Inspiration - "Dreamy" Edition

I look at these pictures and get all "dreamy." My mind starts to wonder, and I drift away.

Do pictures have the power to sweep you away?

In My Mailbox [28] "Midnight" Edition :D

In My Mailbox is hosted by the Story Siren.

For some awesome reason, 3/4 of the books I got this week all have "Midnight" in their title. Bazinga!
I received:

FOR REVIEW
Born at Midnight - C.C. Hunter
from St. Martin's Griffin, Macmillan

BOUGHT
Scrambled Eggs at Midnight - Brad Barkley & Heather Hepler

GIFTS!
Thirteen Days to Midnight - Patrick Carman (love Patrick Carman! He's the MAN!)
Jellicoe Road - Melina Marchetta (heard from too many people that this was one not to miss; plus it's a "second chance author" book, so that'll be interesting!)

NOTE:
There are still 8 days to enter my Blogoversary Contest before it closes on December 20. If you haven't entered already...please do!

Your Favorite Reads - 2010 [2]

I'll get right to the chase - here are MORE of what your answers from the Blogoversary Contest!

What was your favorite 2010 release?
Answers:



"Changeless by Gail Carriger, it must have been the funniest, most entertaining book I've read all year. I loved everything about it till the end where I was totally shocked by well the ending. What I really enjoyed was the great sidecharacters and the scenery-change in this book, but what I enjoyed most about it is Gail Carrigers language, I love how she writes."




"I really liked Paranormalcy. It was a refreshing twist on paranormal fiction, and the main character was funny. I also really liked the best friend mermaid who bleeped. :)"




"My favorite? Probably INSIDE OUT by Maria V. Snyder. It was AMAZING! It just had so many twists and turns and FASCINATING mysteries. I loved it."





"Perfect Chemistry because it was the first book I read for a while without any paranormal elements, and it was so cute! It definitely topped some of those paranormal books. I love Brittany and Alex!"




"Jandy Nelson's THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE -- her prose is gorgeous, and she captured difficult emotions really well. I loved this book!"








"Forgive my Fins, because its fun, diferent, cute and i just love mermaids."





"Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld was one of my favorite releases this year. It is set in this amazing world with a steampunk vibe, but also has these creatures created by Darwinists that are hybrids. Lots of action and great characters."

Top Ten Best Christmas Movies! (non-book related)

Each week till Christmas I'll feature a holiday-themed post. This week's is HOLIDAY MOVIES!

In our family, watching Christmas movies is just as much a tradition as baking gingerbread and wrapping presents. It's so easy to get into the holiday spirit watching holiday films, and these are my Top 10 Favorite Christmas movies!

10. Scrooged (1988)
Bill Murray + funny 80s cast = amazing Dickens adaptation


9. White Christmas (1954)
Love 50s movies period, but this cute musical is the reason I always wish I grew up in the north, with snow :)


8. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
Charlie Brown! And Snoopy with his bent tree. Cute :D



7. The Polar Express (2004)
New classic. Amazing animation. And Tom Hanks. Epic win.
And it's based on a classic book.

6. The Santa Claus (1994)
This is one of the first Christmas movies I remember seeing as a child, and even though it's a little silly now that I'm a grownup, there's still a nostalgia factor. Especially when Tim Allen orders all that food at the business meeting. And every time I see a Denny's, I think of this movie!

5. Elf (2003)
Will Ferrell's movies are usually a little too silly/crude for my taste, but I absolutely love this film! And that duet with Will and Zooey Deschanel is on my ipod too :) So blog buddies...what's your favorite color?


4. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Oh yeah. I was the cool kid in 1st grade because I actually got to see this somewhat creepy movie in the theater. It's the kind of movie that I've had to see a few times before really appreciating it's artistic value. But still, after all these years, this movie still brings a smile to my face. And "Jack's Soliloquy" still gives me goosebumps.


3. Home Alone (1990)
So maybe it's not a "Christmas" movie per see, but it just seems weird for me to watch it any other time besides the holidays. The snow, the Christmas music, etc. Oh, and did any of you guys *actually* try any of the stuff Macauley Culkin did? I totally tried to booby trap our house by scattering toys everywhere. Lol. And the neighborhood kids believed the guy across the street was a murderer, too. Good stuff. Great holiday film.



2. A Christmas Story (1983)
TBS 24-hour-marathon. Red Rider BB Gun. Scott Farkus. The lam. Frah-gee-leh. Dressing your son up like the Michelin Man. The Bumpus's dogs. Far-ra-ra-ra-rahh. Triple dog dares. A bowling ball. Looking like a pink nightmare. HO HOO HOOOOOOO (freaky Santa).
Etc. Etc. Etc.


1. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
And here it is. My all time favorite Christmas movie. I'm not particularly sure why it's just not the holidays without Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchit, but it just isn't... And what can I say, I love those Muppets!
Those two old guys - Statler and Waldorf - are my absolute favorites, and them cast as Jacob's Ghost is HILARIOUS. Best freaking part!





So that's my list. What movies do you like to watch during the holidays?

Question of the Midweek! [1]

Question of the Midweek!
Hopefully each Wednesday I'll feature a random book-or-writing related question to answer!
It's a fun way to share thoughts and see what other people think about certain topics.

I was actually all set to do another question on here, but then another one came at me from out of the blue. This week's topic is Young Adult Love Stories. Ohh la la!
So the question for today is:

When you're reading either a book or series, and that book/series has a love story, do you like to have/need to have the love story element be really complicated and dramatic? And if love stories are a little on the simple side, do you count off on your rating or does it make you enjoy the story any less?
A lot of "mini" questions, actually, but basically what I'd like to know is if really really complicated love stories are *always* a win for you?

Review - DARKLIGHT

Darklight (Wondrous Strange #2) - Lesley Livingston

Genre: YA Paranormal/Urban Fantasy
# of pages: 312 (hb)
Publisher: HarperTeen

Where to even begin with this book. I'll try hard not to just re-write what I said about Wondrous Strange, but what I'd really like for you all to know is this: Lesley Livingston's series is, so far, the best faerie fiction that I've ever read (with the exception of Artemis Fowl). It by far surpasses all the other faerie books out there (in my opinion), and if you enjoy faerie books, this series needs to be in your TBR.
Darklight picks up about five months after the events of the first novel. The characters here are just as lovable and well-rounded as in book one, and the new characters added to the ensemble are just as interesting, detailed and useful. No character-dropping here - everybody has a place and contributes to the overall story. And the storyworld of the series is so unique, detailed, and original. Unlike Wondrous Strange (which took place exclusively in New York City), this novel features world-hopping between the mortal realm and the Otherworld, the land of the four courts of Faerie. For the amount of time spent there by the characters, I thought the author did a fine job of bringing that world to life: just enough description and also, just enough mystery left for book three.
What made Wondrous Strange really stand out to me was the author's sheer cleverness: cleverness in the faerie world and its history, cleverness in the unique cast of characters, and (ESPECIALLY) cleverness in the witty dialogue that truly does ring reminiscent of the bard himself. Thankfully all those components are still present in Darklight, though this installment was a tad darker in its tone. Like most Second Novels, Darklight raises the stakes, story-wise, and the actions that drove the plot seemed more accelerated than in the first. This made for an extremely engrossing read. I have no doubts that this series will suck you in and completely absorb you, for however long it takes you to read it.
I've already mentioned how unique and lovable the characters of the series are, and I am pleased to say that I loved Kelley and Sonny as much in Darklight as I did in the first novel (sidenote: have you ever seen characters just sort of fizzle out as a series plugs along? Isn't that a bummer?), *but* I will say that there were a few times when I didn't really understand why Kelley (the MC) would do something or why she would say certain things. There were a few dialogue segments between Kelley and Sonny that sounded almost out of character, as well as a few times where I couldn't help but blurt out, "Say what?" But she was still likable, and that was good.
Now...the ENDING. Hmm. Not really what I was expecting and still not really sure what to think about it. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I didn't like it, but...I guess I don't really get why Kelley thought "it" (the situation) was her only option. It's kind of like she created a situation where she felt like there was no other way out and so she had to do this certain thing, but... I'm sittin there thinking, "Well, why didn't you do [whatever]?" So what I mean is... while the overall story is great, and I still think the series is brilliant, the ending just didn't work for me. And so I'm going into Tempestuous a little more cautious than I was going into Darklight . . .
How are Kelley and Company going to get themselves out of this quagmire that (I say) they created? HMMM?! And that, my lovelies, is where I will leave the WS trilogy until next time!
Final Grade:Right up there with Wondrous Strange all the way!! except the ending :)

Your Favorite Reads - 2010

Here's some of what you all have been saying about your favorite 2010 books:

"I loved Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins! I'd just finished reading Hunger Games and Catching Fire a few months earlier so I was really excited to read it and see what would happen. At some points, I did feel a bit let down and things didn't go how I wanted. Such as the fact that there was so much pain at the end of the book and Finnick died! Ahh! But I still love it:D"

"Nightshade by Andrea Cremer. I loved it before I even read it because of the beautiful cover. Then I read it and loved it even more. Calla is so awesome. I particularly love that I've been able to share it with my friends and that they love it just as much! Now I have my favorite people to talk to about it as we all try to figure out if we like Ren or Shay better."


My FAVORITE, FAVORITE, FAVORITE!!! Release of 2010 was Paranormalcy by Kiersten White. It had me laughing the entire read through. I wasn't expecting such a hilarious and light-hearted read. The few things I enjoyed the most were the vampires; they weren't romantic and beautiful, they were old corpses who were Dracula wannabes. Her best friend was a mermaid who actually looked like a fish and even though her ex was a creepy stalker I wanted to know his motives. And Evie wasn't the normal paranormal heroine I was expecting. She was girly, fashionable, funny, and all she wanted was to be around normal teens. I loved it."


"My favorite 2010 release was The Clockwork Angel. I loved the chemistry between Will and Tessa. And this book had a bunch of twists that kept the book interesting."


"Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner.
I love Eugenides and I am ultimately thrilled to read more about him. But the most important thing is that, it is lovely to see another piece of the puzzle being put together in this series. I seriously cannot wait for the next book to be published!"




to be continued...