Love-A-Thon Mini-challenge #3: Book Spine Poetry

Love-A-Thon
February 20-21, 2016
hosted by:
Alexa @ Alexa Loves Books
Cee @ The Novel Hermit
Hazel @ Stay Bookish
Mel @ The Daily Prophecy
One of the most popular Love-a-Thon challenges is returning this year! All you have to do is create book spine poetry. (If you guys don’t know what that is, it’s basically using book titles to write your own poems.) You can type out titles, take a photo, or design a collage. All creative ideas are encouraged!

fates and furies
postcards from the sky
the cuckoo's calling
soundless worlds of ink and shadow

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* links to more book spine poetry (here)

* image source: aurora borealis

* Love-A-Thon schedule

Stacking the Shelves - 11.28.15

Stacking the Shelves
hosted by Tynga's Reviews (details)
Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

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For Review:

Warren the 13th and The All-Seeing Eye: A Novel
by Tania del Rio and Will Staehle
-Middle Grade, Paranormal
courtesy of Quirk Books -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads | WIN a copy (here)

The Coal Thief
by Alane Adams
-Children, Historical
courtesy of BookSparks -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads | WIN a copy (here) and (here)

Fathomless
(Redemption's Heir #2)
by Anne M. Pillsworth
courtesy of publisher -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads
Library:

The Silkworm
(Cormoran Strike #2)
by Robert Galbraith aka J.K. Rowling
-Mystery, Detective
Amazon | Goodreads
Private investigator Cormoran Strike returns in a new mystery from Robert Galbraith, author of the #1 international bestseller The Cuckoo's Calling.

When novelist Owen Quine goes missing, his wife calls in private detective Cormoran Strike. At first, Mrs. Quine just thinks her husband has gone off by himself for a few days—as he has done before—and she wants Strike to find him and bring him home.

But as Strike investigates, it becomes clear that there is more to Quine's disappearance than his wife realizes. The novelist has just completed a manuscript featuring poisonous pen-portraits of almost everyone he knows. If the novel were to be published, it would ruin lives—meaning that there are a lot of people who might want him silenced.

When Quine is found brutally murdered under bizarre circumstances, it becomes a race against time to understand the motivation of a ruthless killer, a killer unlike any Strike has encountered before...

=====> Listening to the audio version which I also did with book one. The narrator portrays the characters well. Reeeeally got into this series after listening to the first book in the series, The Cuckoo's Calling. Loving the main characters and their back stories.

UNBOXING:

From Owlcrate package @owlcrate (details & signup):
OwlCrate is a subscription service that sends you magical monthly boxes tailored to a chosen theme. Each OwlCrate will contain one new Young Adult novel, as well as 3-5 other bookish treats to help you get your nerd on.

Box includes:
- Soundless by Richelle Mead and bookmark
- Vampire Academy series tattoos
- Fairytale tea, Snow White from Adagio Teas
- Camp Half-Blood bracelet created by The Colorful Geek
- Castle locket necklace from The Geeky Cauldron
- Pocket mirror (dragon scales) designed by My Clockwork Castle

Soundless
by Richelle Mead
-China, Fantasy, YA
Amazon | Goodreads
For as long as Fei can remember, there has been no sound in her village, where rocky terrain and frequent avalanches prevent residents from self-sustaining. Fei and her people are at the mercy of a zipline that carries food up the treacherous cliffs from Beiguo, a mysterious faraway kingdom.

When villagers begin to lose their sight, deliveries from the zipline shrink and many go hungry. Fei’s home, the people she loves, and her entire existence is plunged into crisis, under threat of darkness and starvation.

But soon Fei is awoken in the night by a searing noise, and sound becomes her weapon.

Richelle Mead takes readers on a triumphant journey from the peak of Fei’s jagged mountain village to the valley of Beiugo, where a startling truth and an unlikely romance will change her life forever...


OTHER things: kinda book-related

Participating in this...

Black Friday Book Bonanza
WIN books (here)

Books on the Nightstand 2015 Holiday Gift Guide is now available. GOT mine, get your free copy (here).

Tweet #GiveaBook - For each tweet Penguin Random House will donate a book to kids in need!

AND watched: in theatre

By The Sea (2015)
Director: Angelina Jolie
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt
-Drama, Romance | imdb | my rating: 4.5
Set in France during the mid-1970s, Vanessa, a former dancer, and her husband Roland, an American writer, travel the country together. They seem to be growing apart, but when they linger in one quiet, seaside town they begin to draw close to some of its more vibrant inhabitants, such as a local bar/café-keeper and a hotel owner.

=====> Loved the visuals. A couple dealing with love on the rocks.

45 Years (2015)
Director: Andrew Haigh
Based on short story by: David Constantine
Starring: Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay
-Drama, Romance | imdb | my rating: 4.5
In the week leading up to their 45th wedding anniversary, a couple receive an unexpected letter which contains potentially life changing news.

=====> Interesting focus on elderly love. Another couple dealing with love on the rocks.

AND watched: on DVD

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Based on comic by: Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons
Starring: Colin Firth, Taron Egerton, Samuel L. Jackson
-Action, Adventure, Comedy, Spy | imdb | my rating: 4
A spy organization recruits an unrefined, but promising street kid into the agency's ultra-competitive training program, just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius.

=====> After watching the latest James Bond film, I got into the spy mood. This film had it all and was light and fun.

Dr. No (1962)
Director: Terence Young
Based on book by: Ian Fleming
Starring: Sean Connery
-Action, Adventure, Spy | imdb
A resourceful British government agent seeks answers in a case involving the disappearance of a colleague and the disruption of the American space program.

=====> Decided to go on a James Bond binge and re-watch all films.

From Russia with Love (here)
Goldfinger (here)
Thunderball (here)
You Only Live Twice
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (here)
Diamonds Are Forever
Live and Let Die
The Man with the Golden Gun
the Spy Who Loved Me
Moonraker
For Your Eyes Only
Octopussy
A View to a Kill
The Living Daylights
License to Kill
Golden Eye
Tomorrow Never Dies
The World Is Not Enough
Die Another Day
Casino Royale
Quantum of Solace
Skyfall
Spectre (here)

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* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

* per usual, check out the sidebar for my current giveaways offers

Book Covers for Fashion Week

In tribute to the Fall season Fashion Weeks that started last week...

New York: September 10-17, 2015
London: September 18-22, 2015
Milan: September 23-29, 2015
Paris: September 30-October 7, 2015

I present some fashionable book covers of books to be released in the Fall/Winter season that I am excited add to my book closet.


FOR something historical and horrific...

A Madness So Discreet
by Mindy McGinnis
-Historical, Horror, YA
Release date: October 6, 2015
Amazon | Goodreads

FOR something poufy...

The White Rose
(The Lone City #2)
by Amy Ewing
-Dystopia, YA
Release date: October 6, 2015
Amazon | Goodreads -win a copy, expires Sep 15

FOR something glamourous...

Ash & Bramble
by Sarah Prineas
-Fairy Tale retelling, YA
Just released: September 15, 2015
Amazon | Goodreads

FOR something magical...

Air Awakens
(Air Awakens #1)
by Elise Kova
-Magic, YA
Just released: August 27, 2015
Amazon | Goodreads-win a copy, expires Oct 21

FOR something fancy and space age-y...

Their Fractured Light
(Starbound #3)
by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
-SciFi, YA
Release date: December 1, 2015
Amazon | Goodreads

FOR something simple and space age-y...

Inherit the Stars
(Inherit the Stars #1)
by Tessa Elwood
-SciFi, YA
Release date: December 8, 2015
Amazon | Goodreads

FOR something with drama and flair...

Soundless
by Richelle Mead
-Fantasy, YA
Release date: November 10, 2015
Amazon | Goodreads -win a copy, expires Oct 10

FOR some bling...

Glass Sword
(Red Queen #2)
by Victoria Aveyard
Release date: February 9, 2016
Amazon | Goodreads

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*image source: header

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy, Book 1)
by Richelle Mead

Published: 2007
Genre: Fantasy, Vampires
Paperback: 336 pages
Rating: 5

Inspiration: Richelle's coming to town next month and I've been meaning to try this out because of all the positive YA blog reviews

Description from author's site:
St. Vladimir's Academy isn't just any boarding school–it's a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They've been on the run, but now they're being dragged back to St. Vladimir's–the very place where they're most in danger. Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy's ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi–the world's fiercest and most dangerous vampires–make Lissa one of them forever.

My thoughts:
In-a-word: bond

I'm caught! Hook, line and sinker. This is my third YA vampire series to try and I love it just as well as the other two I've read so far (Twilight and Evernight).

What I really enjoy is the spunky character (always love spunky gals), Rose, with her snarky remarks and warrior spirit. She's the ultimate tough girl heroine-in-training. She's looking to be a force to be reckoned with in the future books. I look forward to watching her grow.

Now the other main character, Lissa, is one to watch out for. She is a mystery.

This storyline has its own special vampire lore that is fascinating to learn.

Moroi = living vampires - this is Lissa
Strigoi = undead vampires - ??? you'll have to find out
Dhampir = guardians of Moroi - this is Rose

Who would have thought... living vampires?

Oh yeah, some flickers of romance and magic are thrown in here as well.

A good vampire treat - take a bite!

The Vampire Academy Series:
Vampire Academy
Frostbite
Shadow Kiss
Blood Promise (Release date: August 25, 2009)
Spirit Bound (Release date: April 2010)
Title To Be Announced (Release date: late 2010)

Richelle is on tour doing signings and appearances.
See if she'll be in your neck of the woods.
As for me, I hope to see her here:

Fairies & Vampires & Zombies OH MY!
Thursday, 08/27/2009 - 7:00pm
Not Your Mother's Book Club (NYMBC)
presentsRICHELLE MEAD, LILI ST. CROW, and LAINI TAYLOR

Books Inc. in Palo Alto
855 El Camino Real #74
Palo Alto, CA 94304

Author faq:

Who's on the covers of the Vampire Academy books?

Covers are designed by a book company's art department and are something I have little say about. Since everyone has different ideas about how characters look, the art department's ideas may not quite match the books' descriptions or your ideas. Or, the art department may not have even read the book.

Vampire Academy - Rose

Frostbite - The girl is Rose, and the guy is a mystery even to me. Without the red eyes, he'd be Christian. He's too young to be Isaiah.

Shadow Kiss - Lissa and Dimitri are on the old version; Rose is supposed to be on the new one.

Blood Promise - Rose

Fun fan stuff in the blogosphere:

FANMADE Movie Poster creation by TheatreBabyy-x

I think the actors are well cast for this pic.

Rose: Sophia Bush
Dimitri: Ben Barnes
Lissa: Teresa Palmer

- to date there has been no announcement about a movie being made






Polyvore creation by PEACE AND LOVE~

Zombie sighting:
page 171: I went through the rest of my classes like a zombie, and then I headed off to practice with Dimitri as fast as I could.