VIA «The Flowers»

VIA «Dresses & Flowers»

VIA «A Summer Flowers»

Today's guest post is with Barbara Quick, author of A Golden Web (read my review here) . Barbara is joining us today to share her:

Top Ten (Dead) Historical Figures You Would Like to Have Dinner With

1. Mozart
Dinner would be long and leisurely, with half a dozen of his best friends and a piano in the room. Mozart would be prevailed upon to improvise between courses.

2. Oscar Wilde
I picture this in a villa on the Amalfi coast, with a houseful of witty guests (to take the pressure off of me!)

3. Henry James
The Master and I would drink tea together beforehand in a beautiful English garden, speaking quietly about our favorite flowers.

4. Jane Austen
I would whisk Jane off to Paris for a picnic dinner—including the finest fois gras and a gorgeous Burgundy—on Midsummer’s Night by the banks of the Seine.

5. The young Joseph Haydn
The composer would be overjoyed with the feast I would order up for the two of us in 18th century Vienna’ s finest restaurant. I’ d make sure he was allowed to take a huge doggy-bag home with him, along with glad tidings from the future.

6. Antoine-Brillat de Savarin
I would eat and listen raptly during a meal that would, without doubt, last for several hours.

7. Thomas Jefferson
We would both be guests at a ball at the American Consulate in Paris. Dinner would be served at 11 pm.

8. Anna Maria dal Violin
I would bribe the Portinara and arrange for a gondola at sunset for Anna Maria and her closest friends. The King of Denmark and Norway would lend us his private chef for the evening. Vivaldi (after being paid a huge sum of money) would serenade us with his violin.

9. Catherine of Aragon
We would speak—very frankly, tete-à-tete—about men.

10. Queen Elizabeth I
The after-dinner entertainment would include the first act of a new play by William Shakespeare.

The throne, made of rosewood and inlaid with gold and a floral pattern, was owned by philanthropist Li Chunping.

It took him three years to buy the throne from a descendant of a royal highness of the Qing Dynasty in Tianjin.

Li said the final price was lower than he expected and that the throne will have a higher value after two or three years.

A buyer from Beijing bought the throne after three rounds of bidding.

Source: China Org [January 13, 2015]

I've been reading for one hour and I'm already off to a good start! I decided to take a quick break and check out the Readathon site and do whatever challenges are post. Miss Remmers' Mini-Challenge is to talk about your kick-off strategy. I'm not really surrounded by anything right now, but I did know I wanted to start off with Fahrenheit 451 since it was the heaviest book in my pile but still short. I should still be able to accomplish something early in the day, but I'm also reading the hardest book while I'm still fresh. I made myself a pillow fort on my bed because I knew I wouldn't want to get out of bed at seven o'clock in the morning, so all I had to do was wake up, grab my book, and start reading. Eventually my tummy started to growl, so that is when I decided to stop, have a pop-tart, and do this mini-challenge.

On the Dewey website they asked you to answer the following questions for hour one:
Where are you reading from today? Since waking up an hour ago I've been reading Fahrenheit 451.
3 facts about me … I am a sophomore at the University of Iowa. I have flowers on my desk but they are starting to wilt. I read about museums for fun.
How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? 6
Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)? I would really like to finish the Shelf Discovery Challenge today, we'll see.

Well I'm back to read for awhile. I'll be back in a few hours!

Scott Pilgrim is 23 years old and has spent the past year trying to get over his last girlfriend. It looks like he is finally going to get over her when he starts dating a high school girl named Knives Chau. So... Scott is kind of a loser. The entire graphic novel is written in a video game style, with the specifics of characters listed as they appear on the pages. Scott is in a band and when they play the pages look eerily like the video game Rock Band. The entire book is basically Scott trying to progress to the next level, which includes finding out who this rollerblading, Amazon delivery girl Ramona Flowers is. Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life

is basically a celebration of all things twenty-something and the culture that surrounds that generation. The best character is definitely Wallace Wells, Scott's gay roommate, and even he kind of turns into a jerk at one point in the book (and he only gets a 7.5 rating at the beginning, so we know he isn't perfect). Bryan Lee O'Malley does a great job of summing up their relationship in two panels that show their apartment. Everything in the apartment has a label on it and we quickly find out that most of the stuff in there is Wallace's and Scott just uses it, including Wallace's socks.

Which is probably why I really, really loved it. The language was spot on and not gluttonous like the language in Juno. All of the characters are pretty unlikeable, Scott is a loser, Ramona is kind of an oddball, Knives is gullible teenager, and most of Scott's friends are mean, but as twenty-year-old you recognize that most of the people in your life fall into these categories too. It doesn't have anything to do with hipster culture, as many have said, because, let's face it, if Scott Pilgrim was a hipster he wouldn't have any friends and he would have much better taste in clothes. Bryan Lee O'Malley's drawing style is also not hipster enough to create a graphic novel about hipsters. It's not manga but it's not what we typically see from comic book artists today. It's almost more like a webcomic style--which I was totally on board with.

The book moves rather quickly and I suppose at time it might be a little too fast. If you didn't understand the language or world O'Malley assumes you understand the book would probably be difficult to get through. I can't speak to that, as I did understand it. If you're a college student I don't see how you wouldn't understand it, at least a little bit. I really can't speak more highly of the first volume in this series, so I will just end by review and hope you all give Scott Pilgrim a try.

I give Scott Pilgrim an A.

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.

Spring has sprung...the flowers are coming up, baby animals are being born, everything is green and new. Many of us are spring-cleaning or organizing, rethinking and pondering changes...and so I thought it might be fun to look back on the first quarter of 2011 in books, as well as our anticipation for the beginning of the second quarter of the year. Write about any or all of the following:

• The best books you've read so far in 2011
• Books published in 2011 you've read that have lived up or NOT to the hype
  
• Something new or different you've added to your blog
• Organizing books - do you have a new system, new bookcases, or are you simply getting rid of things to make room for the new?
• Changes you are making from the first part of the year to the second part of the year
• Most anticipated book releases in April, May and June 2011
• How your reading changes from the winter months to the warmer days of spring
• Is there a book you've read in the first three months of the year which you think will make your top ten list for the year? Share it with us!
  

I'd been wanting to read a YA vampire novel for awhile when I picked up Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz. It came at the perfect time too, because I'd just finished The Jungle and I wanted to read something that wouldn't take a lot out of me. When I first opened the book I considered putting it back down, the first few pages are somewhat painful as far as writing. I decided to persevere though, reminding myself that I wanted something nice and easy. The writing does get better as you go on through the novel, or maybe you just get more used to it.

Typical to books about high school this cast as popular kids and rebels. I would say the main character is Schuyler Van Alen, a rebel. She lives with her grandmother and her mom is in the hospital with a coma. She has never really known her mom since she has been in a coma most of her life, but the doctors say she could wake up any day, so Schuyler visits her every weekend and reads the newspaper to her. Schuyler's best friend is Oliver who follows her around like a lost puppy. The friendship is really all about the two of them, but they let the new guy Dylan tag along because he likes them and because he adds to their mysterious aura.

On the opposite side is Mimi, the queen of the school who is ridiculously rich and fearless. There is also her brother Jack who is good at everything and gorgeous. Mimi and Jack seem to have some weird kind of Flowers in the Attic thing going on, but no one pays attention to them because they are perfect. On this side there is a new girl named Bliss. She comes from Texas and is trying to learn how to fit in the New York high class scene.

And this is how everything goes, until a mysterious death comes to the school and turns everything on its head. Soon people who are not supposed to talk are becoming allies. All because of The Committee. Everyone thinks The Committee is a place for the really rich people to hang out and plan parties, which is partially true but there is more to it than that. When Schuyler Van Alen gets invited to The Committee Mimi is furious. It doesn't help that her cousin Jack seems to be interested in Schuyler either.

So basically this is mediocre writing with a somewhat interesting plot. This the first in a series of books and I think I will probably read the next in the series. The plot really starts to pick up towards the end and I felt driven to finish the book so it wasn't all bad. It's just not The Luxe or anything.

This novel earned a C.
I read this book for the First in a Series Challenge.

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.

I thought it would be fun to look at book covers. I'll give you several topic ideas--and you can choose which you'd like to do.

Compare/contrast international covers. Which do you like best?
Compare/contrast covers in a series. Does it drive you crazy when the cover concept changes over time as a series is published?
Compare/contrast cover changes between hardcover/paperback. Which do you like best?
Compile a top ten (or top five) list for the UGLIEST covers...
Compile a top ten (or top five) list for the PRETTIEST covers...
Compile a look alike post. Have you noticed a new or not-so-new trend? Like flowers on the cover?
Does one of your favorite books have an unfortunate cover? Write a post on why we should read it anyway! Or if you're feeling creative, 'create' a better cover for it!

Over winter break I posted some pictures of a book wreath I made. Even though I got some cringes I'm still going to post the pictures of a book flower I recently made. I'm actually going to make two of these for a floor vase I'll use in the townhouse I'm moving into (in five weeks!).

Some people are against crafting with books, and I get that. In my case this was a romance novel I had already read and the options I had for getting rid of it were taking it to a used bookstore that might by it and getting a quarter or turning it into something beautiful I could enjoy. I chose the latter.

Flower in desert

VIA ««Desert Flower» by Manfredi Nicoletti»

Today, Shanice Williams, author of Kane Richards Must Die is visiting today to share some This or That answers with us!:)

Spring or Fall

Hmm, definitely spring. I love seeing all blooming flowers and falling petals from the trees So cute.

Hardcover or Paperback

Makes no difference to me. But I guess hardcover has that more kinda “serious business” feel to it.:)

M&Ms — Peanut or Peanut Butter

Don’t think I’ve ever tried peanut butter ones. So just the peanut for me!

(What?! No PB M&Ms?! EVER?! You are SO missing out! They are the best!!)

Barefoot or Shoes

Depends on the situation I guess. I won’t be walking through the snow barefoot unless I want my toes to fall off! I’ll just say Shoes:)

One room library or Books in every room in your house

Books in every room. Might as well add a touch of knowledge in every room than have it all bundled in one place!

A little bit of clutter or Everything perfectly neat and tidy

Everything’s more fun with a little bit of clutter! You get to find things that you was looking for a couple weeks back while you’re searching for something else!

Past or Future

Past has the memories and the little things that make you who you are. I’m always wishing I could go back rather than go forward.

Uncertain theory or Absolute fact

Uncertain theory I think. Facts are so boring. Uncertainty brings mystery!:)

Marvel or DC comics

Um… Marvel? I don’t really read comics so I’m just going with the one that sounds familiar.

Legos or Lincoln logs

Ha! Not quite sure what Lincoln logs are, so Legos for me!

(Sadness! What is it with no one knowing about Lincoln logs?! They are almost as awesome as legos!!)

Detailed planning or Spontaneous decisions

Hmm.. Spontaneous decisions I think!

Ocean or Mountains

Mountains. You can get right in there without drowning. So to speak.

Gum or Breath mint

Gum! Keeps your mouth working for longer. (LOL)

Truth or Dare

Truth. I’m a real scaredy cat when it comes to dares.

Painting or Photograph

Photograph. That’s where the real memories are!

Thanks so much for stopping by Shanice! I have to say that (other than being shocked and slightly appalled that you are unfamiliar with both Lincoln Logs and PB M&Ms) I agree with most of your choices! This was a fun T/T to read through!

I love Mazzy Star and I love Jane Eyre (and the 2006 version of the film) so the music video was just tempting me. I was actually obsessed with this song around the time I read Jane Eyre for the first time, so I was surprised to see the two combined by someone else.

While I was avoiding homework this morning I ran across an article on Twitter called 20 Books Every Teen and Tween Should Read Before They Hit 16. It's a pretty good list, although I haven't heard of some of the books before and I have read less than half of them and most of the books I definitely did not read by the time I was 16. Some of these I've actually read during the course of writing on my blog! Books from the list I have read are:

To Kill a Mockingbird
The Harry Potter Series
Animal Farm
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Macbeth
Go Ask Alice
The Outsiders
Are You There God? It's Me Margaret

Books on the list I haven't read are:

The Catcher in the Rye (Although I've read pretty much everything else by Salinger)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Maus
The Lord of the Flies
The Golden Compass
The Island of Dr. Moreau
Flowers for Algernon
A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Treasure Island
Slake's Limbo

Some of these I'm not that interested in reading, but some of them I feel like I really need to read. And since I didn't quite make it by sixteen, I think I'm going to try to get some of them in before 21. I have about eight months until my 21st birthday and there are 12 books I haven't read. I think I'd like to read at least six. Does anyone have any ideas on what books would be the best to read from this list? Have you read the books on this list? What do you think is missing? Personally, I think On the Road should be on there.