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Top Ten Tuesday (February 19): Favorite Dystopian Characters

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Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!

I considered thinking outside the box for this week, but then my kids had a 3.5-day-weekend and we had company and I am TIRED. So instead I’m going to pick what is probably an über-popular genre, and I’m not going to go into detail on my answers, because the options for this evening are either write a curtailed post, or write nothing at all. YOU’RE WELCOME.

Here we go.

Top Ten Favorite Dystopian Characters

(Also, I understand that some of these are borderline dystopians. I’m going based on what the popular consensus is, even if I personally think some of them tread a little more in sci-fi territory).

10. Zane, Pretties. Did anyone else really like this character? Just me? He actually tried to figure out if there was something more outside the world of the Pretties without being pushed. Tally always needed someone forcing her hand. Zane didn’t. And he was good to her. I know I’m supposed to be all about Tally and David, and in a way, I am, but I just really liked Zane and don’t feel like he gets a lot of love.

9. Rue, The Hunger Games. I can’t talk about Rue or I’ll start crying. Such a sweet character.

8. Tris’ mom, Divergent. I’m supposed to pick Four, right? But seriously, even with her abbreviated page-time, I loved Tris’ mom. Tough, loving, self-sacrificing, forgiving. I wish more YA parents were like her. 

7. Hana, Delirium. I haven’t read her novella yet, but she was by far my favorite character in Delirium. Even more than Lena. Shhh, don’t tell anyone.

6. Prince Maxon, The Selection. For me, there is no love triangle. Maxon is the clear winner. Aspen who?

5. Manchee, The Knife of Never Letting Go. He’s a dog, and it doesn’t even matter. Best part of the book.

4. Zeke, The Immortal Rules. I think I have a soft spot for strong-yet-compassionate leader-types.

3. Chubs, The Darkest Minds. I simply adore smart, loyal friends.

2. Minho, The Maze Runner. All of the Minho scenes are my absolute favorites.

1. Peeta Mellark, The Hunger Games. Because Peeta rocks and I don’t even care about arguments that say different.

Throwback Thursday (February 14) – The Notebook

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The giveaway is still going on! Put up a Throwback Thursday post this week to participate! Rafflecopter is in the bottom of this post, and you can see all the AWESOME Prize Packs you can pick from in this post!

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books.

Here’s how it works:
  • Pick any bookish or literary-related media (or non-media item) released more than 5 years ago.
  • Write up a short summary (include the title, author, and cover art, if applicable) and an explanation of why you love it. Make sure to link back to The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books in your post.
  • Link up your post at The Housework Can Wait or Never Too Fond of Books.
  • Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list – or some other classic!

Feel free to grab the Throwback Thursday button code from the sidebar to use in your posts.

Thanks for participating, and we look forward to seeing which books you choose to remember!

My Throwback this week is…

The Notebook (2004) based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks

It’s Valentine’s Day, so I thought I’d pick a sappy romantic movie, and what better movie than the one that made millions of women everywhere fall head over heels in obsession with Ryan Gosling? I actually did read the book first in this case, although it was in high school (read: years before the movie came out), so I don’t remember a ton about it, except that it gave me the sappy romantic sad feelings, and later I thought the movie did a pretty great job with the adaptation.

For those of you who don’t know, The Notebook follows the story of Noah and Allie, teenage sweethearts pulled apart by Allie’s controlling parents, only to find each other again years later after Allie is engaged to another man. We flip back and forth between the story of young Noah and Allie’s hot-and-cold romance, and an elderly couple in a nursing home, where a man named Duke is reading this story out of an old notebook to a woman with dementia. And of course, through the course of the story, we ultimately find out what happens to Allie and Noah, and to Duke and his friend.

This is my go-to happy-sappy-sobby movie, which my husband will never, ever watch with me.

Here, since it is Valentine’s Day and I like you, I have found you a sappy video to go along with it. With Taylor Swift, whose songs I often like against my better judgement.

Participating this week gives you another entry into our giveaway! Check out the awesome prizes, and earn those entries!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a blog hop! Link up your Throwback Thursday post below!


Top Ten Tuesday (February 12) – Favorite Romances

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Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!

Today’s topic is fun and appropriate for those of you who celebrate Valentine’s Day. If you don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, either because your are Valentine-less or because you’re jaded or because you think it’s a stupid holiday, then I guess it’s no more appropriate than any other topic.

No judging. When I was in college, my friends and I used to dress in all black on Valentine’s Day because we were so Above It All. So if it’s not your thing, I get it.

Truthfully, I don’t think my husband and I are doing anything for Valentine’s Day this year either. Not Making a Statement, just…no plans. DOCTOR WHO IT IS.

Anyway. I’m getting off topic.

This week’s topic is:

My Top Ten Favorite Romances

I’m going to assume this is referring to the couples themselves, and not to actual romance novels, since I don’t read romance novels. So here we go (again, in no particular order, because I suck at particular orders):

Ron and Hermione, Harry Potter. I love their friendship. I love that they have had Feelings for each other for years, but that wasn’t their main concern in life. There were bigger things happening, like Voldemort. But there was always this underlying, intangible thing between them, that of course was finally realized in the last book.

Anna and Etienne, Anna and the French Kiss. I don’t read a lot of contemporary romance, at all, but I was totally sucked in by this one. Their relationship was sweet and fun and gave me the heart flutters.

Elisa and Hector, The Crown of Embers. My biggest problem with the first book in this series, The Girl of Fire and Thorns, was the lack of Hector. So when he was front and center in this book, I was a happy camper. Their slow-burn romance gave me chills. Serious. Chills.

Kaleb and Lily, Timepiece. I loved Michael and Emerson in Hourglass, but Kaleb and Lily in Timepiece were just perfection. Their romance was fun and quippy and shivery-in-a-good-way. I loved every second of them together, even before they were together.

Claire and Jamie, Outlander. As far as male leads go, it just does not get any better than Jamie Fraser, pretty much ever. Their romance felt so deep and passionate and real. Even when Claire was still sorting out her feelings for him, just reading about how Jamie interacted with Claire was enough for me to feel All The Feelings.

Echo and Noah, Pushing the Limits. Another contemporary romance. The kind I keep saying I don’t read. What can I say, people keep recommending good books! I will admit that some of the things that come out of Noah’s mouth kind of ooze cheese, but I don’t care. I love him and I love Echo and I love them together. They’re the perfect compliment to each other. (And if the sequel, Dare You To, was out yet, I’d put Beth and Ryan on this list too, because they deserve it. But you probably haven’t read that book yet, so I’ll just say — read it. If you loved PTL, you’ll love this one too.)

Anne and Gilbert, Anne of Green Gables (the whole series). I’m a sucker for stories where the love interests grow up together. I love that Anne and Gilbert start out as childhood rivals. I love that their rivalry slowly evolves into friendship, which evolves into romance. I love that he calls her Carrots and pulls her pigtails and gives up his teaching position so that she can stay home.

Gus and Hazel, The Fault in Our Stars. I think I’ve mentioned before how this book utterly destroyed me, and also how, despite the criticisms I’ve heard saying that Gus and Hazel don’t talk like real kids, they actually talked pretty much exactly like some of my friends from high school. So they were incredibly real to me, and their relationship was so sweet in the midst of so much sadness. It ripped my heart out, but I loved it.

Wanda and Ian, The Host. I would never put Bella and Edward on this list, but I felt like this book came much closer to getting a relationship right. I loved Ian and how he could see Wanda so clearly, when no one else could. And I loved how she learned to trust him, even though it went against her nature to do it. Also, for the record, I am super excited about this movie.

Samantha and Kent, Before I Fall. Their slowly evolving one-day romance made this book for me. Sam’s spiteful and shallow friends and some of her poor decision making just made me want to slap them all, but her growing feelings for Kent, and the way he always saw the best in her, even though she’d given him no reason to, are why I love this story.

Honorable mentions to: Every Jane Austen romance ever (especially Elizabeth and Darcy, and Elinor and Edward), Westley and Buttercup, Jane and Rochester, Jo and Laurie (yes, I know they didn’t wind up together, but I still love them), Christy and Doctor MacNeil, Clare and Henry, and Katniss and Peeta. All romances I loved and was super-invested in, but ultimately, didn’t make me feel quite as much as the ones above. (Going totally on books here. In the movies, Jane Austen always wins for Fluttery Feels.)

How about you? What couples make your heart go pitter-patter?

Throwback Thursday (February 7) + GIVEAWAY!

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It’s finally here! The giveaway Mandi and I have been teasing for a month! Are you EXCITED?

You should be.

Go to the bottom of my Throwback Thursday post to view the AWESOME prize packs, along with ways you can win — even if you’ve never participated in Throwback Thursday before!

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books.

Here’s how it works:
  • Pick any bookish or literary-related media (or non-media item) released more than 5 years ago.
  • Write up a short summary (include the title, author, and cover art, if applicable) and an explanation of why you love it. Make sure to link back to The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books in your post.
  • Link up your post at The Housework Can Wait or Never Too Fond of Books.
  • Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list – or some other classic!

Feel free to grab the Throwback Thursday button code from the sidebar to use in your posts.

Thanks for participating, and we look forward to seeing which books you choose to remember!

My Throwback this week is…

10 Things I Hate About You (1999) starring Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, Larisa Oleynik, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Based on The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

It doesn’t get much better than Shakespeare — unless it’s an updated ’90s teen movie retelling of Shakespeare. Cameron (Gordon-Levitt) is smitten with Bianca (Oleynik), but the only problem is that she’s not allowed to date until her older sister – surly and anti-social Kat (Stiles) – decides she will also date. What’s a love-sick teen to do? Obviously, convince Bianca’s other, wealthier suitor to pay Aussie bad-boy Patrick (Ledger) to woo Kat. Once Kat is romantically entangled, Cameron will be free to swoop in and sweep Bianca off her feet. Except nothing ever goes according to plan.

10 Things is one of my absolute favorite modern literary adaptations. It’s witty, it’s fun, it’s cute and romantic, and it includes Heath Ledger performing Frankie Valli while accompanied by a marching band. If that alone isn’t enough to sell you on this movie…I don’t know what to tell you. You may need help.

And now the giveaway!

While we love all the great finds Throwback Thursday has brought to light, participation isn’t where we wish it was. This is probably mostly our fault – Mandi took a blogging break for a couple months, and then I took one immediately after she got back. No hosts = no meme. And also, for a while when it was just books, it was hard coming up with new ideas each week! After all, we can’t exactly go back in time and read more/better books, can we? But now we’re back, and it’s easier than ever to participate, so we figured it’s time to get the word out!

In keeping with the new multi-media approach to Throwback Thursday, we have a selection of 10 Book & Movie Throwback Prize Packs to pick from! All you have to do to enter to win is participate in Throwback Thursday or help us spread the word! If you win, you can select your choice of Prize Pack.

The fine print:

  • You must be 13 or older to enter.
  • This giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY! However, depending on where you live, we may have to do some finagling on the Prize Pack of your choice, depending on which one you choose and how much it costs to ship to your country. Don’t worry – we’re sure we can settle on something you’ll love!
  • Winner will be notified by email and will have up to 48 hours to respond. After that, your prize will be forfeit and another winner will be chosen.
  • If you win, you can let us know your preference for your movie, Blu-Ray or DVD. We will do either up to $15, subject to availability.
  • This giveaway will run TWO WEEKS (not one like we said before), giving you MULTIPLE chances to participate in Throwback Thursday, even if you never have before! The winner will be announced on our blogs February 21, 2013.
  • Enter via the Rafflecopter form below, and make sure to FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS. We will be checking to make sure you actually participated.
  • Good luck!

The Prize Packs:

These are all Throwbacks (more than five years old) and we tried to pick from a variety of genres so that we’d have something for everyone! And of course, since we wanted BOTH prizes to be fun, we feel that all of these books and movies are worth a re-visit! Also, all of these movies are rated PG-13 or under.

Prize Pack #1


ORAND

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) OR Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)/Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Roald Dahl)

We couldn’t pick which movie we liked more (okay, that’s a lie, we both like the ’71 version more…but on the other hand, Johnny Depp) to go with this book, so you get to pick.

Prize Pack #2

AND

Stardust (2007)/Stardust (Neil Gaiman)

Prize Pack #3

AND

Clueless (1995)/Emma (Jane Austen)

Prize Pack #4
AND

The Prestige (2006)/The Prestige (Christopher Priest)

Prize Pack #5
AND

The Princess Bride (1987)/The Princess Bride (William Goldman)

Prize Pack #6

AND

About a Boy (2002)/About a Boy (Nick Hornby)

Prize Pack #7

AND

Jurassic Park (1993)/Jurassic Park (Michael Crichton)

Prize Pack #8

AND

The Princess Diaries (2001)/The Princess Diaries (Meg Cabot)

 
Prize Pack #9

AND

Little Women (1994)/Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)

Prize Pack #10

AND

The Bourne Identity (2002)/The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)

Hard choice isn’t it? Glad I don’t have to make it.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a blog hop! Link up your Throwback Thursday post below!


In which I fess up.

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It’s no big secret that I haven’t been blogging as often recently. This is due to a couple factors. One, my aforementioned resolution to keep this blog a hobby that I enjoy, and not as a stressful time-suck. It means I no longer read like it’s my job, and I don’t finish books I’m not enjoying, and I don’t feel like if I don’t post three reviews a week, I’m some sort of blogger failure. I post when I feel like it, I recommend books I enjoy, and sometimes — like now — I talk about me.

Which brings me to my main reason for cutting back on blogging: I’ve been working on a book of my own.

I know what you’re thinking: A book blogger writing a book? SHOCKING. That’s about as rare as hipsters in East Nashville (okay, if you don’t live here, you won’t get that joke…which should give you more incentive to come visit/live here because we’re awesome here).

But yes, whether this makes you leap for joy or shrug in indifference, I have written a book. I can now say it in the past tense, because it is done. Or at least 98% done. It’s been drafted. It’s been revised, again and again and again. It’s been critiqued and beta read and critiqued a few more times. It’s been the subject of hundreds and hundreds of emails to long-suffering friends, bloggers, and writers (who really are all friends, too). It’s grown from an inkling in my brain up to a bloated 130,000 words and then back down to a more reasonable length. It’s gone from a secret project that only a couple people knew I was working on to a thing that I’ve now told my family about, thus making it real. I’m pretty sure the only thing that makes something more real than telling your parents is posting it on Facebook.

But hey, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

And now I’m in this weird place where I’ve written a book. It’s not a book book yet. I’m still waiting for a bit more feedback from some people whose opinions I value more than gold, and once I get those in — and I fix whatever stubborn things are still wrong with it — I’ll send my little book out into the world and see if any agents want it. Maybe they’ll love it. Maybe they won’t give it a second glance. I don’t know. It’s scary and exciting, and anticipating it makes me both giddy with anticipation and shiver in fear.

But even if no one wants my book — even if all I have to show for it is this file on my computer and a hundred form rejections — I’m glad I wrote it. Because not only did I learn that I have it in me to write a book — a book that, at the very least, my critique partner and my college roommate and my husband all seem to enjoy — but I learned that I really, really enjoyed doing it. And so while this one goes out into the world, hopefully to be snatched up by some delightful agent who loves my story as much as I do, I’m working on another one. Which is totally different from the first one, and I love it in a different way. Kind of like how I love chocolate, but I also love guacamole. 
 
And I wanted to let you know, because I’d like to be able to talk about writing on here occasionally. I’ll still talk about books and authors and movies and other fun things too. But it was time to confess that writing’s become a big part of my life, and worth a mention. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll get to write the exciting “I’m now represented by…” post. Or, even more exciting, the “My book will be published by…” post.

I really, really hope so.

Or maybe I’ll just talk about writing, because even without those big “event” posts, writing is fun to talk about. And even more fun to do.

Speaking of which, time to get back to it.