Dusty Volumes-2011 Reading Challenge

I have been painfully embarrassed with my results on the 'Books I Have and Have Not Read' post which you can find here. I feel like there are so many books that I should have read already that are great classics and I have no excuses as to why I have not read them. I have had every intention of reading a number of the books but for some reason I have not. I needed a little incentive; which I have now found with The Dusty Volumes Challenge hosted by Midnyte Reader.

There are rules and all that fun stuff and they are outlined well on her blog.

The Dusty Volumes that I am hoping to read this year are:

• 1984-George Orwell
• Jane Eyre-Charlotte Brontë
• Wuthering Heights-Emily Brontë
• Alice in Wonderland-Lewis Carroll
• Lolita-Vladimir Nabokov
• Dracula-Bram Stoker

That's my list for now. I think that six books is a pretty good start. I am sure that as the year goes on I'll want to read more. But for now this is good. I think this challenge is pretty cool and I would encourage those who want to try out classics to go check it out. So for now...

Happy Reading Everyone!

Book Blogger Hop

Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books. I haven't really done meme's before now, but they seem to be a whole lot of fun, so I'm trying it. You should to.

This weeks question:

"What is the thing you like most about reading book blogs? Is it the reviews, author guest posts, articles, giveaways, or something else entirely?"

I love reading about what other people are reading, so for me I think that reviews are the best. I like to know what other people thought about a book (especially if it's one I loved). Another reason is to see what other people are reading my TBR has grown immensely since I've started following other blogs. It's great. I just love it all, and that's that.

Happy Reading Everyone!

From Book to Movie (2)

I Am Number Four By Pittacus Lore. This movie looks stinking awesome! I can say that I am pretty excited for it's release. But again, this is a book I have not read-I plan to before the movie comes out. Because I want to know what happens at the end and the only way I'll know any time soon is if I read the book. This trailer and the last that I posted both star Alex Pettyfer which is a total coincidence I swear. But he looks way hotter in this movie then Beastly (and not for obvious reasons).

I'm sure a million of you have already seen this trailer but it's pretty exciting so watch it again. I really can't wait for this movie.

Happy Reading Everyone!

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/ and it asks us to...

• Grab your current read
  


• Open to a random page
  


• Share a couple of “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  


• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  


• Share the title & author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.

Fallen By Lauren Kate

"Her first trip off campus and she ended up in a hospital five minutes from her parents' house. The last time she'd been here was to get three stitches on her elbow when she'd fallen off her bike."

P. 223

Haulin' (3)

So I have a teeny tiny haul. Only three books. But I wanted to share because I am so so excited about them all.

Shiver By Maggie Stiefvater
For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf - her wolf - is a haunting presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human -- until the cold makes him shift back again. Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears and the temperature drops, Sam must fight to stay human or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

This is one I have seen mentioned a lot but never really read what it was about. Many of the books that are on my wish list are hardbacks and at this time I cannot justify buying hardbacks. So I went for the trusty soft cover, and Shiver fit the bill and it looked really good. So I'll probably read this one before the year is out.

Beautiful Creatures By Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
There were no surprises in Gatlin County . We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere. At least, that's what I thought. Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong. There was a curse. There was a girl. And in the end, there was a grave. Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever. Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them. In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

This is another one I have seen mentioned a few times in various blogs, but I've never really looked into what it was about, so when I was in the bookstore today I picked it up and was fairly intrigued. So yeah, I bought it and I will read it soon.

Precious and Fragile Things By Megan Hart
Gilly Soloman has been reduced to a mothering machine, taking care of everyone and everything except herself. But the machine has broken down. Burnt out by the endless days of crying children and menial tasks, and exhausted from always putting herself last, Gilly doesn't immediately consider the consequences when she's carjacked. With a knife to her throat, her first thought is that she'll finally get some rest. Someone can save her for a change.
But salvation isn't so forthcoming. Stranded in a remote, snowbound cabin with this stranger, hours turn to days, days into weeks. As time forges a fragile bond between them, she learns her captor is not the lunatic she first believed, but a human being whose wasted life has been shaped by secrets and tragedy. Yet even as their connection begins to foster trust, Gilly knows she must never forget he's still a man teetering on the edge. One who just might take her with him

This is an advanced readers copy that I got from Megan which I was very grateful for. I've read many (if not all) of her books and this one is a little different then what she normally writes but that's ok. She writes beautifully and I am looking forward to reading this.

So this is my little haul. I still have a few books from my last two hauls left to read, so look out for those reviews. School is out now (well except for a few exams) so I have more time to read all that I have recently purchased. But that is it.

Happy Reading Everyone.

My Thoughts: Two Way Street By Lauren Barnholdt

I have never laughed as much in a book and I did in Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt. It was one of the funniest books I have ever read.

There are two sides to every breakup.
This is Jordan and Courtney, totally in love. Sure, they were an unlikely high school couple. But they clicked; it worked. They're even going to the same college, and driving cross-country together for orientation.
Then Jordan dumps Courtney -- for a girl he met on the Internet.
It's too late to change plans, so the road trip is on. Courtney's heartbroken, but figures she can tough it out for a few days. La la la -- this is Courtney pretending not to care.
But in a strange twist, Jordan cares. A lot.
Turns out, he's got a secret or two that he's not telling Courtney. And it has everything to do with why they broke up, why they can't get back together, and how, in spite of it all, this couple is destined for each other

When I first read the synopsis for this book it was something I wanted to read right away. Who wouldn't? It looked to be hilarious. I was imagining the spats that would take place, and was giggling even before I read the book.

Barnholdt knows what goes on in the minds of teenage girls and their friends (and how totally unreasonable they can be). There is a scene in the book where Courtney talks about sending Jordan an e-mail and how it took her (and her friend) two hours to compose, this had me roaring because it's so true, when us girls are trying to be cool and aloof when writing something to a boy it takes us forever to find the right words; usually the boys don't even notice the difference. The story was full of ridiculous antics that had me laughing out loud.

The characters were so much fun as well. Jordan and Courtney were great but their best friends BJ and Jocelyn were two of the funniest characters I have ever read about. They are a dysfunctional couple that should not have been together. I looked forward to every interaction with one of these characters. They were a real comic relief. I almost wish they had a book of their own. They were that entertaining.

However, as much as I loved this book I find that I have a little bit of a problem with it being geared for a 13-17 year old crowd (this is what it says on Chapters website). This book is full of sexual content that I think would not be suitable for someone younger then 16. There is also a fair bit of swearing that would make it more inappropriate for younger readers.

But in all, I really enjoyed reading this book I thought it was clever and funny and the characters worked for me. It was a good read, and I looking forward to reading more from Barnholdt, and I will be rereading this one for sure.

Happy Reading Everyone.

Kim Harrington: CLARITY ARC GIVEAWAY

Kim Harrington: CLARITY ARC GIVEAWAY: "So it's December 1st and Clarity comes out in THREE MONTHS! What? You can't wait until March 1st? You want a signed ARC (advanced review cop..."

Super cool give away. I'd check it out if I were you!