Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.This week we are talking about the top ten books that should be in your beach bag.
After much consideration I came up with my list of my top ten beach reads which translates into the top ten books I want to read this summer at the beach, by the pool, on the couch in air conditioning, you know.
Ok, so I got my beach bag
($62.00 @ torrid.com)
How cute is this bag, BTW? I must have it. I could fit books, snacks, bottled water, everything in this bag. On to the books...
1. The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell
Because I just love Carrie Bradshaw.
2. The Last Summer (of You & Me) by Ann Brashares
Because I love her stories.
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Because it has been on my shelf forever
4. Overbite by Meg Cabot
Because I was hoping she would write a sequel to Insatiable.
5. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Because the movie comes out in November and its been over a year since I read this book
6. in Front of God and Everybody by KD McCrite
Because it just seems like a cute story.
7. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Because I've never read it
8. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
Because I love true blood and I want to start a new series
9. Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
Just Because
10. Ten Thing We Did (and probably shouldn't have) by Sarah Mlynowski
Because unsupervised teenagers have the best adventures
Yup, I'm moving. I'm excited but I'm also annoyed. I hate packing. HATE HATE HATE it. No, packing is fine. Moving boxes into a truck and unpacking is what I hate. Packing you find things you thought you lost ages ago. Plus it gives you an opportunity to throw away stuff you no longer need. So tonight we are having a packing party. Everyone gets a room, some boxes and a trash bag. Also, we are moving from a house back to an apartment. I've been living in a house for the past 5 or so years and I am looking forward to 24 hour maintenance, swimming pool, a new location, cheaper rent. Anyways, I'm surrounded by boxes.
I wonder how many boxes of books I will have once I'm finished packing?
He's got an idea. This would definitely save on Uhaul expenses!
Aww, Carrie and Big. I remember this episode.
Packing would be so much more fun if I had such pretty boxes.
All calm and serene. Its never like this in real life.
I wonder how many boxes of shoes I will have?
I promise by the end of next week I will probably look like this!
Overbite by Meg Cabot (TBR July 5th) Meena Harper has a special gift, but it’s only now that anyone’s ever appreciated it. The Palatine Guard—a powerful secret demon-hunting unit of the Vatican—has hired her to work at their new branch in Lower Manhattan. With Meena’s ability to predict how everyone she meets will die, the Palatine finally has a chance against the undead. Sure, her ex-boyfriend was Lucien Antonescu, son of Dracula, the prince of darkness. But that was before he (and their relationship) went up in flames. Now Meena’s sworn off vampires for good . . . at least until she can prove her theory that just because they’ve lost their souls doesn’t mean demons have lost the ability to love. Meena knows convincing her co-workers—including her partner, Über-demon-hunter Alaric Wulf—that vampires can be redeemed won’t be easy . . . especially when a deadly new threat seems to be endangering not just lives of the Palatine, but Meena’s friends and family as well. But Meena isn’t the Palatine’s only hope. Father Henrique—aka Padre Caliente—New York City’s youngest, most charming priest, has also been assigned to the case. So why doesn’t Meena—or Alaric—trust him? As she begins unraveling the truth, Meena finds her loyalties tested, her true feelings laid bare . . . and temptations she never even imagined existed impossible to resist. This time, Meena may finally have bitten off more than she can chew.
I SOOOOOOO can't wait for this book to come out. I actually really like Insatiable.
Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Here are the rules: Grab your current read. Open to a random page. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page, and BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
"Yeah, I'm okay," I lie, wiping my mouth on the back of my hand. Gross, gross, gross. I'll bet his MySpace girl never throws up all over herself when they're together. I'll bet they're too busy having sex to eat anything that might cause her stomach to get all sketch. (page 112)
Aww, man can you imagine getting sick on three day road trip with your ex who dumped you for a girl he found on MySpace? Horrible.
Happy Music Monday! This is a weekly feature hosted by Gone with the Words where you post a video of a song that reminds you of something or someone I've read, anything that relates to it.
I just started reading Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt this weekend. I'm about halfway through the book. They talk alot about music and songs in this book so its kind of hard to formulate your own sound. You tend to hear what they are talking about. There are several songs that play in my mind while reading this book but I have two narrowed done for the two main characters.
Courtney is still hurting from the breakup with Jordan. Jar of Hearts fits her perfectly.
Lauren kept describing Jordan as listening to "hardcore rap" and even Jordan said he wasn't listening to anything mainstream like Jay Z or 50 Cent which he referred to as posers. I'm not so sure about that. Jay Z definitely not. But Jordan would have to be listening to old school hardcore rap like Tupac or NWA but all I can hear is Lil' Wayne.
It's circle time. Time for us to open up and share. Can you tell us FIVE quirky habits or things about you? We all have them...
I have a love/hate relationship with bugs. When I'm outside, I can't bring myself to kill a bug or step on a ant. I will walk around them. I'm in their territory but in the house I can't STAND to see a bug. I must kill it, squash it, flush it then I spend the next 30 minutes searching my house for any other critters. And I usually don't sleep good that night, worrying about one crawling on me in my sleep.
I hate when people touch my stuff, even my husband. If I put something somewhere, don't move it. If you do, please put it back exactly the way I had it so I won't know.
I swear the person in my head and the person in the mirror are completely different people. I believe I'm like a 17 year old artsy, rebel trapped in the body of a 30 year old responsible adult.
I must have condiments. I can't eat fish without tartar sauce, french fries without ketchup/mustard, raw veggies without ranch. I can't stand dry food. I just won't eat it.
Even if I really like something, if I see alot of people doing it I won't do it/wear it/say it. It's just something about being lumped in a group with lots of people that bothers me.
"If you were given the chance to spend one day in a fictional world (from a book), which book would it be from and what would that place be?"
I'd probably have to go to middle earth, Rivendell in particular where the Elves lived. J.R.R. Tolkien's imaginary world is so beautiful. The trees, the mountains I would love to live there but I'd settle for a day.
Ok, I need to talk to someone about my favorite shows and their season finales before I burst. I don't really have anyone I can discuss these shows with IRL so I must take it to the net. These are in order of their importance to me. Let's discuss:
5. America's Next Top Model
Brittani won, Molly should have. Ok, Molly has a bad attitude but I think she is just a tough girl. She curses and complains alot but the girl takes the best pictures and can walk circles around Brittani. So I didn't really watch the whole finale, I just kind of flipped over at the end to see who won. (I just bought the whole Sex and the City series for $20 so I've been busy watching it.) I did watch all season though. Brittani just gets on my nerves a little. And anyways, Kasia was the prettiest of them all I thought.
4. Gossip Girl
This season of Gossip Girl was a little disappointing to me. I found myself falling asleep on it a lot. I love Chuck and Blair, it was most interesting when they were a couple and I wanted them back together but Blair already thinks she is a princess, why wouldn't she marry a prince? I didn't like that Chuck just gave her up in the end after he'd been trying so hard to get her back, that was lame. And I need to know what publisher Vanessa just walked into that easily, "where do I send the checks?" Really. It's just that easy to publish a book in NY? Ok. Nate bores me, so does Serena and I don't really care what Georgina is up to but they did some nice foreshadowing for next season. In fact, I'm very interested to see who is pregnant. Watch it be Dorodo again. I hope its Blair and Chuck! When is Jenny coming back?
3. Hellcats
I'm so sad this won't come back next season. It was cancelled and they had one of the best finales! I was really into Marti and her new sister (who happens to be her sister IRL). Their father called at the end and Marti ran off mad. I really really wanted to know if she was going to get to meet her father. Then the coach gets fired, I would have loved to see how that developed but where was Red during this whole thing? Isn't he the reason she got fired. Savannah handed over the captain reigns to Alice. Savannah's dad is still on the run. And aside from Nasty Kathy locking Lewis in the bathroom, this episode was really good. Maybe they will change their minds over the summer and bring it back. One can only hope!
2. 90210
Love Love Love Naomi and Max! But Naomi is pregnant? I couldn't believe it. I was shocked considering they had solved all their school problems (she was able to graduate and go to CU; Max's parents working out a way to possibly get him in MIT) now a baby. Can't wait to see how that works out. I thought it was sweet that Ivy married Raj even if its just because he is dying. I would have done it to. He's a nice kid. Dixon really needs to have something interesting happen to him. He has been in the shadows lately. Navid is boring too. Question though, how come there weren't any parents at graduation? I know these are rich kids but still. Adriana should have just walked right off the cliff. No, just kidding but her little speech about not giving up was just a little after school special. It's like now you want to teach the kids that suicide is never the answer (which it isn't) but what about stealing from dead people, drug tampering and teenage binge drinking? I guess that stuff is ok. Pffft. What is Annie going to do with her inheritance? How much was it exactly? I wonder is Liam coming back? See, this is what makes a great finale, having all these questions at the end. It makes watching the premiere a necessity. I guess the biggest question of the night was how could Teddy not like the male stripper? He was cute. Lol.
And #1 Vampire Diaries!
O.M.G. This show is quite possibly the best show on the air! You never know what is going to happen. I swear every episode I'm shocked about something. These writers have no problem killing off someone. They will do it in the blink of an eye. Jenna died, not in the finale, but she was sacrificed. I totally didn't expect that. Anyways, I never thought they were going to kill Damon, I knew they would come up with a way to save him but watching Stefan drink all that blood to amp himself up to go on a killing spree with Klaus, wow. I love Damon, glad Stefan saved him and all but I'd hate to be one of those unfortunate humans that run into Klaus and Stefan while they are binging on people. Plus Stefan is leaving, which means he is leaving Elena which means Elena and Damon are going to get all close and lovey, I hope. I don't know why but I want those two together. I'm glad that Caroline's mom stopped all her dumbness and accepted her daughter for what she is now. I really hope that Caroline leaves Matt alone for good and get with Tyler. I want them to have little vampire werewolf babies! I love Bonnie, she could do no wrong in my eyes. And Jeremy sees dead people now. Hmmm, I hope dead Vicki isn't going to mess up Jeremy's relationship with Bonnie. So what happens now with Katherine? Is she just gone for good? I liked all the mischief she caused. What is Alaric going to do now? What about Elijah? I really felt bad for him. I'm so sad that this show is over for the summer and I can't wait for the season premiere this Fall. I will be ready, popcorn popped, deep in the couch, ready to watch!
Please comment on any or all of these shows. What did you think about the finale(s)?
At least I have three shows to look forward to this summer:
I have to have my HBO back by June 26th. CAN'T WAIT! CAN'T WAIT! CAN'T WAIT! Check out the trailer for the new season.
Mmmmmmmmm. Did I mention that I CAN'T WAIT?
Also,
Pretty Little Liars will be back June 14th. Maybe we will finally find out who A is. And So You Think You Can Dance will be back this summer too. I just love this show.
I'm so excited. I feel so priviledged to read something that hasn't been released to the public. I know some of the more seasoned book bloggers do this all the time so its like no big deal. However, I just got my first two ARC novels and I'm excited!
Thieves Get Rich, Saints Get Shot by Jodi Compton (TBR July 26, 2011)
This is the sequel to Hailey's War which I never read. I hope I will be able to enjoy this book without reading the first. Gangster girls, can't wait to read this! Seems like it will be a good summer read. Which I'm going to be doing a lot of since all my shows have recently shown their season finales. Speaking of, who all saw The Vampire Diaries finale? How good was that!? Prediction, Damon and Elena fall in love this coming season. Anyways, that is another topic.
Hassie Calhoun: A Las Vegas Novel of Innocence by Pamela Cory (TBR June 1, 2011)
I enjoy novels about young people chasing their dreams which it seems like this book is about. Plus it begins in the 1960s in Las Vegas which I think is a great time and location for a singer. I'm putting together my list of books to read this summer. This is the first summer in years where I'm not in classes. Other than studying for the GRE, I have nothing to do this summer other than read and write (and drive 2000 miles to Denver, CO. CAN'T WAIT). Anyways, these two books are on my summer reading list along with:
Very light and fluffy reads this summer with so much drama going on in the world, it's nice to read these kinds of books where the biggest drama is a first kiss or a dad marrying his young girlfriend. I love to escape into the teeny booper world as my hubs calls it.
Question: WHAT IS ON YOUR READING LIST FOR THE SUMMER?
And now, this month's questions:
1. On a scale from 1-5, what would you rate this book? Briefly tell us why. 4, this book didn’t suck me in as fast as book one. In the beginning I was a little iffy about Rhage’s character.
2. Did you have an preconceived notions about this book given that we knew it would be from the point of view of a different brother? I did because I like Wrath’s story so much I wasn’t sure I’d like the other brothers the same.
3. What did you think of Rhage's transformations? I thought it was awesome, vampire dragon man? It sucked that he wasn’t able to control it and was afraid he would hurt one of his brothers but still I thought it was cool.
4. What did you think of Rhage and Mary's first encounter at the Brother's house? Did you foresee a relationship forming after this meeting? I thought it was a little weird. Rhage reacted to her a little too quickly for my taste. She wasn’t a stand out character for me at that time.
5. Ward seems to like forcing her characters to make some hard choices. What did you think of Rhage's choice to save Mary at the end of the book? Would you do the same for someone you loved? It was a hard thing to do but a definite no brainer, he was saving her life. I definitely would without a doubt.
6. Do you think John will become a brother after his transformation? Yes, and for some reason I think he is going to be one of the toughest brothers yet.
7. Do you think Bella will become Zsadist's shellan? What, if anything, do you think this will do to Phury and Zsadist's relationship as a result given that Phury showed mild interest in Bella as well? Well, since I’ve already read Zsadist book I know the answer to this question. It is a little weird that Phury likes her too. I know they are twins and all but this whole bonding thing seems to be pretty serious so you would think that would squash any attraction that Phury has.
Ok, I have a new favorite band, The Civil Wars. I guess Nashville has really grown on me because country music is seeping further and further into my musical library. Anyways, I love their voices.
This song reminded me of O Brother Where Art Thou, which I love. After seeing this video I went to their website to hear more. I love their sound which isn't as country as I first thought.
They offer a free download of their Live at Eddie's Attic album, click here to download.
Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive. Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyerby Michelle Hodkin(Sept. 27, 2011)
Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
It can.
She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.
There is.
She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.
She's wrong.
