Happy Halloween + Giveaway!

Happy Halloween to all of you! This is one of my favorite holidays for a number of reasons all of which make me seem like a legit 5-year old.

-First up is the costumes. I LOVE dressing up so very much! Even though my friends and I are completely lame and do not get invited to any parties (Sidenote: What is up with this? I know we are obnoxious, annoying, and slightly loud sometimes but we attempt to be amusing sometimes…), we still love to dress up in crazy/silly/funny costumes and go trick-or-treating in them (Sidenote: Since we are past the acceptable age of trick-or-treating, we like to hand out the candy now using the following philosophy: one for them, two for me.)

-Second is the candy! I was born with not one but ten sweet teeth. I am a picky eater but sugar is the one food group I eat with practically no complaints.

-Next is the classic Halloween movies like Hocus Pocus, Casper, The Adams Family, and The Goonies. Even though I’ve seen each of these movies more times than I can count, I still get all giddy every time ABC Family plays them on their 13 Nights of Halloween!

-And last but not least, there are the spooky stories! I am a HUGE baby so I make sure the books I read aren’t that freaky but I still manage to come across a few that remind me of Halloween. Over the past couple of years, this blog has led me to a number of great books. There have been books about demons, witches, werewolves, ghosts, vampires, and everything in between!

So in honor of my favorite holiday I am giving away one of my favorite spook-tastic books! Below you will find a list of books that while they may not be super scary, they help put me in the mood for Halloween time!

     

     

   

Giveaway Details:

-This giveaway is open internationally as long as The Book Depository ships to you

-Giveaway ends on 11/7

-Winner will receive their choice of one of the books listed above

Click this link to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway!

TGIF (22)

There once was an awesome blogger named Ginger and she decided to create a super fun feature where fellow bloggers would answer fabulous questions via blog posts every Friday. TGIF was born and we all have Miss Ginger at GReads! to thank for that! This week’s question is:

Spooktacular Reads:

Which books do you consider festive Halloween reads? Which stories have chilled you to the bone?

I would like to think that I am a tough person who can handle scary books but in reality I am a big, big baby. However, I have managed to sneak in a few creepy books and by somewhat of a shock, I actually enjoyed them. The first couple are books that just really freaked me out. The rest are ones that have Halloween-ish elements in them (a.k.a. Paranormal books that I find to be totally, freaking awesome!!!)

Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith

I just read this one. HOLY FREAKING CREEPY!

The Dead of Summer by Camilla Way

I read this one over a year ago and I STILL think of how twisted that story is!

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

Of course fighting off demons with swords can be considered a great Halloween read!

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

This is a book about a girl who can sense dead bodies, FREAKY!

Bone Dressing by Michelle Brooks

This book is more of a love story but the main characters do spend quite a bit of time in the cemetary which is ALWAYS good for freaking people out.

Beautiful Creatures + Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Both of these books a million times YES! Everything about them shouts great Halloween read! Plus Ethan and Lena…I <3 those two!

The Childe by C.A. Kunz

This is the PERFECT book for this time of year. It definitely makes me think of one of those cool made for TV movies that ABC Family always has this time of year. It could totally be right up there with Hocus Pocus!

The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade

I love me some Stacey Kade! You can’t have Halloween without a friendly little ghost (or in this case, a spoiled little ghost who wants things to go her way!)

Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

I was so surprised by how much I loved this book that is based so heavily on Edgar Allen Poe. This story is dark, creepy, and twisted, what more could you want?!?

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

I don’t think this one has anything to do with this time of year but I think it is a phenomenal paranormal book!

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Oh yes, definitely a great paranormal book that is perfect for reading this time of year!

Released by Megan Duncan

Demon slaying people on the run? YES please!

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Oh how I love this book! Another great paranormal book that has NOTHING to do with Halloween but you should read anyway!

So what do you think? Are any of these on your list of books to read during Halloween time?

This week on Katelyn’s Blog (10/21-10/28):

TGIF (21)

Life As Kate (4)

Past Perfect by Leila Sales

Tune In Tuesday (31)

Destined by P.C. & Kristin Cast Book Trailer + Giveaway!!!

TGIF (6)

TGIF is a fun little feature hosted at GReads! Every week we re-cap what has happened on the blog plus Ginger asks a question for us to answer. This week’s question is: 

Mr & Mrs:

Who are your favorite book couples?

It is official now, Ginger @ GReads! is trying to stump me with her questions of awesomness! I have read a lot of books. I have read a lot of books that include romance. I have read AND loved a lot of books that include romance and super awesome couples. To narrow down the list is impossible so I say, why not name them all? Here it goes!

Ashlyn & Kai from Rising Shadow by Jacquelyn Wheeler

Abby & Max from Released by Megan Duncan

Amy and Roger from Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Amy and Avi from The Ruined series by Simone Elkeles

Clara and Tucker from Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Anna and Ettienne St. Clair from Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Calla and REN from Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Ethan and Lena from The Caster Chronicles series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Lori and Adam from Endless Summer by Jennifer Echols

Meg and John from Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols

Zoey and Doug from Forget You by Jennifer Echols

Amy and Poe from The Secret Society Girl series by Diana Peterfreund

Janie and Cable from The Dream Catcher series by Lisa McMann

Isobel and Varen from Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

Evie and Lend from Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Luce and Daniel from Fallen by Lauren Kate

Clary and Jace from The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

Brittany and Alex from Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Kiara and Carlos from Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

ALL major relationships from these following Sarah Dessen Books:

Along for the Ride

Lock and Key

This Lullaby

The Truth About Forever

Just Listen

Okay, there are all of my favorite relationships! These relationships stick out the most for me because they have chemistry. The characters aren’t perfect, the situations they face aren’t ideal, yet they still find an understanding with someone and from that, their love grows for each other.

This week on Katelyn’s Blog (6/24-7/1):

Happy Birthday Kati

In My Mailbox (16)

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Tune-In Tuesday (14)

The Best of Twenty-Ten

Wow! I can’t believe this year is coming to an end. So many exciting, terrible, magnificent, and strange things have happened this year. Influenced by my friends Caroline and Mrs. Andersen (It is still strange to call a former teacher by her first name. It is Sarah by the way), I compiled a list of all of my favorites of the past year. Enjoy!:

1. Best vacation: Spring Break with my best friend, Kati. We went all the way to California. It exceeded all of my expectations on what I thought would be the perfect spring break.

Kati and I posing on a beach in Cali!!

2. Best concert: This is a tie between Warped Tour and The Travelin Show. Both of which featured some amazing bands (We The Kings, The Summer Set, Artist Vs. Poet, etc.) The Travelin Show even featured the man I will one day marry. Ok I am joking but hey, a girl can dream can’t she? (Just look at his dimples; they get me every time!)

Artist vs. Poet threw that monster can at me! I was so excited.

Ohh goodness! He doesn’t realize it yet, but this guy is going to be my husband one day. Just look at those dimples!

3. Best CD: This was an easy decision since Taylor Swift’s third CD, Speak Now, is still on constant replay. It is full of awesomeness.

4. Best new activity: Joining book club has been awesome. It has only added more fuel to the fire. I just can’t seem to stop reading…ever! Ohh, and making this blog has also been pretty fantastic; I am addicted!

5. Best birthday present: My new bedroom of course! Here are the pictures that I promised a few weeks ago:

6. Best movies: There really has been some great movies this past year. The ones that stuck with me the most were Eclipse, Harry Potter, Due Date, Life As We Know It, and The Other Guys.

7. Best books: I can’t choose just a few! Here are all of my favorite 2010 books. (Note: Not all were released this year, just read by me in 2010)

Beautiful Creatures By Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Darkness By Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

 

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

City if Ashes by Cassandra Clare

 City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Fallen by Lauren Kate

Forget You by Jennifer Echols

Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols

Freefall by Mindi Scott

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles

Return to Paradise by Simone Elkeles

Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

Ruined (How to Ruin 1-3) by Simone Elkeles

The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Wake by Lisa McMann

8. Best shinning moment: Hmm… this is a tough one. There was graduation, honors night, or placing at states for BPA (Business Professionals of America, it’s really cool, you should be jealous!). Ohh, what the heck, I guess they all win.

9. Best friend: Of course this award goes to Kati. Even though we are going to separate schools now and both have extremely busy schedules, we still find time to be there for each other. I don’t know what I’d do without her!

10. Best family: Well mine of course! They are loud, annoying, and extremely obnoxious but I wouldn’t have it any other way!

How did this happen?

 Just yesterday I realized how unbelievably behind I am in nearly every single class. I just don’t know where all of the time went. It seems like one day I was attending class and all caught up and now I have four papers to write for English by next week, a whole demonstration that I need to write, practice, and perform by tomorrow, and I have lots of studying to do for both math and science. Thank god I have roughly 22 days left of this semester before winter break. So as of about 11 a.m. today I am grounding myself from facebook, goodreads, wordpress, and of course reading, until I can get all caught up with my homework. The next few days are going to be complete torture. The issue with me though is that just grounding me from hobbies such as reading and being on the computer just won’t cut it. I will find absolutely anything to distract myself from doing my homework. For instance, last night I was feverishly working on my math trying to get it all done by today. All of a sudden, I got this huge urge to paint my nails. I mean what the heck was going through my head. It just suddenly became very important to paint my darn nails. Ten minutes and two lovely coats of purple later, I found myself skimming through one of my book purchases. Well that skimming turned into me dying to read it. Before I knew what was happening, I had read 30% of the book. Keep in mind that by this time it is now 1 a.m. So I forced myself to put the book down and finish my homework. Once that pesky little task was out of the way, I allowed myself to settle back into bed and finish reading my book. Finally, at 4 this morning I finished the book and went back to sleep. To say I am exhausted this morning would be an understatement.

Yesterday we had another book club meeting. It’s always so nice meeting with everyone. We couldn’t talk much about our assigned book, Nevermore by Kelly Creagh, because only two of the seven of us finished the book. Aside from that little setback, it was still nice to meet and catch up with everyone. Since we meet at borders for our meetings, I can be sure of two things: 1) I will for sure take a trip to the cafe to buy some very delicious but overpriced coffee concoction and 2) I will most definitely buy one too many books. My purchases yesterday were:

1) Return to Paradise by Simone Elkeles; aka the book that I stayed up to read until four in the morning. This book was a great conclusion to the first book, Leaving Paradise. Leaving Paradise is about a boy named Caleb and a girl named Maggie. Caleb is released after his year spent in juvie. He was charged with driving drunk and then hitting Maggie with a car and leaving her for dead. Maggie is stunned to see that Caleb is out of juvie for his reckless crime and, gasp!, he moves back to Paradise, their hometown. It doesn’t help that 1) Maggie used to be desperately in love with him and 2) He is her next door neighbor and 3) He is the twin brother of her former best friend. The story takes these two on a roller coaster ride of emotions as they each find out they have feelings for one another. Do they have what it takes to leave that horrible night in the past? Return to Paradise is the perfect fairytale ending to one twisted love story. Maggie and Caleb are forced to join a Re-START program together after spending nearly a year apart. The program is supposed to help people with issues of reckless driving, to come to terms with the past. But of course for Maggie and Caleb it’s a different story. The two are forced to evaluate what actually happened with that night, and figure out if they have what it takes to trust each other again. If you are looking for a really good, quick read, then Leaving Paradise and Return to Paradise are the perfect books for you!

2) Ruined by Simone Elkeles. (Are you sensing a pattern here, because I am)? It is actually three stories in one; How to Ruin a Summer Vacation, How to Ruin My Teenage Life, and How to Ruin Your Boyfriend’s Reputation. It’s a long book, nearly 780 pages, but I sure am excited to read it!

3) Last but not least Wake by Lisa McMann. We chose to read the Wake, Fade, and Gone books for our next book club meeting. I have been waiting to read this series for some time now. We are hoping that we can get Lisa McMann to answer some of our questions over twitter, similar to when Maragaret Stohl answered Caster Chronicle questions for us. It would be absolutely awesome if she agreed to it!

Ok I suppose it is time to officially ground myself from the computer; See you on the other side!

Thanksgiving is finally here!

For those who love their meat, hooray!! Today officially starts the never ending parties that are sure to have some turkey, ham or chicken. For those that are vegetarians (like me) then get ready for some huge helpings of side dishes! Aside from the limited food I am allowed to eat around this time of year, I am actually very excited the holiday season has finally arrived. I am so ready to party with friends and family, spend loads of money that I really don’t have, and eat about a gazillion more calories than my body should be in taking. To add to all of the holiday excitement…. the BIG DAY is almost here!! And yes I am talking about stepping into the world of full adulthood. In just a few, short days I will finally be a legal adult. I can no longer do any incriminating criminal acts that at the very most get me sent off to juvy; I can’t blame my stupid decisions and ignorance on being young; and most of all I can’t be left at home while all my friends go clubbing. The last part is actually the only reason I am super excited to turn 18. I just love dressing up, going out, and having a good time; so you best believe when Dec. 2nd rolls around (the first Thursday after my birthday, Thursday=college night, college night=girls get in free, girls get in free= me and my wallet are happy), I will be going clubbing with all of the girls.

Speaking of my birthday, I got a wonderful present from my parents. A whole new bedroom set. How awesome is that!?! (One day when it is clean I will take some pictures and post them in a blog). In my earlier post I talked about all the makeover madness going on in my room. Well it is finally over! Well over if you don’t count the huge piles of junk I have to sort through; once that is done I will have myself a pretty awesome new room. My new bedroom is awesome, there is no denying that but I was still hoping my parents would come around to the idea of getting me a kitten. I was sooo hoping for one. I picked out a name and everything. If it was a girl the name would be Pixie and if it were a boy his name would be Chrome. Unfortunately my parents weren’t picking up on the not-so-subtle hints I was dropping about my birthday wish. Oh well, the kitten will just have to wait.

Part of my bedroom set is a big, tall beautiful bookcase; and now that I’m on the subject… let’s talk about books! My goodness I can’t believe the last book I actually talked about was Beautiful Darkness; it feels like it’s been months since I’ve read it. I have since then read Andrea Cremer’s Nightshade, Simone Elkeles’ Rules Of Attraction, Jennifer Echols’ Going To Far, Kelly Creagh’s Nevermore, and last but not least Becca Fitzpatrick’s Hush, Hush.

First is Nightshade. Wow! What a fantastic read. The book is completely original, there was a wide range of characters (all of which I liked), and it was purely beautiful inside and out. This story about werewolves, uses suspense, mystery, great imagery, and of course a juicy love triangle to keep readers interested; what more could a paranormal fantasy fanatic ask for?

Second is Rules of Attraction. This is the sequel to Perfect Chemistry which is a book in my top 10 for sure. Perfect Chemistry follows a Mexican gang-banger named Alex Fuentes as he falls in love with an unlikely person, Brittney, the non-Mexican head cheerleader. Rules of Attraction is about Alex’s younger brother named Carlos who is shipped off to Colorado to live with Alex. The book has the same great qualities of Perfect Chemistry. Honestly, these two books make me want to meet a real-live Fuentes brother and keep him for myself.

Third is Going too Far. It is a must read; enough said. This is the second book by Echols that I have read, the first being Forget You. If I am being honest with any readers of my blog, in other words ‘If you are reading this Kati…’ Going too Far should be the first to read if you want to save the best for last. Going too Far was a great book about a girl who gets arrested, the girl is then assigned to work with the arresting cop, and eventually the girl falls in love with said cop. As much as I liked this book, it still doesn’t compare to Forget You.

Fourth is Nevermore. This is another wow! For any fans of Edgar Allen Poe; prepared to be amazed. I have been putting off reading this book for quite some time for a few reasons 1) I am not a fan of Edgar Allen Poe 2) I am not a fan of poetry 3) The book seems dark and scary, and well I don’t like dark and scary. Regardless of how I feel about Nevermore, those three facts still rein true. As I said earlier the book definitely has a strong Edgar Allen Poe influence but Creagh uses it in such a manner that you really don’t have to be a fan of “The Raven,” to enjoy the book. I found myself so engrossed in the book that I whipped through the nearly 500 page book in two days.

Finally is Hush, Hush. If anyone could explain to me exactly how the title goes with the story I’d appreciate it. Pushing aside my confusion of the title, I must say that Hush, Hush is a quick, great read. I powered through the book in about a day and a half. It wasn’t magnificently written, the story seemed really rushed at some points, and I am kind of confused on some major details of the story, but in the end it just kind of works. I find myself actually pretty excited to read the second book to the series.

As you can tell I have been a reading power house. I am just hoping I don’t lose any adrenaline and this reading frenzy I am on carries me through the winter. Ok off to get some sleep before enjoying my Turkey Day. Hope everyone has a great, safe holiday!