Friday Five: The one with CanLit Hunger Games and Book Trailers galore!

Inspired by the Friday Five lists on Sarah Dessen's blog.

1. Toronto's iconic bookstore, World's Biggest Bookstore, is set to close it's doors in February 2014. This makes me ridiculously sad and determined, as I have never been in this bookstore. I have now set a goal to get to that bookstore before it closes. Have you ever been? What have I been missing out on? -source

2. The Book Thief Official Trailer - yet another book that I must read before watching the movie. 

3. Holy movies from books Batman! How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff is stated to as "an exciting -- and occasionally graphic -- depiction of war, familial connection and the harsh realities of growing up too soon." -source

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4. Checkout the CanLit Hunger Games: Canada vs the World - 24 iconic characters created by Canadian and international authors face off -CBC

5. World Book Night 2014 titles announced - "World Book Night 2014 is launched today, with the announcement of 20 books that are to be given away free during the night of April 23, the UNESCO International Day of the Book." -source

Friday Five: The one with babysitters and evil witches.

Inspired by the Friday Five lists on Sarah Dessen's blog.

 

1. A bookstore in the woods? Sounds interesting - check it out over at Design Mom's blog.

2. Natalie Portman and the BSC? Love it! I adored the Baby-Sitter's Club books by Ann M. Martin as a tween and I guess I was not alone! "The writer’s name was Ann M. Martin and my friends and I would look in the phone book and call every Ann Martin trying to get her."-source

3. Looking for a fun giveaway? Why not check out the HOPPING BOXES Tour. The tour consists of
eight authors and their Boxed Sets with Excerpts, Character Bios, and Prizes. -source

4. I love the story of Sleeping Beauty and cannot wait to watch MALEFICENT.

5. Bringing Books To Life: An Interview With Audiobook Narrator Johnathan McClain AND a giveaway -via Good Books Good Wine

Friday Five: The one with six instead of five.

1. Lynn Coady wins the 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize for her short story collection, Hellgoing published by House of Anansi Press. -source

2. Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson is being turned into a movie and is set to release in 2014 - this should be quite a good thriller. I thoroughly enjoyed the book (and I still need to write my review of it). -via IMDB

3. What do you think of the New Adult genre? I'm just getting into it and have enjoyed the few books I've read (Wait For You, Ten Tiny Breaths, Foreplay), but I've noticed quite a few people who are unsure or dislike it. Let me know your thoughts in the comments or suggest some New Adult books for me to pick up. Read any paranormal or dystopian NA?

4. A great tutorial on how to format ebooks for different readers. I always wondered how to do this. -via Book Chick City

5. And some tips on how to READ MORE - via The Happiness Project

And a bonus.... 

6. Somehow I missed updating this one, but the new Christian Grey (Fifty Shades of Grey movie) is Jamie Dornan - thoughts??? -source

Friday Five: The one that's a day late

1. Book'd Out has a great post about negative reviews called: It's Not You, It's Me. Go weigh in.

2. Fictfact (a site to keep track of book series) - a wicked post by Nyx Book Reviews that tours you around and explains the Fictfact site.

3. Looking for a fun bookish Secret Santa to join for this upcoming holiday season - look no further! Broke & Bookish is hosting their 4th annual Secret Santa - SIGN UP HERE!

4. Speaking of holidays... I missed posting this fun bookish inspired Hallowe'en page - 18 Literary Pumpkins via Buzzfeed (My favourite is the Where The Wild Things Are pumpkin).

5. And lastly, check out these awesome literary scarves. I kinda want one for Christmas! via etsy ThornfieldHallDesign

Friday Five: The one with dictionary art and librarian confessions!

1. A great post about using your library: 7 Secrets to Maximizing Your Local Library and Saving Yourself a Ton of Money in the Process - written for Babble by Anna of And Then We Saved

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2. Oopsy - Kate Spade misspells Jane Austen on their newest handbag ironically named the Required Reading Index Organizer - via handbag.com

3. Guide to Goodreads by Brittany of The Book Addict's Guide

4. Check out these beautiful Art Dictionary Prints from HamiltonHousePrints - I love the peacocks, the elephant with butterflies and the vintage Alice in Wonderland prints -via etsy.com

5. Stumbled upon this librarian confessions site: Librarian Shaming -via The Book Vixen

Friday Five: The one with zombies, sexy bikers and kick ass Hallowe'en costumes!

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1. Even though I haven't read Fifty Shades of Grey, though I did pick it up and start reading it last night, I am saddened to see Charlie Hunnam bowing out of the movie adaptation. He is such a yummy biker in Sons of Anarchy and I was hoping to see him in something other then tattoos and biker leather. -Hollywood Reporter

2. Get your very own Literary Thumbprint from Cheryl Sorg's store on Etsy -via Book Patrol

3. This made me squee! Carrie Ryan has released a short story collection called: The Dead and Empty World. I need to get my hands on this ASAP! -via Carrie's Blog

4. The Best Hallowe'en Costumes from BOOKS! I love the creative choices like Piper Chapman from Orange is the New Black. -via BOOKish

5. I just listened to If I Stay by Gayle Forman on the weekend and about cried myself to death. I seriously love this book. My review coming later today. What did you think of this book? Did you like the sequel?

Friday Five (4): The one with Tom Clancy and Christmas!

Five awesome bookish things I learned this week.

 A week late, but I have an excellent excuse - I was on vacation in Mexico! 

1. Sadly, once back from Mexico I heard the news that Tom Clancy had passed away. I have yet to read one of his books, but I have watched all of the movie adaptations. Might have to add a Clancy book to my pile in the new year. -via CBC News
2. Book Buzz Toronto is being organized for November 7th! 
3. What do your bookshelves say about you? I am a mix between The Designer & The Conquerer -via CBC Books
4. A Bookish Christmas signups are open over at Oh, Chrys!
5. Richest authors in the world - interesting to see where some of our fave authors are in this list of 16 - via Business Insider

Friday Five (3): The one with bookish TV charactesr and hoarding all the books.

Five awesome bookish things I learned this week.

1. Julianne Moore joins the Hunger Games cast for Mockingjay as president Alma Coin. -Huffington Post

2. The Scotiabank Giller Prize will release the longlist on September 16th @ 8:30AM PST at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC. This year is the 20th anniversary of the Giller Prize. Other key dates to mark: shortlist announcement on October 8th and the winner will be announced on November 5th.You can keep up to date on this Canadian celebration of writer's by following on twitter @GillerPrize.

3. I found this great article about Book Collecting over at Tor.com - pretty much it gives the low down on the collecting books vs. hoarding them. "Collecting isn’t just hoarding—randomly accumulating lots of books is no bad thing, but collecting requires a slightly more strategic approach." -Jared Shurin

4. Bitten, by Kelley Armstrong, is going to be a TV show. It's going to be on Space in Canada and SyFy in the US. Check out Kelley's post about it and some FAQs she has written.

5. The Huffington Post listed the 13 Bookish TV Characters. Who did you think would make the list? They compiled this video series after seeing a list for Rory Gimore (of "Gilmore Girls") reading list challenge.

Friday Five (2): The one with book budgets, bucket lists and Taylor Swift.

The first time I had ever seen a Friday Five list was on Sarah Dessen's blog. When I had a livejournal account I pretty much did a Friday Five post every week about five random things that happened to me. But this time I'm going to list five awesome bookish things I learned during the week. So a big thanks to Sarah Dessen for inspiring this version of a Friday Five!

1. Beautiful Creatures Spin-off Series announced!   

The series kicks off with the enovella "Dangerous Dream," available for download on December 17, followed by the release of the first book, "Dangerous Creatures," on May 6, 2014. -Hollywood Crush

"Garcia and Stohl will participate in a live Twitter chat on Tuesday, September 17, at 4:00 p.m. PST/7:00 p.m. EST. Fans can ask questions about the new series using the hashtag #DangerousCreatures." -Publisher's Weekly

2. This is a great list of Books Set in Toronto. I love seeing what Canadian literature is out there - either by Canadian authors or books set in Canada. I might have to add a few to my wishlist. - Retreat by Random House

3. The Blogging Bucket List by Reading is My Treasure - I stumbled upon this cool concept of a bucket list for blogging - a bucket list is a list of things you want to do before you "kick the bucket." I love this idea. I just might need to make one up for my book blog.
4. I also found this inspiring feature - Book Budget that The Geeky Blogger's Book Blog started up as a way to keep track of spending on books and book related items. 

5. Time for CBC Books: Who Said It Quiz: Taylor Swift or Chuck Palahniuk? "Their outlooks on life, love and loss may appear to be closer than we initially thought. " I took the quiz and I scored 50%.

Friday Five (1): The one with Harry Potter spin-offs, 50 pages or bust and Four Seconds To Lose.

The first time I had ever seen a Friday Five list was on Sarah Dessen's blog. When I had a livejournal account I pretty much did a Friday Five post every week about five random things that happened to me. But this time I'm going to list five awesome bookish things I learned during the week. So a big thanks to Sarah Dessen for inspiring this version of a Friday Five!

1. The local librarian at my small county library writes a weekly post in the newspaper and one article caught my eye a few weeks ago about the 50 Page Rule - I jotted down the info and just finally looked it up. It's Nancy Pearl's Rule of 50 - pretty much give a book 50 pages and by then you should know if you are enjoying this book or not. It's worth a read and I think I will be using this rule going forward.

2. Canadian author, K.A. Tucker, releases cover reveal for Four Seconds To Lose - the third book in the Ten Tiny Breaths series. It's sent to release the ebook version on November 4, 2013 by Atria Books.

3. J.K. Rowling announces that she will be writing the screenplay for a Harry Potter spin-off. "The new film will feature Newt Scamander, the fictional author of the textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, owned by Harry Potter at Hogwarts school."- BBC News

4. Oyster - dubbed Netflix for Books! I keep seeing this site mentioned all over the blogosphere, but as I do not own an iPhones or iPods, I doubt I will be giving this a go yet. But if you want more details about this new site - check out my dear friend Brianna's post about it over at The Book Vixen.

5. Shakespeare retellings - good or bad? - Margaret Atwood has signed up to write a retelling of Shakespeare's The Tempest, while Howard Jacobson will be working with The Merchant of Venice, Jeanette Winterson will be retelling The Winter's Tale and Anne Tyler with The Taming of the Shrew. Now we wait for an author to sign up for retelling one of the great tragedies. -The Guardian

What do you think of my Friday Five post?

Friday Five

1. I completed one of the challenges I signed up for in late 2010. The YA-D2 (YA Dystopian) is done! I have fallen in love with dystopian stories.

2. I purchased and watched the He-Man & She-Ra Christmas Special this week. My boyfriend kind of laughed at me, but I love 80s cartoons. My favourites are She-Ra, Rainbow Brite, Rose Petal Place and My Little Ponies. I am thinking about trying to get some DVD sets of them.

3. Must still complete my Christmas shopping. I'm disappointed that I didn't get it finished sooner like I had planned. Guess there is always next year. At least my Christmas cards went out at a decent time this year.

4. Currently reading a Christmas themed book to try and complete the Holiday Challenge that Nely from All About {n} is hosting. Reading: Home in Time for Christmas by Heather Graham. EDIT: I actually put this one down... cannot get into it. *sigh*

5. I think next year I am buying EVERYONE books. I like spreading the joy of reading and sharing the passion I have. I'm pretty sure I can pick out books that everyone will like and it will make me happy to have one stop shopping as well or even not leaving the couch shopping as I can use the Book Depository to ship them! What a great thought.

Friday Five on a Saturday (4)

It's a little late, but I was exhausted last night and fell asleep with my laptop and my glasses on while reading an ebook in bed. *hehe*

1. The first exciting thing this week is that I am going to buy my new bookcase today. It's an early birthday gift from my boyfriend, Greg. *happy dance* I can't wait to go get it and rearrange the living room to set it up and get all my books on it.

2. Tonight I am going out for a lovely dinner with Greg, and my friends Sherri & Nathan. We are going to a fancy restaurant and then heading to FORT FRIGHT! I promise to take pictures at the Fort as they should be perfect for Hallowe'en posts.

3. I am excited to do my IMM post this weekend (probably do that tomorrow). I have some neat books this week.

4. My favourite uncle wrote me a lovely email about being proud of my blog and my love for reading. He even offered for me to come pick books from the 200+ he boxed up to donate. My jaw dropped.... he is keeping them in his garage until I can visit in December to scavange through the boxes to take my faves home with me. (I will probably post part of his letter this coming week - it was really nice to read and made me smile).

5. I am trying to catch up on my reading. I have a ridiculous amount that are in dire need of reviewing by November 8th. And my TBR pile just keeps growing.... I LOVE IT.

What are the five things you are proud of or excited for this week?

Update & Friday Five (a bit early)

Hey everyone! I hope all my Canadian friends and followers have a great Thanksgiving weekend this coming weekend. I will be MIA for a short time... probably until Sunday night. I have much to do before heading home for a quick visit with family.

So I decided to do my FRIDAY FIVE early. 

1) I just signed up for NetGalley - it looks interesting - though I would much rather read a book in print than on my laptop, but if I can get ARCs that way then I will try to get a few here and there. 

2) I really need to get caught up with my TBR pile - I have many reviews due shortly and some extra fun things to get ready for. So here's hoping this weekend goes smoothly so I can fit some reading in Sunday when I get back.

3) I'm working on what to do prize wise for my 100 follower giveaway... I shall post that shortly. It will probably Canada and US only. 

4) I am hoping to get my new bookcase this month (hopefully for my birthday from my BF). I want to organize all my pretty books. 

5) I created the new header you see on the blog and also made a "Grab My Button" button. Hope you all like it. I had a lot of fun making them. 

Have a happy and safe weekend everyone!

Friday Five

This week's Friday Five is really exciting for me!

1. I am at 48 followers tonight! Two more until I reach 50 - that is so exciting for me as I have not been blogging for very long. I have been giving it my all since I started and I am so happy to have a blog that is getting attention, while I get to do something I love - read and write reviews. I can't wait until I make it to 100 followers and I am well on my way.

2. Tomorrow morning I am driving from Kingston to Brampton to attend the Smart Chicks Kick It Tour! I have been waiting for this all month. I have a ton of books to get signed and am hoping that when I get home I will have a surprise to post on my blog. Oh and my boyfriend is coming with me - he doesn't want me to drive so far alone (since I have bad luck with cars).

3. I received a few fun items in the mail this week and can't wait to post my IMM for the weekend. Should be up on Sunday when I get home from Brampton. I received my first book for review!

4. I was contacted this week by some self published authors to read and review their books. This made me so giddy with excitement and they are not YA books, so finally people will see my eclectic reading style. I do love reading books from all genres, but have been stuck on a YA kick lately. So expect some reviews in the near future that are not YA related.

5. TGIF! I am so happy it's the weekend. I was off sick two days this week, so my week is all messed up and I am still not 100% better. So after the trip to Smart Chicks - I plan to veg all weekend in bed with a book!

Have a great weekend everyone!

EDIT: I MADE IT! 50 FOLLOWERS!

Friday Five

1. Today I picked up a copy of Beautiful Creatures in paperback... it's out and more affordable, so I can now read it. :) Plus, I am so excited because Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl will be on the book tour I am attending on September 25th!

2. I've been picking up copies of other authors books as well for the Smart Chicks Kick It Tour. I now have books from all the authors so I can get them signed! So excited!

3. I am so glad it is the weekend finally. I plan on reading a lot this weekend to get caught up. I have been in a reading funk the last two weeks, but I have a TON of books to read and get reviews posted.

4. Currently Reading - How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

5. If you could suggest one book for me to read - what would you suggest? I am very open to all genres of books - so it doesn't have to be YA.