I really wanted to see the movie so finally made time to read it. It was a really good book, one outside of what I've been reading lately, but parts of it just irked me the wrong way. I really don't like animal cruelty, and this book had a few instances. It helped to skim over the parts, but still, they were there and floated around my brain (this aspect of the movie was even worse to me). 


Some of my favorites of 2011: Divergent, Shade/Shift, Jellicoe Road, Lola and the Boy Next Door, Going to Far, Forget You, Shatter Me, Enclave, With or Without You, and Sophie and Carter. 


Books I'm excited for for 2012: Of Poseidon (though I've read it a few times and watched it grow from an idea, I can't wait for it's release), Insurgent, Shine, Isla and the Happily Ever After, Outpost, Shatter Me #2, Blood Born and Cinder.

Zombie Tag ARC Tour

 Wil is desperate for his older brother to come back from the dead. But the thing about zombies is . . they don’t exactly make the best siblings. 

Thirteen-year-old Wil Lowenstein copes with his brother’s death by focusing on Zombie Tag, a mafia/capture the flag hybrid game where he and his friends fight off brain-eating zombies with their mothers’ spatulas. What Wil doesn’t tell anybody is that if he could bring his dead brother back as a zombie, he would in a heartbeat. But when Wil finds a way to summon all the dead within five miles, he’s surprised to discover that his back-from-the-dead brother is emotionless and distant.  

In her first novel for younger readers, Moskowitz offers a funny and heartfelt look at how one boy deals with change, loss, and the complicated relationship between brothers.

I was fortunate enough to be part of Hannah Moskowitz Zombie Tag ARC Tour. This is the first ARC tour I've done (I had to back out of her Gone, Gone, Gone tour and am incredibly sad that I did). The way Hannah's tour works is she writes little notes in one of HER ARC copies. Then she sends it to the first person on the list and they read AND leave notes in the book before sending it on to the next person. It goes on and on until the last person is done and they send it back to Hannah. In the end we read the story, post a review and she gets a really awesome keepsake. 

I just want to start out by saying how great a book Zombie Tag is. It's my first Middle Grade and now I'm going to have to read more. I mean, my four year old will be into them soon enough, so I might as well start a collection now. This book, even though it dealt with zombies, was adorable and very kid friendly (which I guess is the point since it's a MG).

Wil (short for Wilson) is a spunky (and spry...haha) 13-year-old boy if I ever met one. I love his voice. It's his true and true and never wavers through the entire book. And he has the most amazing personality. He makes you want to listen and follow his lead. His imagination is endless. How I wish we had Zombie Tag when I was a kid. It would have been the game of the neighborhood. 


But the part I loved most was how much he cares about his brother and parents and trying to make them all happy again. After losing his brother, his family is left broken, and it takes getting him back to realize how bad off they've been. 


If you love middle grade or are looking to get into it, check out this book.

Tune In Tuesday {24} Concert Edition

Tune In Tuesday is a fun weekly post hosted by Ginger at GReads.  It's a great way to see what kind of music other people are loving. And December is another theme month. For the month of December we are posting songs from concerts we have been to or would like to attend!


This weeks band is one I've seen in concert before, though they were the opening act for Shinedown, so I only got to hear a few songs. I also had never heard of them before this concert and immediately fell in love. I give you, Sick Puppies!

Maybe - ADORE this song!

White Balloons - Another favorite (not only is she an awesome bassist, but Emma has an amazing voice)

TGIF {15}

TGIF is a fun post created by Ginger at GReads.  It’s to recap what you’ve posted about through the week and then Ginger asks a fun question.


Friday, Dec. 16th - Most Popular: What blog post has gotten the most comments/activity on your blog this year?


Both my most comments and most activity (hits) are both TGIF posts (well, most comments was a giveaway post, but that's expected)! How awesome is that?


Most comments - TGIF {1} - What is the last book you could not finish? with 13 comments (67 page views)


Most activity (hits) - TGIF {2} - Book Blogger Appreciation with 100 page views (8 comments)


And for fun I'm going to add some of the search keywords that found my blog.
post apocalyptic book + rose
a few weeks ago i was on a road (Jellicoe Road review?)
dystopian zombie book (zombies FTW)
hope to add 3000 to 4000 more (word count I want to add to my WIP during revisions)

Tune In Tuesday {23} Concert Edition

Tune In Tuesday is a fun weekly post hosted by Ginger at GReads.  It's a great way to see what kind of music other people are loving. And December is another theme month. For the month of December we are posting songs from concerts we have been to or would like to attend!


These concert posts are tough for me! I'm very picky about who I'd want to see in concert. I've been thinking on this weeks for a few days and it just came to me an hour ago! AEROSMITH!!!!!!!!!


Yes...I would love to see Aerosmith in concert. And I almost did! Hubs and I had tickets about six years ago. Hubs got off work, we got ready and drove to the venue an hour away. Only to find out it was canceled. *insert very sad face here* To say I was bummed is an understatement. We drove the whole way and THEN find out it's canceled. The radio station was just announcing it as we pulled into the parking lot. Instead of a great night of music we got ice cream and went to a movie (which turned out to be lame, I remember because hubs picked it). 


ANYWAY....here's a few of my favorites.

TGIF {14}

TGIF is a fun post created by Ginger at GReads.  It’s to recap what you’ve posted about through the week and then Ginger asks a fun question.


Friday, Dec. 9th - Book to Movie: Which book turn movie do you feel did the best adaptation? What about the worst?


Oh my! Where to start. These questions always stump me. There are so many good ones it's hard to pick just one (or remember the ones I've read/watched). After watching the movie The Client (like a hundred years ago) and unable to get into the book I've made it a point, that if I really want to read a book and see the movie, I read the book first. And I'm not a good book or movie critic. I either like something or don't for my own reasons.


Best


Twilight Saga except for Twilight and partly New Moon - With Breaking Dawn opening last month, I'm going to say this is one of the better. Though no help from Twilight. I wasn't a fan of how it was filmed, but they did get the right information (wished they had done the blood typing scene) and the dialogue stayed true. But New Moon was better and Eclipse the best and then Breaking Dawn Pt 1 blew them all away. Though I'm not the biggest fan of how a few of the characters were cast (Bella, Jacob, Emmett). Now I can't wait for Breaking Dawn Part 2.


Pride and Prejudice - The 2005 (Keira and Matthew) adaptation. While it's not the closest to the book, it's my favorite one. I watched it this past weekend and swooned so many times I can't even count. When Mr. Darcy says "If, however, your feelings have changed, I will have to tell you: you have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on." I seriously melt every time!


The Outsiders - I adore this book AND movie! I credit my dad for getting me to read/watch it.




The Mighty (or Freak the Mighty) - It's been awhile, but I remember liking both when I was younger.


Speak - This is the type of movie Kristen Stewart rocks! She really brought this character to life.



Worst


A Walk to Remember - It wasn't bad, but I wished they'd kept it set in the 50s in the movie. 


Most John Grisham books. I love his books but I don't get the same sense of urgency in the movies that I do in the books.


Is it bad that I can't think of any not good books to movies? Just goes to show I either a) pick good books/movies (IMO) or b) have great friends who pick good books/movies or c) I've either read the book or watched the movie, not both.


Can't wait for it


The Hunger Games - I loved this series. After the teaser trailer I wasn't convinced that it would be a great movie but that all changed when they released the extended trailer. Now I can't wait for March 2012!


Divergent - Loved this book and if the movie is half as good as the book I'll be happy.


The Hobbit - I loved the original cartoonish movie and can't wait to see it larger than life.


The Host - I prefer this book over Twilight and since they did such an amazing job with that series I hope they do the same with this one.

Tune In Tuesday {22} Concert Edition

Tune In Tuesday is a fun weekly post hosted by Ginger at GReads.  It's a great way to see what kind of music other people are loving. And December is another theme month. For the month of December we are posting songs from concerts we have been to or would like to attend!

Before Ginger got into theme's I actually posted songs from concerts I've been to, so I'm going the "concerts I want to attend" route.

Took me a little bit to come up with a person/band for this week but out of no where it came to me. LINKIN PARK! I love them like no other. Every time I listen to Hybrid Theory I feel like I'm in high school. I would love to see them in concert, I bet they rock. They actually came very close to me at a music festival a couple hours away but I was already going to be hours away in the other direction at a writers workshop the same weekend (and not to mention the tickets for said music fest were insanely expensive). Maybe one day I'll get the chance. Until then...I'll just enjoy their music through my speakers. 

Crawling - 

In The End

Leave Out All The Rest