This week was an awesome week for books!

I got the following from Yan, from the buying/trading post she posted in December:

Incredibly excited to read all of these!

From contests:

Michelle Zink was awesome enough to sign this for me! Eeee! It is fabulous and wonderful.

I've read the first two books in this series, but it's very nice to have my own copies. And I'm incredibly excited to read the latest addition to the Darcy Saga.

Borrowed:

From Sandy, who is made of about a million types of awesome. MUCH squee-ing was made when I opened up the package.

I'm sure all these books will keep me occupied for quite some time. Whadya think?

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren.

Posted by Melanie at 9:38 PM View Comments    

Labels: In My Mailbox

Is that not one of the creepiest trailer ever? To celebrate the trailer's release and the upcoming release of The Body Finder, author Kimberly Derting is having a fabulous contest. Go find out all about it!

Posted by Melanie at 12:30 PM View Comments    

Labels: book trailer

Thanks to everyone who stopped by this week! I had a lot of fun with it, and I'm thinking about doing another themed week sometime in the future. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them! Now, for the giveaway.

One lucky winner will receive:

- A copy of Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted
- A DVD of Belle and The Beast
- A copy of Beastly by Alex Flinn

To enter, fill out the form here.

This giveaway is open internationally and will end on February 15. A winner will be announced soon after. Thanks for taking the time to enter and good luck!

ETA: Google docs has been giving me issues, but I think I fixed them. If I didn't, please let me know.

Posted by Melanie at 11:33 AM View Comments    

Labels: contest

Lucius has no hands, only hooks, and it's his fault. He blew them off in an explosion of his own making. His family has moved to a new town. As he prepares for his first day at school, he knows he'll be an outcast. In some ways, he might actually prefer it.

Aurora's father insisted that they move. The old house was too full of memories. Aurora steps into this new school a little nervous and a little confident. She'll do just as her mother suggested. Smiling at everyone and giving them the benefit of the doubt.

When they meet, Aurora is one of the few people willing to look past the rumors and the hooks to see him. If only he was sure that what she saw wouldn't send her running.

First off, isn't the name Aurora gorgeous? It just sort of rolls off the tongue. I love it, and it really seems to suit her character.

The best part of this book is the way it's written in alternating viewpoints. It helped me to get a better grasp on the story, as well as get to know both main characters really well. The viewpoint alternates every chapter, and the length varies. It may be a full chapter or just a couple of paragraphs, depending on the character's mood and how much they want to talk. It worked very well.

My favorite character in the story is that of Aurora's father, Mr. Belle. He's such a kind person, the kind that you think wouldn't even hurt a fly. He's a wonderful father to Aurora, even as he struggles with the grief of his wife's death.

One common complaint I have heard about this book was the lack of details over what exactly caused Lucius to lose his hands. Although things may never have been explicitly explained, by the end of the book, I did feel as if I had a good enough grasp on what happened.

I did feel a bit uncomfortable during a conversation Lucius had with Jessup about "jerking off", and Lucius' accompanying thoughts afterwords. However, I could see the point of the conversation. And thinking back to my public school days, are there any subjects that are off-limits in the locker room?

Posted by Melanie at 8:42 AM View Comments    

Labels: book review, Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Well, today's post is a bit late *sheepish smile*. This is mainly due to the fact that I had a piano lesson today, and I've had hardly any time to practice. Which is mainly due to the fact that I've been really busy with school, and I also really hate playing Sonatinas. I like listening to them, but my fingers never seem to be moving fast enough. But enough with the *cough*excuses*cough* reasons. On to the review!

Posted by Melanie at 7:23 PM View Comments    

Labels: movie review

Alyssa from The Shady Glade wrote today's post on why she loves Beauty and the Beast. Thanks, Alyssa!

I’ll be the first one to admit that I’m a Disney nut. Grade A and certified. And some of you might be wondering how I got that way. Well, even I’m a little fuzzy on that, but I suppose that a lot of it has to do with the fact that I was raised on Disney. Every new year a new movie would come out and I’d have to have the latest merchandise.

When Beauty and the Beast came out in 1991, it was no different. I had to have the tights, the Barbies, the mirror, you name it, I had it. And then as usual a new movie came out the next year and I moved on to new stuff.

But somehow Beauty and the Beast was different. There was something about it, though at the young age of 4 I wasn’t quite sure what it was. In some ways I moved on, true, but a part of me still loved that movie despite my other “new favorite”.

Since then, I’ve grown up with this story. The illustrated Beauty and the Beast was the very first chapter book I was able to read by myself from start to finish. I went to see Beauty and the Beast on Ice for my 7th birthday. My first Broadway play was the theater version of Beauty and the Beast. I got Belle’s autograph at Disneyland. The list goes on and on.

I suppose one thing that kept me coming back was how much I admired Belle’s character. She was brave, smart, and not afraid to stand up to a jerk like Gaston. When I finally read the original version of the fairytale I was surprised at how bland the character of Beauty seemed. Beauty was more like other fairytale princesses I had read about, but Belle was new and vibrant. A strong female role model who still got her happily ever after in the end.

Belle taught me that it was okay to be a bookworm, even when a lot of my friends thought it was funny to be reading so much. At Disneyland, they have a building called the Animation Studio and there’s a room entitled the Beast’s Library where you can take a personality test to determine which Disney character you are most like. It wasn’t surprising to me at all when I found out I’m most like Belle.

These days, the music is the thing I love most about this movie. In fact, if you haven’t seen the Broadway version, I would highly recommend it. The songs they’ve added are my favorites these days. The production as a whole adds a whole new level of complexity to the personalities of the Beast and Belle, and they did a wonderful job adding the new music to the old familiar tunes from the movie.

No matter where I go, Beauty and the Beast will always be a special movie. Call it crazy if you want, but I still get choked up every time I hear the music. It truly is “a tale as old as time.” My time, anyway.

Posted by Melanie at 8:00 AM View Comments    

Labels: guest post

The first time I heard of Beauty was when Eva from A Striped Armchair put it on her list for books she'd recommend for the Women Unbound Reading Challenge. I'm so glad I chose to read it.

Posted by Melanie at 8:00 AM View Comments    

Labels: book review, Robin McKinley