IMM Back!

Get it? I'm backk? Like an IMM? *ahem*
Hellooo, bloggers! Boy, it’s been a long time since I’ve been here. But I really enjoyed my hiatus; I feel so rejuvenated! That may be due to the fact that I can have chocolate again, but who cares!

I hope y’all had a great Easter/Passover/spring break/whatever. Mine was awesome. I got about five pounds of chocolate for Easter, and I still have about half of it! Hurray for chocolate!
So anywhoo! Back to business! I figured an overdue IMM1 would be a good way to jump back in, so here’s the skinny on what I got, and from whence from it came, for the last forty days and nights.

From Ye Olde Library2:
My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent
Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Manchev
The Inheritance by Louisa May Alcott
Hold Still by Nina Lecour
Going Bovine by Libba Bray
The Dead and the Gone by Suzanne B. Pfeffer

In My Mailbox:
Roadkill by Rob Thurman, book 5 in the Cal Leandros series. I got this as an extra special goody from Perla of Imperial Beach Teens. Perla, you are made of awesome!

Okay, I know there’s more that I got over Lent, but I can’t for the life of me remember what it is. I’m sure it’ll come to me eventually. Or, you know, maybe it won’t. That’s cool, too.

Happy reading, y’all!

Footnotes_________________________________________
1  Kudos to The Story Siren for starting and promoting the IMM meme!
2  These are just the books I finished or am still currently reading from the library. I was so busy with Lent/Easter stuff that I just didn’t have time to read everything I wanted to and ended up sending back a lot of things unread. Shame on you! I know, I know.

Weekly Book Roundup (Feb #1)

Hurray for the postal service1!

IMM:

I won the following books from Sara of YA Vampire Books. She gave away $16 to spend at The Book Depository, and after much deliberation I chose...

For Zack Thomson, living in the Nicholls Ward isn't so bad. After his parents died, he developed strange and severe allergies, and the mental institution was the only place where he could be properly looked after. As strange as it was, it was home. He could watch as much television as he wanted; his best friend Charlie visited him often enough; and Nurse Ophelia--the prettiest no-nonsense nurse ever--sometimes took him bowling. Of course, that didn't mean he had it easy. His allergies restricted his diet to strawberry smoothies, and being the only kid at the hospital could get lonely. But it never once crossed Zack's mind to leave...until the night someone crashed through the front doors and told him to run. Now he's on a race for answers--about his past, his parents, and his strange sickness--even as every step takes him closer to the darkest of truths.

Meet Skulduggery Pleasant Ace Detective - Snappy Dresser, Razor–tongued Wit, Crackerjack Sorcerer and Walking, Talking, Fire-throwing Skeleton —as well as ally, protector, and mentor of Valkyrie Cain, a very unusual and darkly talented thirteen-year-old. These two alone must defeat an all-consuming ancient evil. The end of the world? Over his dead body.

I'm really excited to read both of these books! Skulduggery Pleasant is one of my favorite series; Landy is a riot! And Night Runner has been on my wish list for quite some time now. Thanks, Sara!

Library:

Three tales of supernatural love, each pivoting on a kiss that is no mere kiss, but an action with profound consequences for the kissers' souls:

Goblin Fruit: In Victorian times, goblin men had only to offer young girls sumptuous fruits to tempt them to sell their souls. But what does it take to tempt today's savvy girls?

Spicy Little Curses: A demon and the ambassador to Hell tussle over the soul of a beautiful English girl in India. Matters become complicated when she falls in love and decides to test her curse.

Hatchling: Six days before Esme's fourteenth birthday, her left eye turns from brown to blue. She little suspects what the change heralds, but her small safe life begins to unravel at once. What does the beautiful, fanged man want with her, and how is her fate connected to a mysterious race of demons?

When a meteor hits the moon, Miranda must learn to survive the unimaginable . . .

Bindy Mackenzie is the smartest girl at Ashbury High. She memorizes class outlines to help her teachers. She records transcripts of everything said around her. She offers helpful critiques for her fellow students. And she wears crazy nail polish to show she's a free spirit.
But then Bindy's life begins to fall apart. She can't stop feeling sleepy and she fails an exam for the first time ever. And--worst of all--she just doesn't care. What could be the cause of all these strange events? Is it conspiracy? Is it madness? Is it . . . murder?
Lots of people hate Bindy Mackenzie--but who would actually want to kill her? The answer is in Bindy's transcripts. The detectives are her fellow students. But Bindy has made every one of them into an enemy . . . and time is running out.

In Other News:

>It's February 6 and I've only finished one book! Curse you, Say Yes to the Dress and Golden Girls! You are seriously cutting into my reading time! Oh, well. I read 13 books last month, so that gives me a little wiggle room this month. I just can't believe it's Feb already. Le sigh, time doth fly when you're reading good books. Here's how my many reading challenges break down so far:

-Support Your Local Library Challenge: 3
-Bottoms Up Challenge: 2
-Debut Author Challenge: 01
-100+ Reading Challenge: 14
You can see the official list, find links for reviews, and see how far behind I'm falling on my challenges here. For a good laugh, click here. For a chance to cast your vote in an age old debate, click here.
>J. D. Salinger, author of Catcher in the Rye, one of my favorite books, passed on a week ago. I don't know what else to say on this matter except that we, as book lovers, have suffered the loss of a man who loved books as books. He spent 60 years fighting off Hollywood, protecting Catcher from having the life and soul sucked out of it in a movie. To honor the memory of this great writer, I'm going to reread Catcher and boycott the movie, if it comes to that. I really hope it doesn't get made into a movie, it just wouldn't be right. Firstly, Catcher isn't movie material. It's best read, not seen. Secondly, it was practically the man's dying wish that it not be put on film, so it would be just plain wrong to indorse that action with our patronage. Thirdly, I don't want to see Zac Efron or Taylor Lautner as Holden Caulfield. That just ain't right!

Question: What are your thoughts on Catcher (possibly) being made into a movie?3

footnotes___________________________________________________
1  Kudos to The Story Siren for starting and promoting th IMM meme!
2  Shame on me! I really should be farther along on this cheallenge.
3  I'm gonna ask a question at the end of my IMMs from now on to get things going in the comments. I got the idea from Good Golly Miss Holly, and decided to adopt the practice.

Weekly Book Roundup (Jan 23)

Wow, I haven't done of these in what feels like forever! I've kinda missed it, but the truth is that I just didn't have anything to write about for the last few week. I've been working my way through my personal library, so there was nothing to report, but this week was very good in the book department, it wasn't bad in other respects, either. It was just a good week. Okay, I'm just gonna get on with it and tell y'all what I got1!

Library:
Really good day at the library! I found a bunch of stuff I'd been wanting to read, and something I hadn't previousy heard of but turned out to be excellent!

A first novel of refreshingly original letters exchanged between teenage friends, refrigerator notes from a madcap mother, and darkly comic epistles from the heroine's internal voice of self-doubt.

The Association of Teenagers" is coming down pretty hard on Elizabeth Clarry. What is she to do when her best friend Celia keeps disappearing, her absent father suddenly reappears, and her communication with her mother consists entirely of wacky notes left on the refrigerator? And now, because her English teacher wants to rekindle the "Joy of the Envelope" in the "Age of the Internet," a complete and utter stranger knows more about Elizabeth than anyone else.
But Elizabeth is on the verge of some big changes. She is about to outgrow a friend, discover a great new friend, kiss the sexiest guy alive, and run in a marathon. Who needs "The Association of Teenagers" anyway?!
Jaclyn Moriarty's hilariously candid novel shows that the roller coaster ride of being a teenager is every bit as fun as it is harrowing.

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker–his classmate and crush–who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.
Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.

In the class of the high school English teacher she has been haunting, Helen feels them: for the first time in 130 years, human eyes are looking at her. They belong to a boy, a boy who has not seemed remarkable until now. And Helen—terrified, but intrigued—is drawn to him. The fact that he is in a body and she is not presents this unlikely couple with their first challenge. But as the lovers struggle to find a way to be together, they begin to discover the secrets of their former lives and of the young people they come to possess.

Me: Lucas Swain—I'm nearly sixteen years old and live in London. I was fairly normal until the night I found Violet. Then everything changed.

The Missing: Dad. He disappeared five years ago. Nobody knows what happened to him, and nobody cares except me. It's enough to drive you crazy.
The Dead: That's Violet . . . in the urn. Speaking of crazy—I know she's trying to tell me something, and I think it's about my father. . . .
A dead lady may not be much to go on, but my dad's out there somewhere, and it's up to me to find out where.
Click here for my review Me, the Missing, and the Dead.

Used Bookstore:
My used bookstore must've hired someone new ecause the YA section was immaculate! Usually it's sorta messy and overwhelming, but they cleared a bunch of titles that've probably been there since the last milenium2 and the place is sooo much easier to navigate. Within the first two minutes of browsing, I found the following:

Twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a seemingly ideal world. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver does he begin to understand the dark secrets behind this fragile community.

Click here my review of The Giver.

In perhaps her strongest work to date, Lois Lowry once again creates a mysterious but plausible future world. It is a society ruled by savagery and deceit and that shuns and discards the weak. Left orphaned and physically flawed, young Kira faces a frightening, uncertain future. Blessed with an almost magical talent that keeps her alive, she struggles with ever broadening responsibilities in her quest for truth, discovering things that will change her life forever.

As she did in THE GIVER, Lowry challenges readers to imagine what our world could become, how people could evolve, and what could be considered valuable. Every reader will be taken by Kira’s plight and will long ponder her haunting world and the hope for the future.

Catch-22 is like no other novel we have ever read. It has its own style, its own rationale, its own extraordinary character. It moves back and forth from hilarity to horror. It is outrageously funny and strangely affecting. It is totally original.

It is set in the closing months of World War II, in an American bomber squadron on a small island off Italy. Its hero is a bombardier named Yossarian, who is frantic and furious because thousands of people he hasn't even met keep trying to kill him. (He has decided to live forever even if he has to die in the attempt.)
His problem is Colonel Cathcart, who keeps raising the number of missions the men have to fly.
The others range from Lieutenant Milo Minderbinder, a dedicated entrepreneur (he bombs his own airfield when the Germans make him a reasonable offer: cost plus 6%), to the dead man in Yossarian's tent; from Major Major Major, whose tragedy is that he resembles Henry Fonda, to Nately's whore's kid sister; from Lieutenant Scheisskopf (he loves a parade) to Major -- de Coverley, whose face is so forbidding no one has ever dared ask him his first name; from Clevinger, who is lost in the clouds, to the soldier in white, who lies encased in bandages from head to toe and may not even be there at all; from Dori Duz, who does, to the wounded gunner Snowden, who lies dying in the tail of Yossarian's plane and at last reveals his terrifying secret.
Catch-22 is a microcosm of the twentieth-century world as it might look to someone dangerously sane. It is a novel that lives and moves and grows with astonishing power and vitality. It is, we believe, one of the strongest creations of the mid-century.

And that's what I got this week! A really good week.
Happy reading,
Zombie Girrrl
footnotes_____________________________________________________
1 Kudos to The Story Siren for starting and promoting the IMM meme!
2 Where did the books go, you wonder? Two pallets worth went to the local Goodwill. Where will I be going soon? You guessed it. I'm following the books!

Weekly Book Roundup (Jan #1) + Happy New Year!

I hope y'all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! Mine was great! I got a couple books for Christmas that I'm really excited about along with my favorite movie Star Trek! if you aven't seen it yet, I highly recommend you do so now. Anyway, here's what I got last year1!

Christmas:

Betrayed by Lili St. Crow from my parents. I'm so excited to read this! The first book was sooo good!

She's no angel . . .

Poor Dru Anderson. Her parents are long gone, her best friend is a werewolf, and she's just learned that the blood flowing through her veins isn't entirely human. (So what else is new?)

Now Dru is stuck at a secret New England Schola for other teens like her, and there's a big problem— she's the only girl in the place. A school full of cute boys wouldn't be so bad, but Dru's killer instinct says that one of them wants her dead. And with all eyes on her, discovering a traitor within the Order could mean a lot more than social suicide. . .

Can Dru survive long enough to find out who has betrayed her trust—and maybe even her heart?

Arch Enemy by Frank Beddor from my aunt and uncle. This is the third book in the Looking Glass Wars trilogy, which is phenomenal! This will be the perfect thing to read after I finish Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol; that's what I've been reading whilst on my internet sabatical2. It's fairly fabulous; very much like a dream and the telling is so innocent. It reminds me what it was like being little, how your mind worked when you were a kid.

The Heart Crystal’s power has been depleted, and Imagination along with it. The people of Wonderland have all lost their creative drive, and most alarmingly, even Queen Alyss is without her powers. There is some comfort in the fact that the vicious Redd Heart seems to be similarly disabled. Amazingly, she is attempting to team up with her enemy, Alyss, in order to reclaim Wonderland from King Arch. Alyss might have no choice but to accept Redd’s overtures, especially when she begins to receive alarming advice from the caterpillar oracles.

In My Mailbox:

Not an hour after I announced my aforementioned sabatical, the mail came and I found that I had three special deliveries!

From Perla of Imperial Beach Teen Blog I got the Cal Leandros series books 1 through 4. I've already started the first two, and they were fantastic! I can't wait to review them!

In New York, there's a troll under the Brooklyn Bridge, a boggle in Central Park, and a beautiful vampire in a penthouse on the Upper East Side. Of course, most humans are oblivious to this, but Cal Leandros is only half-human. His father's dark lineage is the stuff of nightmares-and he and his entire otherworldly race are after Cal.

He and his half-brother Niko have managed to stay a step ahead for three years, but now Cal's dad has found them again. And Cal is about to learn why they want him, why they've always wanted him...

From Brittlit of The Reading Nook I got a hardback of The Van Alen Legacy by Melissa de la Cruz. I enetered this one with a friend in mind, I haven't read this series, so I was really excited that it came before Christmas3.

I also got a Christmas card from Sarah of Sarah's {random} Musings. Thanks, Sarah!

In Other News:

*My parents loved the tapestry! My mom even cried. I can't post the whole thing online because, as I said before, it spells out our last name in naval signal flags, so doing so would be unwise. But I will post a picture of one flag- as soon as I figure out how to upload them.

*Rating Reads has launched! I'm sure y'all have noticed that I like to give a content rating in my reviews (most of the time), well, now there's a blog that does nothing but that! There's a month of work behind what you'll see if you head over there and check it out..

*I had a very good Christmas. I spent it with my family, as I always have, and we had a lot of fun. My new year was also really good. We spent the whole day cooking up a real Mexican dinner; we made enchiladas, pico de gallo, gaucamole, sopapillas, empenadas, rice, beans, tortillas, and the pies de resistance, tamales! Well, the tamales were mail order, but who actually makes them from scratch anymore, anyway! The last person in my family to do it was abuelita.

*I've already knocked one off the ol' 100+ Reading Challenge! My official post will be coming soon.

Well, that about catches y'all up! I had an excellent mini vacation, but it's time to get back in the swing of things! Expect reviews for The Devouring, Nightlife, and Moonshine either this week or the next.

Happy reading,

Zombie Girrrl

footnotes_______________________________________________

1  Kudos to The Story Siren for starting and promoting the Imm meme!

2  It's not the only thing I read, though. Variety is the spice of life, after all. I also read The Devouring on Sorry Night. Ooh, spooky!

3  Yes, I gifted a free book. She'd been dying to read it, though, so it was just really good timing.

Weekly Book Roundup (Dec #2)

It's time to see what I got this week1!

IMM:
I won Best of... Ect.2 in the ginormo Halloween contest hosted by Donna at Bites for my zombified hands! It didn't really fit into any other category, sorta like myself. I couldn't choose between two of the books on the prize list, so I asked Donna to surprise me, and she gave me The Devouring by Simon Holt. I've already read the first five chapters of this, and so far I'm liking what I'm seeing! This is only my second horror book3, unless you count R. L. Stine, which I don't, and I think I'm hamdling it rather well. I haven't had any nightmares yet and I haven't developed a fear of the dark!

In Other News:

*Velvet of vvb32 reads is having a fantabulous contest that ends December 31. The prize? Your choice of book 1, 2, or 3 of The Hunger Games trilogy! Yes, you read that right! You could win the third book in the series, The Victors by Suzanne Collins! And that's not all, well, it is for that contest, but there's another contest going on at her blog that's worth taking a gander at as well. Velvet is also giving away a copy of Rot by Michelle Lee. Be sure to check out both of her awesome giveaways!

*Again, I feel like I'm forgetting something... Oh, well! It will come to me in a day or two, and then I can post again4!

*Oh-ho! I just remembered what it was! If you will please direct your attention to the left-hand sidebar, directly under the review system, you'll see that I now have a button! Hurray! Thanks go out to Kate of The Neverending Shelf for posting a tutorial on how to make your own button, and also to Dahlia of Dahlia's Eclectic Mind for helping me work out the kinks. Kate has posted six tutorials on how to customize your blog, and I highly recommend you check them out!

Happy holidays,

Zombie Girrrl

footnotes___________________________________________________

1 Kudos to The Story Siren fo starting and promoting the IMM meme!

2 Yes, I won by default, but a win is a win in my book, so let's not rub it in, please. =P

3 Gasp! Only my second horror book?! Wait, that can't be right... Okay, so it's possibly my second horror book, I'm not sure what some of those zombie books were. Okay, maybe it's my third because Strange Angels was horror... Then what was WWZ? Oh, who cares! The point is, I don't read a lot of books that were written for the express purpose of scaring you. Reason: I don't typically like being scared. Weird, right? But this one sounded really cool! I couldn't resist! Okay, this is turning into a post within a post, so I'm gonna cut myself off now.

4 It's so sad, but I only ever manage to post twice a week! -_-'

Weekly Book Roundup (Dec #1), Awards, & a Review Amendment

Finally! A week that didn't whiz by! This one sorta crawled for me...
Anywhoo, time to see what I got this week1!

Gifted:
Orchid is truly made of awesome. She won two copies of Medina Hill and gave me the second copy! I'm really looking forward to reading and reviewing this book because the story sounds interesting and the cover is so cool!

In the grimy London of 1935, eleven-year-old Dominic Walker has lost his voice. His mother is sick and his father’s unemployed. Rescue comes in the form of his Uncle Roo, who arrives to take him and his young sister, Marlo, to Cornwall. There, in a boarding house populated by eccentric residents, Marlo, who keeps a death grip on her copy of The New Art of Cooking, and Dominic, armed with Incredible Adventures for Boys: Colonel Lawrence and the Revolt in the Desert, find a way of life unlike any they have known. Dominic’s passion for Lawrence of Arabia is tested when he finds himself embroiled in a village uprising against a band of travelers who face expulsion. In defending the vulnerable, Dominic learns what it truly means to have a voice.

Library:
I haven't been to the library in awhile because I've been trying to read down my TBR pile, but I was having withdrawals, so this week I went. I feel like I was gone too long because they moved things around while I was away! I made for the YA section, but it wasn't where I left it! They moved it from the back corner to a bank of shelves right across from the desk; I think they had to put it in a more prominant place so they could keep an eye on them. They've had trouble with vandalism in the past and it's my thoery that someone was stealing books from the back corner.
Anyway! What I got! I got The Red Necklace by Sally Gardiner and The Devouring by Simon Holt.

An exciting, romantic novel set against the feverish backdrop of the French Revolution.

Clever and head-turningly attractive, fourteen-yearold Yann is an orphan who has been raised in Paris by Têtu, a dwarf with secrets he has yet to reveal to the gypsy boy. It's the winter of 1789, and the duo have been working for a vain magician named Topolain. On the night when Topolain's vanity brings his own death, Yann's life truly begins. That's the night he meets shy Sido, an heiress with an ice-cold father, a young girl who has only known loneliness until now. Though they have the shortest of conversations, an attachment is born that will influence both their paths.
And what paths those will be! Revolution is afoot in France, and Sido is being used as a pawn. Only Yann will dare to rescue her, and he'll be up against a fearful villain who goes by the name Count Kalliovski, but who has often been called the devil. It'll take all of Yann's newly discovered talent to unravel the mysteries of his past and Sido's and to fight the devilish count.

________________________________________________________

"When dark creeps in and eats the light,

Bury your fears on Sorry Night.

For in the winter's blackest hours,

Comes the feasting of the Vours,

No one can see it, the life they stole,

Your body's here but not your soul..."

THE VOURS: Evil, demonic beings that inhabit human bodies on Sorry Night, the darkest hours of the winter solstice.
When Reggie reads about the Vours in a mysterious old journal, she assumes they are just the musings of an anonymous lunatic. But when her little brother, Henry, begins to act strangely, it's clear that these creatures exist beyond a madwoman's imagination, and Reggie finds out what happens when fears come to life.
To save the people she loves, Reggie must learn to survive in a world of nightmares. Can she devour her own fears before they devour her?
The Devouring is an engrossing tale of terror that will have you wondering: what if your worst fears became your living nightmare?

Awards:
It's been a week of tough guy awards! Stormi over at Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My! has given me the Honest Scrap Award, which I've already passed out before, and Taschima of Bloody Bookaholic has deemed my blog to be kick "butt". Thanks, guys! These are two very cool awards!

The rules: Pass this award on to five blogs that you think kick it and say why. Sounds easy enough!
1. YA Vampire Books! Sara was kind and considerate enough to answer a question I had about the content of a book. Thanks, Sara! This is why you kick butt!

2. The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia! You always send your extra books my way, and thus you are kick butt!

3. La Femme Readers! Eleni promotes new authors, which is fairly kickin' by itself, but she's also one of the nicest bloggers there are!

4. Dahlia's Eclectic Mind! Dahlia is a snappy dresser. Just kidding! I mean, she is, but that's not why- Okay, let me start over! Dahlia is one of funniest people I know and the person that introduced me to blogging! You are kick butt, D! 

5. Bites! Donna had the most fun contest for Halloween in which the entrants were encouraged to be creative! We wrote stories, made art, and shared our scariest moments; it was a lot of fun and the stories were really good! For inspiring bloggers to embrace their creative side, Donna is kick butt!

There's a lot of other kick butt blogs and bloggers out there, but I'm a stickler for rules2, so five it is!

In Other News:

*The Save Amanda Feral Campaign is an effort to save an adult urban fantasy series featuring snarky zombies and such from getting the ax. The problem: this reportedly witty and snarktacular read was published as a trade paper back3, which has been the death of many a paranormal/fantasy series4. To combat this problem, author Mark Henry is having a contest to get the ARCs of his third Amanda Feral book into the trusty hands of reviewers like YOU5! It ends at midnight on December 14th, so go, go go!

 *YA Vampire Books is having a contest right now. You could win $16 to spend at The Book Depository! It's open to all countries that TBD ships to, which is a lot, and it raps up on December 31st.

*I've been thinking about my review of Snap a lot these last few days, and I think I sold it short. It still gets two zombies, but I missed its possitive qualities! This happens sometimes; I'll read a book and it will take me a few days for me to fully appreciate it. Usually this isn't a problem because typically I wait three days between reading and writing the review, this time, however, I was crunched for time and I thought the right of the book. Rating them is easy for me, I usually know by midway what I'm gonna give a book, it's the act of actually reviewing the book that gives me trouble sometimes. What I'm realizing of late is that it was actually a very nice book. It told the story of a girl who had her fair share of faults, but by the end of the story had grown through hardship into a mature(er) individual. Madison's struggle was something that we all, at some point or another, can relate to. The crux of the issue was that the paranormal aspect was wrapped up so neatly at the end that I was feeling short changed. Snow had it set up for some major drama at the end, but balked at the last moment and opted for a sugary, happy ending. And that's my review of the ARC of Snap  by Carol Snow!

* I just know I'm missing something, but I can't for the life of me think what, so I guess that's it!

Happy reading,

Zombie Girrrl

footnotes______________________________________________________

1  Kudos, as always, go to The Story Siren for starting and promoting the IMM meme!

2  Not really, but I am sorta lazy. ;)

3  As opposed to mass market paperbacks which retail for about 6 bucks, trade paperbacks go for about $13. You can see why this might be a problem, right?

4  Or so I hear.

5  You know, if you review adult lit. I'm not entered because it sounds too... mature for my taste.

Weekly Book Roundup (Nov #4)

Good gravy, how time doth fly! Time to see what I've acquired this week1!

Library:

This book was recommended to me by Dahlia. She claimed it to be "a riot", and I find myself in complete agreement with her assesment thus far.

Meet Skulduggery Pleasant

Ace Detective

Snappy Dresser

Razor–tongued Wit

Crackerjack Sorcerer

and
Walking, Talking,
Fire-throwing Skeleton

—as well as ally, protector, and mentor of Stephanie Edgley, a very unusual and darkly talented twelve-year-old.

These two alone must defeat an all-consuming ancient evil.
The end of the world?

Over his dead body.

In Other News:
*Holy moly, I've cracked the 100 followers mark2! Huzzah! I logged on this morning, and there they were! 110 loyal followers3! Thanks, y'all! Hopefully I'll have the shipping fundage to thank you properly in the near future.
*I've been featured on The Story Siren's lovely Fresh Face Friday meme! Thank you, Kristi!!! Also featured was an array of impresive new-to-me blogs as well as one I'm very familiar with, Pirate Penguin Reads! Yay, Sandy!
*I may be the last to have noticed, but there's already a fun challenge lined-up for the fast approaching new year: The 2010 100+ Reading Challenge!

I'm looking forward to participating in this one! It sounds easy enough, but that's two books a week! Lately, I've only been able to manage to one a week, so we'll see. Do you think comic books count?
*YA Vampire Books has just cracked the 40 follower mark and is having a celebratory contest! One winner will get $16 to spend as they see fit at The Book Depository4! YA Vampire Books is a blog about all things vampire, and spotlights one vampire related thing a week- be it books, TV shows, or movies. So what're you waiting for, my darling fanged kiddies? Head on over this instant and check it out!

Happy reading,

Zombie Girrrl

footnotes______________________________________________

1  Kudos to The Story Siren for starting and promoting the IMM meme!

2  Has anyone else noticed the "gotta catch 'em all" mentality of follower collecting? It's like Girl Scout badges. But fear not, little ones, I'll not fall prey to the collector's mind set nor be swayed by the hoarder's wiles! I'm just pleased that several someones find my blog worthwhile.
3  Of course, I'm only assuming you're all loyal. I suppose some of you may just be following because all the cool kids are doing it. It may have absolutely nothing to do the content, layout, or my sparkling personality5!

4  Have you been to TheBookDepository.com? International shipping is FREE and some new titles are up to 50% off! They even have hard to find foreign covers for some books! I think I'm in love!
5  Blame the blatant egotism on Skullduggery Pleasant. He's a very self-assured individual, and it does tend to rub off.

Weekly Book Roundup (Nov #3) Plus Awards!

Time to see what I got this week1!

Gifted:
My good friend Orchid was kind enough to pass along a few duplicates to me! She gave me the first three Maximum Ride books2! Thanks, Orchid!

Awards:

Ohh La La Award:
I'm super excited to accept this award from Heather of Gofita's Page. Merci beaucoup, Heather! This award is si jolie3! Aside from passing it on, I also get to answer a few questions!

Where is your favorite place to read?
Outside, but only it's not too sunny as I tend to burn, and not too windy because I don't like my pages to blow, and not too cold because I don't like layers. On second thought, an arm chair's good. But only if it's by a window because I prefer natural light, and it doesn't rock because it gives me vertigo, and... :} I also like reading while walking.

Bookmarks or dog ears?
Bookmarks! To dog ear a good book is sacrilige! If I don't have a bookmark handy, I just leave them lying open. This habit drives some people nuts, though I really don't see what the big deal is.

What's the best book you've read so far this year?
Ooh, toughy! The first thing that comes to mind is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, nd since I don't wish to torment myself, I'll just stick with that.

Do you like to snack while reading, and if so, what is your favorite snack?
Not really. I do like to have some water near at hand, though.

Book borrower or book collector?
Both. Half of my TBR list is borrowed books, and I'm a total book hoarder. I like to squirrel them away around the house so I'm never far from something to read.

Nominies:

Pirate Penguin
Teens Read and Write

Park Avenue Princess
The Story Siren
Dahlia's Eclectic Mind
The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia
The Tainted Poet
Bloody Bookaholic
vvb32 reads
La Femme Reads

Congatualtions, y'all!

I also recieved a few awards from Dahlia of Dahlia's Eclectic Mind! Thanks, D!

Let's Be Friends Award:
Blogs that receive the Let’s Be Friends Award are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers.

Nominies:

Park Avenue Princess
Dahlia
Orchid
Eli
Eleni
Taschima
Velvet
Allysa
Sandy
Heather

Dahlia also gave me the Kreativ Blogger Award and the Zombie Chicken Award, but I've already recieved these in the past, so I'm not gonna pass them on again.


In Other News:
My first contest has come to a close! Thank you a million times over, Park Avenue Princess for the help and the promotional opportunity! And thanks to everyone who entered and all my new and old followers! You guys rock! I hope it's not too long a wait for my next contest.

Bonne lecture4,
Zombie Girrrl

footnotes_______________________________________________
1 Kudos to The Story Siren for starting and promoting the IMM meme!
2 The first three Max books are definitely my favorite. I think he went too far with the fourth and fifth books.
3 so pretty
4 Happy reading

Weekly Book Roundup (Nov #2)

It's that time again, time for me to share what I've acrued this week1!

IMM:
This week something wonderful came in my mailbox; a 6lb box of books, swag, and Halloween goodies from Katie of Katies Book Blog. It was like a slightly belated birthday present, and I tore into it with the zeal of a five year old! Inside was the following:

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (ARC)
Never Cry Werewolf by *** (ARC)
Devil's Kiss by *** (ARC)
Snap by Carol Snow (ARC)
Danial X by James Patterson (PB)
The Dark Devine nail polish and soundtrack2
Hush, Hush book plate sgined by Becca Fitzpatrick3
various bookmarks including one for Meridian signed by Amber Kizer
2 Oh. My. Gods. buttons4
You Are So Undead to Me t-shirt5
a foot-long pumpkin pen
a ghost lamp
2 glow-in-the-dark wrist bands
2 mini note pads
a bouquet of Blow Pops
a pumpkin Pez despenser
1 pair fuzzy purple socks6
And... I think that's it!

Major thanks go out to Katie for having such an awesome Halloween bonanza! BTW, she's having another awesome contest as we speak! She's giving away Need by Carrie Jones! The contest ends Nov 20, and there's a link on my sidebar. -->

In Other News:
The results are in, and 43% of you had it right! I am now 22 years old! Whoo! I don't know what some of you were thinking, 15 to 17?! As if! I remember when the Macarena was invented8!
Thanks to everyone who voted and all well wishers. ^-^

Happy Reading,
Zombie Girrrl

footnotes_______________________________________
1 Kudos to The Story Siren for starting and promoting the IMM meme!
2 The nail polish is seriously my favorite shade of purple, and the soundtrack is sooo good! I think I've mentioned before how much I love book soundtracks; it really gives you a feel for where the writer's mind was at, so I now have a pretty good idea (I think) of what happens in The Dark Devine.
3 This went straight into my copy! I squealed when I saw that.
4 The one with the winged shoes now resides on the grey leopard spotted cardigan I got for my birthday.
5 More squealing. I'm currently reading this book, so now I can read and wear it!
6 These made me giggle. They're really handy, though, because my feet are like ice cubes. They're like corpsickles. ^-^
7 Not sure I should be bragging about that...

Weekly Book Rounup (Oct #3, #4, & Nov #1)

Sooo much to catch up on! I've been lazy in the IMM department these last few weeks, but no more! Here's what I've gotten for last three weeks1!

Library:
Nothing much to report on this front as I've been trying to shorten my TBR pile. It has gotten rather out of hand of late. I did get Catcher in the Rye a couple weeks ago, though. I love that book! Holden is awesome, and one of my new favorite characters. Expect a full review in the near future.

In My Mailbox:
I won Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll from Velvet in an Easter egg contest she had during Alice in Wonderland Week. She also threw in a box of Chocorooms2 from the Catapillar. Thanks, V! I've set Alice aside to be my Christmas read3.
I also won a Leviathon postcard signed by Scott Westerfeld (!!!) from Celia. Thanks, girl!
From Fatastic Book Review, I won a signed copy of Soulless by Gail Carriger, which came straight from the author! She wrote, "Best read with tea!" inside. So true! Thank you, Tina and Miss Carriger! This book was fantastic and hilarious!
I also won a crisp new copy of Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick from Cindy over at Simple Life and Reading. Thnaks, Cindy!


In Other News:
~Don't forget to enter MY FIRST CONTEST EVER! One lucky winner willl have their choice from five of my all time favorite books!
~Also, Dahlia is celebrating her 1 year blogoversary right now, and there's a copy of Leviathon up for grabs, so be sure to head on over for that!!!
~It lives! My computer is back in action! Turns out it wasn't actually dead, it just had a massive stroke or something and lost all its memory. But fear not! It was backed up on a portable hard drive. I highly recommend you procure one for your computer, they are a God send4.
~It's my birthday (week)!!! Feel free to shower me in praise and well wishes, and don't forget to cast yor vote on my poll! ;)

Happy reading,
Zombie Girrrl

footnotes_______________________________________________
1 Kudos to The Story Siren for starting and promoting the IMM meme!
2 Chocoroom-chocoroom-chocoroom! New favorite word! Say it, it's fun!
3 It seems more seasonal than zombies or fallen angels.
4 Que heavenly choir.

Weekly Book Roundup (Oct #2) Plus Announcement

Is it Sunday again?!? I don't know where the times been going lately...
Anyhoo, here's what I got this week1!

In My Mailbox:
  I won the Catching Fire Giveaway at YA Book Realm, and the prize pack came in the mail this week from the publiser! I was so excited! I can't wait to read it! I need to trim down my TBR pile before tackling that, though.

2

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.

3

  YA Book Realm is now participating in the Cirque Du Freak movie giveaway, which I'm sure you've all seen around town. The prize includes the first three Cirque du Freak books by Darren Shan bound as one, and a locker mirror! There will be two winners, and it ends October 23, so head on over and enter today!

  In other news, Dahlia of Dahlia's Eclectic Mind is havuing her first EVER giveaway in the form of a (possibly annual) Blogoversary Pumpkin Carving Contest! The prize is your choice of the following:

  All you gotta do is carve a BOOK THEMED pumpkin and send her the pic! I'm one the esteemed "celebrity" judges, so aim to impress me! Y'all know what I like. ;)

Happy reading!
Zombie Girrrl

footnotes____________________________________________________
1  Kudos to The Story Siren for starting and promoting the fantabulous IMM meme!
2  The book looks very small, but it's just because the shirt is very large.
3  See? I'm swimming in it! And that's after I cinched the back! It's really comfy, though. :)