Tag Archives: postaday

Spam

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Sometimes, I get spam comments.  Sometimes, they are hilarious, and I have no idea why it just occurred to me to share some of them.

The first one is in reference to my review of Illuminate.

I’ll get my complaints out of the way. I hate resort fees. It’s so deceiving, you think you’re getting a good deal then you’re hit with a $25 or sometimes even more resort fee. Why can’t they just do a straight forward price? That’s why I like booking with Harrahs properties.The other bad thing? Our room keys stopped working after a housekeeper walked in at 10pm. Okay, first of all, if I wasn’t so tired from walking around and not having slept the night before, I would have flipped out and called management on her. She had no business in our room and didn’t even do a courtesy knock, just slipped her key in and let herself in our room. WTF?!This is also the first hotel I’ve stayed at where they don’t have a double lock on the door that will let you prevent such housekeepers from disturbing your privacy even though you already have the do not disturb sign hanging on the door knob.Now that that’s out of the way, here’s what I liked:- Newly renovated rooms! Comfy bed, oh my! Flat screen and rather beautiful decor. Love the shades, we left it open so when I woke up at the crack of dawn, I enjoyed the view.- Grand Pool: wow, wow, and another wow. Considering that this is the first time I’ve ever been to a Vegas pool, I was rather impressed. Multiple pools and a lazy river? Yes, please!!! We took a lap at the lazy river and it was really fun. We didn’t even have floaters, just walked and sometimes swam and floated. All their pools are 3 1/2 feet deep from what I saw.- Take the customer survey. Not only do they give you a 20% off on your next stay, you might even get a reply addressing your concerns from their management. Right now, they are undergoing renovations and are pushing reservations by offering 15% off and free buffets with two night minimum stays.Sorry MGM, can’t say I’m a fan of your resort fees!

I don’t even know where to start with this, but it amused me to see complaints about MGM.  Thank you, search engine marketing, for the few minutes of entertainment you have given me.

So, the other spam comment is this one, a comment on my Top 10 Beach Reads.

After reading plenty of of your blogposts I staleness say i launch this fact one
to mostly be top notch. I soul a weblog also and require to repost several shears
of your articles on my own diary site. Should it be alright
if I use this because eternal I own testimonial your web blog or create a inward unification to your article I procured the snipping out of If not I realise and could not do
it without having your tolerance . I change accumulation scarred this article to sound and zynga calculate intended for
remark. Anyway realize it either means!

If I didn’t know where to begin for the last one, I really have no idea where to start with this nonsensical comment.  Seriously.

I think I’ll be sharing random spam comments periodically.  And Happy July 4th!

Top 10 Books For People Who Like Laurie Halse Anderson

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Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by the lovely people over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, people from all over post their own top 10 lists based on the topic of the week.  You can find previous Top 10 Tuesdays here.

Top 10 Books For People Who Like Laurie Halse Anderson

I love, love, love this topic!  In fact, it’s not only my favorite one that I’ve done, but it’s the one that’s been the easiest.  I love Laurie Halse Anderson, and I’ve been a fan of hers ever since I read Speak in high school.  I love how real her characters are, and how she writes about different issues in an honest, very real way.  Speak was really the book I had in mind for this post, so pretty much every book was chosen in relation to Speak.

  1. Hate List by Jennifer Brown.  This is the first book I thought of, and it’s a book that I’m still thinking about months after reading it.  It’s an intense emotional book, but the characters were so real and I felt like I knew exactly what they were going through.
  2. After by Amy Efaw.  I liked that Efaw wrote about teen pregnancy and the consequences of child abandoment.  The plot is why I’m recommending it to Laurie Halse Anderson fans- she doesn’t seem to be scared to write about things that teens might be going through.
  3. Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott.  I can’t get this book out of my mind. At all.  Again, it’s not something I would think of teens going through, but I’m sure it happens.  I felt like it was a pretty realistic portrayal, which is why I recommend it.
  4. Don’t Breathe A Word by Holly Cupala.  I know this is a book Anderson fans will like, and it’s because of Joy.  She’s a great character, and her feelings of suffocation are something fans of Speak and Wintergirls will relate to.
  5. Looking For Alaska by John Green.  This is the first of 2 John Green books on the list.  This one is recommendedto Anderson fans because Green writes great characters that are so easy to relate to.
  6. Exposed by Kimberly Marcus.  This one made my list simply because it deals with rape in a different way than Speak.  You see that things are not always black-and-white, and fans of Speak will definitely like this book.
  7. By The Time You Read This, I’ll Be Dead by Julie Ann Peters.  This book makes the list because of what Melinda and Daelyn go through at school. It wasn’t easy at school for both girls, and I think that’s something that fans of Anderson will like about this book.
  8. Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omololu.  So I’m not done with this book yet.  But based on what I’ve read so far, I think this is a book that would be a good read for Anderson fans.  It definitely makes the list because of how Omololu dealt with hoarding.  I really like Lucy, and how she’s hiding this terrible secret that could come out at any minute.  It definitely reminds me of Melinda and how she kept her rape a secret.
  9. North Of Beautiful by Justina Chen Hedley.  Now that I think about it, there’s something about Terra and Melinda that remind me of me.  Plus, they’re both great characters.  I think people who can relate to Melinda will like and relate to Terra.
  10. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green.  The other John Green book to make this, this one is included because of the colorful, interesting characters, and the way he dealt with an issue like cancer without making it cliche.

That’s my list!  What other books will Laurie Halse Anderson fans enjoy?

Audiobooks!

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Today, I’m taking a break from talking about music and podcasts and I’ll be talking audiobooks!

For the longest time, I didn’t like audiobooks.  Something about listening to them bothered me, and I just couldn’t get over the idea of listening to books. But my attitude towards them has changed.  If it means more people are reading, then I’m all for that.  And I listen to podcasts, so why not books?

The couple I’ve listened to had really good narrators, and while I take notes of what I’m thinking, it’s been kind of cool listening them.  I still have a few to get through, but I’m contemplating getting an Audible subscription.  I did get a free audiobook via The History Chicks.

As for buying them, I honestly don’t know if I’ll do that.  Between the library, and possibly audible, I think I’m good on audiobooks for now.  But if I find something I really like, I might end up buying it.  But we shall see, and I’ll definitely keep talking about them as I keep listening to them.

I just can’t believe it took me so long to listen to audiobooks.  Seriously.

Random t.v. thoughts: I watched the Olympic trials for female gymnastics over the weekend, and it was really exciting.  It was so sad to see Nastia fall on bars (twice!) and her fall the second night was so scary!  And it’s sad because bars is like, her event.  It was exciting to see Gabby Douglas and Jordyn Wieber make the team, but not surprising.  But sad to see Nastia not make the team.  It looks like a good team, and I can’t wait until the Olympics start!

Have a lovely Monday!

Vixen

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Book: Vixen by Jillian Larkin

Book Info: Published by Listening Library, Inc.; downloaded from Overdrive Media via the public library

Genre: YA/Historical Fiction/Romance

Find out more: Goodreads~Barnes And Noble~Amazon

Goodreads.com Summary: Jazz . . . Booze . . . Boys . . . It’s a dangerous combination.
 
Every girl wants what she can’t have. Seventeen-year-old Gloria Carmody wants the flapper lifestyle—and the bobbed hair, cigarettes, and music-filled nights that go with it. Now that she’s engaged to Sebastian Grey, scion of one of Chicago’s most powerful families, Gloria’s party days are over before they’ve even begun . . . or are they?
 
Clara Knowles, Gloria’s goody-two-shoes cousin, has arrived to make sure the high-society wedding comes off without a hitch—but Clara isn’t as lily-white as she appears. Seems she has some dirty little secrets of her own that she’ll do anything to keep hidden. . . . 
 
Lorraine Dyer, Gloria’s social-climbing best friend, is tired of living in Gloria’s shadow. When Lorraine’s envy spills over into desperate spite, no one is safe. And someone’s going to be very sorry. . . . 
 
From debut author Jillian Larkin, VIXEN is the first novel in the sexy, dangerous, and ridiculously romantic new series set in the Roaring Twenties . . . when anything goes.

I liked the idea of Vixen more than I liked the actual book.  I was immediately reminded of The Luxe by Anna Godbersen..but in the 1920’s instead of the 1890’s.

I didn’t like most of the characters, because they felt very fake and very modern.  They didn’t fit into the time period, and it felt more like they were pretending to live in the 1920’s.  Lorraine was very petty, Clara couldn’t make up her mind about who she wanted to be, Gloria was (more often than not) an idiot, and Marcus kind of disappeared.  I thought Jerome, a piano player, and Vera, his sister, were the most realistic of the bunch.  Overall, the characters were really boring, cliche and super spoiled and bratty.

It also felt like there was no reason for why they acted the way they did.  Like the various romances and crushes: it felt like they were just there to move the story along.  A couple things felt out of place, like Clara’s story about donating her hair to a Locks Of Love-type charity and Marcus and Gloria’s friendship.  It just didn’t seem to fit with the 1920’s.

Speaking of the 1920’s, I just loved it as a backdrop for a YA novel.  I loved the descriptions of the clothes, the hair, the make-up and the speakeasies.  I also liked how there were 3 different narrators.  While their stories didn’t intersect as much as I thought, it still worked well for the novel,

I also liked the narrator.  While she didn’t vary her voice too much for the different characters, I still thought she did a great job narrating.

Overall, it gets a 2 out of 5.  I liked the time period, but I didn’t really care for the characters.

Suite Scarlett

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Book: Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson

Book Info: Published by Brilliance Corporation; downloaded from Overdrive, via the county library

Genre: YA/Contemporary

Find out more: Goodreads~Barnes And Noble~Amazon~Maureen Johnson

Goodreads.com Summary: Her new summer job comes with baggage

 Scarlett Martin has grown up in a most unusual way. Her family owns the Hopewell, a small hotel in the heart of New York City, and Scarlett lives there with her three siblings – Spencer, Lola, and Marlene.

When each of the Martins turns fifteen, they are expected to take over the care of a suite in the once elegant, now shabby Art Deco hotel. For Scarlett’s fifteenth birthday, she gets both a room called the Empire Suite, and a permanent guest called Mrs. Amberson.

Scarlett doesn’t quite know what to make of this C-list starlet, world traveler, and aspiring autobiographer who wants to take over her life. And when she meets Eric, an astonishingly gorgeous actor who has just moved to the city, her summer takes a second unexpected turn.

Before the summer is over, Scarlett will have to survive a whirlwind of thievery, Broadway glamour, romantic missteps, and theatrical deceptions. But in the city where anything can happen, she just might be able to pull it off.

I thought Suite Scarlett was just okay.  High school me probably would have loved it, but unfortunately, 26 year old me did not.  There was something that made me think of The Suite Life of Zach and Cody.

The story itself was kind of interesting- a rundown hotel that’s not doing too well.  We only learn a handful of things about the hotel, none of which stuck with me.  The characters were boring, and while I thought the relationships between Lola, Scarlett and Marlene were interesting, their relationship with their brother Spencer got annoying.

By the end of the book, I was pretty annoyed with both Spencer and with Eric, who is Scarlett’s not-boyfriend.  They both acted like idiots, especially Eric.  Mrs. Amberson was over-the-top, but she probably had the most depth out of everyone.  What is a little sad is that we don’t know a lot about Scarlett, even though she is the main character.

As for the narration itself, it was okay.  The narrator did pretty well with the voices, and while her voice got really annoying by the end of it, her voice is how I would imagine Scarlett’s speaking voice.  Still, I’m glad I listened to it, because otherwise, I might have given up on it.

It gets a 2 out of 5.  It was just okay, and while I’m slightly curious as to how things work out for the Hopewell Hotel and its inhabitants, I won’t be rushing out to read the next book anytime soon.

Living Dead Girl

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Book: Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Book Info: Published by Simon Pulse; 170 pages; hardcover; borrowed from the library

Genre: YA/Contemporary

Find out more: Goodreads~Barnes And Noble~Amazon~Elizabeth Scott

Goodreads.com Summary: “Once upon a time, I was a little girl who disappeared.

Once upon a time, my name was not Alice.

Once upon a time, I didn’t know how lucky I was.”

When Alice was ten, Ray took her away from her family, her friends — her life. She learned to give up all power, to endure all pain. She waited for the nightmare to be over.

Now Alice is fifteen and Ray still has her, but he speaks more and more of her death. He does not know it is what she longs for. She does not know he has something more terrifying than death in mind for her.

This is Alice’s story. It is one you have never heard, and one you will never, ever forget.

I thought Living Dead Girl was amazing.  It was heartbreaking, and so hard to put down, even when I wanted to.

It was beautifully written, and Scott didn’t waste a single word in Living Dead Girl.  You know exactly what things are like for Alice and you get a clear picture of what it’s like for her in the years that she’s been kidnapped.  It’s definitely an emotional book, and you can’t help but feel sad, horrified and angry all at the same time.

I thought the really short chapters worked well for the book.  As for the ending, I liked that it ambiguous, because you get to decide for yourself what happens.  A little more closure would have been nice, especially since it’s such a short book.  But in general, I’m pretty happy with the ending because it did fit with the novel.

I’m not sure how accurate Alice’s experience is, but it did feel very real, and Scott does a great job of making it feel so real, like it could happen to anyone.

Overall, it gets a 5 out of 5.

Don’t Breathe A Word

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Book: Don’t Breathe A Word by Holly Cupala

Book Info: Published by Harper Collins Publishers; 320 pages; purchased for my Nook

Genre: YA/Contemporary

Find Out More: Goodreads~Barnes And Noble~Amazon~Author Website

Goodreads.com Summary: Joy Delamere is suffocating…

From asthma, which has nearly claimed her life. From her parents, who will do anything to keep that from happening. From delectably dangerous Asher, who is smothering her from the inside out.

Joy can take his words—tender words, cruel words—until the night they go too far.

Now, Joy will leave everything behind to find the one who has offered his help, a homeless boy called Creed. She will become someone else. She will learn to survive. She will breathe… if only she can get to Creed before it’s too late.

Set against the gritty backdrop of Seattle’s streets and a cast of characters with secrets of their own, Holly Cupala’s powerful new novel explores the subtleties of abuse, the meaning of love, and how far a girl will go to discover her own strength.

I really, really liked Don’t Breathe A Word.

I liked the flashbacks, and slowly learn why Joy ran away from home to live on the streets.  The runaway element was really interesting, and I thought it worked well.  It’s sad to think that running away made Joy (and the other characters) feel safe, that it was their only option.  The idea that living on the streets is safer than living at home?  It makes me feel so sad for all the people who are actually living that life.

I really liked Joy, and I get why she felt so suffocated.  I could definitely relate to that.  She was very vivid, as were all the other characters.  I liked some characters (how could you not like Creed) and others I hated (Asher and Jesse anyone).  They didn’t feel fake or cliche.  In fact, I really liked that they were all so different, and yet some of the characters had a lot of similarities.

I give it a 4 out of 5.  The runaway aspect was interesting and unique, and I loved the characters.

Top 10 Characters Who Remind Me Of Myself

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Top 10 Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every Tuesday, people from all over share their lists based on the topic of the week.  You can find past Top 10 Tuesdays here.

Top 10 Characters Who Remind Me Of Myself 

I struggled with this list a little.  I had no problem coming up with characters, but as to why I was reminded of myself…that was where I ran into some problems.  There were characters I connected with, and I was reminded of myself, but I couldn’t put it into words.

  1. Hermione Granger from Harry Potter.  The love of reading and knowledge is something that I love about Hermione.  It’s something I see in myself, and I think it’s why I love her so much.  Plus, there’s the whole bushy hair thing.
  2. Joy Delemere from Don’t Breathe A Word.  This one is still on my mind, since I finished it a few days ago.  There have been times when I felt like I was suffocating…I think it’s something a lot of people can relate to.
  3. Honor from In Honor.  I’m not sure what it is about Honor that reminds me of me.  Maybe it’s the fact that she went on a roadtrip to fulfill her brother’s wish and go to the last Kyra Kelly concert.  I’d like to think that I would do something like that, but when it comes down to it, I know what it’s like to lose a close family member.
  4. Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter.  I have a little bit of Luna Lovegood in me, but really, I just want to be more like her.  I can be random when I want to, but I’m not a Luna kind of random.
  5. Evie from Paranormalcy.  This one isn’t terribly serious, but she’s on this list because she loves all things pink and sparkly.  Nothing better than things that are both pink and sparkly.
  6. Terra Cooper from North Of Beautiful.  What I like about Terra was her desire to be anywhere but where she was.  I definitely know what that’s like, and I think that’s why she’s on this list.
  7. Daelyn Rice from By The Time You Read This, I’ll Be Dead.  I saw a lot of myself in Daelyn.  I know how it feels to feel so depressed that you can’t see anyway out, and I could relate to Daelyn a lot.
  8. Emily from The Pact.  I could relate to Emily in the same way I related to Daelyn.  Granted, I’ve never been in Emily’s situation, but I do know where she’s coming from and I could understand her thought process so well.
  9. Lily Owens from The Secret Life Of Bees.  Lily is another character that reminded me of me, but not knowing what it is about her that drew me in.  I think it’s the fact that she found home in an unlikely place, which is something I seemed to latch onto when I first read it.
  10. Zara from Need.  This one is pretty superficial.  But I’d like to think that reciting phobias and what they mean (or something equally as random) is something I would do.

Do these characters remind you of anyone you know?  What other characters do you see in yourself or someone you know?

The Listening Continues

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Remember when I talked about how I downloaded a bunch of lectures from iTunes?  I finally started listening to some of them.  It’s about time, because they’ve just been sitting there, not being listened to.  Plus, I got through my podcasts pretty fast this week, needed to something to listen to, and then remembered I downloaded a bunch of stuff from iTunes U ages ago.

So, I’ve been listening to The Sociology Of Mass Communication.  It’s interesting, and since they’re all like an hour and a half-ish, it’ll take me a while to get through them.  Plus, I get to learn stuff.  It’s the only one I started listening to, but for now it’ll work, because it will take me a while to get through the entire class.  But it’s nice to have something to listen to when it’s a light podcasting week or I want something different.

Audiobooks!  For the longest time, I couldn’t get into audiobooks.  But I’ve downloaded a bunch from the library, and the one I’m listening to right now is pretty good.  I’m not sure if I’m an audiobook fan yet, but by the time I get done with the ones I have, I’ll have a pretty good idea.

Oh!  I liked last weeks experiement, where I hit shuffle and talked about the first ten songs that played.  I think I’m going to randomly do that, because it was a lot of fun.

That’s all the music “news” I can think of for now…have a wonderful Monday!

How’s Camp Going?

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So, June is almost over and I haven’t talked about Camp since I blogged about how I was going to do Camp NaNo.  There is a reason why I haven’t talked about it.

And that’s because I only wrote a few hundred words earlier this month.  So…Camp hasn’t been happening.  Perhaps I’ll give it a go in August, which should give me some time to come up with an idea and characters in everything.  Which reminds me…I should probably figure out what I’m going to write in November.  Before October would be preferable.  But with the way I procrastinate, I’ll probably figure it out in October.

I know I want to try my mermaid idea again, but I’ll definitely have to change it a bit from last year.  Especially now that I’ve read a lot more YA, and feel more comfortable actually writing something YA and paranormal.

Maybe I could work on NaNo during Camp NaNo?  Like work on a different character every or specific thing every day?  Oh, who am I kidding, I’m more of a pantser than anything else.  But maybe it’s worth a try…for once.

It should be fun, and I’ll definitely be talking about any progress I make.