NaNoWriMo Update: I Did It!

Well, would you look at that! I actually managed to get to freaking 50,000 words!

A few days ago I decided to give up. I was close, but not close enough and figured with Thanksgiving and all the stuff I would be doing with family that I'd have no time to keep up with it. So I just decided, this is not happening.

But then, whenever I had a moment or two, and in the mornings before things got crazy, I wrote a few hundred words here and there. And wouldn't you know it, those few hundred added up to a thousand or so and that thousand or so added up. Which is to say that I managed to keep pretty much right on task until just now, a few minutes ago,when  I finally broke 50,000 and WON!

So, the story is not at all done yet, which is pretty normal for most people. 50,000 isn't long enough to be a complete novel usually. So I have more to write to finish it. And now I must decide, is this story worth finishing, because it's a pretty crap story. Fun, perhaps. Silly, for sure. Weird, definitely, but worth finishing? I don't know.

I'm going to give it a break because one thing I do know, I'm sick to death of it! And after a little break, we'll see if I'm dying to come back to it and see how it all ends.

Whew. I'll be happy to get back to reading and watching Netflix in my "spare" time. And work on last year's story, which I actually miss somehow!

And maybe I'll manage  to decorate a tree and buy some Christmas after all!

I can't even tell you how nice it is to see that number!!!

STAR WARS Episode VII Teaser!

Have you seen it? They said it's a teaser and a teaser it is! Sheesh... give us MORE!!!

And then to have it say, December 2015 at the end? Ah, man that's such a long time from now!

But still, this little teaser brings it all back. I think it's the music. And the sound affects. I loved it then, I love it now.

Let's hear it for more Star Wars! I, for one, CAN'T WAIT!!!

What do you think?

The Walking Dead Discussion: S5E7 Crossed (Spoilers!)

Finally! We get to see what's happening with ALL our characters in the same episode. For most of our crew, this episode was about forming plan on how to rescue Beth and now Carol too. Daryl has come back (and though we don't see it, it's pretty obvious that Noah WAS the guy in the trees with him) and explained the situation to Rick and they are off to the hospital. Mishonne and Carl stay back to babysit Judith and Gabriel.

They do a terrible job with Gabriel though, because he escapes! What's up with that? What the freak does he expect to accomplish? Doesn't he LIKE our pretty dang capable group? BAFFLING!

Meanwhile, we see that Abraham is still kneeling in the road. It appears he's quit cold turkey. Eugene pretty much looks dead, but he might wake up still. Maggie is left to babysit those two, while the rest go off for water. And some fish as it turns out.  And those bits were my favorite of the episode. Some needed comic relief! Tara especially delivered.  "Look what I found in this bag!!" I thought it was going to some really awesome needed survival thing. Did you catch what it was? A yoyo!

Maggie had to get a little mean with Abraham.
But he came around.

She also cracked some joke, which I can't remember now and Glen was all like, "That's not funny."  She says, "yeah, it kinda was." And then they argue about the not funniness. Later on Glen concedes.... "Okay, it wasn't not not funny." Loved it.

But what about Beth and Carol? That mean old Dawn says about Carol. "Let her die." But Beth bribes strawberries for help and gets medicine and here's hoping it works. Meanwhile, across the street, plotting is happening. Rick wants to kill everyone. But they go with Tyreese's a little nicer plan.

Trying to carry out the plan. Also,  Daryl's arms. 

Of course it backfires. Of course. But they sort of recover. And suddenly they have a new Bob. This Bob sweet talks Sasha and just when the timing is right. KONKED over the head! Bam, down Sasha goes and that's the end of the episode.

We have one more episode before a big long break... already. Again. How sad for us. But here's hoping that episode involves some rescuing.

My take from this episode: DON'T EVER TRUST ANYONE! Ever! Also, yoyos are nice.

What'd you all think?

Movie Review: Mockingjay Part One

Movie: Mockingjay Part One
Genre: Drama/Dystopian Fantasy
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth
Rating: PG 13
My Rating: two thumbs up


While I was plenty excited to see this movie, I was also a bit worried about it since it's a part one and all. I don't like part ones very  much. I mean, they are usually good movies but I hate that whole "to be continued" feeling at the end when things are just getting going and then you have to stop and wait a whole freaking year for the conclusion and satisfying (hopefully) ending.

I liked Effie's new look! :)

I was worried about that feeling. And I must admit, that feeling happened pretty much as I expected. I was glad they ended where they did though, and not about five or so minutes before. Because at least one problem was solved, even if there are plenty more waiting for them.

Poor Peeta.

That being said, I thought the movie itself was awesome and very engaging and not slow as some people have said. But then again, I'm invested in these characters and have been for a long long time, way before the movies. Which makes even the slow bits fascinating.

So I enjoyed it and thought the actors did an amazing job at building the tension and showing the emotional trauma these characters are facing. They are just so good! I loved seeing more of Gale. I'd forgotten he had a more prominent role in this part of the story. I loved seeing him but am nervous for what's to come!

A sweet moment with Gale.

The music was awesome, especially the part where Katniss starts singing. I totally didn't remember this part in the book and came home and looked it up and sure enough, there's the song. It's such a haunting song and such a pivotal point in the story, I think it will go down as the coolest part of this whole movie.

So, those are my thoughts! If you've seen it, what did you think?

With Jenni, Kami, and Toto.

With our husbands in the theater. 

Here's the trailer if you missed it somehow along the way:



And here's The Hanging Tree song:

The Walking Dead Discussion: S5E6 Consumed (Spoilers!)

Finally! The Carol/Daryl episode! We've been waiting for this one for awhile. We were left hanging when they went chasing off after a car with a white cross on it. So we pick up with them at that point.

This one, though an awesome episode, was a bit of a slow one. Agreed?

But it was fun to see the relationship these two characters have. Hardly any talking, just lots of feeling. We follow them as they bounce from spot to spot in the city trying to figure out where this car came from or is going to. They don't figure it out until they meet up with Noah who has just escaped from the hospital. At first he isn't so nice, but then he gets in a bad way and they end up saving him. It's after that they realize he has seen Beth and knows what's up.

So they decide on a plan. Sort of, but not really. And before they can do anything, Carol runs out and gets hit by one of their cars and bam, they take her in!

So that answers one question... they didn't send her in there on purpose and she really is hurt. Did you see Daryl freaking out when that happened? Oh my gosh that was crazy intense. Interesting to see so much emotion pouring out of him.

Oh, and that fall in the van? Wow, that was crazy. I can't believe they could actually come through something like that okay, you know?

A lot of fire symbolism in this episode too. What'd you think? And when Daryl said, "We ain't ashes." I loved it!

Well, and now next week it looks like we might be seeing everyone's story again. Maybe. I don't know.

So, what did you think about the Daryl/Carol episode?

Book Review Discussion: The Unhappening of Genesis Lee by Shallee McArthur and Launch Party Pictures

Book: The Unhappening of Genesis Lee by Shallee McArthur
Genre: YA SF
Rating:★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
For: Review and Supporting Local Authors
From: Received for free from the publisher through Edelweiss. All opinions are my own. 

Short Synopsis: This is a world in the future where some of the people have the capability to store their memories in links they wear on their wrist or neck or some where. They can also sense memories of others through touching. The other people are "normal" and have to remember their memories in their heads. There's a huge rift between the two groups and in this story, this divide comes to a head. It started when someone starts stealing memory links. Our heroine, Gena, somehow gets all mixed up in this business and has to find a way to make it all end.

My Response: Very interesting premise this is. You'd think that having all our memories stored and readily accessible would be a good thing. But no, I think not at all! This made me so glad for our good old brains and ability to have all our memories with us, even if we don't remember ALL the details. But I did love the idea of storing memories within objects and while we don't necessarily do this, we do have a way to visibly store memories... scrapbooks, photograph books and videos! Yes,  I love this stuff for this reason and it pains me when I get behind or haven't backed them up or printed, or burned or whatever I need to do with them. Because I do feel that it does preserve our memories for those that come after us and it's a big deal.

This book includes lots of science which, if you've read many of my reviews before you'll know that it tends to go over my head. So there was a lot I just didn't get. But it sounded pretty cool anyway!

Bottom Line: Very fun, clever and unique science fiction adventure.

Let's Talk About: How about you and the storing of memories? Do you wish we had a more fail safe way to do it? Do you keep up on the methods I mentioned above? Do you ever feel panicky about making sure memories are stored?

Other Reviews:

I didn't know who to trust or what to believe, and I loved that! I love stories that keep me guessing and surprises me in the end. From Kami's Library Thoughts

The antagonist was well written too. I didn’t figure out who they were before they were revealed. The story kept me guessing all the way to the end. From Jenni Elyse

This book was surprisingly deep at times when talking about what memories one would want to forget and keeping all of your memories to deal with them properly. From Woven Magic

I couldn't flip the pages fast enough to get to the heart of this mystery. I wanted to know who the memory thief was SO BAD. From Elana Johnson


And finally, some pictures of the launch party we went to for this book! I'm a bit behind as it happened a few weeks ago. But we had a great time, even joining Shallee and her family and friends at a restaurant afterward. (Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of that part of the evening.)

We (Kami, Jenni, me and my daughter made fan signs!
And then made Shallee get in the picture too!

During the awesome fun presentation.

There was quite the signing line. 

More line pictures with Kami and Jenni.

Top Ten Tuesday: Two for One!

So my brain doesn't seem smart enough to be able to come up with top ten lists the past little while. I liked last week's topic, but only came up with five very unoriginal side characters. And then this week's list about sequels I'm wanting just made me crazy too. So I've decided to combine the two weeks into two top five lists! Though, they are really boring lists at that. As I said, my brain is feeling list lazy I think.

Top Five Characters That Need Their Own Book!

1. Roar
2. Gilbert
3. Heathcliff
4. Mr. Rochester
5. The Queen in the Queen's Thief books

(some of these might have their own book already and I'm unaware though I do know Roar has one of those ebook novella things)


Top Five Sequels I'm Looking Forward To

1. All Our Yesterday's by Cristin Terril (I think there's more of this one, yes?)
2. A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray (ditto)
3. The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain
4. Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson (and in fact this one might already be out?)
5. The Infinite Seas by Rick Yancey (well technically the next book would be #3!)


What do you think I should have on this list!??? I'm forgetting so many things!

Be sure to link up your list over at The Broke and the Bookish today!

Book Thoughts: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

We just finished reading and discussing The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger for book club this
month. More people enjoyed it than I thought there'd be! I guess poor old Holden is a sympathetic character after all!

I first read this book back in 2008 and reviewed it then. My feelings haven't really changed since then. I do like Holden. I feel sorry for him. He needs help. The book is interesting as a character study. Re-reading it now I caught more things than I did the first time around. For instance, I was much more tuned into his suicidal thoughts, the fact that he was extremely depressed about his brother's death (something he's never gotten over,) that he has a terrible self image which is why he's cutting everyone else down, and that he's actually a really nice guy and does a ton of nice things for most of the characters in the book. I'm glad that by the end this story, we understand that he's in treatment and here's hoping it worked!

Anyway, I gathered some quotes that stood out to me, which I'd love to share:

"What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.  That doesn't happen much though."

"I didn't answer him. All I did was, I got up and went over and looked out the window. I felt so lonesome, all of a sudden. I almost wished I was dead."

"Sleep tight, ya morons!"

"By any chance, do you happen to know where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over? Do you happen to know, by any chance?"

"The #($(#% movies.They can ruin you. I'm not kidding."

"I mean you'd be different in some way-- I can't explain what I mean. And even if I could, I'm not sure I'd feel like it."

"I'd rather have a $%&* horse. A horse is at least human for God's sake."

"I shouldn't have. I laughed. And I have one of these very loud, stupid laughs. I mean if I ever sat behind myself in a movie or something, I'd probably lean over and tell myself to please shut up."

"That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be. I know it's crazy."

"I mean how do you know what you're going to do till you do it? The answer is, you don't. I think I am, but how do I know? I swear it's a stupid question."

"It's funny. Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody."



And just for kicks, I looked up the poem by Robert Burns from which this book gets its title:

Comin Thro' The Rye

O, Jenny's a' weet, poor body,
  Jenny's seldom dry:
She draigl't a' her petticoatie,
  Comin thro' the rye!

Comin thro' the rye, poor body,
  Comin thro' the rye,
She draigl't a' her petticoatie,
  Comin thro' the rye!

Gin a body meet a body
  Comin thro' the rye,
Gin a body kiss a body,
  Need a body cry?

Gin a body meet a body
  Comin thro' the glen,
Gin a body kiss a body,
  Need the warl' ken?

Gin a body meet a body
  Comin thro' the grain;
Gin a body kiss a body,
  The thing's a body's ain.

So, it remains a fascinating book for me. What about you? Have you read it? Are you a fan? Do you want to be Holden's friend?

NaNoWriMo 2014: Google Searching

We're half way there! Wow, time flies!

One of the most interesting things about writing a book is researching. And by researching I mean simply finding the answers to questions that come up as you are in the middle of a scene or something. Or you are pondering something but then you don't feel like you can write it correctly until you google around for a minute. It happens pretty much constantly. And I love it though it is EXTREMELY distracting to doing the actual writing and can make what would be an hour writing moment turn into hours and hours.

So, I've been making a list of  stuff I've been googling this week:

* John Travolta movies of the 70s
* Led Zeppelin
* How long ET was in the theater
* renting VCRs  and what movies were available to rent in the 80s
* what a bracelet from Poland would look like
* 80s slang
* what was playing in theater on specific weekends in 1982.
* what songs were on the radio during specific weeks in 1982
* Flock of Segulls, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, B 52s
* My Favorite Year

What have you been learning about for your Nano writing experience?

And now I'm off to try and get to 25,000 today, the half way point. I have a couple thousand to write. Wish me luck!

The Walking Dead Discussion S5E5: Self Help (Spoilers!!)

So with this episode we switch focus again. Now we've left Beth seeing Carol being wheeled in and we've left Daryl in the woods saying, "Come on out." Gotta keep track of the cliff hangers we're racking up here!

Now, we are with Glen and Maggie off with crazy Abraham to get Eugene to D.C. At first it all seems a little slow and they are just chitchatting on the bus like it's any other road trip, asking Eugene about his mullet and everything.

I kinda like his hair...

Then BAM, the bus explodes and rolls. Like out of nowhere. And then they have to fight off the walkers and suddenly everything is back to normal, fighting for their lives!

The interesting thing about this episode was that it focused on Abraham and Eugene, a couple of characters we've yet to know very well. There were flashbacks to Abraham's past, how he ended up where he did. It's a sad story. His family freaked out when they saw him kill some bad guys and then then they left him and when he went to find them it was too later. Killed by walkers. Just then Eugene comes "running" up begging for helping and telling him he can save the world if only he can get to Washington DC. And thus starts his mission to save Eugene. He has focus again!

It's all very deep.

In between the flashbacks we are with the bus group as they try to decide what to do. Stay or go? Abraham is having none of the stay business... he's all GO GO GO. Glen says, chill, we'll go with you!

They find a bookstore to hunker down in for the night. Sweet. Glen and Maggie have a nice moment reflecting on life. Abraham and Rosita have a nice moment that was TMI for me and Eugene watches. That was.... awkward.

Wasting water!!!

In the morning, after some fire hosing of more walkers, they are off again. That is until they crest a hill and see an entire field full of thousands of walkers. There's no way they can get through, but Abraham is crazy and says... on we go!

It's then that Eugene loses it and suddenly he's all... I AM NOT A SCIENTIST!!! Wait, what? Yeah, and now the whole world caves in because there is suddenly no more mission! Abraham beats him up and who knows if he is alive or not (cliff hanger number three to keep track of!) and everyone else is pretty much speechless.

One good thing, Eugene makes his first kill!

So.. now what do we do? I guess we find out next episode! Maybe!

I enjoyed seeing the back story of these two characters. I'm still missing all the "normal" group though.

What did you think? Were you surprised at this reveal? (I guess if you are a fan of the books you aren't surprised by much of anything, right?)

Devastation!

Movie Review: Interstellar

Movie: Interstellar
Genre: Science Fiction
Starring:  Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway
Rating: PG13
My Rating: Two thumbs up

I knew from the moment I saw the trailer the first time that I'd be interested in this movie. It's Christopher Nolan after all, and when have I not liked one of his movies? It's also space-y stuff and when have I not liked space-y stuff!?

All my kids!

So for a day-early birthday celebration last night, I rallied the troops and we managed to ALL arrange schedules to go see it together at the Imax theater. As good as the movie was, that was the best part for me, having everyone there!

As for the movie, I heard it was a mess with your mind kind of thing, and it delivered on that for sure! It was a little slow to start and yes, quite long (though I never once wondered "is it almost over already!") but all the stuff that's happening in the beginning means something later on. So pay attention.

Just try not to cry along with him during this part. I dare you.

I had a few issues with the dialogue and either not understanding, or not hearing. Many times the music overpowered the talking, but in a few cases, I think it was meant to be that way ... we weren't supposed to know what they were saying quite yet.

Quick summary: the earth is dying. It's like a re-occurrence of the dust bowl incident that happened back in the 30s (in fact they had people who experienced that dust bowl being interviewed and making it seem like they were actors talking about the current stuff from the movie. Awesome idea!) And everyone is going to die if something is not done. Well, our hero Cooper stumbles upon NASA people who are plotting a plan in secret to find another planet to live on. They talk Cooper into joining the mission... and thus leaving his kids to save the world. It's gut wrenching. Especially when stuff happens that messes with time to make everything ten times worse than it already is! Then of course, nothing goes right with the mission, so will they save the world or won't they? You'll just have to watch to find out!

Isn't that an awesome looking black hole?

Some of the stuff that they deal with in this movie: the theory of relativity, the bending of time and space, the power of love, black holes, worm holes, quantum physics, and gravity. Much of the science stuff went right over my head, but it sure sounded awesome! Wibbly wobbly timey wimey! That's what this movie it!

But the best thing is talking about the movie afterwards and trying to figure out what exactly happened! And how! And if it's possible! And what WAS that anyway?

And then you'll just want to see it all over again!

This planet didn't work out too well.

I enjoyed Matthew McConaughey as usual. The music was perfect for adding to the suspense of the movie, but considering it was Hans Zimmer, I wasn't as taken with it as I usually am. But the movie, I loved! I loved the idea of it, the adventure, the messing with time which is always fun, and the thought provoking ideas that are brought up.

Just... go see it! Then let's talk.

Here's the trailer, well in fact, this is four trailers all put together for your viewing pleasure:

Book Review Discussion: Hunt for the Skinwalker by Colm A. Kelleher and George Knapp

Book: Hunt for the Skinwalker by Colm A. Kelleher and George Knapp
Genre: NF 
Rating:★★★☆☆
For: Fun and research
From: The library

Short Synopsis: So there's this ranch in Utah. They call it Skinwalker Ranch. Some people lived there for years. Then they sold it to some other people. Those people could only take it for not even a couple of years before they had to leave. The first part of this book is an account of the stuff that happened to them  (the first people never talked about it) and why they left. They then sold it to a dude who wants to do research, spacey science fiction sort of research. So some specialists were hired to track and analyze and maybe try to figure out the stuff that's going on here. The second part of the book is their experience and findings.

My Response: I found this stuff to be very very creepy. Scary even. Crazy. Weird. Phenomenal. It's fascinating to me actually. But let me just say that nothing freaks me out more than talk of aliens. And that's what all this is about. The myth or legend of the skinwalker, which is why I wanted to read this book in the first place, is barely mentioned. This land is named that because the Native Americans consider the ground cursed and they call it "the path of the skinwalker." While the legend of the skinwalker is touched on, the stuff that happens here really doesn't seem connected to anything Native American at all. It's more about strange lights, many many UFOs, cattle mutilations, worm holes, invisible creatures, wolves that can't be killed, things that happen and yet leave no trace or evidence behind, and lots of poltergeist activity. It's pretty crazy! And it creeps me out!

Bottom Line: Interesting stuff but I ended up skimming over the second part of the book as all the things I wanted to know about were already touched on. If you are fascinated with aliens and extra terrestrial activity and possibility, you should definitely give this book a try.

Let's Talk About: So... what's your feeling an the possibility of aliens living among us? Do you think worm holes (portals to other places or demensions) could actually exsits? What's your level of skepticism when it comes to this sort of thing? Do you think it's all totally bogus? I want to know!!!

Other Reviews:

Only with a lot of critical research will anyone be able to work out exactly what went on here. From Magonia

It’s impossible to sort out the true from the confused and enhanced, but the essence of it is—if even a few of these things truly occurred, there is something about this site that was ideal for weirdness. From Ghost Hunting Theories

NaNoWriMo Update: Week One!

Well, one week down and I'm at just over 14,000 words.... barely hanging on at the "PAR" amount. I was just looking at what I wrote last year at this time and I was at just over 21,000 words. So, right there you can see the comparison! I feel flounder-y! Friday especially was terrible. I had no desire to write and no idea what to say. What do you do on days like that? I managed 700 words of crap. So there you go.

What else am I feeling about now. I'll tell you:

** I'm enjoying my story but I think it's pretty dumb and silly.
** My writing is also dumb and silly. No pretty words or descriptions. It's all angst angst angst.
** Most of my writing dilemmas are finding ways to use 80s slang.
** I'm using WAY to many !!!! because it's two girls writing to each other and it just calls for lots of !!!! you know what I mean?
** It's hard to use a lot of conversation in an epistolary novel and I love writing conversation, so that's a problem.
** I am enjoying cheering everyone else on who's joined this party. Are you on my cheer list?
** Time is being an issue, as it is for everyone else. There's too much stuff happening. And this week I must celebrate a birthday too! I think I will tell everyone... for my birthday I want to sit at the computer for the whole day!
** Actually, I'm going to make everyone go to Interstellar with me. :)
** Do you see how easily distracted I am? The same happens when I'm writing!
** I'm going to be highlighting lots of music and movies in my story and I want to know... what's your favorite Led Zeppelin song? Comment below!
** Mostly I am feeling a little sluggish with my story right now and I think I need to make something really big and exciting happen fast!

And finally, to share a little excerpt (because I'm stupid like that.) Here's a bit I wrote yesterday. And now you can see what I mean about the silly. In this bit... Jan is in English class, writing a note to Liv:

Have you seen what Jace is wearing today? Instead of a tshirt with a button down shirt over the top… it’s just the button down shirt. What happened to the tshirt? He looks so spiffy! I’m dying here in English. I want so bad to say something. Like for instance,

“Hey Jace.” Tap on his shoulder. He turns around. He looks at me with a question in those amazing eyes. And I say, “Hey. You look really nice today. I just thought I’d tell you.”

And then he smiles. And I get how many points for that? Oh, at least another point on our ongoing tally! And maybe he’ll even say, “You look nice too.” And then I’ll turn hot pink and hide in my hair.

Dare me to do it?

(a few intense moments later)

DONE! And now I’m hyperventilating. Must go breathe.

— Jan

LOL. Yeah. So, how's Nano going for you all? 

(P.S. and lest you think I stole the name Jace for my character from a recent series,  let it be known I wanted to use this name WAY before that series came out and made that name really popular!)

The Walking Dead Discussion: S5E4 Slabtown (Spoilers!)

Finally, we get to see what happened to Beth!!

Of course, she's been taken by some more crazy people. This time, the people are running a clean, efficient hospital where they expect you to pay them back for anything they give you. Since they saved Beth's life (supposedly) from a walker, she owes them a lot. And one really creepy "lollipop" dude expects her to pay up in a way she refuses to.

Oh, can you believe the creepiness of that green sucker scene?

But she finds a really awesome friend, Noah, and they try to escape down a most disgusting elevator. At our house, we were literally screaming during that whole thing! Noah gets away, but of course, Beth does not. I really liked Noah, and I hope we haven't seen the last of him. Let him be part of the show now!

Introducing... Noah!

Which makes me hope that he is the guy in the woods with Daryl. Yes? Anyone? You agree?

And then when Beth goes back to the hospital, they wheel in Carol!! And now what? That raises the question... is Carol really hurt? Or is she coming in all beat up on purpose? We don't know.

And, according to the scenes for next week, we might not know for awhile because next week appears to be highlighting what happens to Glen and Maggie's group as they head for DC. Ah, I hate that everyone is split up again so fast!

Creepy hospital show runner... Dawn.

Anyway, but Beth. She held her own pretty well in that creepy hospital, don't you think? She's like Carol in the fact that she just gets stronger and stronger.

The end of creepy lollipop dude!

Book Review Discussion and Giveaway: A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

Book: A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Rating:★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
For: Review
From: Received for free from the publisher. All opinions are my own. 

Short Synopsis: Marguerite's really smart physicist parents have created a device that allows its wearer to jump between dimensions. Not time, but alternate universes... places were other copies of people exist depending on the decisions they've made in their lives. As the book opens, Marguerite is stark raving mad because someone, and she thinks she knows who, has killed her father in order to get their hands on this technology. And now he's escaped to other realities. She and her friend Theo are off to travel through these alternate realities, in order to find him and perhaps kill him. Hang on for the ride!

My Response: Awesome! I loved this story and could not put it down. I've read a lot of time travel books but not much about alternate reality travel. This is sort of new, yes? And the other versions of Marguerite live in some pretty interesting places. The romance is especially swoony too and the twists, while not over-the-top mind boggling, are nevertheless very satisfying. There was a bit of science explaining in the beginning, which I have a short attention span for, but it was over quickly and the story moved along despite it, so it turned out okay. 

Bottom Line: I loved it and found the adventure to be a blast to experience.

Let's Talk About: This made me wonder about other alternate reality books. This one is being compared to Cloud Atlas, which I have not read. Any others you can think of that you'd like to make me aware of? This just might be my new favorite thing! How about you? Are you a fan of such a thing? Would you want to see what your alternate lives could be? Does that thought make you crazy? 

Other Reviews:

If you’re looking to test yourself with a more complicated plot and multi-dimensional characters, A Thousand Pieces of You is definitely the way to go. From Fiction Folio

Just read the book! Especially if you love science fiction. Because you will adore this then. From City of Books

It is an intricate story that keeps you on your toes. From Bloody Bookaholic

All of that made this fun, but what really blew me away about his book was the romance. In between all of the parallel universe jumping, there is a really wonderful romance that blossoms. From Ex Libris

Giveaway:

I ended up with two copies of this lovely book, so that means I get to give one away! As usual, I like to keep my giveaways very simple, so please fill out the form below with your info if you are interested in winning this book. I will pick a random winner in ONE WEEK (next Friday Nov. 14th) and let you know by email if you win. Good luck!!

Another "My Library" Post

Awhile back I did a post highlighting my library. I wish I'd had this video to share then, but the creative people at the library just recently made, produced and shared this and now I want to share it too because it's so much fun!

It's a sort of behind the scenes look at the library, along with what a typical day out in the stacks might look like. Don't you just want to spend the whole day here???? :)


 

We especially got a kick out of the fast moving moms and the slow moving dads. And the putting up and down of the chairs for the programs. (We are campaigning to get a permanent space built for our library programs, but it's going to take awhile.)

Go to your library today!

Kiersten White and Ally Condie Signing Events

It's been a plethora (don't you love that word!?) of author events around here and there's more to come! But lest I get behind I'll tell you about the two we've been to so far.

Kami, Jenni and I, we seem to be inseparable blog buddies and regular old life buddies these days! Good thing I have them to go do all this bookish (and other) stuff with!

First, last Saturday was the Teen Book Festival at Provo Library. While I'm not a teen, I took one, so that counts. The keynote was Kiersten White and as always, she was a blast and very funny. I bought her new book, Illusions of Fate, and the third book of her Paranormalcy trilogy which I guess I never quite finished.

Anyway, she talked about how it doesn't matter that we all aren't heroes, or have superpowers, or are students of witchcraft and wizardry... we can in fact be the heroes of our own stories. Sweet, no?

After that we ate at JCWs. Burgers, fries and a shake. (But first we went to a teen books trivia and killed all the teens. Wait, I didn't, but Kami did!)

Then on Monday, we went to a non author event, it was Kami's band concert. Yes, she plays in a band. So we went! And it was awesome and made me come home and look up Emerson Lake and Palmer's version of Fanfare of the Common Man, which I love. And afterwards, we went to... JCWs... and got a shake.

Then on Tuesday, we went to Ally Condie's launch party... again at Provo Library (the director of the library has threatened many times to set up a cot for us in the broiler room!) for her newest book, Altantia. So I bought it and we got it signed. She talked about how this book came to be and showed us pictures that inspired a few different things in the story. It was like looking at her Pinterest board for this book. Which was awesome.

We're doing the Asian picture peace thing while waiting for Jenni
to join us in the picture.

Jenni finally joined us!
My eyes look funky, but still, I love this picture. 

And afterwards, we went to.... NOT JCWs! Ha... trick question. We went to Two Jacks.. or something like that.. and got pizza.

Can you see a problem with all this going out? These guys aren't helping with the eating "healthy" thing! (And that's not even telling you about how on Saturday I went out AGAIN with my family. Sigh.)

It's also a problem for the book buying thing. But oh well. I can live with that problem!