I Got Chilllllssss!

I'm going to try to refrain from being one of those annoying fifteen year old teenage squeak toys that insist on putting OMG twenty-seven different ways to get the point across that they are excited. I'm just going to say, I'm so friggin' stoked :) It's March ~ the month I've been waiting for since I found out they were making a movie of The Hunger Games. Get a life you say? Ha, you've obviously never read the books... You're life pushes the *hold* button when you're nose is in these books, and anyone who I've gotten to read these books knows EXACTLY what I'm raving about...

So don't judge, just read :)

I try to keep up with 'current events,' and when I say that I mean the latest info, trailers, clips, etc... when it comes to books or movies... But alas, I'm always about seven steps behind everyone else.. What can I say? I've got a day job and two men and three dogs (not to mention a very senile cat) to clean up after... I struggle constantly to keep up with my hobbies... So why am I rambling? Well, I came across this very chill-inducing trailer that I hadn't yet seen (although I'm sure most others have) for The Hunger Games and I just needed to share it...






 Impressed yet? I thought so...

  Happy Reading Everyone :)

 ~ Keely ~

2012 Book Blogger Recommendation Challenge

Usually, I pick my books at random based on what I've seen on other blogs, GoodReads, etc... I've never challenged myself based on a list that someone else created because reading is the one thing I have complete control over.. However, Reading With Tequila's list looks pretty enticing, so I think I'll give it a shot... 

 The Top 25 

1.  The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 
2. Divergent by Veroncia Roth 
3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 
4. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins 
5. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare 
6. Graceling by Kristin Cashore 
7. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare 
8. The Stand by Stephen King 
9. Delirium by Lauren Oliver 
10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling 
11. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 
12. Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini 
13. The Name Of The Rose by Umberto Eco 
14. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon 
15. The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal 
16. The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle 
17. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 
18. Enclave by Ann Aguirre 
19. Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson 
20. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead 
21. Poison Study by Maria V.Snyder 
22. The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
23. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Steifvater 
24. Dark Lover by J.R. Ward 
25. The Maze Runner by James Dashner

So, there are different levels to this challenge, giving the reader the option to read as little or as many books from the list as they'd like :

The Levels:
Level I - Read 5 books from the 2011 Book Blogger Recommendation List
Level II - Read 10 books
Level III - Read 15 books
Level IV - Read 20 books
Level V - Read 20+ books

And the Rules are simple:

The Rules:

• Challenge will run January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012. Participants can join anytime throughout the challenge.
• Create an intro post, linking back to this post. 
• Sign up with the MckLinky below. Please link to your challenge intro post, not your blog home page. 
• Chose your own books from the list. You can decide to read books only on the Top 25 list or from the entire recommendation list. You do not have to make a list of books before the challenge begins.
• All forms of books acceptable (audiobooks, eBooks, etc.)
• Rereads do not count towards the completion of the challenge. The challenge is about discovering books that are new to you.
• You don't need a blog to participate.
• Reviews, while always appreciated, are not mandatory.

I think I'll try Level III...  I've read quite  few of the books on there already, but most of them have been waiting patiently on my TBR list... If you want to sign up, check out Reading With Tequila's post here.

Happy Reading Everyone :)

~Keely~

Friday Finds

What great books did you hear about/discover this past week? Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS!

World War Z

Embrace

The Promise

Darkness Falls

The Haunting of Maddy Clare

Happy Reading Everyone :)

~ Keely~

March New Releases!

Holy Crap! It's March already? Sure is, and as I watch the 10-14 inches of snow we are supposed to get today pile up outside my office window, I wanted to share some new releases coming out this month:

                                     

                                   

So, I've only listed four here (click on the image to see what the book's all about), but if you want to look for something else, check out GoodReads expansive list here.

Enjoy!

Happy Reading Everyone :)

~ Keely ~

Article 5

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned. 

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes. 

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back. 

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard for her to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different. 

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow. 

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings—the only boy Ember has ever loved.

Article 5 is another of the increasingly popular novels of the apocalyptic variety ~ a genre that I've become obsessed with. The U.S. is no longer the 'land of the free,' but is oppressed by a government comparable to Puritan law. Ember, a regular girl trying to live as normal a life as she kind, finds her home and everything she knows ripped from her fingertips. It's only then she discovers how the world really is and who she needs to be to survive it. 

I'm not gunna lie, Ember had me ripping my hair out. She began as this completely naive little girl who thought any kind of violence was abhorrent even when the honorable Chase used it to keep her safe from trash who'd like nothing more than to rape and murder her. I wanted to slap her silly and throw her to the wolves if that's what she wanted. Her childish actions were, for lack of a better word, completely *annoying*, and I couldn't understand some of her ridiculous logic. However, to contradict my previous opinion, Ember grew as a character from a little girl blinded by the safety of her former life to a tough woman who stopped lying to herself and finally saw the world as it truly was. It was then I realized all her actions up until that point were based on the reality of her memories ~ she couldn't let go of her past until there was nothing left.

The relationship between Ember and Chase was...intense ~ but unlike a lot of novels I've read recently, it didn't feel forced or unbelievable. One of my favorite aspects were the triggered  flashbacks Ember experiences on her travels with Chase who, to Ember, seems like a completely different person. We get a chance to see how their relationship grew, how they were torn apart, and compare it to the tension between them now. It added that element of raw emotion that I can't get enough of, and in addition to the action, suspense, and horror, made for a very textured read.

This is obviously the first book in a series, and I have a feeling the next book is going to be even more exciting. As a debut novel, Kristen Simmons couldn't have done any better. Her writing style flows perfectly and I found myself unable to put it down. The storyline grows and evolves, taking you from one world to another, and the characters ~ big or small ~ are so believable and dynamic that it is impossible not to form a connection with them.

All in all ~ **Highly Recommend** 

Happy Reading Everyone :)