Themed Events

vvb32 reads
Themed Events
A L I C E
Alice TEA parties: 2010 (with fairies), 2011 (with dragons)

Alice in...
Wonderland: 2009, 2010, 2011 (gyre and gimble)
Whatsitland: 2010
Wereland: 2010
Wholand: 2011
Whenland: 2011


F A I R Y T A L E S
Once Upon a Week: 2009

Fairy Tales in Bruges: 2010, 2011 (the sequel), 2012 (III), 2013 (iv)

F A N T A S Y
Harry Potter: 2010 (Hufflepuff House Movie Re-Watch Party)

Dragons: 2011

Women Wielding Blades: 2011

YA Faeries & Fantasy: 2012

On A Sea Voyage: 2013 (with mermaids)


F R O U F R O U
Hosted by Random Magic:
2010 (Dandies & Delectables)
2011 (Guys & Molls)
2011 (Vive L’Amour)
Bookie Brunch: 2011

Glamorama: 2012

Night Night: 2013

Project Runway


H I S T O R I C A L

1920s: 2013 (Flappers at Floyd's)

Downton Abbey (tea time): 2013, 2014, 2022

Masked Ball: 2010

Mad Men: 2010 (1960s), (related to TV series)

Triple Crown: 2011

World War II: 2010 (Love is in the Air)

Wrangling Westerns: 2021

J A N E
Everything Austen: 2009, 2010, 2010 (pt2)

Jane Austen's Birthday - December 16:
2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019

Talk Like Jane Austen Day - October 30:
2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016

Jane Austen hosted by Book Rat - participant: 2010, 2011, 2014

Jane Austen HOP: 2012, 2013

Jane Austen-esque: 2021 | 2022

Jane Austen-ish: 2016

PRIDE & PREJUDICE
Pemberley Ball with Mr. Darcy: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014

Something Amiss at Pemberley, a mystery: 2012

Tea at Pemberley: 2013

Pemberley... a party: 2016

PERSUASION
Captain Wentworth's Boating Party: 2011

MANSFIELD PARK
Mansfield Park Murder Mystery: 2010

EMMA
Mr Knightley's Picnic: 2010


M Y S T E R Y
LOST

Marple Poirot Holmes: 2010


P A R A N O R M A L
August Thrills-n-Chills : 2011

October Trix-n-Treatz: 2010, 2011 (Imaginarium of Dr Viiiii)

Paranormal Activity in YA: 2011, 2012, 2013

Ghostly Ghosts: 2013

Vampire Diaries

P I R A T E S
TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY - September 19: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016

Pirates: 2009, 2011 (...and a bottle o'rum)


R O M A N C E
Love Potions: 2011

Winter Getaway: 2011


S T E A M P U N K
SteamBoyz: 2010, 2011

SteamPink: 2010, 2011

TEA at The Filigree (steampunk style): 2013

Seeking Narwal: 2011

Old Skewl: 2010

Other Punk: 2011

Steampunk raw e-fiction:
Jane and Jade Escapades by vvb
Jane and Jade Escapades by the hubby
Raven $age by svb

T R A V E L
Armchair Autumn Travel: 2020

Armchair Summer Travel: 2015

Explore the World: 2022

Paris: 2012, 2016

rrRoad trip: 2011

Summertime time: 2020

V A M P I R E S
Ms V's Vampire Week: 2010

Princess V's Valentine's Weekend: 2010


W E R E W O L V E S
Werewolf Weekend: 2010


W O M E N
Women's Tales: 2011

Gone Girl Girls: 2013


Z O M B I E S
January Zombies: 2011

February Zombies: 2011 (zombie cute)

March Zombies: 2011 (survival)

May Zombies: 2014 (zombies & cupcakes & more zombies), 2016, 2018

September Zombies: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016

October Zombies: 2011, 2012 (Keep Calm and Carry On: Zombie Edition)

December Zombies: 2011, 2016


M E M E S & M I S C
Acquired books:
In My Mailbox
Lovely Books and Things
Stacking the Shelves
Sunday Post

Armchair BEA: 2010, 2011

Author Binge:
Cara Black
Agatha Christie
Lisa Jewell
Louise Penny

Author Reading

Autumn

Book Blast

Book Blitz

Blog HOPS

Blog Tours

Book Box subscriptions: (here)
Botm - Book of the Month
Chatterbox
Deep Readers Club
Indiespensable
Lit-Cube
Once Upon A Book Club
Owlcrate
Uppercase

Book Club

Book Fashion -book covers fashionized

Book Nooks

Bookish Bingo challenge

Bookish Games: Ready Player One edition

Bookish Places

Books and Bag

Books and Brioche: part of Vacation Reads - books related to France (2011)

Books and Burgers

Books and Coffee

Books and Laundry

Books and Nails

Books and Puzzles

Challenges

Cover Reveals

Books to Movies or TV

Books on the Want list

DNF Books: 2016

Dreaming of France

Excerpt

Fave YA couples

First Book Of The Year

Freebies

FOOF
-Feast on online Fiction
The Sheriff's Collector by Prue Batten

The Friday 56

Glossies Made Me Do It

Happy Mail: Book Box Subscription

Happy Release

Happy Release Blitz

Holiday Movies

Literary Hunks of the Month

On The Nightstand

PeekAbook - book trailers

Rabbit Rabbit

Room 7609 -interesting book bits to share

Waiting on Wednesday
-Dreaming Books

Teaser Tuesday

Theme Thursday

Thirsty Thursday

Too Cute

Top Ten Tuesday

Tours and Takes

Want It (wish list)

A Weekend to ReCover

Women Reading

Word & Question

Paper Towns by John Green

Paper Towns by John Green
Genre: YA (boy coming-of-age)
Published: 2008
Hardback: 305 pages
Rating: 5

Inspiration: First off I should mention that I got turned on to this book by the folks as Pottercast. While listening to the podcast episode PotterCast 183: Accio Nerdfighters! I was introduced to the vlogbrothers, John and Hank Green. They were so fun to listen to with such a great attitude towards life that I was drawn to check out their youtube creation and works in general. They have this saying dbfta that is catching (don't forget to be awesome!). BTW, if you are a Twilight fan you may want to check out Hank's latest song, I'm not Edward Cullen: A Song. Good stuff!

Description from the author's site:
Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life--dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge--he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues--and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew.

My thoughts:
In-a-couple-words: Road trip
A fun, hip and happening kind of book! What I liked about it is that the main character, Quentin, includes his friends during his journey to figure our the mystery that is Margo. As in life, problems can be solved with the help of others may they be acquaintances, friends, family and sometimes strangers. Definitely looking forward to the movie version which is scheduled for 2010.

Fun tidbit: It was interesting to learn about what paper towns are. If you look up Agloe, NY in Wikipedia there is an entry about this book!

dftba

Secrets in the Shadows V.C. Andrews

Secrets in the Shadows by V.C. Andrews
Published: 2008
Hardback: 392 pages
Genre: Horror
Rating: 3

Inspiration: VCA 2009 Challenge

Description from publisher's site:
Everyone Says
Her Mother Was Crazy.
Is She Doomed to Repeat the Past?

Up in the attic, that's where Alice's mother used to escape to...and it's where, so Alice has been told, she plotted the murder of her own stepfather. Now, years later, with her mother locked away for life, the attic is where Alice finds comfort in her aloneness, writing poetry and painting pictures. When Alice finally finds the courage to come out of her shell, exchanging her dowdy looks for flattering clothes and makeup, her life completely opens up -- she even attends the prom with a cute, popular boy. But it's a night that turns quickly tragic -- sending her newfound happiness crashing down around her, and hurtling Alice into a shattering new life, one that leads her to a shocking reunion with the shadows she had fled.

From the imagination behind Flowers in the Attic comes a sensational new novel that spins a seductive web between fantasies and lies -- and uncovers the price for keeping secrets in the shadows.

My thoughts:
In-a-word: Hope
I found this story a bit light weight. It wasn't as horrific as Flowers in the Attic. The bad stuff happened to other people so the main character, Alice, was mostly focused on feelings of guilt that she was a source of "bad luck" due to the past. What I found different with this book is that the character was surrounded by a pretty good support group.

Secrets series reviews:
Secrets in the Attic
Secrets in the Shadows

Secrets in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

Secrets in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

Genre: Horror

Published: 2007

Hardback: 374 pages

Rating: 3

Inspiration: VCA 2009 Challenge

I decided to read a newer V.C. Andrews for my second challenge book and continue with the Dollangangers later. I got intrigued with the "attic" in the title.

Description from publisher site:

In the dust and shadows of the attic, they shared everything -- fanciful stories, high school crushes, plans for the future, dreams to travel the world. For Karen, the attic is her escape from the reality of her stepfather's unwanted attention. Together in the eaves of a house with its own murderous history, the best friends concoct a scheme that will put Karen's stepfather in his place. It wasn't supposed to turn deadly. But in the attic Karen shares one more secret with her best friend -- a secret to take to the grave....

My thoughts:
In-a-word: Imagination

Secrets in the Attic was published in 2007 so it is fairly recent. The story was okay. Nothing too shocking comes of it. The main character, Zipporah, has a cool name. She is your ordinary girl who doesn't have any special talents. Her innocence and naive nature is what draws the "bad gal" character, Karen. Zipporah gets manipulated to become Karen's best friend which in the end entails more than your average girly-girl fun.

The end of the story is wrapped up nice and neat without too much harm coming to Zipporah. Of course, Zipporah's friendship with Karen caused her to abruptly lose her childhood innocence. However, I'm left with the question of what's the deal with Karen? Was she a product of poor parentage or was she a loony? Because enquiring minds want to know, I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the Secrets series, Secrets in the Shadows.

Secrets Series:
Secrets in the Attic
Secrets in the Shadows

Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

Genre: Horror
Published: 1979

Paperback: 390 pages

Rating: 5 (2nd reading)

Inspiration: VCA 2009 Challenge

Description from publisher's site:
The four Dollanganger children had such perfect lives -- a beautiful mother, a doting father, a lovely home. Then Daddy was killed in a car accident, and Momma could no longer support the family. So she began writing letters to her parents, her millionaire parents, whom the children had never heard of before.

Momma tells the children all about their rich grandparents, and how Chris and Cathy and the twins will live like princes and princesses in their grandparents' fancy mansion. The children are only too delighted by the prospect. But there are a few things that Momma hasn't told them.
She hasn't told them that their grandmother considers them "devil's spawn" who should never have been born. She hasn't told them that she has to hide them from their grandfather if she wants to inherit his fortune. She hasn't told them that they are to be locked away in an abandoned wing of the house with only the dark, airless attic to play in. But, Momma promises, it's only for a few days....

Then the days stretch into months, and the months into years. Desperately isolated, terrified of their grandmother, and increasingly convinced that their mother no longer cares about them, Chris and Cathy become all things to the twins and to each other. They cling to their love as their only hope, their only strength -- a love that is almost stronger than death.

My thoughts:
In-a-few-words: Beware of sugared doughnuts

Good Gosh Golly Day! I've completed my first book for the VCA challenge!

I must admit that I enjoyed it the second time around.

I was first drawn to this book by its book cover at age 13. Great cover art to capture a tween or teen's imagination especially with that keyhole cover. The image above is what is beyond the keyhole cover. The copy I read was found at the local library's paperback rack. I later purchased it to own after reading Petals on the Wind.

Fun find: The publisher of the VCA books, Simon & Schuster, has a V.C. Andrews author page. There is an image gallery that displays artwork created by V.C. Andrews. There is one posted which inspired the book Flowers in the Attic.

After researching my book journal of the past for my comments for this book, I found that only one word summed it up for me back then, FANTASTIC! Based on that review I went ahead to read the rest of the series and continued to follow V.C. Andrews up to the Orphans series.

It was painful to read the first few chapters knowing what was in store for the kids. I was felt like I was being incarcerated along with Chris, Cathy, Cory and Carrie. Amazing how they were imprisoned for 4 years! The relief for me came when Chris finally stood up to Momma with their dire situation. And of course the big reveal and escape at the end was exciting.

Co-inky-dink moment: Cathy mentions reading Lorna Doone. I have this book in my tbr pile for this year.

After reading Flowers in the Attic, my love for the V.C. Andrews genre has been revived. I may have to re-read everything up to where I left off and continue on with the new books that have come out since. Oh what a year I have ahead...

Dollanganger Series:
Flowers in the Attic (movie review)
Petals on the Wind
If There Be Thorns
Seeds of Yesterday
Garden of Shadows

Behind the keyhole cover: