Merry Wanderer of the Night [Search results for Smart] 

Copyright by smart | Design Aram Dikiciyan
smart urban stage is a global online project dealing with the term FUTURE OF THE CITY. We ask pioneers from metropolises around the world to question the urban status quo. the results are visions, ideas and solutions for sustainable lifestyles, modern social systems and forward-looking developments in the fields of architecture, design and technology. the worldwide event series is exhibiting ideas and solutions of forward thinking future makers. the brand behind this online project is the car manufacturer smart, which hosted special events throughout Europe during the last two years.

VIA Smart’s Future of the City Continues

Copyright by smart | Design Reza Abedini
smart urban stage is a global online project dealing with the term FUTURE OF THE CITY. We ask pioneers from metropolises around the world to question the urban status quo. the results are visions, ideas and solutions for sustainable lifestyles, modern social systems and forward-looking developments in the fields of architecture, design and technology. the worldwide event series is exhibiting ideas and solutions of forward thinking future makers. the brand behind this online project is the car manufacturer smart, which hosted special events throughout Europe during the last two years.

VIA Smart’s Future of the City Continues

French fashionable house Hermès has co-operated with a command of distributors of cars Como and has developed design of an interior for ten cars Smart.

VIA «Fashionable brand Hermès has created design for Smart»

Copyright by smart | Design Leif Podhajsky
smart urban stage is a global online project dealing with the term FUTURE OF THE CITY. We ask pioneers from metropolises around the world to question the urban status quo. the results are visions, ideas and solutions for sustainable lifestyles, modern social systems and forward-looking developments in the fields of architecture, design and technology. the worldwide event series is exhibiting ideas and solutions of forward thinking future makers. the brand behind this online project is the car manufacturer smart, which hosted special events throughout Europe during the last two years.

We will need design, technology and ideas to break the syntax of this current model to create cities and environments in which humans well-being and not corporations are placed at the top of the chain. We need to see a rise in renewable energies with mass transit networks built to reflect this, the advent use of bikes and bike lanes, more green areas, communal gardens and parks, more ways to diminish waste and recycle, free widespread access to unregulated internet and localized production are just a few things that hopefully will start to change how we interact and live out our lives in the cities of the future. Leif Podhajsky

VIA The Future of the City

Hey everyone! Help me welcome Maureen McGowan today! She's the author of the Twisted Fairy Tale series, which so far includes Cinderella, Ninja Warrior (read my review here!) and Sleeping Beauty, Vampire Slayer (read Misty of The Book Rat's review here) . She also participated a little during Fairy Tale Fortnight (you can read that here) and it's great to have her back!

Hi Ashley and thank you so much for inviting me to guest post on your blog.

While I’ve always loved the romantic aspects of traditional fairy tales, I wanted to write stories in which the heroines were strong and capable—not waiting around for a prince to save them.

One of my aims in writing Cinderella: Ninja Warrior and Sleeping Beauty: Vampire Slayer was to “fix” some of the story elements that bothered me in the traditional versions of these classic tales. Both of my stories include the tried and true fairy tale themes of finding true love and good triumphing over evil, but there are twists, too.

The traditional Cinderella character was too much of a victim for my taste, and I never liked the idea that the prince needed a shoe to recognize her the day after supposedly falling in love. Plus, he falls in love at first sight—presumably because of her beauty— but then doesn’t recognize her the next day when she’s out of her fancy dress? What kind of message does any of that send to modern young readers about love or self-worth?

Sleeping Beauty: Vampire Slayer probably has fewer similarities to the traditional tale. (There were no vampires in the original? An oversight, I’m sure.) When I first started the book, I thought it was about prejudice—humans’ misconceptions about vampires and vice versa. But as soon as I started writing, it became more of a child of divorce story. Sleeping Beauty has to learn that her parents’ and kingdom’s problems aren’t her fault— even if she’s cursed. This theme popped out at me as soon as I started thinking about how parents might react if they knew their daughter carried a curse. And what it would feel like to grow up with this huge weight hanging over you.

But, although I think the stories do have positive messages for girls and an overall theme of empowerment, they are by no means “issue books”. They’re meant to be fun, fast — paced, exciting and most of all—entertaining.

When I began to explore adding reader interaction to updated fairy tales, I had no idea how to pull it off, but I knew what I didn’t want to do: I didn’t want to include “wrong” paths or unhappy endings. (Even thought I know this has disappointed a few readers.)

Fairy tales by their nature promise happy endings—and pretty specific happy endings in some cases—so, I decided that each book in the series should have a single ending. As I started to write, I did look at a few choose-your-own-adventure stories, hoping for hints or clues as to how to structure my books, but I didn’t like the “bad choice—you die!” aspects of some of those “old school” stories.

The way I see things, each day we face choices, and the alternatives aren’t necessarily right or wrong—just different. Smart heroines (and smart readers) will make smart choices, so I wanted to present reasonable alternatives at each decision point without making it obvious which choice was better. Also, a capable heroine—even if she makes a mistake—should be able to face whatever challenges her chosen path places in her way.

When I decided on the structure, I didn’t realize what a difficult path I was laying out for myself! My choice created challenges for me—almost as tough as those facing Cinderella in her magic competition, or Lucette when she’s the only one awake and facing vampires in the night.

There were times while writing these books when my head was spinning so badly I didn't know which end was up!

But ultimately, I had as much fun writing them as I hope readers will have reading them.

I decided to do these two books as "mini"-reviews because I don't have anything good to say about either book and you know that old saying — If you can't say anything nice... Well, I've never been very good at not saying anything at all...

Brooklyn Burning by Steve Brezenoff is, in my opinion, a book that tried too hard. It wanted to be this big grand and mysterious book but instead managed only to be a rather dull and vague detail-less story that bored me.

Kid lives in Brooklyn and has spent the last year or so on the streets because Dad decided he didn't want to deal with Kid's issues anymore (specifically sexual questioning) and kicked Kid out. But we don't know any specifics about Kid. Not real name, not even gender. We do know that Kid falls for a musician that's more than a little rough around the edges (heavily into hard drugs). But something happened (a mystery, possibly involving fire) and the musician is always referred to in the past tense and now Kid develops a new love interest. (Also blurry around gender lines).

I appreciate what Steve is trying to do here. It is an interesting idea — making a genderless novel and leaving details almost completely out of the way. But instead of being a story that pushes boundaries and makes you think, it was instead, for me, boring and pointless. I didn't care about a single character in the story. I didn't really know anything about them, so what was there to care about?! A lot of the story is written in also 2nd person, which I've read and enjoyed before, but it made this book feel even weirder than it already was. I have to have a sense of character for a 2nd person narrative to work. I also need a sense of and connection to the characters for a romance to be effective and interesting and something that I care about. But Steve didn't give me that.

This probably sounds rude, but I felt like this was a book full of its own cleverness and importance. You know people like that, right? Who are always walking around "saying" — Look at me!! Look at how funny I am or how clever and smart!- and really, rather than thinking them funny or clever or smart, all you can think is — Oh my gosh, shut up! — or -Seriously, who invited you?! This was a book trying so hard to be mysterious and murky that it completely missed its mark and landed in the realm of vague and uneventful.

It's a book that left me with a feeling of, Oh. That's all then? and I am pretty much positive that unless someone else brings it up, I will never think about this book again. BUT I will say that this is a polarizing book. All of the reviews I've seen are either like mine, or are completely enamored by and in love with this book. So if it's something you think you would like, might as well give it a try!

Lie by Caroline Bock was, unfortunately, even worse for me.

It is a book that should have been important and powerful and gut wrenching and soul hurting and empowering. It's about the repercussions of a vicious hate crime in a small town ending with the victim in critical condition and the boys under investigation. The MC's boyfriend is the main suspect (and if I remember right, is in custody throughout the book) and she saw the crime but has been lying to the police, because her boyfriend and best friend asked/told her too, and Jimmy is a good person who loves her and needs her support.

But, Jimmy is not a good person. I was expecting this to be a book that explores grey areas and tries to explain how good/normal kids can become involved in vicious crimes. But nope. Jimmy is scum. Seriously. And very possibly mentally unstable. But then again, the notes I wrote to myself upon finishing this book say that I felt that every single character was emotionally and mentally unbalanced. And awful. Lisa Marie is the worst best friend in the history of human beings and I hated her. ALL the way. Skylar is also a pretty weak character, seemingly incapable of making any decisions for herself or seeing people as they really are, and I'm not going to say anymore than that because I've tried to rewrite it three times and I keep sounding really, really mean.

What I think would have made this novel better is development. Rather than really developing the characters, Bock just gave them each their own chance to 'talk' and there were a lot of narrators in this book (like 9, I think). But having them speak doesn't necessarily give them depth and it doesn't do anything to make me relate to or believe them. Part of my problem is also that I never, not once thought that Skylar's decision was hard. Not once. You know pretty early on what she witnessed, although more details do come out as the book progresses and for me, that choice is black and white.

I wanted to like this one. Really, I did. But I just couldn't do it and I can't recommend it.

*Disclaimer: Both of these books were electronic ARCs received via Netgalley.

I love books with really strong female characters, so I'm excited that Top Ten Tuesday is all about that this week. Check out other answers at The Broke and Bookish.

1. Jane Eyre of Jane Eyre One of my favorite books of all time. Jane isn't particularly outstanding, but she does stick up for herself and does what she believes is right, so I must respect her for that.
2. Katniss Everdeen of The Hunger Games series Another girl who does what she thinks is right, even in the face of danger.
3. Diana of The Luxe Series This is another girl (am I seeing a pattern?) who isn't afraid to say what she thinks or live her life the way she pleases, even if it's unpopular.
4. Marian Halcombe of The Woman in White Oh Marian. She is ugly, but incredibly smart and you just have to love her. The best character in the whole book.
5. Bridget of Bridget Jones's Diary She is hilarious, honest, and messed up just like the rest of us. A girl to love.
6. Margaret of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret A young heroine, but like Bridget she is totally honest with what she thinks, even if its bizarre or rude.
7. Joan Didion of The Year of Magical Thinking This is a nonfiction book, but I think I love her character in the book for a lot of the same reasons as I love Bridget and Margaret, although she is less funny. She doesn't lie though, and it would be easy to lie in the situation she is in.
8. Hermoine Granger of The Harry Potter series Smart, outspoken, and not afraid to run with the boys. Gotta love Hermoine!
9. Edna Pontellier of The Awakening This is just a beautiful, sad book and I really admired her character when I first read it.
10. Scout of To Kill a Mockingbird Another young heroine but one of my favorites. Not afraid to ask questions or say things how they are.

So apparently I love women who aren't afraid to tell it like it is! Wonder what that says about me in real life?

So, I'm sorry guys — I know Wednesday is supposed to be my review day for the Award Winning Reads Challenge and I've got a lot on my plate right now.

So, instead, I'm just going to tell you to go forth and read!! And, since you are going to be reading, why don't you pick up a copy of Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta? It's the 2009 Printz Award winner and I tell you, it will blow your mind. It is one of the strongest, most amazing books I've ever read. In my entire life. (And I read a lot... So that's kind of a big deal.) Melina Marchetta is a writing Goddess and I find her abilities as a writer simply astounding. So do yourself a favor and read this book. Don't believe me? I come with references. (available on request) I've got people lined up who will tell you that I coerced convinced them to read Melina Marchetta and they've decided she is simply brilliant.

Not sure you are in the mood for tough stuff? Then try The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart. This has got to be one of the most wittiest, entertaining, hysterical and brilliant books of all time. I tell you what. You are going to love Frankie. She is a phenomenal character, one I would love to know in real life! She's smart and is not afraid of that. She knows she's smart and she wants to use her brain to it's full potential. I had my best friend borrow this. The one who really only reads non-fiction? Ya. She read it in one sitting. It really is most excellent. And I'd be totally gruntled if you'd give it a shot!

(Oh ya, and both of these books are on my 'special' list, which means if you read it, you are entered for a special prize!)

Don't forget to link up to your reviews!! I'd LOVE to see what you've been reading!:)

The 32-year-old star looked stunning in the Dolce & Gabbana dress, which she teamed with a pair of black Christian Louboutin heels and a sexy side-swept hairstyle.
Red carpet style: Christine teamed her white Dolce & Gabbana dress with a pair of black Christian Louboutin heels
Christine, who presented the National Movie Awards on ITV, spoke recently about her future with Lampard, admitting she wasn't sure if marriage was on the cards.
She said: 'People keep asking when he’s going to ask me to marry him. But I’m the last person who should know that.
'We went to Paris for two days a few weeks ago and suddenly it was, “Look, they’re ring shopping.” No, we weren’t and he certainly hasn’t asked.
Quick change: After her red carpet appearance, Christine changed into three more dresses for the show
'We’ve only been seeing each other a year and a half, which isn’t long enough for me.'
However, Christine added: 'I can’t imagine not being with Frank, and I’d like to enjoy being married to him for a while before having children. Frank would have more tomorrow, but he knows I’m not ready for it.’
Following her walk down the red carpet, Christine changed into a stunning figure-hugging red dress as she began presenting the ITV coverage.
Date night: Nicole Scherzinger and Lewis Hamilton were another celebrity couple to attend the event
Relaxing: Nicole and Lewis looked as though they were enjoying themselves at the event
She then decided to showcase her sense of style in a further two dresses - a mint green pleated number and a tight knee-length dress.
Other couples to arrive at the ceremony included Nicole Scherzinger and Lewis Hamilton, who made their first red carpet appearance in a while at the event, held at London's Wembley Arena.
Don't Hold Your Breath singer Nicole wowed in a pretty nude dress and matching sky-high heels, while Hamilton looked smart in his grey three-piece suit.
Screen stars: (Left to right) Jodie Whittaker, Mandy Moore and Georgie Henley all glammed up for the occasion
Nicole spoke recently about her figure, and while she looked stunning on the red carpet, she said she has 'gained a few pounds'.
She told Glamour magazine: 'I’ve grown as a woman to just accept myself. You’re not going to feel great all the time – so you’ve just not got to be hard on yourself.
'Right now I’ve probably gained a few pounds, but it’s OK because at the right time I’ll lose a couple of pounds. When I put my mind to it, I hit the gym.'
Take That opened the night's entertainment with a performance of their never-before-heard single Love, Love - taken from the upcoming X-Men: First Class.
Full-length glamour: Singers Dame Shirley Bassey and X Factor reject Katie Waissel went for all black outfits
Gary Barlow, Robbie Williams, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Howard Donald were joined on stage by a group of dancers as they performed the bass-thumping track.
But the song didn't go down too well with viewers, with many taking to Twitter to voice their disappointment over the record.
One viewers tweeted: 'Take that are massiveeeee let downs, what the hell is this? and robbie williams just ruins everything.'
Boys will be boys: JLS stars (left to right) Jonathan "JB" Gill, Marvin Humes, Oritse Williams and Aston Merrygold pose on the red carpet
Suited and booted: Inbetweeners stars Blake Harrison, Joe Thomas and Simon Bird look smart
While another added: 'What the chuff happened to Take That's songs when Robbie came back? Awful!'
The first award of the evening was for Best Comedy film, presented by The Inbetweeners stars Blake Harrison, Joe Thomas and Simon Bird.
After shamelessly plugging their own movie, the trio gave the award to Paul, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's alien comedy.
Opening the show: Take That kicked the evening's events off with a performance of their new single Love Love

Men in black: The boys pose up for photographers ahead of their performance
Dame Shirley Bassey was next to take to the stage, ready to present the award for Best Drama.
And the winner was The King's Speech, with Geoffrey Rush accepting the award along with director Tom Hooper and the film's producers.
Explaining star Colin Firth's absence, Rush said: 'Colin Firth sends his apologies. He is off shooting a light comedy, which is a form of therapy I guess.'
And when Hooper took the microphone, he joked: 'I would like to thank the Queen and the Royal Family for thoughtfully arranging the Royal Wedding the Friday before the release of The King's Speech DVD.'
Winners: Nick Frost and Simon Pegg accept the Best Comedy Award for their alien movie Paul
Speech time: Mandy Moore accepts the Best Animation award for Tangled, while Dame Shirley Bassey presented the prize for Best Drama
After an exclusive clip of Cars 2, Lewis Hamilton, who makes a cameo in the movie, presented the award for Best Animation to Disney's Tangled.
Accepting the award was one of the film's main voice characters, Mandy Moore, who looked incredible in a long moss green dress.
But after the diminutive Hamilton had spoken into the microphone, statuesque Mandy had to stoop down to accept the prize.
Performers: JLS got one of the biggest screams of the night when they performed their new single Eyes Wide Shut
Victory: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I producers David Heyman, David Barron and actress Bonnie Wright
James McAvoy was up next, presenting the Best Fantasy prize to Bonnie Wright for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.
JLS were the next performers of the evening, performing their new track Eyes Wide Shut.
Alice Eve took to the stage next to present the award for the L'Oreal Paris Performance of the Year award to Colin Firth for The King's Speech.
As Colin couldn't be there, he requested his two on-screen daughters from the film, Freya Wilson and Ramona Marquez, to collect the award on his behalf.
Excited: Colin Firth's on-screen daughters from The King's Speech, Ramona Marquez (left) and Freya Wilson, accepted the Performance of the Year award on his behalf
Tribute: Keith Richards recorded a special video message to Screen Icon winner Johnny Depp
Gossip Girl star Ed Westwick presented the Must-See Movie of the Summer award to Bonnie Wright and the film's producers for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II.
Geoffrey Rush returned to the stage to present the Screen Icon award to Johnny Depp.
Talking about Depp, Rush said: 'Johnny Depp is so cool. He can come to rehearsal in a crazed blouse and a bit of mismatched jewellery and he can look hip - I would look like my mother.'
Success: Eliza Doolittle and Lloyd Wade performed their huge hit Pack Up
Here come the boys: James Corden and James McAvoy were among the guest presenters for the evening
And Depp's other Pirates co-star Keith Richards recorded a special tribute video message in honour of the actor.
In the message, which had been interspersed with footage of Johnny's most famous films, Richards said: 'There ain't another movie star who comes close to this guy. And to think that he didn't even start off as an actor first of all. That's my boy.'
And, as Depp was unable to attend, he recorded a message of thanks for viewers, calling the award a 'sublime honour'.
Eliza Doolittle was the third musical performance of the evening, having changed out of her Missoni dress into a pink crop top and blue pleated skirt.
James Corden was next up, treating viewers to a glimpse of which films to look forward to during the rest of the year.
Gwyneth Paltrow was next to take to the stage, presenting the Special Recognition Award to The King's Speech.
Accepting the award, director Tom Hooper said: 'This isn't the first award we have received for The King's Speech and of all those presenters, I have to say a special thanks to Gwyneth Paltrow for presenting this award.'

In honour: Geoffrey Rush collected the Screen Icon award on behalf of his Pirates of the Caribbean co-star Johnny Depp
Nicole Scherzinger and Lewis Hamilton interview at the National Movie Awards 2011

Harry Potter wins big at National Movie Awards,click
JLS - Eyes Wide Shut at 'The National Movie Awards'

Eliza Doolittle - Pack Up - National Movie Awards 2011 Live

Simon Pegg interview: Star Trek 2 and Tintin at the National Movie Awards 2011

Eliza Doolittle interview at the National Movie Awards 2011

source: dailymail

VIA Trying to drop a hint, Christine? Ms Bleakley arrives at National Movie Awards

Today's Memory Monday guest is Melissa! She was one of the first real blogger connections I made when I started using Twitter, and I just loves her! I'll let her introduce herself, but you should definitely head on over and check out her blog after you read her awesome post!

"I'm Melissa... also known as Mel, or Missy. I'm a 24-year-old blonde currently living and loving life in a tiny town in New Hampshire after having lived in Salt Lake City, Florida and New Jersey. I grew up swimming competitively, and after 4 years of NCAA I fell in love with open water swimming (hence, i swim for oceans). I'm a marketing director by day, but my passion lies in literature — with the reading age of a perpetual teenager. My website, i swim for oceans, is a great please to read about and discuss the endless sea of YA literature."

Memories:

I’ve been reading for as long as I can remember, but you know those books that make you feel like you’re finally actually a reader? Those are the books that stick with me and will always have a special place on my bookshelves because they defined my taste in literature today. I remember wanting desperately to read mysteries when I was younger, but I couldn’t connect with Nancy Drew. Go figure. So, my mum (being the incredible mum that she is) went scouring to find a young reader’s mystery story that was part mystery and part adventure.

What she came up with was a book called, Mandie and the Secret Tunnel, the very first book in the Mandie series by Lois Gladys Leppard. The books are defined as Christian MG fiction, but they don’t feel preachy, and they certainly weren’t boring for a young reader like me. I was hooked. I asked my mum to buy me the rest of the books. What I didn’t realize was that there were many…MANY books in the series. In fact, today there are 40 books in the Mandie series.

Each book was its own little story in and of itself. Mandie was endearing with her constant desire to find a family with whom she can grow after losing her father and lifeline. She’s got her faith, she finds friends, and she has strong morals that are prevalent throughout the series. I call that Christian-lite. Not preachy…just wholesome. Plus, there’s a sweet and innocent love triangle in the series that’s just perfect for a young MG read! I’m still collecting the books today. I loved the mysteries, I loved the characters, and I’m so glad I started the series when I was little.

Another series I got hooked on when I was little was the Redwall series. I’ll admit, I read the first book, Redwall, when I was around 9 just because I wanted to carry a big book around and look smart. (Was I the only kid like this?) Anyhoo…the book is about a world of animals without humans, and the animals are every bit as human as we are. They live in castles, fight wars, grow as families, and become heroes. I was hooked from page one of this world where mice, shrews, moles, badgers and more live in harmony in an amazing place called Redwall Abbey – a place they must always defend. Brian Jacques got me hooked on another long series that’s continuing to this day, and I still read the books! It’s straight fantasy, but it’s realistic in a way that’s hard to describe (especially to a little kid).

Obviously, there are more books that defined my literary taste today, but I wanted to share the books that made me the reader I am now. These two series are ones that I’ll cherish forever, and I hope that my future kids read them, too because they’re amazing!

Thank you so much for joining us today Melissa! I was definitely one of those kids that liked to carry around big books to show off how cool and smart I was! Ha... Sometimes I still do that!: P Melissa is so awesome! If you would also like to be a Memory Monday guest blogger, in my blog for more information and fill out the form! Let me know what you would like to share!

Sarah Dunn was born in Phoenix, Arizona. She went to the University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in English and graduated magna cum laude. After college, she wrote a humor column for the Philadelphia City Paper while waiting tables (poorly) at TGI Fridays. When she was 24, she published The Official Slacker Handbook, and was subsequently lured out to Hollywood to write for Murphy Brown, Spin City and Veronica’s Closet. She left TV to work on her first novel, The Big Love, which came out in 2004 and has been translated into 23 languages. She is currently writing a television pilot for NBC called George & Hilly, and her long-awaited second novel, Secrets to Happiness, comes out this spring. She is married to Peter Stevenson, the executive editor of The New York Observer, and they have a chunky delicious new baby boy named Harry.

Sarah Dunn’s Books for Bed Rest and Rainy Afternoons

After I finished Secrets to Happiness, I was placed on strict bed rest for four months because of a high-risk pregnancy, and I read a lot. I mean, a lot. About two weeks before I had my baby, I remember waking up one morning and thinking: I’m done. I was done reading. I had finally done it, something I’d never in my life managed to do – read until I didn’t want to read any more. And I figured if having a baby meant I wouldn’t be able to finish another book for the next two years, well, that would be just fine with me.

I was always emailing friends and asking for book suggestions, and following different leads got me into territory I might not go to otherwise (The Ruins, for one, I would never have picked up on my own, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down). Books for bed rest are sort of like airplane books, in that you need to be able to stick with them for hours and hours on end, and it helps if you wake up in the morning thinking, “I’m stuck here on the couch again, I’ve got heartburn and I’m having contractions and The View is a repeat, but at least I get to spend my day deep inside that book!”

• Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson. A page-turning, atmospheric mystery set in Sweden.
• Suite Française, by Irene Nemirovsky. I didn’t start this one until the fourth friend recommended it. Beautifully written and moving.
• The Ruins, by Scott Smith. Gripping is the word I’m looking for. It’s possible I loved this because I read it when there was something growing inside of me, but give it a try!
• The Forsyte Saga, by John Galsworthy. You can read this, or you can Netflix the BBC series and watch it. I did both.
• A Time of Gifts: On Foot to Constantinople, by Patrick Leigh Fermor. Go back in time, across Europe, on foot.
• The Beach, by Alex Garland. Creepy and good.
• What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandal, by Zoe Heller. A voice you can get lost inside.
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. A completely charming, cozy treat.
• Devices and Desires, by P.D. James. Even if you don’t like mysteries, you’ll probably like this book.
• The Other Boleyn Girl, by Philippa Gregory. I don’t read historical fiction, I don’t care much about queens and kings, but I couldn’t stop reading this one.
• The Ripley Novels, by Patricia Highsmith. Start with The Talented Mr. Ripley and if you enjoy it, you’ve got four more.
• The Smoking Diaries, by Simon Gray. An English playwright’s journals. Funny and smart and full of personality.

My mom gave me a lot of lectures about Teflon pans growing up. It seems like every time she picks up a frying pan she reminds me to never buy a Teflon pan. As it turns out, my mom was right to warn me about them. She was smart and realized very quickly how dangerous it was to have a pan coated with a manufactured chemical.

Unfortunately Teflon is present in more than just pans. It's actually all over the place, in spots we wouldn't even think about. And Teflon isn't the only thing to worry about. Slow Death by Rubber Duck has made me confront the synthetic world I live in, and I have to say that it absolute terrifies me.

Aths has a great post on Reading on a Rainy Day today about Teflon and Mercury. She shares some great quotes and information from the book. I really encourage you all to read her post, and I encourage you to seek out Slow Death. It's an eye opener.

On a happier note, this man is an inspiration:

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

Family day: The pair made the most of the sunshine as they played with Hayes's son Blakely. Hayes has said she wants to book a holiday for the three of them
Hayes and Tweed looked like a regular young family as they treated themselves to an ice-cream and had fun on the arcade games.
Earlier in the day, Hayes had tweeted fans: 'Family day out :-) xxxxx.'
Hayes looked summery in a yellow T-shirt and skinny Topshop jeans, while 10-month-old Blakely looked smart in a shirt and chinos.
The couple are thought to have started dating again in March after previously splitting in November.
Treats all round: Hayes, Tweed and even Blakely cool down with an ice-cream
She said: 'Jack’s still trying to get back with me at the moment, actually. But seeing as he’s trying to get into every other girl’s knickers at the moment, too, I’m not really that bothered.
'We’ve been on then off again too many times to mention - more than 100, anyway.'
Hayes caused controversy yesterday when she revealed that she wanted to have a gastric band fitted to drop from a size eight to a size six.
Happy together: Hayes and Tweed share a laugh as they mess around with the arcade games in Southend
In the driving seat: Hayes treats her son Blakely to a ride on an automatic fire engine
Speaking to Closer magazine, she said: ‘I’m nine stone now and a size eight, but I want to lose another stone at least and drop down to a size six.’
‘I’d have a gastric band if doctors would let me. I’ve already asked – I begged!’
It appears that the serious nature of the operation, nor the fact that at nine stone she is clearly not a suitable candidate for the dangerous procedure, is lost on Hayes.
She added: ‘There’s something called a hypno-band where they hypnotise you into thinking you’ve got a band, and I’d like to have a go at that.’
Sweet! Chanelle and Hayes are thought to have started dating again in March
You're a natural: Tweed looked every inch the doting father as he pushed Blakely along in his buggy
source:dailymail

VIA Chanelle Hayes and Jack Tweed make their rekindled romance official with romantic beachside display

I have this theory, that every young girl goes through one of two stages — One, where they are completely boy-crazy fan girls... These are the girls who, growing up, were sure they were going to marry that super hot guy in the BackStreet Boys. My elementary school best friend had both our weddings planned out — She was going to marry Nick Carter, and I could marry his younger brother Aaron and we would be sisters!! (Note, I was vehemently opposed to this idea. Aaron Carter did not interest me. At all)
The other type of girls were those who were convinced that girls were/are superior in each and every way to boys, and that they are mostly an annoyance to be borne. Now, these girls do not believe boys have cooties or are 'eeeww squeal icky!!' That belongs in the first category, because we generally outgrow the eww squeals to those girlish squeals we somehow think will get the boys to like us. Ahem... Group 2 might have really good friends who are boys, but they still think the girls are smarter. So, group 2 thinks the world would be significantly better run by females, that nothing a boy says could possibly be right if it contradicts what I'm saying and so on.
So, which type of girl was I? Well, today's memory is about a book titled Girls Know Best... Take a lucky guess.: P

Ashley was definitely the type who believed girls were way better than boys. When I saw this book pop up in the school book orders, I grabbed my babysitting money and bought it. I read it as soon as it arrived and I loved it! Here was a book filled with tips, tricks, trivia and so much more from girls just like me. I read it so many times! I could go on and on about all the things I 'learned' from this book (most of which I, thankfully, never used...) but I'm only going to tell one story today-
One of the sections of the book was a list of big words you can use in everyday conversation to sound smarter than you are. (Note — this almost never works... So be very careful using big words when you don't need too...) I don't remember very many of the words listed, but one of the words I do remember is 'masticate' (to chew). Say it out loud though, and go back to 9th grade and pretend you are a boy... What's it sound like? Uhu... Yup.
So, I'm sitting in 9th grade heath, and these two boys (neither of whom I particularly liked, although by this point I had outgrown my — "All-boys-suck-and-are-stupid-except-those-boys-that-are-my-friends-and-even-they-are-dumber-than-me" stage) walk up to a girl sitting next to me and start talking. I eavesdropped, both because I'm nosy (I admit it) and because knowing these boys, and knowing who they were headed to talk too, I doubted they were going to be saying anything nice. (I was right... [as always])
(Insert — I'm going to demonstrate my really freaky memory here... Y'all are going think I'm nuts that I can quote (pretty nearly word for word) a conversation I had/overheard as a 9th grader... [at this point, I think that's about 8 years ago... ] Don't judge: P)
Looking sly, the first boy said "Hey -----, do you masticate?" The girl had a disgusted look on her face, looked very uncomfortable, and tried to ignore the question. She said something along the lines of, "Ugh --- — Stop it. Just... Stop. Leave." Knowing they wouldn't leave her alone until they fully embarrassed her, I jumped into the conversation. I told them to walk away, to leave her alone. So, boy 2 said, "Why Ashley? Do you masticate?" I replied with, "Of course! I'm doing it right now!" (I was/am a big gum chewer). And boy 1 promptly whacked boy 2 on the arm and said, "Don't ask the smart kids!"
Thank you Girls Know Best! :P
Admittedly, the book is pretty useless to anyone expect group 2 girls, looking for a book to increase their feelings that girls really are better than boys. I still have my old copy, now battered and beaten from being over read, and I wouldn't mind trying to reread it someday, just to see how my more grown up eyes view it compared to my young girl eyes. Who knows, maybe I will still think that only girls rule.: P

So, this post is going to be going up quite a bit later than I had originally planned... Sorry about that...

I've been wanting to write a "Why I Blog" post for a while now. It's been a pretty popular topic among the blogging world lately, and I wanted to mention how I feel about blogging, especially because what I have to say seems different than what other people say. I figured my first blogging birthday would be the perfect time to say what I have to say. So, even though the day is getting close to being over, I wanted to share my views on blogging, and why it is that I blog.

In almost every single "Why I Blog" post I've read, the blogger in question mentions never believing they would have any following, let alone the number that currently follows their blog, and that they would continue blogging even if there wasn't a single person reading their posts, so every new follower/reader/commenter means something extra special. And, honestly, I don't believe them. Sounds harsh I know. But think about it — blogging is a huge time commitment and it isn't easy. There are days when it's really hard to find the motivation or desire to post anything and times when words or reviews just won't come.

I personally would not keep blogging if no one read my reviews. If I never had a single reader, I would stop blogging. I got more feedback than that posting my reviews only on Goodreads. I do need to say this is not about numbers to me. I rarely check my blogging stats. I don't even know where to find a lot of the information bloggers talk about for their blogs. Why? Because I don't care. Stats, views, unique hits and all that other stuff has never been important to me.

Confusing, right? I wouldn't keep blogging if I had zero people reading my reviews, but I don't actually care about numbers and statistics. So, how does this work?

Because I would blog if I had one reader. That's all I need to feel like my blog is worth my time. One person who thinks what I have to say is worth reading.

I started blogging because I love books. I love to talk about books. I could talk about my favorite books for hours on end, going over my favorite parts, what I liked, what I didn't over and over and over. And I do. My best friend has heard about my favorite books so many times now that I'm pretty sure she can quote what I think about them verbatim with all the same inflections that I would use. My sister and my mom can probably make the same claim.

I started this blog because there were aspects to the reading community on Goodreads that I loved, and I wanted more of that. I wanted more people online, who also loved books as much as I do to sit and chat with. I wanted to meet more people who I could go to if I needed more recommendations, and I wanted to find people I could push my favorites on. I can't tell you what an amazingly gratifying feeling it is to recommend an absolute favorite book to someone and have them come back glowing and gushing to tell you how amazing the book was and how thankful they are that you recommended it. But, I bet that most of you have felt that before. I imagine that a lot of you bloggers out there have had a similar experience, so you know.

I started blogging because I wanted to be there for the conversation. I wanted to be there hearing about all these great new books coming out, and I wanted to meet people like me. I've always been around people who enjoy reading, but don't know anyone in real life who feels about reading the same way I do. My mom reads a lot, and we do share books (although she's not as 'nice' to books as I am, so I'm always a little leery lending her my copies.: P) but she doesn't really do the 'book talk' thing. She will tell me if she liked it, and maybe a little bit of why, but there isn't a ton of discussion there. My sister also loves reading, and we have a lot more discussion than my mom. But, she has three little kids, 5 and under, so she (understandably) doesn't have a ton of time to read. My best friend listens to me rave, or rant about particular books, and it's always part of our conversations, but although she enjoys reading, it isn't something she does a lot of. And on and on.

So, I wanted to find a place where I could go to talk about books when and how I wanted, and to meet other people that felt the same. My whole motivation behind blogging. If I didn't have any blogger friends to talk to, why would I do it?

And, since this is a post about why I blog, and I'm being honest here, I also have to say that it's pretty awesome to have someone, especially someone you don't know and have never met stop by and tell you that they think what you have to say is pretty great. Who doesn't like to hear that what they had to say touched someone, changed their opinion of a book, or influenced them to buy a copy? Come on. If you say you don't like hearing people think you are great/smart/well-spoken/awesome/insightful and etc, then I'm going to say I think you lie.

So this, dear readers and friends, is why I blog. I blog to spread the word about books that I love, and get other people to read and fall in love with them too, to make new friends, find new favorite books and to talk about books.

Hey all you Fairy Tale Fortnight-ers! I have to offer you a very sincere apology. I have been really busy with work, and haven't had a lot of time to spend online. So, earlier this week, I scheduled posts for Tuesday through Friday, thinking I was so smart & I wouldn't have to stress about finding time to get posts up, because I had already done it all Monday night. I caught the Tuesday post that night (thanks Danya!) but didn't get on to check and make sure the other posts had gone live. And as you can obviously see... They haven't.

So, I'm annoyed and frustrated and very, very sorry. I guess I'm going to have to keep checking up on them anyway. Because the internet hates me.

Must be the wicked witch, trying to thwart our attempts at beautiful fairy tale awesomeness.

Want to Go Private? by Sarah Darer Littman makes me feel, like Whoa!

Abby is 14 and about to start high school. Middle school wasn't that great (her and her best friend, Faith were picked on by the super popular crowd) and Abby doesn't really see anything to look forward to. She doesn't really like change, and is incredibly nervous about starting high school. It doesn't help that on the first day of school she realizes that she and Faith, who have been inseparable since 2nd grade only have gym together and her parents seem to think that's a 'positive' change. They want her to meet new people, make new friends but all she wants is to stay friends with Faith and keep everything the same as it's always been. It gets even worse when Faith starts making new friends and the only person Abby seems to meet is a super hot guy who can't even remember her name while he copies her math homework.

Abby doesn't really feel like she has a place. She's under a lot of pressure from her parents to be perfect, get straight As and live up to their expectations. She doesn't feel like they understand her, and she feels like they treat her differently than her younger sister, who she fights with constantly. Her best friend is pulling away from her, putting her time into new attachments and Abby desperately needs to feel loved, appreciated and wanted.

And then she meets Luke in a new cyber hang out geared for teens. Luke is wonderful. He understands Abby, sympathizes with her, tells her that he understands things are hard and he tells her she is beautiful. It's what she needs to hear, so she begins to let Luke consume her life. She spends all her time online or wishing she were online. And then, after a huge fight with her parents, Abby accepts Luke's offer to finally meet in real life. And then she disappears

This book hurts you in every way there is to hurt. Abby is really struggling to find her place right now and she's feeling inadequate in almost every area of her life. This makes her highly vulnerable to an internet predator. My heart hurt for Abby so many times in this story. She's really hurting and doesn't feel like anyone is willing to stop and listen to her, until she meets Luke. She has so much that she keeps locked inside and it's painful to read. And then there are things that will turn your stomach. Reading about this guy preying on such a young girl made me ill. And, it made me desire to do violence. I believe the people who prey upon and abuse children are the lowest of the low. And I cried while reading this book. There is so much pain felt by so many different characters and it just really hit me. I can't even imagine how devastating something like this would be in real life and I just ached.

The only thing I'm not sure I believed about this book was how quickly Luke was able to get Abby to do things horribly outside the levels of what is appropriate. He tells her in their first chat that he is already out of high school, and by the third he asks her bra size and follows that up by telling her he is 27 to her 14. I know that they had already chatted previously, but given how much she apparently knew about internet safety and how smart she was, I don't feel like there was enough build up there at this point for Abby to continue talking once she realized he was twice her age. And then, when he starts getting her to do more and more, (topless picture, webcam etc) I don't feel like there was enough resistance on Abby's part. Some of the things he asked her to do should have been met with at least a token resistance, but other than moving slowly and blushing, Abby never even says no. I think she would have been easily talked in to those situations, but I feel like it should have taken a little... more from Luke first.

Littman does attempt to justify this a little. Abby justifies a lot of her decisions, especially in the beginning, with the knowledge that nothing is going to happen — she's never going to actually meet the guy, so it's not really that bad. Which, as Abby can later attest, is very dangerous thinking.

But even so, I think that this is a very important book for kids to be reading, especially for kids around Abby's age. It is a time of great change and adjustment for teens and most teens feel very vulnerable. Internet predators are talented manipulators who study ways to reel teens in and exploit them. This book is important because so many teens have this idea or attitude of, Well that only happens to other people, that would never happen to me. And it's not true. If you refuse to acknowledge that there might be a risk, you put yourself at greater risk. Teens need to read this book. It's hard and it would definitely be a book that would be good to have a parent read with the teens so that they can talk about what happens in the story and how to protect yourself. It's a powerful book, I tell you what.

There is so much else that I could mention about this book. So many places I could have gone with this review. Because the book is just that good. It is amazing, powerful, intense, heartbreaking and so very important.

*Disclaimer — I received and ARC of this from the publisher in exchange for a fair and un

A not so funny thing happened on the way to this blog. My husband fell seriously ill.

I had planned to write about passion, about how it adds richness and meaning and beauty to life, but faced with losing my partner of almost thirty years I couldn’t summon up enough passion to write about passion. I felt bereft. I looked it up to be sure that was the correct word.

Bereft: deprived of something; lacking something needed or expected.

Yes, bereft is correct.

But I made a commitment to this blog tour so I opened my computer and started to string sentences together. Of course, being bereft, I wrote about watching my smart, sweet, beautifully educated husband asking, “What’s happening to me?” over and over. He could not answer questions like, “What year is this? How many children do you have? How old are you?” His body was there, but he was gone.

Bereft.

Yet, as I wrote I began to feel slightly less bereft. My passion is writing and doing it made me feel less hollow and less frightened. That’s when I decided to go back to my original idea and write about passion. Passion doesn’t only enrich the good times; passion can get us through the bad ones.

Pablo Neruda described a writer’s passion more beautifully than I ever could. He said:

“… I love words so much: the unexpected ones, the ones I wait for greedily are stalked until, suddenly, they drop. Vowels I love, they glitter like colored stones, they leap like silver fish. They are foam, thread, metal, dew. I run after certain words… I catch them in mid flight as they buzz past. I trap them, clean them, peel them. I set myself in front of a dish; they have a crystalline texture to me; vibrant, ivory, vegetable, oily, like fruit, like algae, like agate, like olive. And then I stir them, I shake them, I drink them, I gulp them down, I garnish them…like stalactites, like slivers of polished wood, like coal, pickings from a shipwreck, gifts from the waves. Everything exists in the word.”

That’s the passion that kept me writing through thirty years of rejection.
In 2008, Simon & Schuster published my novel, The Book of Unholy Mischief, and I was elated. But the giddy moment passed, and I understood that fleeting success did not measure up to the profound pleasure of creating something original.

Thirty years of writing yielded new and various rewards on a daily basis, one of which has been sharing my passion with my grandchildren. My grandkids know that a day out with Grandma means going to the bookstore, and they love it. We each choose a new book, and then we sit down to lunch and pour over our treasure. It gave me a deep, tickling satisfaction to hear that when my daughter found the Italian edition of my book in Venice, her five-year old ran through the store yelling, “We found Grandma’s book!” Hearing that was a wonderful moment born of passion.

My husband has had his passions too. He climbed mountains, flew glider planes, kayaked, and practiced medicine. After we married we shared a passion for travel and visited dozens of countries on six continents. We lived abroad and our shared love of exploration gave our lives scope and dimension. Now that his future is uncertain our history of shared passion is a comfort. Passion is our consolation for mortality.

Thank you, all who read this, for helping me indulge my passion and soften a hard moment. May you all find a passion, and indulge the hell out of it.

Thank you, Ellen, for stopping by Jenn's Bookshelf. You and your husband are in my thoughts during this incredibly difficult time.

Jabberwocky by Daniel Coleman is the story behind the well-beloved poem by Lewis Carrol of the same name. Full of nonsense words, valor and whimsy, the poem Jabberwocky tells of a boy who sets out to fight the might beast and who returns triumphant, bearing the head of the great monster. But the poem doesn't tell us anything about the boy, where he comes from or why he sets out to hunt the Jabberwock and Coleman uses this story here to fill in some of the blanks.

My family has always been involved in theater, and my family reunions often include some form of a talent show, sometimes planned and scripted, other times completely spontaneous. Often in the performances, my dad would go on-stage with my grandpa and together they would perform this poem. My grandpa would stand in front and recite the poem, while my dad stood behind, using his arms, in place of my grandpa's to act out the poem (this included lifting up my grandpa's hair piece when they reached the part of the poem where the boys slays the Jabberwock and removes his head, much to my grandpa's dismay)

So, when I heard about this book, I knew that I wanted to read it. I love that poem, partly because it is brilliant but also because it brings back a lot of wonderful memories of my family. This is a very short book, just over 100 e-pages, and it reads very quickly. However, I don't think it would read as smoothly for someone who is unfamiliar with either nonsense writing or the poem itself.

One of my favorite things about this book is also what I think will be most challenging for most readers. Coleman has taken the words of the poem like 'wabe', 'brillig' and 'mimsy'. None of these words actually means anything, but Coleman took them from the original poem, took the meaning from them that he chose and inserted them into his story and I personally think he did a phenomenal job. Partly because the writing was very smooth, and partly because I'm very familiar with the poem, I found myself without any trouble being able to guess to the meaning of each word as I went through, even if I didn't know exactly what they meant. However, Coleman does include a glossary with the book, so if you think you will have trouble picking up on what the words mean, or you find yourself confused, he does include a way to verify what each word means.

Another thing that I loved about the book was the inclusion of the poem itself. Each section of the book is prefaced by a stanza of the poem, offering some foreshadowing of what is yet to come. I thought it was the perfect way to incorporate the poem into the story without being awkward or forced.

And the story itself was wonderful. Our main character, Tjaden, is the perfect boy to seek the Jabberwock. He is brave, but smart and fiercely determined to prove himself a man. He's a little bit full of himself at times, and he takes life a little too seriously for someone so young but he is also a very likable character, one you would want on your side of life. Honorable and proud, if given the right motivation, he could face the Jabberwock alone.

Honestly, I could not have been happier with how this book turned out. I was almost worried about reading it, because I do have such fond memories of the poem, but I was beyond delighted with how the book turned out. Coleman did a fabulous job combining his own story with the tale from Lewis Carroll and it's one I can see myself reading again.

I will admit that part of why I enjoyed this book so much comes from the memories it brought to surface and the already positive tone I have toward the poem and anything tied to it. I tend to be extremely fond of anything that can bring back positive memories of my grandpa, which means I knew before I started reading that this is a book I would either love or hate.

That being said, however, the happy memories alone were not enough to make me like this book. The story and the writing were able to hold their own and they most certainly did this favored poem a great justice. I'm not always a huge fan of how other people reimagine stories already told but I thought this one was just about as perfect as it gets.

So thank you Daniel Coleman, for writing a story worthy of such a phenomenal poem.

This week's top ten list at The Broke and Bookish is favorite book characters. I think this is incredibly challenging to think about. It's easy to think of books I love but to remember specific characters is a little harder for me.

1. Mr. Slinger from Lily's Purple Plastic Purse. This is probably my favorite children's book and I just love Lily, the little mouse the book is about. Even though Lily is adorable and cute no one is better than her teacher Mr. Slinger. Mr. Slinger is kind of a hippie, he makes yummy cheesy snacks, and he loves to teach. When Lily has some problems in class Mr. Slinger tucks a note in her purse that says, "Today was hard. Tomorrow will be better" (I'm paraphrasing because my books are all packed right now). Every time I read that page I get a little choked up, at 20 it's still one of my favorite books to read on a bad day.
2. Charlie from The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I really identified with Charlie when I read this book. He was a freshman in high school, kind of weird, loved to read, and was just trying to figure life out. I was a about a year younger than him when I read this book but I felt like I was having all the same experiences, which made the book extra special for me. Charlie was also so honest about his thoughts and since he was a "wallflower" he noticed really specific things about the world. When I finished this book I felt like I took a little bit of Charlie with me.
3. Hagrid from Harry Potter. I immediately took to Hagrid when I read Harry Potter. I loved how he was so big and frightening, but was such a nice guy. He's so idealistic and I'm always amazed by the things he does know and the the things he doesn't know. And Hagrid always had Harry, Ron, and Hermoine's best interests at heart.
4. Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird. She is tough and super smart. When Scout stands up to the members of the Klu Klux Klan my heart swoons because she has no idea what she really did. And she loves her dad unconditionally and worries about him like a parent does about a child. Scout is a great role model for young girls.
5. Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre. These two go together for me, you can't have one without the other. I feel like they both change every time I read the book and their relationship becomes increasingly more complicated. From an initial viewing I love how simple their love appears and how sweet it is, but Mr. Rochester is abrasive and Jane is needy, which makes the relationship more difficult than I thought when I first read the book.
6. Marcus from About a Boy. I love Marcus! He is definitely one of my favorite book characters and movie characters. He is so young but has such a realistic view of the world, probably because he's mom is a little messed up. I feel for him because I was a little weirdo too, but I admire him because he works so hard to make his mom feel better even though he really has no control over her.
7. Katniss from The Hunger Games. Katniss is kind of like Scout for me. She is so tough and badass. She never complains about the horrible situation she is put in, she just goes with it and thinks about ways to make everything work for her and those she cares about.
8. Dumbledore from Harry Potter. When Dumbledore died I cried for hours. I wore a RIP Dumbledore bracelet for months. It was a horrible experience, but that just shows what a huge effect he had on me. I grieved over him like I would any person I know in real life.
9. Henry De Tamble for The Time Traveler's Wife. When I read The Time Traveler's Wife I was at a place in my life where I felt like nothing was in my control so I really identified with Henry. He works in a library, listens to punk rock, and wears sweaters, which makes him more like me. Similar to Katniss, Henry makes the situation work for him even though it's horrible and he loves Clare so much he does everything he can to protect her. I find him to be very admirable.
10. Diana from The Luxe Series. Oh, Diana. I just love her more as the series goes on. She is so unafraid of being outside of the norm, outside of society. She lives her life for herself and no one else. Sure, she's a bit annoying sometimes over her boy problems but I don't think she reacts any differently than I would. I just love her.

What are some of your favorite book characters?