Book Trailer Thursday - The One and Only Ivan

This book just won the 2013 Newbery Medal Reading the description and then watching the book trailer has me already choked up. It seems like such a heart breaking story, but I'm so very curious about it now. When I was younger I used to seek out books that had the Newbery seal on them, those were the book I had wanted to read.  I'm debating this one...I'll probably risk breaking my heart.


     


Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all.

Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.

Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.

Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope

Happy Birthday Amelia Bedelia

In honor of Amelia Bedelia's 50th Birthday I put up a book display featuring my five favorite books.

Book Recommendation - The Lady and The Duke

The Lady and The Duke by Olivia Kelly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Description from Goodreads:
Miss Audrey Ellis has failed to catch a wealthy, titled husband in her two London Seasons,and merely wishes to return to her quiet country life, leaving high society behind her for good. But when an unexpected encounter brings the Duke of Halford into her life, she will have to decide if she has the courage to change her prudent, unadventurous plans and reach for something more.

William Langston, the Duke of Halford, wasn't looking for love. He came to Town to track down his sister's blackmailer, hoping to head off a scandal in the making. But the Viscount Claremont is more elusive than the duke was prepared for, and leads him on a chase through society's drawing rooms and balls. Will soon finds himself distracted from his mission by Audrey's fresh beauty and lack of pretension, something scarce in his rarefied world.

The pair are drawn together despite their differences, but as scandal looms and rumors spread, danger is closer than ever before.

Review:
This was a really cute, quick read. This story hits all the right points of a romance.  There's our heroine who wants nothing more than to leave London and escape society.  Add our hero, who isn't interested in a romance, he's got his plans and won't be deterred. They meet and both their plans change.  There's the bump in the road that causes a misunderstanding and brings to light some truths that neither was ready to admit.  William's reason for being in London part of the story was as good as the romance.  I'll admit I was thrown a bit as to what really was going on between William's sister and Viscount Claremont.

If you like regency romances and need a read for a lazy afternoon, this book is a must!

View all my reviews

Book Recommendation - The Facebook Diet

The Facebook Diet: 50 Funny Signs of Facebook Addiction and Ways to Unplug with a Tech-Detox by Gemini Adams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book Discription from Goodreads:

There are now 1 billion people on Facebook. That's 1 in every 7 people on the planet. And 34% of all users check their account before brushing their teeth or hair in the mornings! 

Everyone can confess to an addictive Facebook habit, whether it's stalking an ex, faking bathroom breaks to read news, checking-in wherever they go, or art-directing photo's for the perfect profile pic. 

The Facebook Diet (the first in The Unplug Series) takes a tongue-in-cheek look at this love for social media, featuring 50 hilarious cartoons that pinpoint the more idiotic, embarrassing and cringe-worthy behaviors of this modern approach to communication. 

It’s the ideal gift for Facebook junkies everywhere. Helping them find light-relief and the ability to laugh at this tech-takeover, which may inspire them to occasionally unplug with a tech-detox.

I recieved an ebook ARC from Netgalley.

I personally don't think I am that addicted to Facebook. Sure my addiction maybe a bit more than some, but I can go days without checking the website, or posting anything an update. Okay, so I'm a little bit addicted to seeing what others are doing and sharing thing's I've read or seen online. But it's not that bad, I'm not addicted like some people. I can quit at any time. Really, I'm good. This book isn't for me.

This book is funny and cute. It would make the perfect gift for that Facebook addicted friend or family member.

View all my reviews

Pug Videos

Hello! Lola here, my mommy has nothing to post today so I was allowed to take over the blog!

First here I would like to share with you a video to help you understand your pug better, my mommy and grandmom have a pretty good understand of me already, but sometimes even they need help understanding my demands.

Source: youtube.com via Brenda on Pinterest

Now that you know how to understand me, know that you are not providing for me up to my standards.  There is one man who knows how to provide for his pugs, his name is Valentino.  Watch this and then you will understand the kind of care I deserve.

Book Trailer Thursday - Gun Machine By Warren Ellis

Gun Machine By Warren Ellis: Wil Wheaton narrates the trailer for writer Warren Ellis' new novel 'Gun Machine,' drawn by Ben Templesmith.

Get More: 

MTV Shows

Saw this last week and just loved the visuals...it doesn't hurt that Wil Wheaton is narrating!

Winter Break Reading Update

Well the semester has started and I didn't get it all finished. Half way through the break I realized I had over did it and cut out all the Jane Austen themed books I had listed. Too much holiday socializing and not enough alone time to read.

Highlighted titles have been read!

Play by Play Series by Jaci Burton

• #3 Taking a Shot
• #4 Playing to Win

Highlander Series by Janet Chapman (this is one I started a long time ago and just recently realized there are 2 more books)

• Secrets of the Highlander
• A Highlander Christmas
• Highlander for the Holidays

Puffin Harbor Series by Janet Chapman (again read the first book forever ago)

• The Dangerous Protector

The Windham Series by Grace Burrowes

• Lady Maggie's Secret Scandal
• Lady Louisa's Christmas Knight
• The Courtship

Color Coded Reading Challenge

• Black City by Elizabeth Richards

Other Novels

• A Seal at Heart by Anne Elizabeth
• Shadow Ops: Control Point by Myke Cole
• Orleans by Sherri L. Smith (ARC book due out March 2013) - Started this one 1/7/12

Year in Review and Looking Forward

I set myself a goal of tracking 100 books on Goodreads in 2012...I tracked 150.  For 2013 I set myself a goal of tracking 200 books.

I say tracking and not reading because I read way more than I track.  There's short little romance novel I'll grab out of the free bin at work to read at lunch or the children's picture book that just came in.  I don't track those.  There are the books that I forget to track because I read it in one afternoon laying on the couch.  There are also the books I reread.  The books I turn to at 2 am when I know there is no way I'll be getting back to sleep.  So I set goals to track the new books I read.

I did the Color Coded Reading Challenge in 2012 and just barely completed that task.  The Global Lit class bogged me down towards the end of the year and I just wasn't reading as much as a I normally do.

For 2031 I'm going to be trying the TBR Pile Challenge.  I dug through my numerous bins/bags/boxes of books and found 12 (plus 2 alternates) that have been sitting there for awhile and hopefully I'll read at least a handful if not all of them.

As of this posting there is only a handful of days before the end of my winter break and I can say I won't be getting to the books on my Winter Break Reading List. I had first put more books on the list but then realized I had dreamed too big on my down time over the holidays so I knocked off a good number of them.  Still with the down time I haven't read as much as I would have liked.  I'm hoping to finish at least two more books on the list before the official start of the semester.

2013 TBR Pile Challenge

Adam over at RoofBeamReader is hosting the 2013 TBR Pile Challenge.

The Goal is to read 12 books from your "to be read" pile before the end of 2013.

Here is my list:

1. Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantle
2. Geektastic edited by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci
3. How to Be Single by Liz Tuccillo
4. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
5. The Smart One and The Pretty One by  Claire LaZebnik
6. Jack's Widow by Eve Pollard
7. The Dead Beat by Mailyn Johnson
8. Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik
9. The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James
10. Casting About by Terri Dulong
11. Needles and Pearls by Gil McNeil
12. The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club by Gil McNeil

Alternates

• This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel 
• People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

You can track my progress here.  I'll be posting (mini) reviews of the books as I finish them.