Bliss (Happy 101) Award

Thanks to Sara over at Along For The Ride who passed this lovely award onto me and my blog. Thanks again, Sara.

The rules for this awesome award are that I must list ten things that make me happy and then pass the award on to ten other bloggers. So here it goes:

1.) Sitting by the fireplace when it's freezing cold outside and drinking hot chocolate
2.) Getting an A on a super hard test that I thought I was going to fail
3.) Holidays with the family
4.) Finishing a book and going "woah"
5.) Achieving something
6.) Publishing an article in our school newspaper
7.) Making my parents proud
8.) Knowing I affected someones life in some way
9.) Getting a comment from other bloggers (you guys are great supporters)
10.) Getting a comment from non bloggers (you guys are great, too)

And to the bloggers I want to pass this award onto really made an impression on me and I genuinly love looking, searching, and reading their blogs. I'm sure there's way more than ten, but rules are rules and I'm sorry to say-that I'm not a rulebreaker.

1.) S at Confessions Of A Boring Girl
2.) Sarah at Confessions of the Un-Published
3.) Book Addict Girl at Addicted 2 Novels
4.) Sarah at Sarah's Book Reviews
5.) Shantal at Booknerds are pretty too
6.) Kilee at Kilee's Closet
7.) Josette at Books Love Me!
8.) Corrine at Lost For Words
9.) Autumn at Hello, Me Again...
10.) Morgan at Books and Literature for Teens

Tuesday Trends #2

I am starting "Tuesday Trends" which you can probably guess will be posted on Tuesdays, hence the name. If you haven't noticed, there are several trends in the book world/blogging about book world that change constantly. And from what I see/hear about-I will post in this thing I call "Tuesday Trends". It will be about anything from plot lines, characters, genre's in books to what's really popular in the blogging world. Hopefully this will be lots of fun, and I would love to hear your thoughts about what you think are the trends. So comments are very much appreciated.

Tuesday Trends #2
Topic: Linger by Maggie Stiefvator
 
Um...where to begin. How about that Linger by Maggie Stiefvator is EVERYWHERE in the blogging world. Every other post is about her new book (the sequel to Shiver) but it doesn't come out until July 20th and don't get me wrong-I'm excited for it, too, and the cover looks amazing. And then I wanted to get to the bottom of it-so I went to Maggie's website and found out that she's having this huge contest and the winner will receive an ARC of Linger.  Not only is it a great prize, but an umpteenth number of people have already entered.  
 
Shiver, the first book in this series, was very popular and everyone I knew loved it. I liked it, too so I will be looking forward to seeing what direction Maggie takes her characters.
 
And if you have entered the contest or are going to in the near future, I just wanted to wish you Good Luck!

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
Publication Date: April 6, 2006
Versions: hardcover, paperback, kindle, audio

Summary (from barnesandnoble.com):
when Annabel, the youngest of three beautiful sisters, has a bitter falling out with her best friend—the popular and exciting Sophie—she suddenly finds herself isolated and friendless. but then she meets owen—a loner, passionate about music and his weekly radio show, and always determined to tell the truth. And when they develop a friendship, Annabel is not only introduced to new music but is encouraged to listen to her own inner voice. with owen's help, can Annabel find the courage to speak out about what exactly happened the night her friendship with Sophie came to a screeching halt?

I read this book and throughout it kept thinking about how much i lie in a day. Now i'm not talking about big lies, but just small white lies. Or even not saying what's on my mind-just like Annabel (the main character in this book). And then I keep reading and think about everything that Owen (Annabel's love interest) says, and how true he is. Then I wish I had a guy like Owen to catch me on my "lies".


So overall in this book-you think. It makes you realize a lot about yourself and how distracting the silence really is ( you probably have to read the book to get this saying). I loved it, don't get me wrong. Sarah Dessen can really write. And she's probably one of my favorite authors.

So pick up this book and experience 371 pages of pure enlightenment (once again you probably have to read the book to get how this word really ties into it.)

Will I reread it?
Most defiantly-I have aleady reread it and am planning to do so a lot more in the future.

Win books over at "The Book Cellar"

Over at The Book Cellar-she is having a blogaversary prize pack giveway (chick lit prize pack). You can win:
-A paperback of I'd Tell You I Love But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

-A paperback of Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson
-A hardcover of Audrey, Wait by Robin Benway
-A paperback of Kiss & Blog by Alyson Noel
-A paperback of Art Geeks and Prom Queens by Alyson Noel
-A paperback of Sun-Kissed by Melissa de la Cruz
-A Suite Scarlett sleep mask

I know-some very good stuff! And to enter, head over to her blog at this link: Giveaway.

Good luck to everyone who enters and make sure you do so before March 6th and in order to enter you have to live in the US. Have a good day everyone!

Happy Valentines Day!

So here it is, once again: February 14th. The day of love (or so I call it).

On Friday, we celebrated Valentines Day at school since we don't have school on Sundays. People can purchase roses for other people and have them delivered to their first hour classes. So romantic, I know. I ride the bus to school on Friday morning, talk to my friends and have people ask me over and over whether or not I'm going to the dance. My answer: No. So then I treck through the snow to first hour and sit in my Art stool while I color the picture I started on Tuesday and am hoping for a good grade while the doors open and a few girls holding flowers walk in.

It's not like I was expecting one, but c'mon I bet you dream about some cute secret admirer buying one for you and telling you to meet them at 3 in the middle of the dance floor and then admit their undying love for you.

So they hand them all out and say they're done. I sigh inwardly while my hope drops. But while they start walking out of the classroom, another guy comes in with another flower. He says he forgot one and I'm like: wow, is this actually happening to me? But then he hands it to some girl (who already has three) and walks out. Story of my life.

Anyway, I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentines Day and hope you can spend it with people you love (in my case that would be my family).  But I did happen to go to the movie: Valentines Day-and it was fabulous. I recommend it to everyone.

And if anything exciting happened to you on Valentines Day: like maybe your boyfriend proposed or your boyfriend watched The Notebook with you then you are welcome to share.

Gone (Wake Trilogy Series #3) by Lisa McMann

Caution: This is the third book in the wake series and will most likely contain spoilers if you have not read the previous two.

Gone by Lisa McMann
Publication Date: February 9, 2010
Versions: hardcover, audio

Summary (from barnesandnoble.com):
Things should be great for Janie—she has graduated from high school and is spending her summer with Cabel, the guy she’s totally in love with. But deep down she’s panicking about how she’s going to survive her future when getting sucked into other people’s dreams is really starting to take its toll.



Things get even more complicated when she meets her father for the very first time—and he’s in a coma. As Janie uncovers his secret past, she begins to realize that the choice thought she had has more dire consequences than she ever imagined.

This was defiantly a bittersweet read for me due to the fact that seven words are printed on the top that clearly say: The final book in the Wake trilogy. Deep down, I was hoping she would continue the series past just a trilogy but this comfirms that she most likely will not. The sweet part of this book was that it was wonderful. Janie's life continues on and she now has to deal with more stuff including her dad and her blindness to be. The book was written just as good as the other two (Wake and Fade) but seemed more grown up in a way probably due to the growing up of the characters.

Will I reread it?
When I get over my sadness (haha) yes.

A perfect ending to a great series. I will look back at Janie and Cabel and long for more from them but I guess I have to take what I can get and three books is great.

What's your favorite book store or place to get books and why?

I'm always interested in knowing where people like to get there books from (ex. Borders, Barnesandnoble, library, indie bookstore, etc.) because everyone has their own opinions about it. I am a Borders fan because I know the layout of the store pretty well which makes book browsing so much easier.

And if someone could please clear something up for me: What is a indie bookstore and what's the differnce between it and...let's say Borders? I've been really curious and have been wanting to check one out.