A Southern Kind Of Challenge, Ya'll...

I decided that as soon as I finish all of the Hunger Games books and my nightmares cease...I will need to step way far away from anything resembling dystopia...so I am joining the lovely Kathy of Bermudaonion for her Southern Challenge!!!  I am proud to annouce that I will be on the "tater" level...or on the East Coast..."potato" level...

So...this should be a fun reading adventure!!!

Check out her blog for information and directions.

A Fabulous Fall Challenge...

I really think that I am going to do this...a relaxed informal Fall Reading Challenge...here is my list of books...all Kindled and ready to read!!!

The Frenzy by Francesca Lia Block

Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey

The Winds Of Heaven by Judith Clarke

Ascendant by Diana Peterfreund

I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett

Museum Of Thieves by Lian Tanner

Torment by Lauren Kate

The Exiled Queen by Cinda Williams Chima

Into The Woods by Lyn Gardner

Up From The Blue by Susan Henderson

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Luthiel's Song by Robert Marsten Fanney

The Crescent by Jordan Deen

Seers Of Light by Jennifer DeLucy

Hourglass by Claudia Gray

The Cookbook Collector by Claudia Gray

Knightley Academy by Violet Haberdasher

Hearts At Stake by Alyxandra Harvey

ghostgirl by Tonya Hurley

Firelight by Sophie Jordan

So...that is my proposed list...I will try to stick to it unless other books pop up and take my attention away from this list.  I thought that it would be easy for me to read at least two books a week.  I am the blogger/reviewer/reader that can only read one book at a time...I hate audiobooks and do not like to be distracted by reading multiple books...I cannot do it...I like to choose a book and read it and revel in it and say good bye to it when I am done.   I think that is why I have yet to write a bad book review...I love the books I read...

I am not sure if that is a good or bad thing...



I Am Sort Of Speechless...

I am not going to write a review of Hunger Games.  I am just going to say that it was such a mesmerizing book.  As I wrote in an earlier post...I didn't really get it when everyone else was reading it.  And the posts of readers spending an entire day reading Mocking Jay...did not even begin to stir any interest in this series.  I just finished the first book...loved it and am now reading the next one.  Suzanne Collins is a tremendous writer, she is a genius...I would compare her creativity to some of my favorite young adult authors including J. K. Rowlings and Stephenie Meyer and Diana Peterfreund and Maggie Stiefvater.  It was just a thought provoking book.  I read about events that were appalling to me and ate up every word.  I cheered and praised the bravery of Katniss and the character of Peeta and I am anxious to find out what is in store for them and the people of District 12.

Not Your Ordinary Backyard Birdie...

Shock and awe...about five of these amazing creatures just flew off of my roof today to soar over the pond...this is a three story house and I heard them walking? tramping? stomping? soaring? and scaring all of the other birds into scattering all over the place!!!  They are native to our area and seem to know when the pond is low and fish are more visible.  The other day a brown eagle dove into the pond...literally into and under the water and up again...empty handed.

Last Chance For Prizes!!!

Last call for this amazing contest...I will send five names to Cynthia Roberts on October 1st...

I have no clue how to do random.org so I will be pulling 5 lucky names out of my hat!!!

Good luck to everyone...her prizes are fantastic!!!

Cute And Huggable...Not These Unicorns!!!

Diana Peterfreund has managed to scare me to death. I no longer think of unicorns as stuffed sparkly fluffy toys with satiny soft horns. Cuddly and cute…sherbert colors…those were the unicorns I was familiar with. The unicorns of Rampant are different kinds and breeds with one important key thing in common. They are killers. They have fangs sharper and scarier than any dragon or dinosaur. The horns are poisonous and deadly. They can be huge and they can be as small as a miniature horse. They kill everyone and everything in their sight…they are definitely not vegetarians or even flexitarians.

The story revolves around Astrid and her mother Lilith. Astrid’s mom is obsessed with unicorns and has been for most of Astrid’s life. She researches them and tells Astrid that she is a great unicorn hunter by gift of her birth.

But…when Astrid’s boyfriend, Brandt, is stabbed by a unicorn in the backyard of one of Astrid’s babysitting families…Astrid is sent to Rome to live in a convent and actually learn how to become a real unicorn hunter…that means bows, arrows, little sharp knives and more.

This story is an amazing adventure. It is one of those quest adventure tales. Astrid will discover many things about herself as she grows into the role of the best unicorn hunter ever.

It is hard to summarize this story because it sort of sounds vastly unbelievable and slightly fantastic. It is my first foray into this kind of YA Fantasy and it was a true adventure for me. There is just so much action in this book all within a great story. There are actually lessons to be learned as this book is read. We learn much about the lives of the young girls who come to the convent to learn how to be unicorn hunters. They must be and remain virginal or they can not be hunters. It was really fascinating to discover the personality of each hunter and what they would attempt to do to save people and destroy unicorns…

There is a second book in this series and in spite of my dreams

( nightmares )…I can’t wait to read it.