Booking Through Thursday - Disaster

Since it's been several weeks since I've done a BTT post I thought I may as well do it today.

"You've just dropped your favourite out-of-print book in the bathtub, ruining it completely. What do you do now? Booking Through Thursday

Well I reckon that I can say with a fair amount of certainty that this will *never* happen to me for several reasons.
1. I don't really like baths. I'm just more of a shower person since I get terribly bored sitting in a bath for any amount of time (unless I have company :P)
2. I wouldn't read in the bath anyway. I'd be too worried that my own clumsiness would make my book go swimming. Maybe if I purposely bought cheap tatty copies to read in the bath then I would but at the moment, not a chance.
3. My out-of-print books (and I have a *lot* which I really love) would be guarded like the Crown Jewels from any kind of damage since if I do need to replace one of them, the potential cost and difficulty of tracking down another, decent quality copy would be ridiculous.

I have basically everything Tamora Pierce has written to date (barring perhaps a couple of short stories in certain anthologies) and well over half of these books are the UK Scholastic editions which went out-of-print a couple of years ago *boo, hiss*. So now I've gotta conserve these books like they're priceless since there's little to no chance I'll ever come across more copies that don't cost an arm and a leg. It's gonna be hard since Tamora Pierce is my favourite author and I love re-reading her books multiple times. I actually re-read the Protector of the Small Quartet maybe 3 times in a row, back-to-back - I'm *that* addicted to her books.

Now I'll show you what my copies look like cos they really are the funkiest covers ever so you can understand why I don't want to try and replace them ever.

Four top Left - The Immortals Quartet

Four bottom Left - The Protector of the Small Quartet (my fav)

Four top Right - The Circle of Magic Quartet

Four bottom Right - The Circle Opens Quartet

Ain't they all so purdy?

This is my Omnibus of the Song of the Lioness Quartet. This series was the first that Tamora wrote and the starting point of the Tortall universe which also includes the Immortals, Protector of the Small and Daughter of the Lioness books and the new Beka Cooper trilogy - the third book Mastiff is coming out late next year (which IMO is far too far away :P)

On a final *hypothetical* note - What would I do if I did drop my favourite out-of-print book in the bath? Erm probably scream bloody murder and then sob my heart out for several weeks ;-)

Have a Great Thursday Folks

LadyV

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BIRTHDAY BONANZA!! (Contest)

Yes that is a Harry Potter birthday cake - I wants it :P (Photo from The Cake Kitchen)

Cake, everybody loves CAKE!
Oh Hai folks. For those who didn't already know it'll by my 20th Birthday *le gasp* on the 7th of October and that means that it's now only 4 weeks away!! I'm slightly freaked out that I'm nearly that old since I still feel only 17 mentally (scrub that I have the mental age and attention span of a five yr old :P).
But I have a *marvellous* plan to make things a lot more fun - by having a contest!!

Here's the Deal
1. The Contest will run from the 9th of September until the 7th of October which is precisely four weeks.
2. It will be a single-entry contest (i.e. no extra entries for twitter, blog, youtube etc. promotions) - all you need to enter is your email address. (But if you want to promote the contest please do, I'll give you cookies :D )
3. You do NOT have to be a Follower to enter (although it would be really nice if you did)
4. The Contest is INTERNATIONAL so come one, come all!
5. ONE winner will be able to ask for any book(s) they want up to the value of £20 to be shipped to them from The Book Depository (since they ship almost anywhere for free)
6. The Winner will be picked via a random number generator on the 8th of October and announced on the blog and also they will be emailed.
7. Then they will have 48 hours to reply with their mailing address and confirm which book(s) they would like me to purchase so I can get the order made.
8. If the winner fails to reply within the alloted time then another shall be selected at random.


I think that's everything.
So fill in the Google Form below and you're away!


**CONTEST NOW CLOSED**


Happy (almost) Birthday to Me!!

LadyV

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Book Review - Scarlett Dedd

This is probably a first for me because I'm getting a book review done less than 24 hours after I finished the book! *faints* I know I'm shocked.

But there you go, I like to be contrary sometimes just to keep y'all on your toes :P

Anyhow, onto business

Title: Scarlett Dedd
Author: Cathy Brett
Date: 8/9/2010 AM
Source: Won from Lyndsey @ Heaven, Hell and Purgatory
Description: You're dead Scarlett...Previously a poor taste jibe from school frenemies, now a statement of fact. Scarlett is absolutely mortified (in more ways than one) to discover that she's accidentally killed herself while trying to get out of a school trip. Even worse, she's taken her entire family with her. Life as a ghost is pretty dull - if only some of her friends were dead too... (Taken from Goodreads)


Review: Well since this book was so unusually funky I just had to review it in a vlog so I could show you how cool it was to read.





My Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars




A Big thanks again to Lyndsey for hosting the contest :)


Well dang this is probably the fastest review I've ever done lol. Hopefully I'll be on a roll tonight and get several done plus the next post in my Favourite Characters mini-series as I've decided I'm doing NO MORE IRONING today! I spent hours ironing yesterday (although I do actually enjoy it :P) so today I'm having the night off for blog stuff.


A bientot
LadyV

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My Fav Female Characters

Ok I know that the Top Ten Tuesday meme did Favourite Heroines last week but I was going to do this anyways (I may start doing the Top Ten meme at some point), I'm gonna wax lyrical today about some of my fav gals from the books I've read. I don't really know if I'll put them into any kind of ranking since I like them for various different reasons and I don't reckon it'd be fair to rate one higher than another.

Katniss Everdeen
Of course, there's no way that I can have a list of fav characters *without* including the ever ass-kicking Katniss. She's the type of heroine that people would kill to either have as a friend or to actually be in real life. She's got mad skillz with a bow and has survival know-how in buckets. She'd protect her friends and family at any cost, even if you got herself killed in the process. Yea she's not entirely sure of her own emotions but that makes her even more awesome cos we know she's still human and not perfect. I love her most in the Hunger Games since she gets a tad "damaged" in the next two books and get increasingly unstable in her mental state but her essential Katniss-ness is retained.

Hermione Granger
Ah Miss Granger, she's probably the first fictional character that I was deathly envious of since I so badly wanted to be a witch after I read the Philosopher's Stone for the first time. She was the smart, sensible goody-two-shoes who I could really relate to back then (I'm not half so sensible or rule-abiding nowadays). For all she could be a right fuss-pot sometimes she really did kick some ass, or slap some gits i.e. Malfoy, as the series progressed she evolved so much from the bushy-haired prissy little 11 yr old in the first book although she did always keep a little of the snotty attitude for when she got mad at either Harry or more often than not Ron. Bizarrely though I kinda hate Emma Watson in the films - she's just *too* prissy for my liking and frankly I wanted to be Hermione gosh darn it! *stomps foot*

Rose Hathaway
If I ever were to get into a fight where vamps might be involved I'd want Rose on my side cos she seriously knows how to kick the shit outta bad guys and that's always a useful skill to have methinks. She's sassy and totally confident in herself and will take serious offence if someone judges her unfairly - just *try* calling her a blood whore and live. Like Katniss she's fiercely protective although Rose knows her heart much better and will follow it when she feels it is the right course of action. She's also pretty darn sexy and not afraid to flaunt it when the situation demands it. All in all I reckon Rose is sort of the Megan Fox of the fictional world, both guys *and* girls would fancy her :P

Faythe Sanders
Well I don't know how many of y'all read Rachel Vincent's Werecats series but those who do will know how awesome the main character Faythe is in these books. She the feisty daughter of a Werecat Alpha who lives with the heavy burden of being one of a very small number of female werecats who are expected to marry and produce children in the hopes that another tabby will be born to continue the line. Although she can be rather impetuous and sometimes makes rash and irresponsible decisions I do admire her for the spirited attitude and desire to live her own life instead of the restricted existence that the other women of her kind must live because of their importance to the Werecat race. Also she's pretty kick-ass when it comes to working as an enforcer for her Father, oh and she has one of *the* most rugged and bad-ass werecats vying for her affection - Marc Ramos *swoon* (he'll be appearing in my fav male character posts). Faythe definitely has a few issues with authority and responsibility but her heart is in the right place and she does want to do right by her Pride and her Father so it's really going to be a shame when this series ends after the release of Alpha at the start of October cos I think Faythe is such a cool character.

Now since I have 12 characters that I want to mention methinks I'll keep to 4 per post and make it a three-part deal so keep your eyes peeled for the second lot coming soon. Do feel free to tell me in the comments who some of *your* favourite heroines are.

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It's Monday but not quite

So you may have already noticed that this *isn't* my usual What are you Reading? post that I do on Mondays and I'll explain why I'm not doing it today.

Until last night I had read NOTHING in the past week. I kid you not. Until I finished the 2nd Gallagher Girl book in the wee hours of this morning I had not finished a book since the 30th of August and for me that is downright outrageous.

Due to being in London I also didn't get any more reviews done after I posted my review of the amazing book Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma on Tuesday.

I'm *Still* reading The Alchemist's Daughter by Katherine McMahon, I am enjoying it although for some inexplicable reason it's taken me nearly a month to get close to finish the damn thing. I'm hoping to finally get through it by the end of this week and then see how long it takes me to churn out a review.

So there you see that there is not enough stuff to make it worth doing a normal IMWAYR post so y'all will have to make do with this concise version. Next week should be better as I have several library books that I need to read and return.

Yay for Mondays, boo for reading slumps
LadyV

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In My Mailbox #20 The late but oh-so awesome One

Well good evening folks! I know this is hideously late for an IMM post but I only got home from London this afternoon and I had to go a-visiting to my Auntie's and both grandparents so I was only able to film the vlog for this a little while ago.

London was fabulous and I shall be doing a post on that soon once I get copies of the photos my darling bf took of the trip (he's the camera dude, I simply try to look normal for pics :P). I got 8 while I was away, 4 being of an educational nature ergo they counteract the 4 fiction books I bought as well.
My parents and sister are finally back from Florida looking annoyingly tanned but bearing such wonders as the 9 books they bought for me and various perfumed items *mmm smells good*

In My mailbox is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren and inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie

This Vlog is rather long due to the crazy amount of books I have this week- enjoy!



Books Mentioned in Vlog
From London
Julius by Daphne du Maurier
The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller
The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness (signed!!)
Nefertiti by Michelle Moran
Plus 4 other non-fiction books


From Florida
Devious by Cecily von Ziegesar
My Soul to Save by Rachel Vincent
My Soul to Keep by Rachel Vincent
Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder
Fourth Comings by Megan McCafferty
Perfect Fifths by Megan McCafferty
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
Still Sucks to be Me by Kimberley Pauley
Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

From Sister
Sticky Fingers by Nikki Burnham
Nothing Like You by Lauren Strasnick

*phew*!! That is a lot of books! I have no clue as to when I'll find the time to read all these because heck know I already have bucket loads of other books I need to read, but maybe if I don't buy *any* books in September except one or two that I absolutely MUST have e.g. Spy Glass! perhaps I can whittle down my ridiculous TBR pile to something slightly less horrifying.

I'm glad to be back home now although London was fantastic and I loved having a holiday with my boyfriend doing to the nerdy stuff we both enjoy it's good to be able to sleep in your own bed y'know?
I've missed blogging even if it was only for a few days so I'll do my best to get back into a rhythm of things fairly quickly, I've got some fav character posts in the works that I want to get up before Wednesday and I'll try and do a London post before the end of the week as well. Somewhere amongst this lot I want to get some reviews done because it's been far too long since I did one and that's just unacceptable.

So stay tuned for all that!
I'm off now to put this massive haul somewhere although it may take a bit of rearranging since many of these books need to go on my smaller set of shelves *eep*
What's in your Mailbox this week?
LadyV

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August Round-up

Well my lovelies I must say that I don't know where this month has gone and I'm pretty sure that somebody has been speeding the clocks up because my summer is nearly over! I'll be going back to my flat at university in a little over 2 weeks and I'll be damned if I'm not turning 20 in 5 weeks!! I've got some awesome things in mind to make my birthday week rather special and I'll just hint now that a contest is going to be a probable event ;-)

In terms of posts this month has been one of my best months since until last week when I was avoiding blogs and Twitter to keep the Mockingjay Spoilers at bay, I had managed to post almost once a day. (Yay rhymes!) In terms of reading it was worse than July although not entirely terrible. My list for this past month is as follows:

August
127. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare (1/8/2010 AM)
128. Prey by Rachel Vincent (1/8/2010 PM)
129. By Midnight by Mia James (2/8/2010 AM)
130. Emma by Jane Austen (4/8/2010 PM)
131. Something like Fate by Susane Colasanti (4/8/2010 PM)
132. Endless Summer by Jennifer Echols (7/8/2010 PM)
133. The Poison Throne by Celine Kiernan (9/8/2010 AM)
134. Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt (10/8/2010 AM)
135. The Forbidden Game by L.J. Smith (12/8/2010 AM)
136. The Maze Runner by James Dashner (13/8/2010 AM)
137. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (14/8/2010 AM)
138. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (17/8/2010 PM)
139. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (18/8/2010 PM)
140. Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma (23/8/2010 AM)
141. Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow (26/8/2010 AM)
142. Mockingjay by Suzanna Collins (27/8/2010 AM)
143. I'd Tell you I love you, but then I'd have to Kill you by Ally Carter (29/8/2010 AM)



This Month I have got quite a few reviews done although I still think that I could increase the number that I write if I plan things properly i.e. make a template for the review when I start reading the book and try to write it as soon after completion as I can, that way I may actually be able to review three-quarters of what I read.


Reviews
Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
By Midnight by Mia James
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
The Forbidden Game by L.J. Smith
Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma


Miscellaneous
In other news I had a splendid time last week book shopping with my best friend and fellow blogger Jess of Jess Hearts Books, we drove up to Derbyshire to visit our good friend and fellow blogger Ellie of Musings of a Bookshop Girl. We came back with far more books than we may have intended but since some of them were from swapping amongst ourselves from piles of books weeded out of our collections, I reckon it's alright. 
Day 1 of the Road Trip is Here
Day 2 of the Road Trip is Here
I was rather daft and didn't actually take any proper photos while I was with Jess and Ellie so I apologise and next time we meet up I promise to document the trip more thoroughly :P

The Month to Come
Well this may be a busier month than I'm expecting since although my University classes don't actually start until early October I'm going to move into my flat two weeks early in the hopes of getting some work done to refresh my memory of the last year and maybe, possibly, god-I-Hope-so get myself to a point where the workload of this year won't completely overwhelm me. Here's to good intentions *raises glass*
I don't quite know where my reading will go this month but I want to read more of my own books since I have 150+ on my TBR pile so I need to buy less and read more :P *snort* Is it possible that I can limit my book purchases for the month of September to 10? for purely must-have books i.e. Spy Glass and some others that I can't remember.
In terms of what's happening on the blog this month, who the bloody hell knows? I have plans for some posts supposed to go up later this week but depending on how long they take me to type up I may only manage one before I go off the grid while I'm in London. I'll do a post (or several perhaps) about my trip with the darling bf and show off some photos of our adventures round some awesome museums and with any luck massive bookstores :P

So goodbye August, I'm sure you were supposed to be summery but Gods knows you failed miserably. I've got faith that September will be better both in respect to weather and books - with the haul I'm going to have waiting for me when I get home on Sunday I've got *plenty* of awesome books to tide me over to the start of Uni.

See Y'all Soon Folks
LadyV

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