Ready for the New Year

I guess I need to update my blog.  I kind of neglected it over the holiday.  I had a very relaxing and enjoyable holiday break.  We even had a little bit of snow over the holiday.  Not for Christmas day but around New Year's.  I have been continuing to read and have entered a number of reading challenges for 2013.  I am very excited to get started. 

I was able to see The Hobbit over holiday break and it was awesome.  I had heard it got some bad reviews but I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It had a lot of action sequences which I felt may have been a little over the top but I think Peter Jackson is trying to cater to a younger audience by including them.  Martin Freeman was amazing as Bilbo Baggins.  I really need to catch up with the Sherlock Holmes series he is in.  I have plans to read The Hobbit this year...I believe I have included it on one of my reading challenges. 

I also wanted to see Life of Pi but did not get to see it yet.  I also plan on seeing Les Miserables.

Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge Update

 

I am continuing to read Christmas books for the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge.  So far, I have completed three books and watched two Christmas movies.

I have read the following Christmas books:
The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman

Silent Night by Mary Higgins Clark

A Lancaster County Christmas by Suzanne Woods Fisher






Watched two movies:
Bad Santa
The Marsh Sisters Christmas (Lifetime Movie)

 

2012 Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge

 

Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge hosted by The True Book Addict

via The Christmas Spirit Blog

Details:

• challenge will run from Monday, November 19, 2012 through Sunday, January 6, 2013 (Twelfth Night or Epiphany).
• cross over with other challenges is totally permitted AND encouraged!
• These must be Christmas novels, books about Christmas lore, a book of Christmas short stories or poems, books about Christmas crafts, and for the first time...a children's Christmas books level!

Levels:


--Candy Cane: read 1 book
--Mistletoe: read 2-4 books
--Christmas Tree: read 5 or 6 books (this is the fanatic level...LOL!)

Additional levels:
--Fa La La La Films: watch a bunch or a few Christmas movies...it's up to you!
--Visions of Sugar Plums: read books with your children this season and share what you read
*the additional levels are optional, you still must complete one of the main reading levels above

I have decided to participate at the Mistletoe level and also at the additional levels of Fa La La La Films and Visions of Sugar Plum.  There are a few movies I always watch every Christmas season, Elf and A Christmas Story.  I also enjoy watching all those sappy made for TV Christmas movies on Hallmark and Lifetime.  I already watched the Liftetime original movie The Marsh Sisters.  It was a modern day play on Little Women. Which reminds me I have Little Women on my Nook...maybe that could meet the requirements of the Christmas reading challenge.   

My Christmas Book List:
A Lancaster County Christmas by Suzanne Woods Fisher
Silent Night by Mary Higgins Clark

2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge

 

The 2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge is hosted by Megan Likes Books and Auntie Spinelli Reads.  The goal is to read a book a month from the following paranormal list.  The challenge runs from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013.

 



The goal is to read at least one book featuring each of the following paranormal creatures:

• Vampires
• Werewolves/Shifters
• Fey
• Angels/Nephilim
• Mermaids
• Dragons
• Zombies
• Demons
• Witches/Wizards
• Ghosts
• Aliens
• Other (ie: sirens, unicorns, centaurs, timetravel etc.)

I decided to focus my list on books I have on my shelves already.  My shelves have been continuously growing over the last few years and it is time to begin reading them.  So here is my list...

1. January (Vampires)-- Undead and Unwed by Mary Janice Davidson
2. February (Angels/Nephilim)--Where Demons Fear to Tread by Stephanie Chong
3. March (Fey/Fae)--The Battle Sylph by LJ McDonald
4. April (Demons)--The Dream Hunter by Sherrilyn Kenyon
5. May (Aliens)--Heart Mate by Robin D. Owens
6. June (Zombies)--My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland
7. July (Witches/Wizards)--The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
8. August(Mermaids)--Sleeping with the Fishes by Mary Janice Davidson
9. September (Dragons)--Something M.Y.T.H. INC. by Robert Asprin
10. October (Ghosts)--Ghost At Work by Carolyn Hart
11. November (Werewolves/Shapeshifters)--City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
12. December (Other)--Maximum Ride by James Patterson

Very excited to get started on this list of books and my first reading challenge. 

Teaser Tuesday--

 

 

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading.  You share two "teaser" sentences from your current read.  From any random page, but make sure not to give away any spoilers.

 

I am currently reading The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen.  A young adult fantasy novel in which the main character, Conner must try to learn how to be a prince in less than three weeks or lose his life.  The storyline reminds me of Aladdin....a street urchin pretending to be royalty.  Here are my two teaser sentences.

(p. 193)  "I asked you here because you spoke honestly to me before.  If, I'd entered that room with a face smeared in mud and asked another servant how I looked, he'd have bowed and told me I looked as beautiful as ever."

Stacking the Shelves (Week 1)

Stacking the shelves is meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  The idea is to share with other bloggers what you have bought, borrowed , won, gifted or traded in books for the week whether it be in either physical or ebook format. 

Books I have Bought:

Divergent (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth--Black Friday purchase at Target for $4.00

 

Books I have Borrowed:

The False Prince (The Ascendance Trilogy, #1) by Jennifer A. Nielsen

The Looking Glass Wars (The Looking Glass Wars #1) by Frank Beddor

 

New Christmas Family Favorite--Rise of the Guardians

Rise of the Guardians

Opened November 21, 2012 | Runtime:1 hr 37 min

PG

Some Mildly Scary Action and Thematic Elements

Generation after generation, immortal Guardians like Santa Claus (Alec Baldwin), the Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman) and the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher) protect the world's children from darkness and despair. However, an evil boogeyman named Pitch Black (Jude Law) schemes to overthrow the Guardians by obliterating children's belief in them. It falls to a winter sprite named Jack Frost (Chris Pine) to thwart Pitch's plans and save the Guardians from destruction.

Cast: Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law

Director: Peter Ramsey

Genres: 3D, Action/Adventure, Animated

(Synopsis courtesy of Fandango)

Instead of shopping Black Friday sales, I decided to take my youngest son to the movies.  We decided to see the early showing of  Rise of the Guardians.  I was greatly surprised at how good it was in regards to children's movies.  Some of my favorite actors lent their voices to the characters Jude Law (Pitch/The Boogeyman) and Alec Baldwin (North/Santa Claus).  I think I am one of the few people that continues to find Alec Baldwin enjoyable.  I love him  in 30 Rock. 

The movie had a very good message about finding your "center" or what you contribute to humanity.  Santa Clause has his "eyes of wonder" and Jack  Frost must find his center in the movie.  I thought this added a nice little holiday sentiment to the movie.  I was a little puzzled about the Easter Bunny being Australian and carrying a boomerang but still found his character fun.