Feature and Follow and Book Blogger Hop

It's that time again!
Book Blogger Hop and Follow Friday!

First up, Follow Friday:

Question of the week:
What book do you think would make a great Halloween movie? Please explain in graphic detail of goriness…

 The Serenity Falls Trilogy by James A. Moore... hands down, the most gorey, disturbing, awesome set of books I've ever read.

These books are NOT for the faint of heart. They remind me a little of Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury...

G.M. Dark: Excuse Me?! I think not!

Well... ok fine, maybe not... I mean, there *IS* a creepy carnival in the Serenity Falls Trilogy, just like in Something Wicked This Way Comes... but unlike Something Wicked, Serenity Falls is a straight up set of horror novels. In Serenity Falls there is no "Pricking of the Thumbs"... your thumbs would just be ripped right the heck off your hands. Or maybe you'd be forced to eat them... or maybe your loved ones would... it's hard to say.

Maybe it's a bit more like Carnivale...

dark, gritty, spooky and haunting... but with a lot more violence. A LOT more violence.

Gore, zombies, flesh fileting, rape, murder, abuse, torture, magic, fire, water, blood, mind control, death, broken body parts, evil dolls, evil carnival, witches, warlocks, ancient curses... you name it, these books have got it, and they aren't light on the details.

Any character you like, or fall in love with... chances are they'll be dead by the end of the series (this really isn't a spoiler... it's more like something you have to brace yourself for (no one is exempt, not even children)... some characters *do* make it through, I promise).

Moore doesn't shy away from torturing anyone. There is no safety in age, gender or disability. If you're in these books, there's a good chance you're going to end up dead as a doornail... and it won't be quick or easy.

Next, Book Blogger Hop!

Question of the week:
With Autumn upon us and Halloween drawing near, what books remind you of fall? What ones do you enjoy reading that are about autumn?

Ray Bradbury, Ray Bradbury,
Ray Bradbury!!!!

Something Wicked This Way Comes

I LOVE this book, and it's centered around Halloween. It's perfect for evoking that scary, creepy feeling that comes along with Halloween... and it also has that hint of crisp fall throughout the book.

G.M. Dark is a wonderful, creepy antagonist.

The Halloween Tree

Set on Halloween, that point of Fall right before winter... this book is a short, wonderful tale about the history of a lot of our favorite costumes. It's also neck deep in the same kind of creepy flare you find in Something Wicked This Way Comes.

Book Blogger Hop and Feature & Follow Friday

First up, Follow Me Friday!

The question this week:

Q: What book(s) are you reading right now? What do you think of it?

Right now I am reading:

Daughter of Smoke & Bone

by Laini Taylor

and LOVING it!
Amazingly written, the author obviously has a love of language...
something I haven't TRULY seen in a YA book in some time!
And the story is so interesting!!

 ----------------------------------------------------

Next up, the Book Blogger Hop!

This weeks question:

 What book series do you never want to see end?

An easy one.

Harry Potter

I know technically it has "ended"... but I would read a million books written in that world.

Book Blogger Hop and Follow Friday

Click the image above to join in the hop :)

“What is your favorite type of candy?”

Oh man... this is a loaded question for me. I love candy, how could I choose just one?! If I really truly do, though, there are two types of candy I HAVE to, though, I'm going to have to go with Ghiradelli Chocolate Squares, any and all flavors :) 

To join in Follow Friday, click the image above!

Q: What superhero is your alter-ego?

Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean my Superhero alter ego has to be one. Honestly, Tick, with his slightly moronic ways, his obliviousness to so many things, his crazy catch phrases and total lack of awareness at his own special level of insanity, is probably who I'd end up being... plus I'd spend a LOT of time looking in the mirror and laughing at my own costume's antenna!!

 

Book Blogger Hop and Follow Friday

Now for another round of:

Follow Friday (click the pic to join in)

This week's question:

Give us five BOOK RELATED silly facts about you:

1.I need dead silence to read and *really* get into the story
2. I feel like bookstore clerks look down on me if I go to the register with only Manga
and it makes me nervous
3. If a book has illustrations by Edward Gorey, I will buy it...
even if I have no desire to ever read the book
4. I buy children's books for children I don't even have.
5. I have Ron and Harry Tonner dolls without faces o_O
I was in the process of repainting them and my sealing spray got to the end of the bottle and blew
a bunch of junk all over Harry's face... so I put them in the box and forgot about them... but now that the last movies are coming out and I'm rereading the books...
I want to pull them out and paint them again.

And 

Book Blogger Hop (click the pic to join in)

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

How can I be sure I'm not already living in the Harry Potter series? What if I'm just a muggle?!?!
Seriously though, I would want to live in the Harry Potter world... just... you know... as a witch.

Book Blogger Hop and Follow Friday

Time to get back into the swing of things!

Clicking on either of the graphics should take you to the hosting blog so you can sign up for Follow Friday or Book Blogger Hop yourself :)

First up is Follow Friday... this weeks question: What embarrassing thing have you done on cold medicine?  I was given some really strong cold medicine by my doctor when I was younger... and in the middle of the night I became convinced that the light in the hallway was, in fact, an alien that had come to abduct me. I started screaming and wouldn't stop... my Mom came running and all she could do was laugh and feel sorry for me. She didn't even get mad. LOL.

Now for Book Blogger Hop!

This week's question:   "Who's your all-time favorite book villain?" The Morrigan from Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O'Shea

Book Blogger Hop, Follow Friday and a Giveaway

It's time for another Follow Friday

This weeks question: 

What makes up your non-human family?

Two cats:

William the Bloody and

Domo: "Oh Hai!"

Will: "WTF is this thing?"

 The Salacious Crumb

Crumb: "I like to read a good novel... so what?"

Crumb: "Ooooh, Zombies are interesting..."

And Book Blogger Hop!

This week's question:

"Why do you read the genre that you do? What draws you to it?"

I mainly read fantasy because I read to escape.

I do read non-fantasy all the time... but I like fantasy best. There are usually epic journeys involved... and while I have found stories of women living in Walmart very interesting... it just didn't hold the same appeal to me that fantasy did.

Now, I'm not saying that if it's well done, I'll still poo-poo it... that's not the case at all. If it's well written and holds my interest, I'll love it... but generally, I find real life is sad enough, I don't need to read some fictional character's epic struggle with real world sadness to add onto that.

Also, Don't forget my current giveaway, 

part of a giveaway hop with lots of awesome prizes!

Click the picture above to be taken to the giveaway!

Book Blogger Hop and Follow Friday

This week's Follow Friday question is:

What book(s) have you discovered lately from someone's book blog?

 Across the Universe, A Slice of Cherry, The Hunger Games series, The Familiars

The Blogger Hop is running a little late this morning, but as soon as she updates, so will I :)

Book Blogger Hop, Follow Friday and a movie review

Click the picture to join in

"What do you consider the 
most important in a story: 

the plot or the characters?"

 Hmm, an interesting question... and I'm going to have to go with plot.

I have read stories where I HATE the main character, but because the plot was so interesting to me I kept reading (the first few books in the Anita Blake series) but I have never continued with a story whose plot I just couldn't get into.

What did you study in college, or are currently studying and did it lead to your current 9 to 5 or are you doing something totally different?

 

In college I studied both Photography and Graphic Design. I got my BFA, focusing in photography, and am now a full time graphic designer/photographer for a major corporation. :)

Ok, I haven't done a movie review in quite a while!

Last night... at midnight... I went to see Tron Legacy (why can I only find foreign movie posters for this movie?!)... and honestly, I was shocked by how many people were there. The theater was pretty much packed. 

Now, I don't really have a great system for reviewing movies... so for now I'll just say this.

If you enjoyed the first Tron, this one is that, rehashed, enhanced and with way better graphics (watch for somewhat creepy CG versions of Jeff Bridges... all I could think of when I saw them was Advent Children... I'll be waiting for Mr. Bridges to make his debut alongside Cloud).
The original is still the original... but at no point during this new Tron was I at all bored or tired (and seeing as how I'd only gotten a few hours of sleep the night before, that's saying something).

If you haven't seen the first Tron, though, it might not all make sense, this movie is a true sequel and builds heavily on the plot of the first movie. I would recommend getting your hands on the original and watching... for plot's sake.

Book Blogger Hop, Follow Friday and a Giveaway

 

This week's question for the Hop:

"What is the one bookish thing you would love to have, no matter the cost?"

A reading room that's all tricked out! 

I want it to have a full coffee bar, and the comfiest chairs ever and bookshelves everywhere and a big screen tv (sometimes I need background noise), and giant beautiful windows and comfy blankets and pillows and ... and... and.... XD There's so much!

 This week's question for Follow Friday:

If you have, or would have a daughter, what book
would you want your daughter to read?

 Well... let's consider this? What age are we talking about here?

Young: Stephen Kellogg, David Weisner, Magic Treehouse,  to name a few
Mid-Grade:  I would like to encourage books like Cornelia Funke's stuff for slightly younger kids
YA: I can tell you what I will try to keep my daughter from reading... and that is anything Twilight-esque... anything where the girl thinks life isn't worth living unless she's in a relationship, anything where the relationship is unhealthy and abusive and yet still touted as an amazing love story.
As for what I would hope she would read? Things like Harry Potter, Narnia, Lord of the Rings, The Hounds of the Morrigan, Percy Jackson... 

ALSO! GIVEAWAY!!!

Don't forget to enter my Spooktacular giveaway! All you need to do is leave a comment with your email address to enter!

Go HERE to enter!

Book Blogger Hop, Follow Friday and a Review!

"Where is your favorite place to read? Curled up on the sofa, in bed, in the garden?"

I have a little love seat in my home, on this love seat, I have one of those pillows with the little arms that shoot out the side to prop you up. I lay on the love seat, my back against the pillow, my feet against the armrest on the far side... and end up in a slightly reclined, mostly sitting position, perfect for propping the book on my legs, perfect for hours of reading, perfect for sipping a nice warm drink as I flip pages, and perfectly spaced if a fluffy little kitty wants to come and curl up on my lap :)

 

What are you currently reading? Basically, what book is that?

I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett

This is the last in the Tiffany Aching series featuring what are possiblly my favorite discworld characters, The Wee Free Men. Otherwise known as Nac Mac Feegle, known for shouting things such as "Ach, Crivens!" and "wailywailywaily"... they make me laugh out loud when I'm reading, and they issue complaints such as "Ach, I kicked meself in me own heed!" How can you not like such feisty little fighters?

REVIEW!!!

 REVIEW:

The Strangers Outside

by Vanessa Morgan

Synopsis:
Two sisters, Jennifer and Louise, return to their remote holiday cabin after a day at the seaside. But little do they know they’re being surrounded. Shortly after their arrival, the girls will come face to face with THE STRANGERS OUTSIDE. When the assailants make their intentions known, things take ashockingly terrible turn and an intense battle for survival
will begin.

Character Likability:
Jennifer is an almost wholly unlikable character. She's down on herself, she's down on life, she's just down. She's also whiny and worthless in a pinch. You find out later she has more reason for that than you suspect, but still, she is a passive character, even in her own life.
Louise, the older sister, is much more likable. She's stronger, determined, and trying to make a better life for both her and her sister. She refuses to let negativity bring her down and is appropriately in shocked disbelief at the attitude of her sister.

Quality of Writing:
This was a fast flowing, action packed story. There were no lulls, there were no parts where I was just wishing the story would get on with it... it was constant action from start to finish.

Ending:
It was an interesting ending, but I would have liked to have seen either more back story on the events leading up to this (the bit about the psychics contacting people) or more alarm from the characters at the very end. I know these are the determined, decisive characters, but still, I wouldn't be willing to split up with the people I found after what had happened... and I certainly wouldn't want to go back to my house by myself!! I think the thing that threw me the most in the whole story was Louise saying she was just going to go home at the end. If you had really just escaped something so terrifying, could you really just decide to go right back again... alone?

Plot:
A very interesting idea, and something that could definitely be a longer story. The motivation of the Strangers is left unexplored and that isn't a bad thing. It leaves the reader wondering "Why?!" and admittedly, reflecting a bit on their own lifestyles and wondering if they'd be chosen too. I mean, I know I'm not as helpless and somewhat pathetic as Jennifer... but still... creeeeepy!
Setting the girls on vacation in an unfamiliar setting helped too, because it threw them off, they were unable to do exactly what needed to be done when it needed to be done, and it made sense as to why... it wasn't just one of those "Oh gee, I'm a lame scared girl" situations you see so often in scary settings. The description of the Strangers, also, was incredibly creepy. There is a line about them seeming to have faces that were too big... and it's imagery like that that just creeps me out in stories... when you take a human feature and describe it as "wrong" somehow.

Believability of World:
Believable. It was set in this world, and it felt like it. I could imagine looking out my own window and seeing the Strangers, and that's creepy.

Overall Grade: B- (This was a really fun, creepy read PERFECT for Halloween!)

Book Blogger Hop, Follow Friday and a Giveaway

Crazy for Books.com

The question for this weeks Book Blogger Hop is this:

What's your favorite beverage while reading or blogging?

Mine? COFFEE! 

This time of year, my coffee of choice is Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte... soon to be followed by Starbucks Ginger Spice Latte... woe unto my wallet during the holiday coffee season!

Question of the Week:

How many reviews do you like to do a week?

I would *like* to do, at the very least, 1 movie review, 1 book review and 1 graphic novel/manga review a week... with more book reviews, possibly... but I often wonder if I would drive readers insane doing that?

Please tell me what you think...

How many reviews would YOU want to see a review blog do a week?

Do you like the variety of topics?

Or would you rather things like manga and movie reviews be found in a different location on the site?

Also, don't forget my Coraline Giveaway... in which... there will be a few extras thrown in that aren't shown, lol!

Just click the picture to go to the giveaway and enter!

Thank you!

Heather

Book Blogger Hop and Follow Friday and a GIVEAWAY

"How do you spread the word about your blog?
(e.g. Social Networking sites, Book Blog Directories, comments on other blogs...)"

I enter my giveaways on sites that list them, I twitter, I am a member of GoodReads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Paperback Swap and a few other literary pages. I try to blog, at the very least, once a week with a review. I join in things like the Blogger Hop, Follow Friday and Waiting on Wednesday... although not just to spread the word... I really like seeing the answers to the questions, or seeing what people are waiting for. I've also joined in several upcoming Blog Parties... I joined one book blog directory... but for the life of me, can't remember which one!!

What books have bitten you??

I am listing books that I often find my mind wondering back to:
The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O'Shea, Summerland and Cavalier and Klay by Michael Chabon, Little Black Book by A.S. Byatt, George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones series, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, The Halloween Tree and Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, Animal Farm by George Orwell, The collected works of William Shakespeare, The collected works of Roald Dahl.

GIVEAWAY!

Also, please feel free to stop by (by clicking the giveaway picture below) and join in on my 100 Followers Coraline Giveaway... where winners will receive both the book, Coraline as well as a 6 inch Coraline doll!

Book Blogger Hop and Follow Friday and a GIVEAWAY

Follow Friday!

What is your high fashion book? --- translation --- best book cover ever.

The Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey would have to be my favorite cover. It's sleek lines and stylish color choice, along with the hauntingly mysterious imagery always works to pique curiosity and then highly disturb people unfamiliar with Mr. Gorey's work.
How could I ask for more from a book cover?


Blog Hop!

When you write reviews, do you write them as you are reading or wait until you have read the entire book?

I write them after I have read the whole book, but I have a series of questions that I answer for myself to try to keep things consistent. I've been pondering, though, if I shouldn't make more notes AS I read.

And please check out my giveaway here:
(I am giving away a copy of Coraline, and a Coraline Doll)

Book Blogger Hop and Follow Friday

Joining in on Book Blogger Hop!

In honor of Book Blogger Appreciation Week, let's take time this week to honor our favorite book bloggers and why we love them!
So, here are a few of my favorites (Click on the images to go to their blog):

Princess Bookie

YA Addict

{...is a book whore}

And also Follow Friday!



Question of the week:

YA, or do you stick to the adult reads?

I actually love both... I just read more YA because they're quicker reads... but Joe Abercrombie, George R. R. Martin, Michael Chabon, Terry Pratchett, and Neil Gaiman are just a few of my favorite Adult authors.