tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76579043644610867442024-03-12T17:16:31.905-07:00Na's Not So Newsworthy Thoughts: My Thoughts and Opinions on Current Events and Day to Day LifeLaurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7657904364461086744.post-1912757941048239392015-04-24T06:30:00.000-07:002015-04-24T06:30:00.948-07:00The Yellow Hoods Tour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wi7seMmZ-KM/VSa2Bp2rMiI/AAAAAAAAAXk/Co83iHTCjCc/s1600/Yellow%2BHood%2BTour%2BBanner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wi7seMmZ-KM/VSa2Bp2rMiI/AAAAAAAAAXk/Co83iHTCjCc/s1600/Yellow%2BHood%2BTour%2BBanner.jpg" height="200" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>The Yellow Hoods Series:</strong>
As the Yellow Hoods series starts, we see a pastoral world on the brink of a great change. Steam-based
and other technologies are emerging, hence the genre “Emergent Steam Punk”. But this is written in the
tradition of hard science fiction– you will find no gratuitous gears here. In the series, Adam Dreece
masterfully weaves together familiar elements from fairy tales with realistic characters, bringing them to
life. Here we meet the Nikolas Klaus: a kind of fusion of Santa Claus and Nikola Tesla and his
granddaughter, young Tee who evokes Little Red Riding Hood but with the force of personality of a
Katniss (Hunger Games) or Buffy (aka the Vampire Slayer). You may laugh and you may cry, but I
guarantee you will enjoy the ride.
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<a href="http://goodtalesbooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Book-1-Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://goodtalesbooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Book-1-Cover.jpg" height="320" width="210" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Title:</strong> Along Came a Wolf (Bk 1)
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Series:</strong> The Yellow Hoods
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Author:</strong> Adam Dreece
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Publication Date:</strong> April 14, 2014
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<span style="font-size: large;">Someone is on the hunt for the steam engine plans, and believes that master inventor, Nikolas Klaus,
has them. Thought dead by most, and forgotten by many, the quiet grandfather has been living for years
in the sleepy mountain town of Minette, keeping his inventions mostly to himself and watching his
granddaughter grow up.
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<span style="font-size: large;">Twelve-year-old Tee, and her two best friends, Elly and Richy, come together as the heroic Yellow Hoods
in the face of life threatening danger. Whose side are the Cochon brothers on, and will they tip the
balance? Will Nikolas’ ties to one of the secret societies cost him Tee’s life?
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Title:</strong> Breadcrumb Trail (Bk 2)
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s7rRSoCe4qM/VSa2NOFCqeI/AAAAAAAAAXs/FZXAoXhIw-U/s1600/Book%2B2%2BCover%2BYellow%2BHood%2BTour.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s7rRSoCe4qM/VSa2NOFCqeI/AAAAAAAAAXs/FZXAoXhIw-U/s1600/Book%2B2%2BCover%2BYellow%2BHood%2BTour.png" height="320" width="210" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Series:</strong> The Yellow Hoods
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Author:</strong> Adam Dreece
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Publication Date:</strong> August 18, 2014
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<span style="font-size: large;">In an act of desperation, inventor Maxwell Watt sends his teenage son to Nikolas Klaus with the secret
plans for his steam engine. The Fare, a nefarious secret society, learns of the game-changing invention
and accelerate their timeline to neutralize Klaus and reclaim control over the kingdoms.
While wars spark to the south, children in Mineau have started to go missing–again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Captain Archambault suspects the return of the Ginger Lady. With the help of the Yellow Hoods and
their friends, the search is on to find the missing children before it is too late.
What is the secret that ties the Yellow Hoods to the Ginger Lady? Who are the Red Hoods really?
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<a href="http://goodtalesbooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Book-3-Cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://goodtalesbooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Book-3-Cover.png" height="320" width="209" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Title:</strong> All the King’s Men (Bk 3)
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Series:</strong> The Yellow Hoods
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Author:</strong> Adam Dreece
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Publication Date:</strong> To be Released on<strong> April 15th!!</strong>
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">More than a hundred years ago, a king declared that all geniuses, scientists and inventors were
abominations, save for those willing to become his Conventioneers. His edict spread like wildfire
through the kingdoms, and drove the hunted into the arms of the secret societies, the Tub and the Fare.
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Decades later, having taken control of the remains of the crushed Fare, a young Marcus Pieman follows
up on rumors of a homeless, teenage Abominator in his city. When the scared Nikolas Klaus looked up at
Marcus for the first time, a tremendous bond was forged.
A betrayal leads Tee to a showdown with her greatest foe. Who breaks and who lays bleeding in the
middle of nowhere?
And Mounira learns the truth about the once great inventor, Christophe Creangle.
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<span style="font-size: large; text-decoration: underline;">YOU CAN FIND & PURCHASE ALL BOOKS IN THE SERIES
HERE:</span></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19.31px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/126089-the-yellow-hoods" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=the%20yellow%20hoods&sprefix=the+yellow+hoo%2Cdigital-text" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://theyellowhoods.com/store" style="color: blue;">The
Yellow Hoods Store</a> | <a href="http://adamdreece.com/my-books" style="color: blue;">Author
Website</a></span>
</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19.31px;"><span style="font-size: large;">(For Each Individual Book)
Book 1 - Along Came A Wolf: <span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23119672-along-came-a-wolf?from_search=true&search_exp_group=group_b" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Along-Came-Wolf-Yellow-Hoods-ebook/dp/B00JH9R5YE/ref=pd_sim_sbs_kstore_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0GC6DWF7PPW9DQCYW6KS" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://amzn.to/1pQbR2N" style="color: blue;">Amazon.ca</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-yellow-hoods-adam-dreece/1120345055?ean=9780988101302" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">B&N</a></span>
Book 2 - Breadcrumb Trail: <span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23002854-breadcrumb-trail" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/BreadCrumb-Trail-The-Yellow-Hoods-ebook/dp/B00MXN20IW/ref=pd_sim_sbs_kstore_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0GC6DWF7PPW9DQCYW6KS" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://amzn.to/1qhKBJB" style="color: blue;">Amazon.ca</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-yellow-hoods-adam-dreece/1120345056?ean=9780988101333" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">B&N</a></span>
Book 3 - All The King's Men: <span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25086244-all-the-king-s-men" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span> | <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TG7ORJS/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00TG7ORJS&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">Amazon</a>
</span>(preorder)</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Author Bio:</b>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VTVPqhXIswI/VSa13l6PW6I/AAAAAAAAAXc/Jzp0aYdY8Js/s1600/Author%2BPic%2Bfor%2BYellow%2BHood%2BTour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VTVPqhXIswI/VSa13l6PW6I/AAAAAAAAAXc/Jzp0aYdY8Js/s1600/Author%2BPic%2Bfor%2BYellow%2BHood%2BTour.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Adam Dreece burst onto the young adult fiction scene in 2014. His debut novel, Along Came a Wolf, hit
the shelves in April, launching what is now the bestselling series The Yellow Hoods. Book Two,
Breadcrumb Trail, quickly followed in September, locking in Dreece's status as a force to be reckoned
with. Now Book Three, All the King’s-Men, is about to be released and is expected to take its place on
the Amazon and Calgary Herald Best Seller Lists, alongside its predecessors.
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">For twenty-five years Adam had written stories and set them aside, including a memoir covering his
battle with terrible scar pain and then being hit with severe asthma. He’d always given the priority and
focus to his technical career. In January 2015, he became a full time author.
Adam’s a devoted husband and father of three great kids. Though driven, he ensures there is always
time for his family, fans, and fellow authors. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">With his tween daughter as his muse and the first to hear the rough drafts, it’s no surprise that he’s a
huge proponent of strong female characters, something very clear in The Yellow Hoods.
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Author Links: </b>
</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/AdamDreece" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="http://adamdreece.com/" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">Website</a> <strong><span style="color: blue;">| </span></strong><span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheYellowHoods" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">Facebook</a></span></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">GIVEAWAY</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a class="rcptr" data-raflid="558c5de816" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/558c5de816/" id="rcwidget_wqxc30gu" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>
</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y4NVKGTEjak/VPMcnL0uP9I/AAAAAAAAEB8/tLuhRSKRbSg/s1600/Final5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-
y4NVKGTEjak/VPMcnL0uP9I/AAAAAAAAEB8/tLuhRSKRbSg/s1600/Final5.jpg" height="101" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This tour was organized by <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://goodtalesbooktours.com/" style="color: blue;">Good Tales Book Tours.</a></span></span></div>
Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7657904364461086744.post-64385026353288654232015-04-24T06:00:00.000-07:002015-04-24T06:00:06.369-07:00Yellow Hoods Tour Author's Corner: 5 Things that Didn’t Happen in Book 1 – Along Came a Wolf<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Lauren here: Not only was this first book fantastic (I'm hoping to read the other two sometime very soon) but Adam Dreece is a fantastic person. I have another post explaining him and his books so you should defiantly check that out. Seriously you should check out his books. They are full of great characters and fantastic adventures. Here are his 5 Things that Didn't Happen in Book 1. So without further ado let me hand it over to Mr. Dreece. </span></i></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i><span style="font-size: large;">---------------------------</span></i></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">When I started writing Along Came a Wolf, I had a couple ideas that never happened. Note, this does contain some minor spoilers for those who haven't read book 1. Here they are:</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b><span style="font-size: large;">1. It all took place in Europe</span></b></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;"> I battled back and forth as to whether or not this story was really taking place in Europe, specifically if Minette was going to be in the Britany providence of France.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;"> Deciding to make it a steampunk story complicated matters, because I didn’t want the Victorian elements to make this story Yet Another Victorian Steampunk Story will all the same social idioms, etc. I wanted to have something that was familiar, and yet the history was different than ours. An alternate history world. So, after the half way point, I decided not to make it Europe and to let my imagination go where it did.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b><span style="font-size: large;">2. The Cochon Brothers were to be the bad guys, and LeLoup to be a good guy</span></b></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;"> The idea for the Cochon brothers were to have the trio be reoccurring villains, and to have LeLoup just a simple character for the one story, however we all know that that changed. What made that happen? The “Went to Market” chapter wrote itself, and so I went back revised the first confrontation scene and allowed it to just go wherever it wanted to go, and thus LeLoup took the role that he did, and the brothers the role they were met for.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b><span style="font-size: large;">3. Elly was black at first</span></b></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;"> However the more that I got to know her, and the more that I thought about Eorthe (the name of the world), the more questions I had about culture and what not. It felt like I was missing a real opportunity. In addition, the more that I got to know Tee and Elly’s relationship, Elly revealed that there was something different about her, but it wasn’t the colour of her skin (I’ll leave this to the reader to figure out). My thinking continued and the idea formed for a Moroccan/Spanish type of </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;">country, which is where Mounira came from. By the end of book 3, a character stepped forward for book 4 who was black, and told me where it was from and the culture of his lands, etc. I’m very excited to bring Wilbur to the fold.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b><span style="font-size: large;">4. William and Jennifer had a battle scene </span></b></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;"> When Nikolas comes over to Jennifer & William’s house for dinner, about the middle of the book, they were cleaning up from a battle. It was to reveal that William’s “bad feeling” had indeed been about something. However, the hints that I had in the scene that this had happened felt weird, and Nikolas wouldn’t have ignored them. Instead, I allowed for everything to be cleaned up, but didn’t put the scene in. I plan on revealing what that was about at some point, likely in a Companion Tale. William and Jennifer didn’t just disappear, as some people have commented, I just wasn’t strong enough at the time (in my opinion) to be able to give them their screen time without making the story feel like a “battle family.”</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b><span style="font-size: large;">5. It WAS a short story</span></b></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: large;"> briefly. I stopped writing after LeLoup was beaten (around the middle of the book), thinking the story was over. It was a nice little story, and I’d done what my daughter had asked me to do which was write ‘the Hoods story.’ The next day, as I read through it, something was missing. It felt wrong. I revised things, and they were coming alive and then I arrived the next night at the scene where LeLoup was beaten, I saw him talking to himself. The crazy scene wrote itself and I sat back amazed at it. I really felt like I was there, documenting more than writing what was going on. I was hooked. I needed to write more!</span></span></div>
Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7657904364461086744.post-22422481074148230902015-04-15T07:00:00.000-07:002015-04-15T07:00:09.891-07:00Guild of Immortal Women Blog Tour with Author Top Ten<strong></strong><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LXW2YaGPIpQ/VSqbbVGww6I/AAAAAAAAAYE/0DS-WYl5Ymw/s1600/Guild%2Bof%2Ban%2Bimmortal%2Bwoman%2Bbanner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LXW2YaGPIpQ/VSqbbVGww6I/AAAAAAAAAYE/0DS-WYl5Ymw/s1600/Guild%2Bof%2Ban%2Bimmortal%2Bwoman%2Bbanner.jpg" height="237" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><span style="font-size: large;">DAVE'S TOP 10 COMFORT FOODS</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">10. Vanilla chip vanilla ice cream with maraschino cherries</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">9. A tub of salt with a little popcorn</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">8. Black licorice</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">7. Swedish fish</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">6. red grapes</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">5. green apples with hummus</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">4. red apples with cheddar cheese</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">3. Doritos</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">2. Mozzarella cheese sticks</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. Peanut butter and honey sandwiches</span></div>
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<a href="http://goodtalesbooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/9781940598444.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://goodtalesbooktours.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/9781940598444.jpeg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Title:</strong> Guild of Immortal Women
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Author:</strong> David Alan Morrison
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Publication Date:</strong> November 2014
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<span style="font-size: large;">Two bodies are discovered on the grounds of “The Bastille,” home to a coven of witches who belong to
the Guild of Immortal Women. The bodies have strange characteristics, so what follows is a combination
merry and sinister romp through ancient history. Medieval times are brought to life through a massive
Tapestry adorning the mansion’s walls where the characters — animals and humans — emerge through
tears in the fabric. It is up to Detective Matt Mathers and social worker Lynn Swanson to solve the
murder-mystery while dealing with the strange world of magic, Guardian Abbey’s amnesia from her past
lives, and the devilish mission of Robert and the Doctor to create an immortal heir through the
laboratory.
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em>Foreword Reviews</em>‘ 2014 INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award Finalist</span></strong></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19.31px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23366746-guild-of-immortal-women?from_search=true" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Guild-Immortal-Women-David-Morrison/dp/1940598443/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428366113&sr=8-1&keywords=david+alan+morrison" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.davidalanmorrison.com/guild-of-immortal-women.html" style="color: blue;">Author's Website</a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Author
Bio:</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yKoRKXdAApY/VSroOczvjJI/AAAAAAAAAYU/QCd2ffHXCew/s1600/Guild%2Bof%2Ban%2BImmortal%2BWoman%2BAuthor%2Bpic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yKoRKXdAApY/VSroOczvjJI/AAAAAAAAAYU/QCd2ffHXCew/s1600/Guild%2Bof%2Ban%2BImmortal%2BWoman%2BAuthor%2Bpic.jpg" height="200" width="160" /></span></a><span style="font-size: large;">Dave Morrison (CI & CT, NIC-A, SC:L, NAD-5). Dave received his A.A. in ASL/ENG Interpreting
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<span style="font-size: large;">from L.A. Pierce College in 1989. In 2000, he obtained his M.A. in Theatre Arts from the University of
Kentucky. He has interpreted in a variety of venues, from the courtroom to funerals to underwater
conservation forums. As an actor, he has been seen on stage, TV and film. He is currently an adjunct
instructor of Drama at Skagit Valley College and works with local theatres as a director, actor and
instructor.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Author Links: </span></b></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/DAMauthor" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">Facebook</a>| <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidAlanMorris" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="http://www.davidalanmorrison.com/" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">Website</a></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">GIVEAWAY</span></b></div>
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="558c5de815" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/558c5de815/" id="rcwidget_y1hdzzgx" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a></div>
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This tour was organized by <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://goodtalesbooktours.com/" style="color: blue;">Good Tales Book Tours.</a></span></div>
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Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7657904364461086744.post-70020171666712783012015-03-13T06:00:00.000-07:002015-03-13T06:00:01.150-07:00Cover Reveal: Polaris<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15pt; margin: 0in 0in 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">ZEUS PROTOCAL 000101: REBOOT, SCAN.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">RECOMMENDED ACTION: INCREASE MILITARY PRESENCE.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">There’s trouble brewing on Polaris. Under the watchful eye of the space station’s supercomputer, Zeus, the lower classes are awakening to the corruption of their wealthy, privileged, and protected leaders. When the quiet voices of protest get louder and alliances form, change dawns on the horizon. But the small acts of resistance won’t be enough to subvert the system for long. Zeus is alert to the growing threat level, and he will do whatever’s necessary—including purging the lower levels of Polaris—to preserve stability for all.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Inspired by the mythology of the constellations hung around Polaris, the seven stories in <i>Polaris Awakening</i> reimagine the classic characters in a futuristic world where alien creatures are commonplace, combat arenas are used for entertaining foreign dignitaries, slaves and soldiers stand side by side, and music orchestrates a revolution. And their first acts of defiance are just the beginning. Polaris will never be the same.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">There are seven stories contributing to the anthology. And our authors (in order of appearance) are: <b>Kellie Sheridan, Erin Latimer, Erica Crouch, Janna Jennings, Hannah Davies, Terra Harmony, and Meghan Jashinsky.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Doesn't that sound interesting?!?!?! Now are you ready for the cover?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ok here it is:</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ctma9rKV68o/VQDmqUjlO-I/AAAAAAAAAWw/ZkYtPpuOCno/s1600/Polaris%2BCover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ctma9rKV68o/VQDmqUjlO-I/AAAAAAAAAWw/ZkYtPpuOCno/s1600/Polaris%2BCover.png" height="640" width="428" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I absolutely love the colors and the font! What do you guys think? </span></div>
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Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7657904364461086744.post-25487157834268461262015-02-26T18:00:00.000-08:002015-02-26T18:00:01.036-08:00My Pick for A Non-Fiction Read<span style="font-size: large;">For my 2015 Reading Challenge one of the categories is Non-Fiction. The book I chose is.....</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">*drumroll*</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm super excited to read this book. It follows five American piolets who were tasked with flying 'The Hump' and ended up crashing in Tibet. I got this on my Nook for super cheap. Here is the Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13593035-lost-in-tibet </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In other news I finally finished Anna Karenina!!! Not only is it immensely satisfying to read a book that long but the story was fantastic! I love the way Tolstoy explored all aspects of life in Russia during that time. It's one of those books you could spend an entire semester discussing and still not cover everything. </span></div>
Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7657904364461086744.post-38884296547324905372015-02-21T11:17:00.003-08:002015-02-21T11:17:38.627-08:002015 A Year of Amazing Covers and Exciting New Releases<span style="font-size: large;"> The longer this year goes on the more excited I become in terms of Young Adult Fiction. I've already done a list of book I am looking forward to this year (found <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEOJVy4URNI" target="_blank">here</a>) but as the year goes on that list grows longer and longer and longer and longer. There are so many good books being released this year and it makes me excited for the future of YA. I'm seeing more adults in the YA section picking up books and the YA displays in my local B&N are scattered throughout the store. But not only are there amazing books coming out but their covers are stunning. Breath taking covers are becoming a norm as the market for YA grows and this makes both me and my shelves incredibly happy. Epic Reads is almost done with their fall cover reveals and I take my hat off to all the amazing cover designers because the cover lust is real. Here are some of my favorite book covers of books being released in 2015.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.epicreads.com/uploads/blog/Dreamland_EpicReads.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.epicreads.com/uploads/blog/Dreamland_EpicReads.jpg" height="640" width="420" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I love this cover and I think it really reflects the blurb and draws me to the book. And it's just beautiful. Dreamland comes out September 22. Soooo far away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23245337-dreamland?from_search=true</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.epicreads.com/uploads/blog/CoverReveals_F15_WalkOnEarth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.epicreads.com/uploads/blog/CoverReveals_F15_WalkOnEarth.jpg" height="640" width="420" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ok so first Rae Carson writing historical fiction with elements of fantasy...ummm YES PLEASE. This cover is beautiful. When I first saw it I looked at it for a solid ten minutes before I finally managed to close the tab. The book comes out the same day as Dreamland. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17564519-walk-on-earth-a-stranger?from_search=true</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ok so apparently this book has been out in Australia for a very long time buuuut us American's have to wait and honestly we get a much better cover. I love the colors and balance of this cover. I can't wait to see what it looks like on my shelf. Plus it's Garth Nix it has to be good. The book comes out Oct 13 one day after I turn 19 but let's not think about that. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24737347-newt-s-emerald</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.epicreads.com/uploads/blog/TenThousandSkiesAboveYou_EpicReads.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.epicreads.com/uploads/blog/TenThousandSkiesAboveYou_EpicReads.jpg" height="640" width="422" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I never thought any cover could top A Thousand Pieces of You (the first book in the trilogy) but this cover is gorgeous. The first book is my lock screen this cover is my home screen on my phone. It comes out in November and I can't wait till it sits next to the first one on my shelf!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17234659-ten-thousand-skies-above-you?ac=1 </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I will let this cover speak for itself. Comes out April 28th.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21393526-magonia</span><br />
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<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1417957485l/13455099.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1417957485l/13455099.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Fairy Tale retellings are becoming incredibly popular and this is a Cinderella retelling that I am super excited for. I love the steampunk theme and colors in this cover. This book comes out August 4.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13455099-mechanica</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.epicreads.com/uploads/blog/DeathCode-EpicReads.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.epicreads.com/uploads/blog/DeathCode-EpicReads.jpg" height="640" width="422" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ok so I haven't read The Murder Complex but this cover for the second book (which comes out April 21) is amazing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22836576-the-death-code</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ok so I'm not usually a fan of contemporaries buuuut this one sounds really intriguing and I love the cover sooooo much. It's simple but beautiful. This one comes out June 16.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23261524-between-the-notes?ac=1</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Granted these are not all of the beautiful covers that will be gracing our shelves this year but they are just a few of my favorites. What are your favorites? What beautiful covers did I miss? What books are you excited for this year? </span>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7657904364461086744.post-72049086429347632592015-02-12T10:17:00.002-08:002015-02-12T10:17:55.721-08:00Update on My 2015 Reading Challenge<span style="font-size: large;"> So far this year has not been a good reading year. I started off the year in a major reading slump and I am currently five books behind on my goodreads challenge. *sigh* I finished Madman's Daughter and have also finished my book for the category "Read a book with a non-human character." For this category I chose Cinder by Marissa Meyer which is a fantastic retelling of Cinderella. I'm re-reading the series because Cress finally came out in Paperback and I have it just waiting for me to read it. I am still working on Anna Karenina...I still love it but man it is so stinkn' long. Right now, in addition to Anna Karenina I am also reading Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (book 2 in the Lunar Chronicles series). I'm going to Taylor on Saturday so I'll have some time on the plane to read. I'm hoping to have some reviews up soon either on my YouTube Channel or my blog but we'll see what happens.</span>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7657904364461086744.post-47890137605878508852015-02-08T00:30:00.000-08:002015-02-08T00:30:00.574-08:0014 Days of Fictional Swooning: What Fictional Couple Would I Plan a Double Date With + Giveaway<span style="font-size: large;"> Welcome to day 8 of 14 Days of Fictional Swooning. We are more than half way done with this awesome blog hop and I have really enjoyed reading everyones posts. If you are just joining us there is still time to participate in the giveaways and there is still much Fictional Swooning to be done. If you are a little confused go to <a href="http://www.swoonyboyspodcast.com/special/14-days-of-fictional-swooning-intro-our-top-5-books-boys-giveaway" target="_blank">this post</a> for more (and important) information. Also if your just joining us you should go back and read all the posts already published. I can wait...go ahead.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> There are many swoon worthy guys in fiction and even more squeal worthy coUples. Picking one fictional couple to double date with is difficult to say the least. I mean I could go classic (who doeSn't love Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy????), or contemporary (G<span style="color: blue;">U</span>s and Hazel, enough said). There are plenty of amazing couple in fantasy and dystopian literature but who to choose.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> I must be quiTe honest...I have never been on a date. Ever. I only have a basic idea of how daTes work but that doesn't stop me from dreaMing of the perfect date. A double date sounds awesome but only if my date and I get along with the other couple. That narrows it down just a tad. After much thoughT I decided that I would plan a double date with Percy Jackson and Annabeth ChaSe from the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. They are one of my favorite co</span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">U</span><span style="font-size: large;">ples in literatures especially after the Hero's of Olympus series. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Annabeth and I are extremely similar and I think we would get along quite well plus it's PercabeTh!!! Who doesn't love Percabeth??? I think if I were to plan a dOuble date with Annabeth and Percy the date would probably consist of something outdoorsy and then dinner (which of courSe would be served with blue soMething or another) and maybe a movie. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"> Ok now on to the giveaways. There will be one big giveaway with the 14 DaYs of Fictional Swooning blog hop. This consists of an AMazon gift card, a book-ish bracelet and some other things. NoTe that my phrase for the scavenger hunt is hidden somewhere on this page. Piece together the p<span style="color: blue;">U</span>zzle and get extra entries. Here's the clUe:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Find the letters that seem o<span style="color: blue;">U</span>t of place </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>It's kinda hard you might have to chase. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Look for themes </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>And discover my scheme. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Numbers matter as much as letters.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i> I horrible at riddles, can't you tell. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>I'll stop rhyMing before you yell.</i></span></div>
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="2e01dabf105" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/2e01dabf105/" id="rcwidget_zqkxhhkh" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br />
<a href="http://d1w7fb2mkkr3kw.cloudfront.net/assets/images/book/large/9781/4027/9781402785306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Pride and Prejudice" border="0" src="http://d1w7fb2mkkr3kw.cloudfront.net/assets/images/book/large/9781/4027/9781402785306.jpg" height="200" width="185" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I will be giving away a copy of Pride and Prejudice by the queen of love stories herself Jane A<span style="color: blue;">U</span>sten. This iS one of my favorite love stories and I absolutely love this edition. The winner will be announced after the blog tour endS.</span><br />
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="4784dbe41" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/4784dbe41/" id="rcwidget_eihh86ag" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thank you so much to <a href="http://www.fictionfare.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jamie</a> and <a href="http://www.swoonyboyspodcast.com/" target="_blank">Meg and Kassiah</a> for leTTing me participate in this blOg hop. And y'all should check out their blogs because they are fantastic. Below I have posted a schedUle for the 14 Days of Fictional Swooning and a link to their blogS. There are some really amazing blogs on here so you should check all of them out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">14 Days of Fictional Swooning Schedule</span></u></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://www.fictionfare.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Fiction Fare</a> - Feb. 1</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://www.swoonyboyspodcast.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Swoony Boys Podcast</a> - Feb. 1</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://literaryetc.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Literary, etc.</a> - Feb. 2</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://www.adventuresinyapublishing.com/" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Adventures in YA Publishing</a> - Feb. 3</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://soulunsung.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">A Soul Unsung: Book Gossip for the Soul</a> - Feb. 3</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://www.bookishthingsandmore.com/" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Bookish Things & More</a> - Feb. 4</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://www.booksandswoons.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Books and Swoons</a> - Feb. 5</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://www.loveatfirstpage.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Love at First Page</a> - Feb. 5</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://www.awesomebooknuts.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Awesome Book Nuts</a> - Feb. 6</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://mainstreampassionista.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Mainstream Passionista</a> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;">- Feb. 6</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://theebooksphere.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">The Book Sphere</a> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;">- Feb. 6</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://www.iturnthepages.com/" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" target="_blank">I Turn the Pages</a> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;">- Feb. 7</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://andiabcs.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Andi's ABCs</a> -</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Feb. 7</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://mythoughtsandopinionsoncurrentevents.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Na's Not So Newsworthy Thoughts</a> - Feb. 8</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://www.whorublog.com/" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" target="_blank">WhoRUBlog</a> - Feb. 8</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="https://guninactone.wordpress.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Gun in Act One</a> - Feb 9</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://www.wesonerdy.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">We So Nerdy</a> - Feb 9</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://www.whatsarahread.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">What Sarah Read</a> - </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Feb. 10</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://fluttersandflails.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Flutters and Flails</a> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;">- Feb. 10</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://www.bookaddictsguide.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">The Book Addict's Guide</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;">- Feb. 11</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://effortlesslyreading.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Effortlessly Reading</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;">- Feb. 11</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://lostbraincell.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Lostbraincell's Bookish Blog</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;">- Feb. 11</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://www.greadsbooks.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">GReads!</a> - Feb. 12</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://booksequalawesomeness.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Books Equal Awesomeness</a> - Feb 12</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://www.myfriendsarefiction.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">My Friends Are Fiction</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;">- Feb. 13</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://www.newwritecity.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Lee Kelly: New Write City</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;">- Feb. 13</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://www.fictionfare.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Fiction Fare</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;">- Feb. 14</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.swoonyboyspodcast.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Swoony Boys Podcast</a></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;">- Feb. 14</span></li>
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Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7657904364461086744.post-52565067333374062772015-01-10T06:00:00.000-08:002015-01-10T06:00:04.791-08:00Update on the 2015 Reading Challenge I am still *attempting* to read The Madman's Daughter. It's not that I don't like it 'cause I do but this book is giving me major cancer (essentially the term my friends and I use for bad feels and books that make you feel icky inside). In addition to The Madman's Daughter I am also reading Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy which is my pick for read a book more than 500 pages. In case your wondering its 754. I convinced my mom/english teacher that we should read this book this year because it has been on my TBR list forever and she agreed. (Thanks to Hannah who also helped me convince her and the rest of the class) I am about 100 pages in and I am LOVING it!! Seriously this book is written so beautifully and I keep finding little bits of dialogue, description, and characters that really relate to the modern world. I can see why this one is a classic. Anyway as soon as I finish it I will let you guys know and I will do a review on both books here on my blog or on my YouTube Channel.<br />
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Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7657904364461086744.post-83458325207122619442015-01-01T16:28:00.004-08:002015-01-01T16:28:55.002-08:00Happy New Year and Other Book Related Things<br />
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style="cursor: move; margin-top: 0px;" /></a><img border="0" src="http://static.squarespace.com/static/5021a501e4b0eb2a70cf4a2c/5021b46fe4b0fc3d5b917ad8/5021b46fe4b0fc3d5b917bbd/1340113620547/1000w" height="320" width="213" /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Happy New Year everyone!!!! It is now officially 2015 and I hope your year is full of laughter, friends, family, and books :). I have several new years resolutions all most all of the book related. I thought I would share a few of them with you in hopes it will keep me more accountable. First I will of course be doing the 2015 reading challenged I shared with you in my last post. I am starting with a book that scares me: The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd which was inspired by H. G. Wells's The Island of Dr. Moreaur. Can you say creepy? In addition to the 2015 reading challenge I have decided that for every modern novel (YA or otherwise) I read I will also read one non-fiction or classic. I was looking at my </span><span style="font-size: large;">reading statistics from Goodreads and realized that almost all of the book I read were published within the last 50 years and most of them are fiction. Even my book case m</span><span style="font-size: large;">akes this clear as I have one shelf of non-fictions and six shelves for my fiction. And the funny thing is I love history and reading non-fiction and I haven't read many classics I don't at least appreciate. I'm hoping to tackle The Count of Monte Cristo this year because I love the story but for the first time in my life I am daunted by the size. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> What are your new years resolutions (They don't have to be book related)? </span><br />
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<a href="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRGIf1MXiCQT3DHe1O7_m-b6MNW5CYUJaOLLccPwp4Wys6TreVnPg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="rg_i" data-src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRGIf1MXiCQT3DHe1O7_m-b6MNW5CYUJaOLLccPwp4Wys6TreVnPg" data-sz="f" jsaction="load:str.tbn" name="RQnUfi0E6R9UbM:" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRGIf1MXiCQT3DHe1O7_m-b6MNW5CYUJaOLLccPwp4Wys6TreVnPg" style="height: 157px; margin-top: 0px; width: 322px;" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7657904364461086744.post-30267611543318009152014-12-24T09:37:00.000-08:002014-12-24T09:37:22.804-08:002015 Reading Challenge <a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-1M9Hw1QHwDY/VJTD1KDlizI/AAAAAAAAEoc/U1TqsUerdZI/s1600/blogger-image-578020815.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="CSS_LIGHTBOX_SCALED_IMAGE_IMG" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-1M9Hw1QHwDY/VJTD1KDlizI/AAAAAAAAEoc/U1TqsUerdZI/s1600/blogger-image-578020815.jpg" /></a> <span style="font-size: large;"> So this year a friend of mine said she was going to do a reading challenge for 2015 and I decided to join in. I will be recording the challenge here with the books I read and what category they fit under. There are a total of 52 books on this list. I'm hoping to read 70 books next year which is only three books more than this year but as I'm going off to college I can't increase it by too much. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Hopefully I will do a review either here or on my YouTube Channel. And I will defiantly keep you guys updated on the challenge. You can also check out my friends <a href="http://yearningtoread.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">blog</a> where she does reviews and whatnot. She will also be blogging about the challenge also except she is shooting to read 80 books. To the left is the 'rules' of the challenge if you want to join in. </span>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7657904364461086744.post-45281128588605128502014-12-22T11:53:00.000-08:002015-02-26T08:43:01.824-08:00A Writing Rant<span style="font-size: large;"> I was listening to <a href="http://www.writingexcuses.com/2014/12/21/writing-excuses-9-53-writing-for-fun/" target="_blank">Writing Excuses </a>(my favorite podcast ever) and this week they were talking about writing for fun. It was a really good reminder that the reason I write is not because I want to be famous or because I want to make tons of money (although I could really use the money for college) it is because I love writing. I love the feeling of creating worlds and characters and exploring lives I can never live. I love the feeling of bleeding into my computer, unloading my burdens, and discovering what I'm feeling and who I am. Every character is based off of what I fear to be, what I am, and what I aspire to be. It is a journey of self discovery and a reflection of the image of God. I write because I love it because I need it. I write because if I didn't I would suffocate. I just wrote 2,000 words of crap but y'a know what? Its my crap and its a first draft. It doesn't have to be perfect. I can edit it and polish it later but the most important thing is that I wrote something and enjoyed doing it. Writing is something that can only be done by those who do it for fun and would continue doing it even if they never made any money or never had a reader-base of more than ten people. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">*End Rant*</span></div>
Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7657904364461086744.post-9385150868293239662014-07-15T08:47:00.000-07:002014-07-15T08:47:06.053-07:00My Treat Wednesdays: Introduction<span style="font-size: large;"> This year is my last year in high school. Yep that's right, I'm a Senior....I still can't quite believe I will be 18 in a couple months and off to college next August. My parents, being the awesome parents that they are, have for the past year or so have been giving me an allowance that I must budget so I can get all the things I need, it has taught me the importance of budgeting and keeping track of my money. Now my lessons to help prepare me for life are going in to phase two. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> I'll be in charge of Wednesday night meals, also known as dinner, until I go off to college (and probably when I come home for the summer and breaks and what not). I will be doing a new blog series called My Treat Wednesdays. So here are the rules: 1) It must be healthy 2) I can't cook the same meal twice, I must pick a new recipe every week 3) I have around $20 to spend which means finding fresh, healthy food on a budget (yet another life lesson). I will be writing up a blog post every Wednesday telling y'all what I cooked along with pictures. I am excited to experiment with food and try some new recipes. I will be doing a lot of American food, some French food, and any other international dish that looks yummy and my family will eat. I guess that means no frog legs, not that I would know where to get those. </span></div>
Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7657904364461086744.post-71087078794307354482014-07-04T07:00:00.000-07:002014-07-04T07:00:00.163-07:004th of July: A Day of Rememberance<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.elkspringsresort.com/gatlinburg_cabins_blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/4th-of-july-gatlinburg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.elkspringsresort.com/gatlinburg_cabins_blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/4th-of-july-gatlinburg.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.elkspringsresort.com/gatlinburg_cabins_blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/4th-of-july-gatlinburg.jpg">Link</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> Happy 4th of July!!!! This is my mom's all time favorite holiday. I love 4th of July because it usually means we are at the Cabin but because of drama over the past two years 4th of July hasn't been the same. Don't get me wrong it's still fun as I get to hang out with my best friends and their families. BBQ, potato salad, fireworks, parades, and yummy desert. It's easy to get caught up in what's, where's, and who's and completely forget why we are celebrating today. When asked why we celebrate 4th of July many of us say: "It's the day we gained independence from Britain" and while this is true and worth celebrating that often makes it sound like fighting for independence is a one time thing. We forget that our freedom and independence must be fought for Every. Single. Day. Ronald Reagan once said "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We don't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same" </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.obsessivecoupondisorder.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/cafepressart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.obsessivecoupondisorder.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/cafepressart.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.obsessivecoupondisorder.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/cafepressart.jpg">Link</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> There are many families who will be celebrating 4th of July missing members of their families. Some of you may even be reading this right now. Your sons, daughters, husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and friends are fighting for our freedom and this day celebrates them. Some of your family members and friends have died protecting our nation and today is the day we remember and celebrate their sacrifice. To paraphrase Joseph Campbell, a hero is someone who is willing to sacrifice his/her life for something bigger than his/herself. This is the holiday of Hero's. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> I want to take a minute and just say thank you. I don't know if any soldiers will read this but from a teenage girl in Colorado, thank you. It is because of you I can debate without fear of persecution. It is because of you I can say what I want, believe what I want, and do what I want (within the law of course). Thank you for your sacrifice and your willingness to fight so we can be free. I pray for you and your families every time I think of you.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.freeallimages.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/fourth-of-july-military-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.freeallimages.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/fourth-of-july-military-1.jpg" height="256" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.freeallimages.com/fourth-of-july-military/">Link</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> 4th of July isn't just in celebration of that day in 1776. It is a celebration of our men and women who are fighting for our freedom every day. Don't forget our US soldiers, active duty or retired. Take a minute to thank them, to salute them, and to pray for them. And more important never forget them. </span>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7657904364461086744.post-78055873075424012972014-06-29T18:27:00.000-07:002014-06-29T18:27:20.820-07:00The Beginning<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> All stories have their beginnings. Blogs are meant to capture the story of life as it unfolds. Within the story of life there are many sub-plots. Your first boyfriend, college, speech and debate, soccer, girl scouts, etc. This series will follow one such sub-plot of my story and I will be blogging about it whenever there is an update. I might do a few video blogs in addition to (or to replace) some of my written blog posts. Now you may be wondering what this series is going to be all about. *drumroll* I will be (mostly) in charge of Mary's Home Library! (Mary's Home is an apartment complex New Life Church is building for single homeless moms.) This has been a thing for a while but I haven't gotten around to blogging about it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> My mom has been pushing for me to do some kind of humanitarian project for my senior year. I told Mom about the African Library Project and said I wanted to do something like that. After thinking she said "What about Mary's Home? Why don't you build a library for Mary's Home?" Immediately the idea took a hold of me and I became incredibly excited. I contacted a friend of ours who works at New Life and I told her what I was thinking about doing, offering to do a formal pitch and everything. That Tuesday I was at Bible study and I asked if we could pray about this project. After we finished praying I checked Facebook and voila a message showed up in my inbox saying that the architect was drawing up plans for the library!!! It was super exciting and I may have squealed. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> As the weeks passed I didn't hear anything further except that it was most likely happening. I began to doubt whether or not it was actually going to happen but I kept going forward as if it were. When my Aunt had a neighborhood garage sale I went around the neighborhood and passed out flyers saying I would pick up any books they didn't sell. I got tons of books for both the kids and the moms. Now I have finally heard back from New Life and it is for sure happening. I don't know how much room I have or anything like that but it is for sure happening.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> Now I need to collect as many books as I can. The theme quote for the library is from <span style="line-height: 115%;">G.K.
Chesterton who said “Fairy Tales are more than true; not because they tell us
that dragons exist but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” These kids and their moms have seen plenty of dragons but we want to remind them that dragons can be beaten. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> <b>What we need:</b> Books! Any book that you read as a child that brought you comfort. That you loved. That your children or your grandchildren loved. Also we need good books for single moms. Devotions, anything like that.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; line-height: 27.600000381469727px;">You can donate one book or ten no gift is too small.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"> And if you don't know what to get don't worry I can help you out. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>There are a couple ways you can help. </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> 1. Go to </span></span><a href="http://amzn.com/w/1ZJPZP44OPM4O" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Mary's Home Amazon Wishlist</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> and order books from there. Your card will be charged but because you ordered it off the wishlist they will be sent </span></span><span style="line-height: 27.600000381469727px;">straight </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">to me. I won't see any of your information (minus the note with you should leave) and you won't need my address. If you don't see what you want email me </span></span><a href="mailto:nasnotsonewsworthynews@gmail.com" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">here</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> with the book you want to get and I will add it to the wishlist so you can purchase it. Please don't feel bad about doing this. I would love to include books that helped you overcome dragons then you pick something on the wishlist. Also as I am not a mom nor an adult I don't know which books would be good for the mom's. Note: be mindful of the books that you choose to add on. This is a Christian organization so please don't donate books that are inappropriate. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> 2. If you are not in the United States and don't want to pay the Amazon shipping then you can order books off of the <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/">Book </a></span></span><span style="line-height: 27.600000381469727px;"><a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/">Depository</a></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">. Just email me at the above email </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">with a list of the books you wish to donate and I will send you the link to my wishlist which should function the same way as the Amazon wishlist. The reason I don't provide a link now is because that wishlist is currently empty. I will add to is as you request books to be added to it :).</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> I hope you will enjoy this sub-plot of Lauren's life and I plan to keep you updated as things happen. Thanks for reading.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Harrington; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7657904364461086744.post-79731224146281995262014-06-25T09:30:00.000-07:002014-12-22T12:00:21.501-08:00The Fault in Our Stars by John Green<b><span style="font-size: large;">General Synopsis:</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://lorileecraker.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/tfios-okay-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://lorileecraker.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/tfios-okay-2.jpg" height="320" width="235" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://lorileecraker.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/tfios-okay-2.jpg"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Link here</span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Hazel is termly ill. She would give anything to stay at home and read and watch her favorite TV show but when her mother forces her to attend a cancer support group her life is changed. There she meets Isaac who has cancer in his eye and Augustus Waters. The three quickly become friends and Hazel and Augustus start to become something more. This book tells the story of Hazel and Augustus' story and it hurts my heart.Warning there will be some spoilers.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Quality Rating: 4 1/2 Book</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> This book is so good. The writing is very eloquent. It is not the kind of story I would normally read but because of the writing style I loved it. Honestly there is nothing more to say except that I sobbed through the last five chapters. No joke.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Content Rating: 3 1/2 Books</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b>I figured out how to more accurately rate the content! Average the numbers. Wahoo! I am so smart. Anyway you will see why this lovely book has received a mediocre rating for content. It's main shortcomings are in the language and the romance categories.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Age Scale: (Again parents you know your children better than I do this is just a general guide)</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> 0-11: High Caution. This is not a book for youngsters for the reasons I will list below</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> 12-15: Medium Caution: there is quite a bit of language and lots of talk of death</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> 16+: Low Caution: </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://th05.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/f/2014/045/7/1/the_fault_in_our_stars_fan_art__infinity__by_charsheee-d76g5nq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://th05.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/f/2014/045/7/1/the_fault_in_our_stars_fan_art__infinity__by_charsheee-d76g5nq.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://charsheee.deviantart.com/art/The-Fault-in-our-Stars-Fan-Art-infinity-434094758"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Link Here</span></a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Positive Elements:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> There are three main positive elements I want to highlight. 1) Hazel's parents. They are amazing loving parents who are super supportive of Hazel and love her especially when she needs it most. They are model parents yet very realistic. 2) The insight to what it is like to loose someone/be the one dying. For anyone who has lost someone they love will find this book very relatable. <b>*SPOILER*</b> In the end Hazel was torn by the fact that Gus died but she did recover and move on without forgetting. And for those of us who aren't dying or haven't lost people this give as an insight to their pain. It makes us more understanding of those who have gone through this. It helps us understand (as much as someone who hasn't experienced these events) what is happening on an emotional and physical level so we can better relate to other. 3) Love. Ok so if you have seen the movie trailer you have seen the part where she tells Gus she is a grenade and for a long time she pushes Gus away because she doesn't want to love and she doesn't want to hurt people or be hurt. This story highlights the decision to love and be loved, and how glorious that is, even if there is pain in the end.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Language: 3 Books</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> In addition to a well developed vocabulary John Green also uses a fair amount of language. As well as some crude jokes.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Romance: 2 Books</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b>Ok so there is one sex scene and although it is brief it's still there and slightly uncomfortable (at least for me I skipped most of it). It is also not graphically described. There is a part after Gus dies in which there is a pretty crude joke (not sure where to put that but it seems to fit best here). If that stuff bothers you then you have been warned.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Violence: 5 Books</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b>This is a contemporary book about cancer so there isn't a lot of violence. There is talk of violence and they play a violent video game but nothing graphic or even worth docking down for.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Alcohol/Smoking: 4 Books</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b>While in Amsterdam Gus and Hazel drink campaign and one of the side characters is very fond of drink. Also just FYI Gus often puts cigarettes in his mouth but doesn't light them. It's a metaphor. See what I did there? Huh? Huh? Ok I'm done.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Beliefs: (Again no rating)</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b>There aren't any clear religious beliefs in this book. The support group happens in a church and makes fun of fake Christians. I am a Christian and could relate to the annoyingness of fake/theatrical Christians but I do feel it didn't give Christianity a fair chance. Believe it or not but most Christians aren't fake/theatrical. If I am not mistaken most of the characters are Atheistic. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Magic: N/A </span></b><br />
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<br />Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7657904364461086744.post-88505756077690084962014-05-06T20:00:00.000-07:002014-05-06T20:00:05.151-07:00Things That Go Through My Head When I Walk Into (and through) a Bookstore<span style="font-size: large;">I saw a post on the B&N Blog about 23 Things We Think Upon Entering a Bookstore and I though I would do one of my own. Some of them will be the same as that post but others will be mine. So if you have ever wondered what goes through my mind when I walk into a bookstore your wait is over.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> 1. I...can't....breath. Must....read....words *walks into store and breaths deeply* Ahhh...I feel better already.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> 2. I'll just look around for a minute *checks watch* oh has it been three hours already</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> 3. My people</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> 4. I think I'll check the YA section one more time</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> 5. *sigh* I am content</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> 6. Dang! That is one beautiful cover.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> 7. Hmm...I may have to rearrange my shelf when I get home</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> 8. In and Out. Got it. In and Out. In and....oooh new releases</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> 9. You may only spend 20 dollars Lauren 20 dollars *thinks for a few minutes* I could spend $25 or $30. Yea 30 sounds good</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> 10. I love the smell of books and coffee</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> 11. Two hardbacks or three paperbacks....so hard to decide</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> 12. Do I need more books...what a silly question I always need more book. Thomas Jefferson had over 6,000 book and I don't have anywhere near that many</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> 13. Sooo many books so little time</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> 14. I wonder if they are hiring and if they would pay me in books</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> 15. The membership should really come with a rewards program</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> 16. Oooo....I haven't seen this book before</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> 17. Oh my gosh they have the second book!!! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> 18. I wonder if I have any coupons </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> 19. *spots someone reading a book I love* Hello, you are my new friend</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> 20. Why aren't there any baskets...I can only carry so many books</span><br />
Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7657904364461086744.post-33886687596691390882014-04-16T16:19:00.000-07:002014-04-16T16:19:01.011-07:00Top 5 Free News PodcastsI listen to the news...a lot. Sometimes I don't have access to the internet so I like to listen to podcasts which I have downloaded on my phone. Here are my top 5 news podcasts.<br />
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<b>1. The Economist: Week Ahead</b><br />
This podcast takes the top three stories that will be featured in the next week. It is a great and quick listen that let's you know what to pay attention to. It also gives you a quick background/overview of the issue. This podcast is updated once a week.<br />
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<b>2. BBC World Service: Global News</b><br />
This is a thirty minute podcast updated every other day (sometimes more often). I love BBC's analysis. It is a little liberal but they do a pretty good job at keeping the bias at a minimum. They take the top stories from all of their news services and combine them into one podcast.<br />
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<b>3. The Economist: All Audio and Special Reports</b><br />
These two podcasts are like the Week Ahead but they focus on the news of the day. Having all three of the Economist podcasts will give you a general yet well rounded idea of what is going on in the world.<br />
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<b>4. CARO Institute's Daily Podcast</b><br />
This podcast mainly focuses on economic topics and it is not always common man in the sense they use quite a bit of economic language however their analysis is good and shows pretty interesting (in my opinion)<br />
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<b>5. BBC: Best of Today</b><br />
Several of these 2-3 minute podcasts are out every day and focus on one event. I like this podcast because they report on a plethora of news stories.Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7657904364461086744.post-45023220685650419022014-04-11T14:32:00.000-07:002014-04-11T14:32:00.428-07:00A Call to Action<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Hey y'all so I know I have been gone for a while but my life is crazy. I had a tournament two weeks ago and I am currently in Seattle doing the same thing. Now that we have excuses out of the way let's get to the reason I am writing this blog post. Now you guys know how much I love books. I wrote a post about how important books are, I do book reviews, and have over 200 books on my shelf. (If you think that's amazing did you know Thomas Jefferson had 6,487 books?) I always talk about how everyone should read but I have done nothing to ensure that people who can't afford books have access to them. I have thought about donating them to my public library but what if we could send it somewhere where they are needed. I mean we have <span style="background-color: white;">120,091 libraries in the United States!</span><span style="background-color: white;"> What about third world countries? </span>T</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">hink about it. Most people in third world countries don't have access to libraries and if they do they aren't very big. Of course I am not under the delusion that I can provide books to everyone in the world but I can make a small difference. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Shannon Ippolitot from <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/cozyteareads">cozyteareads </a>has partnered with an organization whose goal is to create libraries in Africa. All you have to do is send them books and they will give these books to children in Africa. That's right there is a whole organization dedicated to making sure children in Africa can read!!!! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"> These are the books they are looking for:</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;"> -Books at U.S 4th to 8th grade reading level. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;"> -Juvenile literature</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;"> </span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;"></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> -Children’s fiction and non-fiction</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> -Teacher's resource books for school libraries</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> -Dictionaries</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> -Encyclopedias less than 15 years old</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> -Accurate up-to-date atlases</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> -Thesauruses</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> -Books with universal themes (friendships, animals, love)</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> -Books like Chicken Soup for the Soul (inspiring stories with life skills lessons)</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> -Books about Africa or African-Americans</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> -Educational kids science and literary magazines in good condition</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
</span><span style="background-color: white;"><div style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> -Brain teasers, flash cards, educational games and puzzles</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"> They also need about $500 to help ship the books. So you can donate money if you don't want to donate books. Here's a short cut. If you don't want to pay for shipping (because you are international or you have to buy books anyway and don't want to spend the extra money) go on the Book Depository Website (found </span></span><a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/?redirected=true&gclid=CPDCicL8zr0CFenm7AodF1QAjA" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">here</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">) which has free world wide shipping. Just put Shannon's </span></span><span style="line-height: 20px;">address</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"> in instead of your own. Or if you don't mind spending money on shipping go to the Book </span></span><span style="line-height: 20px;">Outlet</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"> (</span></span><a href="http://bookoutlet.com/" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">here</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">) which has super cheap books but does have some shipping costs and again send it directly to Shannon. Shannon's </span></span><span style="line-height: 20px;">address</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"> can be found </span></span><a href="http://www.africanlibraryproject.org/book-drives/book-drives-in-action?alpdetail=429#.U0Li4_ldWSo" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">here</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">. Read the information then send Shannon and email with what you are going to do and also to get the exact </span></span><span style="line-height: 20px;">address</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">. I </span></span><span style="line-height: 20px;">challenge</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"> every single one of you to send books to help these children. The deadline is May 15, 2014. I know I will be going through my bookshelf as well as sending an order from Book Outlet. And if all of my readers, few though you may be, send a couple books we will be able to make a </span></span><span style="line-height: 20px;">difference</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">If you do send books let me know down in the comments. </span></span></div>
</span>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7657904364461086744.post-36435445154427100162014-03-16T12:31:00.000-07:002014-12-22T12:00:41.809-08:00Delirium by Lauren Oliver<b>General Synopsis:</b><br />
<b> </b>Delirium by Lauren Oliver is a dystopian novel in which Love is a disease and the government has found a cure for it. When you are 18 you get the cure which removes all love from you, turning you into an compliant apathetic citizen and Lena, the main character, can't wait to have the procedure. The thing is when you take away love you also take away passion. A child could fall and scream and cry and no one would go to help him/her because they know s/he will be ok eventually. But there are those who resist and live in the Wilds, the area outside of the fences. This story follows Lena and her struggle to realize that love isn't a disease but a blessing.<br />
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<b>Quality Rating: 4 1/2 Book</b><br />
This is a page turning first book which I thoroughly enjoyed. I finished this book in two or three days. I was very well written and there was one part where I gasped out loud (earning some curious/concerned looks from the other people in the room) and parts where my breath quickened. If you like dystopian then you will love this book. I am eager to read the next book Pandemonium.<br />
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<b>Content Rating: 3 Books*</b><br />
<b> </b>There are some problems with this book content wise. It is implied that Alex and Lena sleep together and are very intimate and there is quite a bit of language in the last half of the book. Those two factors led me to give it three books. I will explain it in more detail a little further down.<br />
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<b>Age Scale: (Again parents you know your children better than I do this is just a general guide)</b><br />
0-11: High Caution: this is defiantly a YA book and is not appropriate for young children<br />
12-15: Medium Caution<br />
16+: Low caution.<br />
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<b>Positive Elements:</b><br />
This is a story about the importance of love and how it conquers all. Another theme is truth and how important it is to pursue and protect it. Throughout Delirium the consequence of not thinking for yourself are very clear and pretty realistic. I feel that this is one of the most philosophical dystopians I have read to date. For those of you who don't like philosophy never fear they are underlying themes.<br />
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<b>Language: 2 Books</b><br />
<b> </b>Like I said earlier the language doesn't really start until half way through the book and if I am not mistaken the most popular swear words are used at least twice through out the book.<br />
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<b>Romance: 3 Books</b><br />
<b> </b> It is implied that Alex and Lena sleep together and are very intimate but this is a fleeting reference. There are many kisses shared between these two character but most of them are sweet kisses.<br />
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<b>Violence: 4 Books</b><br />
<b> </b>There was some intense violence and some of it was graphic but the reason I didn't take away more books is because the amount of violence and depth of description is necessary for the plot and the over all feel of the book. If you are super squeamish or can't stand violence in books this is probably not a book for you.<br />
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<b>Alcohol/Smoking: 4 1/2 Books</b><br />
At one point Lena recalls the day when her and Hana (her best friend) got drunk.<br />
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<b>Beliefs:</b><br />
<b> </b>There are several mentions of a Judeo-Christian-ish God<b> </b>and it appears that the main character believes in God however this particular believe seems out of place. She doesn't quite believe in a personal God but he isn't a fully scientific God either...I am just kinda confused on this aspect.<br />
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<b>Magic: N/A </b><br />
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*Note I am still trying to figure out the system for content stars. Right now I am just going with my gut but soon I will have a more consistent. If you have any questions about my rating system let me know in the comments. Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7657904364461086744.post-65178839523821078142014-02-22T17:35:00.000-08:002014-02-22T17:35:01.783-08:00An Amazing Video<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/i-PtE1BrqKU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe><span style="font-size: large;">So I attended Teen Pact last week (a post to come) and during one of the evening sessions they showed one of the most amazing videos I have ever seen. Full of truth, entertaining, and theologically dense. I encourage you to take a listen and tell me what you think in the comments. </span><br />
<br />Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7657904364461086744.post-8013962418594747162014-02-21T16:56:00.003-08:002014-12-22T12:00:53.920-08:00The Book Thief by Markus Zusak<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8f/The_Book_Thief_by_Markus_Zusak_book_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8f/The_Book_Thief_by_Markus_Zusak_book_cover.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8f/The_Book_Thief_by_Markus_Zusak_book_cover.jpg">Source</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>General Synopsis</b><br />
<b> </b>This book, set in Nazi Germany, follows the story of a young girl named Liesel. Liesel lives with a foster family and begins stealing books, which is where the title comes from. She steals books from a Book Burning, a graveyard, and even the mayors house. Death, the narrator, follows the life of Liesel in her new foster home. A little ways through the book a Jew by the name of Max shows up on their doorstep and we see the relationship between Max and Liesel bud. Then the air raids begin. <br />
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<b>Quality Rating: 5 Books</b><br />
This is a fantastic book with a unique narrator. The format is also unique but it worked for this book. I would give it 5 stars because it is just that good! This might just be my new favorite book. If you don't like books with sad endings this may not be for you but you will be missing out on a fantastic book.<br />
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<b>Content Rating: 4 Books</b><br />
<b> </b>Overall Zusak kept the book pretty clean. Minus some language he didn't go too in depth to the horrors of bombings or what the Nazi's did to the Jews. There are several scenes where Death talks about taking the souls up in his hands and plenty of talk about the dead (what do you expect the narrator is Death). I would give this book 4 stars out of five for cleanliness.<br />
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<b>Age Scale (note: This is my view on the age scale but I also checked other sites to make sure I wasn't way off.)</b><br />
0-9: High Caution. The content is (in my humble opinion) too weighty and mature for such a young age.<br />
10-12: Medium Caution. Again there is some mature content and the language could be an issue to some people.<br />
13+: You are good to go. I think this book has some great aspects and it is beautifully written.<br />
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<b>Positive Elements:</b><br />
<b> </b>From what I know of history there are many elements in this story that are true. For example the German's did have huge book burnings and there were Hitler Youth groups. Friendship is a huge theme in The Book Thief and racism is, in many ways, looked down upon by the main character and the narrator. Another theme is strength through trials and Zusak illustrates that life can go on even when horrible things happen.<br />
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<b>Language: 3 Books</b><br />
There is a fair bit of language in this book. Most of the time it is in German but you do know what it means and it doesn't change the fact that they are cursing. Another phrase they say is "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph". To be honest I am not really sure if it is a bad thing. Sometimes it is used when a character is surprised and other times it is implied that this phrase is a curse. There are a few other instances of cursing but the two above are the most prevalent.<br />
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<b>Romance: 5 Books</b><br />
There are a couple times where Rudy asks for a kiss and eventually Liesel does give him a kiss. But it is a very sweet kiss and rather sad.<br />
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<b>Violence: 4 Books</b><br />
As this book is set during WWII there is a certain amount of violence but it isn't graphic (doesn't really go into a detailed description of the effects of the bomb). Most of the violence and cruelty that happened in during the war is simply implied. Death does talk about carrying the souls of the broken bodies away in is arms.<br />
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<b>Alcohol/Smoking: 4 Books</b><br />
<b> </b>Children and Adults smoke and there is a scene where Liesel tastes champagne but no one gets drunk or anything. Just FYI the thought of champagne makes me want to cry...<br />
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<b>Beliefs (I am not sure how to rate beliefs because your rating may change depending on what religion you have. I will try to stay impartial and just present the facts presented in the book)</b><br />
At one point Death acknowledges the fact that God exists however he says that God is silent and that he doesn't answer even his prayers. As state earlier the phrase "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph" is used frequently.<br />
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<b>Magic: N/A</b><br />
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<br />Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7657904364461086744.post-32201576463014391542014-01-26T09:21:00.000-08:002014-01-26T09:21:00.050-08:00Sixteen: Excert<i>Emily Rachelle just published a book called Sixteen. This book is about mistakes made as a teenager and is very dramatic. This book is full of themes such as redemption, love and forgiveness. I feel that Sixteen is especially relevant in today's world where this happens so often. Emily also demonstrates that witnessing is about relationships and unconditional love. My only complaint is that it was way to short! I wish I had been able to get to know the characters more and spend more time with them. This book had me on the verge of tears at one point. Because of the mature content I would not recommend it for anyone under 13 and I would suggest a discussion between kids and parents. Anyway I highly recommend this book and here is her bio and an excerpt from Sixteen. I will also post links to her blog and the Amazon page.</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Bio</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Born
in Panama, Emily Rachelle has traveled throughout the country and the world
with her Air Force family. Currently, she lives with her parents and three
brothers in middle Georgia. While Emily enjoyed reading as far back as she
remembers, writing didn't come to her until she learned the forms of poetry and
the basics of story in fourth grade. Since then, she's written scripts for
homeschool dramas, poems for birthday presents, and stories for friends and
family to enjoy. <i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Sixteen </span></i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">is her debut into the professional world of words.
You can find Emily at her blog, </span><i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Emily Rachelle Writes,</span></i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="http://emilyrachellewrites.blogspot.com/"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">http://emilyrachellewrites.blogspot.com</span></span></a><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Excerpt</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><br />She dropped her harvest carefully into a bucket, then set her
sights on the next apple. It didn't seem that high. No matter how many times
she jumped, though, Nikki couldn't seem to get a proper grip on the stubborn
thing. "Matt, come over here and help me! I can't reach."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">She watched as he slowly made his way over to her tree, hands in
his pockets. He wore the same style of old denim overalls as his father; Nikki
had missed the memo and worn shorts with a Princess Jasmine top. The sunlight
danced over Matt's blond hair, which stuck out in all directions today.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">"Why don't you just find a new tree, or help me over
there?"</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">Nikki pointed up at her gleaming red antagonist. "Because I
want that one."</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">He laughed. "Why that one?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">"Why not?" She crossed her arms. "Can you reach
it?"</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">"Of course." He leaned over her, and she threw her arms
out to balance herself.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">"Hey!"</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">They both laughed. He reached out and plucked the apple, but when
Nikki held out her hand, he shook his head. Instead, he wrapped his arm around
her and took a bite from the shining fruit.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">"Really, Matt?" She rolled her eyes, still grinning.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">"If's goot!" He swallowed and repeated, "It's
good!"</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">"I know. That's why I wanted it!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">He just kept eating while Nikki attempted to squirm from his grip.
When he finally finished, he tossed the core over his shoulder and released
her.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">"About time!"</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">He smiled at her, but it wasn't his teasing grin. Something
different lit up his eyes. What was he up to now? "You wanted to taste it,
right?"</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">"What, the apple? Well, eventually. Guess I'll eat one of the
others now."</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">He shook his head. "No need to."</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">She raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In one fluid motion, he
grabbed her wrist, pulled her towards him, and pressed his mouth to hers.</span></span></div>
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<b>Links</b></div>
<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Amazon link:</span></b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sixteen-Emily-Rachelle-ebook/dp/B00HVOD5SW/" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">http://www.amazon.com/<wbr></wbr>Sixteen-Emily-Rachelle-ebook/<wbr></wbr>dp/B00HVOD5SW/</span></a> <o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Emily Rachelle Writes</b> </span><a href="http://emilyrachellewrites.blogspot.com/"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">http://emilyrachellewrites.blogspot.com/</span></span></a><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Facebook </b></span><a href="http://facebook.com/emilyrachellewrites"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">http://facebook.com/emilyrachellewrites</span></span></a><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Twitter </b></span><a href="http://twitter.com/emilyrachelle15"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">http://twitter.com/emilyrachelle15</span></span></a><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Pinterest </b></span><a href="http://pinterest.com/emilyrachelle15"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">http://pinterest.com/emilyrachelle15</span></span></a><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>GoodReads </b></span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/8818047-emily-rachelle"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/8818047-emily-rachelle</span></span></a><o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>LibraryThing </b></span><a href="http://www.librarything.com/profile/writergirl15"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.librarything.com/profile/writergirl15</span></span></a><o:p></o:p><br />
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Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7657904364461086744.post-47133448791604241232014-01-03T11:15:00.001-08:002014-01-03T11:16:23.245-08:00Favorite Books of 2013<span style="font-size: large;">Happy (late) New Year! Last year I read 42 books just shy of my goal of 50. This is partly because I didn't read as much during this summer as I wanted. Oh well better luck this year! So here are my top books of 2013. They are not in order of which ones I liked best because once I can't get place them.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Fiction</span></b><br />
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">The Book Thief </i><span style="font-weight: bold;">by </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4c2803; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><b>Markus Zusak</b></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">:</span><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>I loved this book. It is about a little girl named Liesel and she steals books. For a book lover this is a fantastic book. It takes place during WWII and is narrated by Death. I couldn't put this down seriously guys you should read it!</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mhxl0SEgmpI/Tgf6Q9tAxRI/AAAAAAAAAVI/O0BMkgxaCWI/s1600/match.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mhxl0SEgmpI/Tgf6Q9tAxRI/AAAAAAAAAVI/O0BMkgxaCWI/s200/match.jpg" width="129" /></span></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Matched </i>by Ally Condie: </b>This book has gotten a lot of mixed reviews. A lot of people thought there was no conflict but they don't realize that all of the conflict is internal. I usually don't read books set in the future but that seems to be changing. Anyway this was another book I couldn't put down and I just bought the next one. I enjoyed it and can't wait to keep reading the series.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>The Cadet of Tildor </i>by Alex Lidell: </b>I really hope there is going to be another book. Although it was a satisfying ending I was left with a lot of unanswered questions. I really, really want a second book...like a lot.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--tfvLEmUr6Y/Te84fytuSUI/AAAAAAAAAyA/zg9oHaay52Y/s1600/51D1XFuuJVL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--tfvLEmUr6Y/Te84fytuSUI/AAAAAAAAAyA/zg9oHaay52Y/s200/51D1XFuuJVL.jpg" width="133" /></span></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Waterfall and Cascade </i>by Lisa T. Bergren: </b>Ok, I know these are two books but the series are so interconnected that they are pretty much one book. The second book takes up almost exactly where the first book ends. In fact the second books starts like five minutes after the first book ends. This is a fantasy romance and very fast paced. Each book ends in a cliffhanger so I would suggest getting all of the books at one time.</span><br />
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<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Glu9+PRjL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></a><b><span style="font-size: large;">Non-Fiction</span></b><br />
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I only read a couple of these so I only have the top book. And the winner is *drumroll*</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>The Art of War for Writers </i>by James Scott Bell: </b>If you are a writer this is a must have. Each 'chapter' is short one or two pages on average. I learned a heck of a lot from this book and it was very well written.</span><br />
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<b><br /></b>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7657904364461086744.post-57766093090018970532013-12-18T20:34:00.002-08:002013-12-18T20:34:47.962-08:00My Lifeblood<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/21/7d/ca/217dca4315be15d972d989d88e61fedb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/21/7d/ca/217dca4315be15d972d989d88e61fedb.jpg" width="273" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/21/7d/ca/217dca4315be15d972d989d88e61fedb.jpg">Source</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> "Books are useless."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> "Why study literature, we can't use it in the real world?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> "I don't read"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Each of these statements is like a shot to the heart. People always laugh when I say that but seriously guys, often, it is a physical pain in my heart. Because of books I have lived hundreds of lives and seen thousands of places. I have learned the meaning of bravery, compassion, love, and friendship. I have learned the consequences of poverty, war, and anger. I have learned that I am not alone and that every storm runs out of rain. I have learned you can't write fiction without fact. Books have taught me that you must stand up for what you believe in no matter the consequences for if you stand for nothing you fall for anything. Books have given me friends when I have none. For me books are home. C.S. Lewis once said "But in reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself. Like the night sky in the Greek poem, I see with a myriad eyes, but it is still I who see."</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/d4/69/cb/d469cb8442e243b03f36ab3a22c0c293.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/d4/69/cb/d469cb8442e243b03f36ab3a22c0c293.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/d4/69/cb/d469cb8442e243b03f36ab3a22c0c293.jpg"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Source</span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> The power of books is undeniable and unmistakable if only you would open your eyes to see it. There is something beautiful in the smell and feel of a good book. There are books that are meant to keep you company through your loneliness and your trials. E.B. White once said "A library is a good place to go when you feel unhappy, for there, in a book, you may find encouragement and comfort. A library is a good place to go when you feel bewildered or undecided, for there, in a book you may have your questions answers. Books are good company, in sad times and happy time, for books are people - people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book" And according to Steve Leveen "When you are reading a really great book, burdens feel lighter cares smaller" </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Some people say that they don't like Realism because it is too close to real life. I came to the realization in Literature Class the other day (with the help of a scholarly paper which I can't remember) that while yes realistic literature is realistic and doesn't <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media-cache-cd0.pinimg.com/736x/d1/e1/67/d1e167a632e5e3d855028b346fcbfcd5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://media-cache-cd0.pinimg.com/736x/d1/e1/67/d1e167a632e5e3d855028b346fcbfcd5.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media-cache-cd0.pinimg.com/736x/d1/e1/67/d1e167a632e5e3d855028b346fcbfcd5.jpg">Source</a></td></tr>
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provide an escape from the real world it brings about the romantic notion in all of us to do something. Anything. About the injustice and evil in the world. It drives us to action and makes us more compassionate and understanding. Sure it isn't always an 'escape' but sometimes we need reality in order to face what is going on in our lives and in the world. According to Ursula K LeGuin "We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel...is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become." All forms of literature provide us with </span><span style="font-size: large;">this understanding. Sometimes it is obvious while other times you have to really search for it. I don't think people realize that those books that are 'escapes' have very real elements of reality scattered throughout them. For as Julian Barnes says "When you read a great book you don't escape from life, you plunge deeper into it."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> See books are like oxygen for me. I need them to breath. To cope. To live. I love this quote from Anne Lamott as she sums up many of my feelings perfectly. "For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you." Some might say I'm </span><span style="font-size: large;">obsessed. Other's will think I'm crazy and to tell you the truth I probably am. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/zzGvTpu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://i.imgur.com/zzGvTpu.jpg" width="281" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">A bookstore which was ruined by an air raid. <br />London 1940 <a href="http://i.imgur.com/zzGvTpu.jpg">Source</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> I can't make anyone read. I can't make them understand but if books are so unimportant, so useless, why did Hitler burn them during WWII? Why is <i>Uncle Tom's Cabin </i>considered one of the main causes of the start of the Civil War? Martin Luther once said "If you want to change the world, pick up your </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">pen and write." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> I don't know if that makes sense but books are such an important part of my life and it pains me to see how little our society appreciates book. I will leave you guys with one last quote from Po Bronson "Books have been my classroom and my confident. Books have widened my horizons. Books have comforted me in my hardest times. Books have changed my life"</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">\</span>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728508020557789277noreply@blogger.com0