Naked - Elephant Trunk - Gossip!!! What do you think??

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Cambria @ CambriaHebert.com.

Each week there will be a new question to answer and share.  This is a great way for bloggers to get to know one another.

This week's questions - something fun: 

 Would you rather go about your normal day naked or fall asleep for a year?

My Answer: I'd hate to miss out on a year, so if push came to shove and I had to pick one, I'd go around naked for a day!  I could deal with it, but I am not sure how everyone else would.  Considering I am a teacher, I'd hope this happened in the summer!!!!  

Would you rather be gossipped about or never talked about at all?

My Answer:  I would prefer to be gossiped about - at least I have done something to get noticed!!  Thinking about the first question, I am sure that would give people something to gossip about for many years to come!!!

Would you rather be born with an elephant trunk or a giraffe neck?

My Answer:  I think it would be better with an elephant trunk.  I want to be able to fit into the traditional houses and buildings, and with a long neck that could be difficult.  Wow!  what would a person do in a car with a giraffe neck?  They'd almost have to drive a convertible wouldn't they?  

These were quite interesting questions to ponder!!!  I'd love to hear everyone else's responses!!!  

Can a Series Go on Too Long?

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Cambria @ CambriaHebert.com.

Each week there will be a new question to answer and share.  This is a great way for bloggers to get to know one another.

This week's question: 

 At what point do you think a series has gone on too long? How long should a series be?

My Answer: 

What a tough question!!! And I guess to give it an honest response - it just depends on the book (story-line) and the characters.  

There are series books that I have read and just can't wait to get to the next one - I need more!!!  I mean, we all loved the Twilight Saga and Harry Potter - Right?  Growing up I absolutely loved the Little House books and of course A Wrinkle in Time series.  Lately I have only read the beginnings of series - those just starting out - patiently anticipating the next installment.  Some of those include the Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer (Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter) and the Katerina Trilogy by Robin Bridges (The Gathering Storm and The Unfailing Light).  

I can't say that I have read any series that I was ready for it to end, but there are those that I have read the first book or two and never went back - not necessarily intentionally not going back, just not drawn to seek the next one out.  

As far as how long should a series be, I think I would say 3 - 5 books.  I really enjoy trilogies, and sometimes a few books past that are just needed.  But again, I really think it comes back to the story-line and characters.  If the author really knows how to put it together, the series might go on for quite a while.  But most generally I think that the author knows when they are done with the story.  

What are your thoughts on series books?  

Do You Buy Books Based on the Cover?

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Cambria @ CambriaHebert.com.

Each week there will be a new question to answer and share.  This is a great way for bloggers to get to know one another.

This week's question: 

 Do you buy books based on the book cover?

My Answer: 

Yes, sometimes I do.  Sometimes the covers are so attractive that I cannot pass them up.  think about all the recent covers: there are those that have had girls with such beautiful gowns.  Then there are those that just have intriguing scenes - maybe a castle in the background and gorgeous backdrop. I find fascinating those that just "pop" out at you with the image of a brightly lit eye - colored to stand out. How about ones with a hot looking guy on the cover - actually, I don't do this one so much!!!  

There are books that have simple, insignificant covers that have nothing to do with why I am reading the book.  Sometimes these simple covers go along with the content, and other times, I think to myself "what were they thinking with that cover?"  

There are times however, that I have read the book not knowing what the cover even looks like - the are usually e-galleys, PDFs, or sometimes an old book I have received from a friend.  Usually these come with recommendations, or I have read a blurb about the book and it just sounds great - grab it sight unseen!!  The fun thing with these, I don't have any pre-conceived images in mind, so I am more free to put my own twist on things.

What do you think?  Do you buy books based on the book covers?

Do you think YA books should have ratings?

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Cambria @ CambriaHebert.com.

Each week there will be a new question to answer and share.  This is a great way for bloggers to get to know one another.

This week's question: 

 Do you think YA books should have ratings?

My Answer: 

What a great question - one that really makes me think!  

My first thought was, I'd like to say no, because if it is for a young adult audience, shouldn't the author gear it there appropriately?  But then I got to thinking, a young adult audience is so very vast in age group.  And depending on the maturity of the individual, the content could be vast as well.  

In saying this, now I'd have to say yes.  It would be a grand idea to place some type of rating system in place for not only YA novels, but all novels.  My thoughts on a rating system is a little different though than what would be considered a "rating" so to speak.  I was thinking more like listing the type of content that could be encountered:  graphic violence, sexual content, adult language, etc.  

I hate to tell I teen that they can't read a book, when we as teachers have such a hard time getting many of them to read to begin with.  Also, many of the classics that we encourage students to read have what might me considered offensive material.  I think if we get too far in a rating system, we could be looking at the banned book issue again!  I'd hate that thought!!!

I guess a rating system could get a little crazy, but they do it for movies, why not books.  And as I commented above, I don't think it should be limited to YA.  I don't think it would hurt to do it to all books.  That way a reader could pick it up and see if it is truly the type of content they wish to read.  Sometimes the blurb on the back or inside cover does not pick up on all of the possibilities.  The blurb is there to attract a reader, not to warn them.  

So many thoughts going on in my mind, but I don't want to ramble - so I will stop with that.  

I'm anxious to see what others have to say!!!

What are your thoughts?

Favorite TV Show

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Cambria @ CambriaHebert.com.

Each week there will be a new question to answer and share.  This is a great way for bloggers to get to know one another.

This week's question: 

 Let’s talk TV! What are your favorite shows?

OK, so I'm a little ecclectic with my TV watching!!  Actually, I'm kinda all over the place.  We actually have the TV on most of the time - sometimes just for company - even if we aren't watching it.  I think I'd be lost without it - I know I would.  We actually had a few months when our TV was broke, and I thought I'd lose my mind - but hey, I did get more reading done!!!!

So, some of my favorite shows:  



CSI - All of them!!!  I am addicted to these shows - even watch the repeats!!!!

How about some reality TV?  There is so much to choose from.  Some of my recent favorites:  The Voice, Design Star, and Food Network Star!!

A few other odds and ends - Ice Road Truckers, Saving Hope & House.  


And this only scratches the surface!!!! 


I guess you can say I'm a TV addict at times.  However, this time of year, I tend to slack off the TV so I can get outside!

So, what do you watch?  What are some of your favorite TV shows?

Summer Must Reads

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Cambria @ CambriaHebert.com.

Each week there will be a new question to answer and share.  This is a great way for bloggers to get to know one another.

This week's question: 

What is your list for Must-Read this summer?

My list consists of books both for review, as well as those I just want to read!!!

The Queen's Vow: A Novel Of Isabella Of Castile by C.W. Gortner 

Fairy Metal Thunder (Songs of Magic #1) by J.L. Bryan

Open Minds (Mindjack Trilogy #1) by Susan Kaye Quinn

Grace by T. Greenwood

Frost (Frost #1) by Kate Avery Ellison

The Secret of the Scarlet Stone (Gabby Girls Adventures #1) by T.L. Clarke

Blood Oath (A Gabby Girls Adventure Novel, #2) by T.L. Clarke 

Fractured Light (Fractured Light #1) by Rachel McClellan

The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson

Beneath the Slashings by Michelle Isenhoff 

What are you reading this summer????

Summer Plans

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Cambria @ CambriaHebert.com.

Each week there will be a new question to answer and share.  This is a great way for bloggers to get to know one another.

This week's question: 

Summer is approaching! Tell us a few of the things you are excited to do.

RELAX!!!!  

Yes, my plan for this summer is to relax.  I don't know why, but this school year has been really hard on me.  My stress level is to the max, and it is time to relax.  

Now, what does that me for me?  

I'll probably do a lot of reading!!!  Well, not probably!  - There will be a ton of reading going on! - Some in the sun, some in the air conditioning, and anywhere else I see fit at the time!!!

I'll be spending some time with my grandchildren!  Love my time with them!  It doesn't matter with we are doing - it is just about the time we get to enjoy one another!!!!  And, with a granddaughter set to arrive in August - I'll have some shopping to do!!!   Yeah!!!

Remodeling will also be taking place too.  Now, this does not involve much relaxation, but in the end, Troy and I will be able to have a nice place to do some relaxing later!!!

That's my plans for now!!!  Care to share yours?

If I Could Spend the Day with a Book Character.........

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Cambria @ CambriaHebert.com.

Each week there will be a new question to answer and share.  This is a great way for bloggers to get to know one another.

This week's question:  

If you could spend a day with a book character who would it be and what would you do?

Wow, what a tough question!!!  I have so many that I'd like to visit, and for so many different reasons.  I have thought about a character that would just be plain fun to hang out with, then I have thought about historical characters - because I have always had a fascination for history, and I have even thought about weird, odd-ball characters - just because.  

Who would I visit?  I finally decided to just keep it simple - but pull something from an older book.  I would thoroughly enjoy spending a day with Claudia and her brother, Jamie, from From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

Why?  This book is so fun!!!  Claudia and Jamie run away from home - but they aren't really running away, so much as running to something.  They run to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Could you imagine taking up residence in a museum?  

I always complain that I never have enough time to really check out the displays in a museum.  Again, I am totally fascinated with history and the such.  I could spend all my free time in a museum!!  To actually spend a day living there, in my opinion would be AWESOME!!!!!

So, it isn't so much about who I am visiting here, as where I am going!!!!  However, I do think that Claudia's thoughts into selecting where they were running to were quite interesting!  I think I would have fun with her and Jamie.  

Who (or where) would you visit?

What Animal Would I Be?

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Cambria @ CambriaHebert.com.

Each week there will be a new question to answer and share.  This is a great way for bloggers to get to know one another.

This week's question:  

If you could be any animal, which would you be?

I really had to mull this one around in my head for a while.  I thought about being something tough - a bear, a cougar, a lion.  Then I started thinking about something sweet / cute:  a baby seal, a little bird, a koala.  But I kept coming back to the same unequivocal answer - a cat!!!

I watch my cats all the time, and am always saying, "what a life!"  They have it so easy. 

• they demand attention - and get it
• they can be moody - and we still love them
• they make messes - we clean them
• they lounge around whenever they want - boy would I enjoy that!
• they play when they want - even more fun!
• and they are just so cute!!!
• The one downside is what they eat, but I know my cats, and they do snag some pretty good morsels now and then!!!

So, not such a bad life there, huh?  

Now, tell me what animal you would be.

Tell Me Something Tuesday - Favorite Sidekicks

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Cambria @ CambriaHebert.com.

Each week there will be a new question to answer and share.  This is a great way for bloggers to get to know one another.

This week's question:

Who are your favorite sidekicks in a book? (you know the main character’s BFF)

This one's a tough one.  I honestly cannot recall many sidekicks in the books I have read lately.  

There is one odd sidekick that stands out, now that I think about it:

Xerxes - the walking stick in The Rock of Ivanore.  

He was given to Marcus to guide him through his quest.  He would "come to life" when he needed him, but in the end, Marcus had to figure things out for himself!  He was quite an unusual character - and actually my favorite character in the book.

You can read my review by clicking on the cover above.

Tell Me Something Tuesday - Favorite Heroine

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Cambria @ CambriaHebert.com.

Each week there will be a new question to answer and share.  This is a great way for bloggers to get to know one another.

This week's question:

Who is your favorite heroine (in a book)?

1.  Lina from Between Shades of Gray by by Ruta Sepetys.

Lina is a fifteen year old Lithuanian girl living during the time of the Soviet occupation of the Baltic States (at the same time as the Holocaust).  While the Holocaust is a time that most everyone knows about, The occupation of the Baltic States is just as tragic, but very few people know about this devastating event.  Lina survives her horrific ordeal to later go on a build a future and have children.

2.  Katerina from The Gathering Storm (Katerina Trilogy #1) by Robin Bridges.

Katerina learns she is a Necromancer - she can raise the dead.  What a huge secret to live with!!  She not only learns to accept her fate, but is able to use it in a positive way.

3.  Nikki from Halflings (Halflings #1) by Heather Burch.

Nikki is unknowingly targeted by some evil force. She has to face attacks around every corner, but luckily she finds herself in the company of some very handsome "hot" protectors called Halflings.  In the end she has to make some very difficult choices that could have an impact on  the survival of the human race!!!!

4.  Genevieve from Ties To The Blood Moon by Robin P. Waldrop.

The book begins with Gen losing her mother in a tragic house fire.  So she moves in with her aunt.  Soon after moving in with her aunt, Gen learns of a huge family secret and the life she is dealt.  She must go on a very dangerous journey in order to save the life of those she loves.

5.  Marissa from Undertow by Callie Kingston.

Marissa has had a very hard life - problems with her mother and her ex, Drake, both of which have betrayed her.  She goes to the beach to escape and almost dies at the hands of a rogue wave.  She is rescued by a gorgeous creature.  She becomes obsessed in finding her savior to the point of almost losing herself.  

I'd love to hear about your favorite heroines!  

Share your link or heroine in the comments below

Coming in April: Masquerade Read-Along

Masquerade by Cambria Hebert

Would you like to take part in a read-along?  Well, I've got one for you to check out -  Masquerade by Cambria Hebert. This read-along is hosted by Mostly Reviews, Rainy Day Ramblings, Five Alarm Book Reviews, Candace's Book Blog, and of course Cambria Hebert.  It runs from April 1 - April 28.  Each week we will read 8 chapters, and then on Thursdays - starting April 5th, we will make posts discussing that week's questions.  If that sounds like fun, click on the image above to take you to the sign-up page.

Summary:  

Before. Everything was so much better Before. I wasn’t haunted by nightmares, my place at school was secure and my face was flawless. Now, I’m a freak and everything has changed. The worst part is that I can’t remember the night I was sentenced to the shadows. The memory has been stolen from me and I just can’t shake the feeling that someone, something is out there -watching. 

Just when I think I have my life handled, Sam, with his intimidating golden stare and shiver inducing voice, makes me realize that I don’t know anything. He makes me see that my scars don’t matter. That they never mattered. I can’t help but fall for him, completely unknowing that he knows exactly how I got this way. Not knowing he was involved. 

*** 

Heven has no idea how closely death stalks her. She has no idea what I have done to keep her alive. I fear the day she learns my secrets, finds out what I really am. But even then I cannot stop, I vow to make things right. Finally her hunter will be hunted, Heaven and Hell, faith and sin will battle, and we will be victorious. But first, Heven must learn to be what she never imagined. I know her strength is there – I feel it. If we are to overcome all odds, she must push past her flaws - her frailties - to become much more.

Read Along Schedule

April 5th – Chapters 1-8 – hosted by Stephanie at Five Alarm book Reviews http://www.fivealarmbookreviews.com

April 12th – Chapters 8-16 – hosted by Candace at Candace’s Book Blog  http://www.candacesbookblog.com

April 19th- Chapters 16-24 –hosted by Heidi at Rainy Day Ramblings http://www.rainydayramblings.typepad.com

April 26th - Chapters 24-31 – hosted by Veronica at Mostly Reviews http://www.mostlyreviews.blogspot.com  

May 3rd – Announcement of Giveaway Winners – hosted by the author – http://www.cambriahebert.com

AND -  there will be prizes!!!

The giveaway will be open to all who participate in the read along each week. There will be a Grand Prize and a Runner up prize pack.

Grand Prize:

A signed paperback copy of Masquerade

A PDF ARC of Charade (Heven and Hell #2) (Not pictured)

An Ecopy of Between (A Heven and Hell novella due out in April) (Not pictured)

Two signed Bookmarks

A Bubble Tea pack to include everything you need to make and enjoy your own bubble tea. (tea mix, colored tapioca pearls, fat straws and a drinking cup)

A custom necklace with a book charm on it featuring the Masquerade Book cover!

Runner Up:

A signed Bookmark

A sticker of the Masquerade cover

A copy of Between (A Heven and Hell Novella) (Not pictured)

A $10 Amazon gift card (Not pictured)