vvb32 reads: Book Event

Showing posts with label Book Event. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Paris in July 2020

Paris in July
hosted by Thyme for Tea
(details & signup)
Paris in July is an international blogging event that brings together lovers of Paris and all things French, for a Virtual visit to Paris through literature, film, theater, art, music, food, wine and memories.

READ:

Paris by Edward Rutherford
Historical, France, Paris | Goodreads

Murder in Clichy by Cara Black
Mystery, France, Paris | Goodreads | my review | my rating: 4

LISTEN: Audiobooks

The Black Swan of Paris
by Karen Robards
Historical, WW2, Paris | Goodreads | my review | my rating: 4

Falling for Provence tour
July 20-31 (details)
my review | my rating: 4

SHOP:

Paris Letter
creation by Janice MacLeod | etsy

MISC:

Witches and a Phantom
books featured:
The Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith
The Glamourist by Luanne G. Smith
The Conjurer by Luanne G. Smith
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
For Love of the Phantom by Davyne DeSye
Skeletons in the Closet by Davyne DeSye
Phantom Rising by Davyne DeSye

Bookworms in France
books featured:
The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles
One Summer In Paris by Sarah Morgan

Food and France
books featured:
Mastering the Art of French Eating: Lessons in Food and Love from a Year in Paris by Ann Mah
Dirt: Adventures, with Family, in the Kitchens of Lyon, Looking for the Origins of French Cooking by Bill Buford
The Secret French Recipes of Sophie Valroux by Samantha Verant

Films and France
films featured:
I Am Not An Easy Man
Blind Date
Madame Goes to Paris

Photos and France
book featured:
Shakespeare and Company by Sylvia Beach

Expats and France
books featured:
Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon
French Like Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris by Scott Dominic Carpenter
L'Appart: The Delights and Disasters of Making My Paris Home by David Lebovitz
Confessions of an Expat in Paris by Vicki Lesage

film featured:
Emily in Paris

Happy Bastille Day!
book featured:
The Lost Vintage by Ann Mah

Royals and France
book featured:
Marie Antoinette’s World: Intrigue, Infidelity, And Adultery In Versailles by Will Bashor

film featured:
Lady J

Fashion and France
books featured:
The French Photographer by Natasha Lester
The Paris Secret by Natasha Lester
The Queen of Paris: A Novel of Coco Chanel by Pamela Binnings Ewen

film featured:
Yves Saint Laurent: His Life and Times

San Francisco and France
book featured:
Frog Music by Emma Donoghue

WWII and France
books featured:
The Paper Girl of Paris by Jordyn Taylor
The Dressmaker's Gift by Fiona Valpy
The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
Red Mistress by Elizabeth Blackwell

Jaunt out of Paris
books featured:
The Reader on the 6.27 by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent
The Safe Place by Anna Downes
Death in Provence by Serena Kent

Yarn Along - Paris theme
book featured:
Paris by Edward Rutherfurd

Films and France pt2
films featured:
Puerto Ricans in Paris
Radioactive

Foodie and France
Falling for Provence by Paulitta Kincer
Death in Provence by Serena Kent
Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop by Roselle Lim

Mystery and France
books featured:
The 7th Woman by Frédérique Molay
Crossing the Line by Frédérique Molay
The Book Artist by Mark Pryor
The French Widow by Mark Pryor
The Godmother by Hannelore Cayre

Goodbye Paris in July
book featured:
Goodbye Paris by Anstey Harris

LISTEN: Spotify - Paris Cafe Jazz

~*~

Monday, July 1, 2019

Paris in July 2019

Paris in July
hosted by Thyme for Tea
(details & signup)
Paris in July is a French themed blogging experience running from the 1st – 31st July this year.
The aim of the month is to celebrate our French experiences through actual visits, or through reading, watching, listening, observing, cooking and eating all things French!

CRAFT:

Make a book bundle cover (tutorial) with a Paris scene (source).

VOLUNTEER:

Bastille Day
at Justin Hermann Plaza
July 13, 2019 (details)

Watched some Petanque with The Perfect Nanny while stationed at the kid zone area.

WATCH:

2 or 3
A Paris Education
Fidelio: Alice's Odyssey -my review
Les Cousins
Lourdes -my review
Midnight in Paris

FLIP THROUGH:

A Paris Year: My Day-to-Day Adventures in the Most Romantic City in the World by Janice Macleod | Goodreads

Citix60: Paris: 60 Creatives Show You the Best of the City | Goodreads
Lonely Planet Experience France | Goodreads

F Is for France: A Curious Cabinet of French Wonders by Piu Marie Eatwell | Goodreads

Paris: The Collected Traveler by Barrie Kerper | Goodreads

SHOP:

Used an Amazon gift card to pick up some Paris in July themed items
- Harney & Sons Paris, Black Tea
- 8pcs Mini Notebook, with Eiffel Tower icon
- Cavallini Vintage Paris 10 Pencils and 1 Sharpener
- iPhone Case with Eiffel Tower and Pink Flowers

READ:

I have a stack of books, but decided to post the final list here later. I will be reading what strikes my mood.

The stack:

Adèle by Leïla Slimani | Goodreads | my review
The Perfect Nanny by Leïla Slimani | Goodreads | my review

LISTEN: Audiobooks of Expats in Paris

The Bookseller
by Mark Pryor
-Mystery, France, Paris | Goodreads

Author binge: Cara Black

Aimée Leduc Investigation series:

Murder in the Marais (1999) - my review
Murder in Belleville (2000) - my review
Murder in the Sentier (2003) - my review
Murder in the Bastille (2004) - my review
Murder in Clichy (2005) - my review
Murder in Montmartre (2006)
Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis (2007)
Murder in the Rue de Paradis (2008)
Murder in the Latin Quarter (2009)
Murder in the Palais Royale (2010)
Murder in Passy (2011)
Murder at the Lanterne Rouge (2012)
Murder Below Montparnasse (2013)
Murder In Pigalle (2014)
Murder on the Champ de Mars (2015)
Murder on the Quai (2016)
Murder in Saint-Germain (2017)
Muder on the Left Bank (2018) - my review
Murder in Bel-Air (2019)

Monday, April 25, 2016

Romance Times Convention panel: YA Romance with Edge or Just Plain On the Edge

Romantic Times Booklovers Convention
April 12-17, 2016
Rio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada (details)
a post event - update

YA: Romance with Edge or Just Plain On the Edge: How Far Can You Really Go in YA Fiction?

The “Y” in YA might stand for “young,” but teens deal with serious challenges and big emotions—the thrill of first love and the pain of heartbreak, the power that comes from finding yourself and the confusion that comes from making mistakes. As writers, how do we create authentic characters and plotlines? Are there limits when writing for a teen audience? Join us and for an unforgettable discussion with a panel of YA authors who aren’t afraid to push the envelope and keep it real.

Moderator: Danielle Paige

Guests:
Ellen Hopkins
Lauren Oliver
Katie McGarry
Kami Garcia
Sona Charaipotra

=====> Fun panel. Insights from each author with personal anecdotes was a wonderful way to get to know each. See below for how each responded to the question of "What was your first sexy book read?"

Authors in photo above (left to right):

Yellow Brick War
(Dorothy Must Die #3)
by Danielle Paige
-Fantasy, Retelling, YA
Just released: March 15, 2016
Amazon | Goodreads | Website
In this dark, action-packed third book in the New York Times bestselling Dorothy Must Die series, Amy Gumm—the new girl from Kansas—must do everything in her power to save Kansas, kill Dorothy, and make Oz a free land once more.

Amy Gumm’s mission to take down Dorothy Gale is not going according to plan. Dorothy has found a way to bridge the worlds of Oz and Kansas, and if the power-hungry dictator of Oz has her way, Kansas will be destroyed forever. Now, Amy has to team up with the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked to save her home, restore the balance between the magic and nonmagic worlds, maybe get the guy—and kill that not-so-sweet Kansas farm girl once and for all.

In the third installment of the New York Times bestselling Dorothy Must Die series, Danielle Paige’s twisted versions of beloved Oz characters are back, including the biggest, baddest, most famous of all: the Wicked Witch of the West.

Welcome to the other side of the rainbow. Here there’s danger around every corner, and magic shoes won’t be able to save you.

Traffick
(Tricks, #2)
by Ellen Hopkins
-Poetry, YA
Amazon | Goodreads | Website
Five teens victimized by sex trafficking try to find their way to a new life in this riveting companion to the New York Times bestselling Tricks from Ellen Hopkins, author of Crank.

In her bestselling novel, Tricks, Ellen Hopkins introduced us to five memorable characters tackling these enormous questions: Eden, the preacher’s daughter who turns tricks in Vegas and is helped into a child prostitution rescue; Seth, the gay farm boy disowned by his father who finds himself without money or resources other than his own body; Whitney, the privileged kid coaxed into the life by a pimp and whose dreams are ruined in a heroin haze; Ginger, who runs away from home with her girlfriend and is arrested for soliciting an undercover cop; and Cody, whose gambling habit forces him into the life, but who is shot and left for dead.

And now, in Traffick, these five are faced with the toughest question of all: Is there a way out? How these five teenagers face the aftermath of their decisions and experiences is the soul of this story that exposes the dark, ferocious underbelly of the child trafficking trade. Heartwrenching and hopeful, Traffick takes us on five separate but intertwined journeys through the painful challenges of recovery, rehabilitation, and renewal to forgiveness and love. All the way home.

=====> First sexy book read: Godfather by Mario Puzo

Replica
by Lauren Oliver
-SciFi, YA
Release date: October 4, 2016
Amazon | Goodreads | Website
Gemma has been in and out of hospitals since she was born. 'A sickly child', her lonely life to date has revolved around her home, school and one best friend, Alice. But when she discovers her father's connection to the top secret Haven research facility, currently hitting the headlines and under siege by religious fanatics, Gemma decides to leave the sanctuary she's always known to find the institute and determine what is going on there and why her father's name seems inextricably linked to it.

Amidst the frenzy outside the institute's walls, Lyra - or number 24 as she is known as at Haven - and a fellow experimental subject known only as 72, manage to escape. Encountering a world they never knew existed outside the walls of their secluded upbringing , they meet Gemma and, as they try to understand Haven's purpose together, they uncover some earth-shattering secrets that will change the lives of both girls forever...

REPLICA envisions a world much like our own in which a small set of human clones are being used by the military to test the effects of neurotoxicity in the search for a potential universal vaccine.

=====> First sexy book read: Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

Walk The Edge
(Thunder Road #2)
by Katie McGarry
-Romance, YA
Just released: March 29, 2016
Amazon | Goodreads | Website
One moment of recklessness will change their worlds.

Smart. Responsible. That's seventeen-year-old Breanna's role in her large family, and heaven forbid she put a toe out of line. Until one night of shockingly un-Breanna-like behavior puts her into a vicious cyber-bully's line of fire—and brings fellow senior Thomas "Razor" Turner into her life.

Razor lives for the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, and good girls like Breanna just don't belong. But when he learns she's being blackmailed over a compromising picture of the two of them—a picture that turns one unexpected and beautiful moment into ugliness—he knows it's time to step outside the rules.

And so they make a pact: he'll help her track down her blackmailer, and in return she'll help him seek answers to the mystery that's haunted him—one that not even his club brothers have been willing to discuss. But the more time they spend together, the more their feelings grow. And suddenly they're both walking the edge of discovering who they really are, what they want, and where they're going from here.

=====> First sexy book read: Forever by Judy Blume

The Lovely Reckless
by Kami Garcia
-Romance, YA
Release date: October 4, 2016
Amazon | Goodreads | Excerpt | Website
I’ve become an expert at avoiding things that could hurt me—which means I will figure out how to stay away from Marco Leone.

Seventeen-year-old Frankie Devereux would do anything to forget the past. Haunted by the memory of her boyfriend’s death, she lives her life by one dangerous rule: Nothing matters. At least, that’s what Frankie tells herself after a reckless mistake forces her to leave her privileged life in the Heights to move in with her dad—an undercover cop. She transfers to a public high school in the Downs, where fistfights don’t faze anyone and illegal street racing is more popular than football.

Marco Leone is the fastest street racer in the Downs. Tough, sexy, and hypnotic, he makes it impossible for Frankie to ignore him—and how he makes her feel. But the risks Marco takes for his family could have devastating consequences for them both. When Frankie discovers his secret, she has to make a choice. Will she let the pain of the past determine her future? Or will she risk what little she has left to follow her heart?

=====> First sexy book read: romance books of from her teens (Fabio was mentioned)

Shiny Broken Pieces
(Tiny Pretty Things #2)
by Sona Charaipotra (and Dhonielle Clayton)
-Thriller, YA
Release date: July 12, 2016
Amazon | Goodreads | Website
June, Bette, and Gigi have given their all to dance at Manhattan’s most elite ballet school. Now they are competing one final time for a spot at the prestigious American Ballet Company. With the stakes higher than ever, these girls have everything to lose…and no one is playing nice.

June is starting to finally see herself as a prima ballerina. However, getting what she wants might cost her everything—including the only boy she’s ever loved. Legacy dancer Bette is determined to clear her name after she was suspended and accused of hurting her rival, Gigi. Even if she returns, though, will she ever regain the spotlight she craves? And Gigi is not going to let Bette—or the other dancers who bullied her—go unpunished. But as revenge consumes her, Gigi may be the one who pays the price.

After years of grueling auditions, torn ribbons, and broken hearts, it all comes down to this last dance. Who will make the cut? And who will lose her dream forever?

=====> First sexy book read: Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Romance Times Convention panel: Fantasy Heroines

Romantic Times Booklovers Convention
April 12-17, 2016
Rio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada (details)
a post event - update

Fantasy: The Kickass Fantasy Heroine

Traditional fantasy readers and writers sometimes criticize the female hero – especially the warrior women – as being a male hero with tits. Is this a fair criticism? What does a female character bring to the warrior role that is quintessentially feminine?

Moderator: Jeffe Kennedy

Guests:
Delilah S. Dawson (aka Lila Bowen)
Kate Elliott
Darynda Jones
Tamora Pierce

=====> Basically, these women are just as kick-ass as the heroines described in their books. I plan to read at least one book from each of them as all were new to me except for Kate and Tamora.

Authors in photo above (left to right):

Strike
(Hit #2)
by Delilah S. Dawson (aka Lila Bowen)
-Dystopia, YA
Just released: April 12, 2016
Amazon | Goodreads | Website
The hit list was just the beginning.

Time to strike back.

After faking her own death to escape her term as an indentured assassin for Valor Savings Bank, Patsy is on the run with her boyfriend, Wyatt. All she wants to do is go home, but that’s never going to happen—not as long as Valor’s out to get her and the people she loves.

Left with no good choices, Patsy’s only option is to meet with a mysterious group that calls itself the Citizens for Freedom.

Led by the charismatic Leon Crane, the CFF seem like just what Patsy has been looking for. Leon promises that if she joins, she’ll finally get revenge on Valor for everything they’ve done to her—and for everything they’ve made her do.

But Patsy knows the CFF has a few secrets of their own. One thing is certain: they’ll do absolutely anything to complete their mission, no matter who’s standing in their way. Even if it’s Patsy herself.

Poisoned Blade
(Court of Fives #2)
by Kate Elliott
-Fantasy, YA
Release date: August 2, 2016
Amazon | Goodreads -giveaway offer ends June 17 | Website
In this thrilling sequel to World Fantasy Award finalist Kate Elliott's captivating young adult debut, a girl immersed in high-stakes competition holds the fate of a kingdom in her hands.

Now a Challenger, Jessamy is moving up the ranks of the Fives--the complex athletic contest favored by the lowliest Commoners and the loftiest Patrons alike. Pitted against far more formidable adversaries, success is Jes's only option, as her prize money is essential to keeping her hidden family alive. She leaps at the chance to tour the countryside and face more competitors, but then a fatal attack on her traveling party puts Jes at the center of the war that Lord Kalliarkos--the prince she still loves--is fighting against their country's enemies. With a sinister overlord watching her every move and Kal's life on the line, Jes must now become more than a Fives champion.... She must become a warrior.

The Pages of the Mind
by Jeffe Kennedy
-Fantasy, Romance
Release date: May 31, 2016
Amazon | Goodreads -giveaway offer ends Apr 26 | Website
Magic has broken free over the Twelve Kingdoms. The population is beset by shapeshifters and portents, landscapes that migrate, uncanny allies who are not quite human…and enemies eager to take advantage of the chaos.

Dafne Mailloux is no adventurer--she's a librarian. But the High Queen trusts Dafne's ability with languages, her way of winnowing the useful facts from a dusty scroll, and even more important, the subtlety and guile that three decades under the thumb of a tyrant taught her.

Dafne never thought to need those skills again. But she accepts her duty. Until her journey drops her into the arms of a barbarian king. He speaks no tongue she knows but that of power, yet he recognizes his captive as a valuable pawn. Dafne must submit to a wedding of alliance, becoming a prisoner-queen in a court she does not understand. If she is to save herself and her country, she will have to learn to read the heart of a wild stranger. And there are more secrets written there than even Dafne could suspect…

The Curse of Tenth Grave
(Charley Davidson #10)
by Darynda Jones
-Paranormal, Romance
Release date: June 28, 2016
Amazon | Goodreads | Website
If one door closes and another one opens,
your house is probably haunted.
―Bumper Sticker

As a Part-time PI and fulltime grim reaper, Charley Davidson has asked a lot of questions throughout her life: Why can I see dead people? Who is the hot supernatural entity following me? How do I get gum out of my sister’s hair before she wakes up? But, “How do I trap not one malevolent god, but three?” was never among them. Until now. And since those gods are on earth to kill her daughter, she has little choice but to track them down, trap them, and cast them from this dimension.

There’s just one problem. One of the three stole her heart a very long time ago. Can the Razer, a god of absolute death and destruction, change his omniscient spots, or will his allegiances lie with his brothers?

Those are just a few of the questions Charley must answer, and quick. Add to that a homeless girl running for her life, an innocent man who’s been charged with murdering the daughter of a degenerate gambler, and a pendant made from god glass that has the entire supernatural world in an uproar, and Charley has her hands full. If she can manage to take care of the whole world-destroying-gods thing, we’re saved. If not, well...

Alanna: The First Adventure
(Song of the Lioness #1)
by Tamora Pierce
-Fantasy, YA
Amazon | Goodreads | Website
From now on I'm Alan of Trebond, the younger twin. I'll be a knight.

And so young Alanna of Trebond begins the journey to knighthood. Though a girl, Alanna has always craved the adventure and daring allowed only for boys; her twin brother, Thom, yearns to learn the art of magic. So one day they decide to switch places: Thom heads for the convent to learn magic; Alanna, pretending to be a boy, is on her way to the castle of King Roald to begin her training as a page.
But the road to knighthood is not an easy one. As Alanna masters the skills necessary for battle, she must also learn to control her heart and to discern her enemies from her allies.

Filled with swords and sorcery, adventure and intrigue, good and evil, Alanna's first adventure begins - one that will lead to the fulfillment of her dreams and the magical destiny that will make her a legend in her land.

=====> This is the series that introduced me to Tamora and my favorite one to date. LOVED Tamora's sense of humor! She is as amazing as you would imagine.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Romantic Times Booklovers Convention 2016

Romantic Times Booklovers Convention
April 12-17, 2016
Rio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada (details)
Book Fair details - April 16
Teen Day details - April 16 | Facebook | Agenda
TAKE a quick trip to Las Vegas next week!

Awesome authors will be at the Book Fair...

General Adult Fiction:
Brenda Jackson
Sabrina Jeffries
Christina Lauren
Lora Leigh
Susan Mallery
Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Mary Jo Putney
Julia Quinn
Alexa Riley
Lynsay Sands
Nalini Singh
Nancy Thayer
Kristen Ashley
Robyn Carr
Kresley Cole
Sylvia Day
Sonali Dev
Christine Feehan
Heather Graham
Larissa Ione -aka Sydney Croft

YOUNG ADULT
Kody Keplinger
Julie Murphy
Kiera Cass
Kass Morgan
Lauren Oliver
Katie McGarry
Kami Garcia
Jennifer L. Armentrout -aka J. Lynn
Julie Kagawa
Alexandra Bracken
Ellen Hopkins
Tamora Pierce
Victoria Aveyard
Richelle Mead

NEW ADULT
Cora Carmack
Kristin Cast
Jay Crownover
Anna Todd
Rachel Van Dyken

=====> IF you were there, who would you make a beeline for?

Monday, June 25, 2012

Paris at Noon: schedule

Paris at Noon
a virtual book event
June 2012
BONJOUR Mes Amis!

This week we find ourselves traveling abroad.

We will visit PARIS, France!

OUI! oui!

WHO knows what wondrous things we may encounter at noon in this magical city.

HAVE you ever been?

Schedule of events:
book list and giveaway links will also appear on this post
details and links will be filled in after posted
per usual links are also on the sidebar

June 26:
Eiffel Tower: Thoughts About Paris by Blodeuedd
book featured:

Paris, My Sweet:
A year in the city of light (and dark chocolate)
by Amy Thomas
signup for giveaway here

June 27:
The Louvre: Day at the Louvre from AimeeKay
book featured:

13 Little Blue Envelopes
by Maureen Johnson
signup for giveaway here

The Anchor Book of French Quotations
by Norbert Guterman

June 28:
31 Rue Cambon: Meeting at Chanel's from Ashley

June 29:
Tour de Nesle: Paris of the Past by Claire Jenkins

June 30:
La Poste: Paris is a Writer’s Paradise from Sophia Rose
book featured:

Kissed in Paris
by Juliette Sobanet
signup for giveaway here

July 1:
Books and Nails: Paris YA theme surprise
book featured:

Anna and the French Kiss
by Stephanie Perkins (my review)
signup for giveaway here

July 2:
Paranormal Activity in Paris: An American Werewolf in Paris from K.H. Koehler
book featured:

A Werewolf in Time
by K.H. Koehler
signup for giveaway here

July 3:
The Catacombs with Karina

July 4:
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées: Fashion, Zombies, and Paris, Oh My! from E. Van Lowe
book(s) featured:
The Fashion Zombie of Marseilles by E. Van Lowe
The Zombie Always Knocks Twice by E. Van Lowe - giveaway here

July 5:
Cinema: A Monster in Paris

July 6:
Père Lachaise Cemetery: Ysabel's Tale from Prue Batten
book featured:

Gisborne:
Book of Pawns
by Prue Batten
signup for giveaway here

July 8: Giveaways for part 1 end

July 9:
St. Germain: A Beautiful Walk with John Baxter (my review)
book featured:

The Most Beautiful Walk in the World:
A Pedestrian in Paris
by John Baxter
signup for giveaway here

July 10:
On the balcony: Tea, tartelettes, and a mysterious countess from Sasha Soren
book(s) featured:

Random Magic
by Sasha Soren

France, A Love Story:
Women Write About the French Experience
signup for giveaway here

July 11:
Announcement: winners for giveaways part 1

July 12:
Books and Nails: from Bridget Howard
book featured:

Until I Die
by Amy Plum

July 15: Giveaways for part 2 end

July 16:
END CREDITS

July 31: Giveaways for part 3 end

Announcement: winners for giveaways

~*~
FOR NOW: enjoy this short video...

Madame Goes to Paris
Illustrated by Tadahiro Uesugi
Music by Marc Shaiman - song "Girls Night Out"
and Werner Drexler with "Velvet Piano"
Durosier takes us to Paris with the very chic Madame. Follow her around town as she walks, shops and visits a French Cafe.

~*~
* leave a comment here to earn an extra point towards any of the giveaways

* event badge image source Parc Monceau, Paris by Claude Monet

* event theme was partially inspired by the film, Midnight in Paris (2011)