Revival of the Stocking Stuffer Giveaway!!

We are reviving the stocking stuffer contest, because the winner never emailed me back.

So if you didn't enter before here is your chance to. And if you did you can enter AGAIN and have two shots and winning the prizes in the stocking!

What will you win you ask?

Two SIGNED Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick postcards

Two Soul Screamers by Rachel Vincent bookmarks

Two Iron Fey by Julie Kagawa promotional postcards

Some cutsey Barnes and Noble stocking stuffers

Enter below! And do it fast, this contest closes on January 6th 20110 and is OPEN INTERNATIONALLY!!



Keep it right here for the rest of The 30 Days of Bookmas!

xoxo and love always,
Shelbie and Amanda

Best Fictional Couple!

It's time for another award!! (be wary. this might contain some slight spoilers)

This one is for: Best Fictional Couple

Shelbie's Favourite Fictional Couple

Mae and Nick from The Demon's Lexicon/The Demon's Covenant

Not an actual couple. But I can only hope for the best and with the release of The Demon's Surrender next year I'm DYING to know what happens!

Amanda will have to let you know what her fav is, because I don't know.

Be sure to leave your award in the comments below and I will post tomorrow with the big award. The Best Book of 2010!

Oh, and PS if you want to know what contests and stuff are going on throughout all of bookmas you can look under our contests tab over there --> or you could click on the "bookmas" link under labels. Which is also over there -->

Bye!

Interview with Lisa and Laura Roecker

Today we are interviewing Lisa and Laura Roecker authors of The Liar Society which comes out March 2011! So keep your eye out for it then!


1. How did you get started writing? When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

We have always loved to read and we'd always joked around about writing books, but it never occurred to us to try to write together. A couple of years ago we were both bored out of our minds and dying to do something cool and we decided that we'd give writing a shot. Honestly, I never expected we'd finish an entire book, but we did it. The book was total crap, of course, but we fell in love with writing and learned a lot. The next book we wrote together was The Liar Society.

2. What is your favourite genre to read?

We're total suckers for YA Contemporary.

3. Describe The Liar Society in 3 words.

Dead bestie emails.

Holy crap, that's hard. Does that even make sense? FYI, I'm using emails as a verb.

4. Pick a song (or two) that describes The Liar Society.

The Underdog by Spoon. It's very Kate Lowry.

5. What was/is your favourite character to write?

Seth is our absolute favorite character on the planet. He's so random and funny and Kate might not realize it yet but he's a total catch.

6. Who was the first person to read The Liar Society, and how did they help you with the writing process and your journey to getting published?

The first person to read it was one of our closest friends, Tara McKendry. She's not a writer and she's not even really a big reader, she's just a really good friend. She told us when things didn't make sense and encouraged us to keep going. Without Tara I'm not sure we would have been brave enough to send it out into the world.

7. What are you most excited about for the release of The Liar Society?

We are the most excited to hear what readers think of the book. We love getting e-mails and feedback from readers and friends. We've got our fingers crossed that people will love Kate as much as we do.

8. What projects are you working on now?

We're working on the next book in The Liar Society series and we're working on a book in a brand new series about a girl who loses both her memory and her sister in one crazy night.

9. What are some things you want readers to take away from The Liar Society?

We want to remind readers that girls can kick some serious ass. Kate is a strong character. She doesn't really care what other people think about her, she's very conscious of not being THAT girl who moons around after lame boys and she's always trying to do the right thing. Kate is the girl we wish we would have been strong enough to be when we were in high school.

10. Do you have anything else to add? Anything we forgot?

We can't think of anything else! Let us know if you have any other questions for us and thanks for interviewing us! We're so excited!

Lisa and Laura will be chilling here ALL DAY if you want to ask them your own questions just post below and they will answer your question. because they are awesome. :)

Best Debut Novel

Another Award!

Today's Award is: Best Debut Novel 2010

Amanda's Favourite Debut Novel 2010

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?
Samantha Kingston has it all—looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12th should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it’s her last. The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. In fact, she re-lives the last day of her life seven times, until she realizes that by making even the slightest changes, she may hold more power than she had ever imagined.

Shelbie's Favourite Debut Novel 2010

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals’ glamours.

But Evie’s about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

Be sure to comment below with your award to your favourite debut novel.

xoxo and love always,
Shelbie and Amanda

Best Continued Series

We have another favorite/award for you guys today!

Today's award is Best Continued Series

Amanda's Favorite Continued Series is:

Mockingjay (from the Hunger Games series) by Suzanne Collins

And Shelbie's Favorite Continued Series is:

Crescendo (from the Hush, Hush sries) by Becca Fitzpatrick

These are our favorite continued series from 2010, what are yours? What do you think of our favorites? Leave comments below.

xoxo and love always,

Shelbie and Amanda

Guest Post: Looksie Lovitz from Books and Wits

Yello! My name is Looksie and I blog over at Looksie Lovitz: Books and Wits where I review books, tell you about phenom music and help you recognize my awesome. Shelbie and Amanda clearly already recognize my awesome since they were kind enough to invite me to come to talk to you about some of my favorite books released this year as well as books I’m looking forward to. And by the way, this was very hard since there are so many good books out there.

These aren’t in any particular order and I tried not to include the same series more than once so here it goes…

*** Note: The stuff in blue (this color) is my (Shelbie) interjections :) ***

Books I loved in 2010

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Because really, who didn’t love this book? Steampunk and shadow hunters. Yup. Clockwork Prince is going to be ah-mazing. That book comes out August 2011.

Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead (Book 6)

Best series EVER. I might be a teensy bit obsessed so I’m sad this series is at an end. But there is a spin of series called Bloodlines due out August 2011.

Minder by Kate Kaynak

This is an obsession worthy series. Book one had me hooked and the author is totally phenom. Book 2; Adversary is already out and book 3; Legacy comes out January 28th, 2011. Read it if you haven’t. Trust me.

Zombies vs Unicorns By Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier

This is an anthology, which I don’t normally read but the collection of authors in here was awesome. I kept wanting all the stories to be their own 300 page book. Definitely worth reading.

White Cat by Holly Black

This was one of those books that I had no idea what was going to happen and the plot twists took me by surprise every time. Phenom, phenom, phenom. The sequel, Red Glove, comes out April 5th, 2011.

The Deathday Letter by Shaun Hutchinson

I laughed, I cried, and I absolutely loved this book. It’s a short read but you’ll be surprised how attached to the main character you will be by the end and get this- Both guys and girls will like it! That’s rarer than you think.

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

I think I read this book like 10 times. That’s how much I loved it. The mystery had me guessing til the end but the romance had me swooning from the beginning. Jay Heaton needs to be for real. Book 2, Desires of the Dead comes out February 15th, 2011. And since I've read ARC I can tell you the sequel is also bomb.

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White (You can WIN THIS!!)

This book was nothing short of intense. A girly girl badass? Yes please! Romance you say? Winner! And the sequel, Supernaturally, comes out September 2011.

Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready

A completely original premise. Ghosts, romance and a mystery involving the entire world? Yeah. Nuff said. Book 2, Shift, comes out May 3rd, 2011.

Crave Melinda Metz and Laura J Burns

A totally different kind of vampire romance. Who doesn’t love vampires? And also, who doesn’t love these fabulous authors? They make a great combo. The next book, Arise, comes out September 2011.

Books I’m looking forward to in 2011

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

I’ve already read the ARC and I can tell you, it rocks. Shortened life spans mean intense things. For real. This book comes out March 22nd, 2011.

Timeless by Alexandra Monir

Also read This ARC. Phenom. There really aren't enough time travel romances. A “timeless” romance. Get it? Or was that too corny? Haha. Comes out January 11th, 2011.

Delirium Lauren Oliver

Love is considered an illness and in this world, they have a cure. BUMMER! And yeap, read the ARC. Romance happens anyway and it’s super cute. This book comes out February 1st, 2011.

Unearthly Cynthia Hand (I agree, this was great! I was kind of sad to give it away!)

I read this ARC too but I was hesitant cause I was getting a little sick of angel books at the time but I was happily surprised at the awesomeness of this book. It’s worth a read. Comes out January 4th, 2011.

Half Blood by Jennifer Armentrout

Ever since I heard about this book, I’ve been excited for it. It reminds me of Vampire Academy with a badass heroine. This book comes out September 15th, 2011.

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare (Mortal Instruments Book 4)

I loved the first 3 books so I can’t imagine this book being anything less than amazing. I don’t think I need to say anything else here. This book comes out April 5th, 2011.

Clarity by Kim Harrington

This chick sees things no one else can. Secrets. Who doesn’t love secrets? It always means crazy things. This book comes out March 1st, 2011.

Die For Me by Amy Plum

Oooh, this paranormal romance takes place in Paris. I’m all over it. This book comes out May 10th, 2011.

Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton

This gal is a little different from everyone else and she needs to find out why... Or else. Sounds like something I need to read. This book comes out February 22nd, 2011.

Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer (Book 2)

This is the sequel to Nightshade. Haven’t read it? There’s werewolves. there's romance. It's complicated. Read it. Wolfsbane comes out July 12th, 2011.

Best Fictional Hero of 2010

Good evening guys! It's time for our second character award... Best Fictional Hero!

And the award goes to...

Kent McFuller from Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Similar to our favorite heroine, our favorite hero also does not battle dragons or anything badass like that. However, he is the extremely loyal and adorable boy next door who is there for the main character, Sam, no matter how much of a jerk she is. While this may sound like a guy who is just letting a girl walk all over him, Kent definitely is not. He has his moments where he mans up and takes control of the situation, and he actually sees right through the fake Sam.

Anyways, Kent is a hero because he's the one who will put up with some crap but won't let you walk all over him.

Anyways,

That's our favorite hero of 2010! Who's yours?

xoxo and love always,

Shelbie and Amanda

Best fictional Heroine of 2010

Hey guys, it's time for our first character award!

Our favorite heroine of 2010 was....

Bianca from The Duff by Kody Keplinger

Okay, so Bianca doesn't kill vicious monsters or beat anybody up... but she has some amazing girl power! Bianca manages to get through family troubles, her self esteem issues, her friend issues, and the a**hole that is Wesley Rush. Bianca is a wonderful kickbutt role model for all teenage girls. She deals with problems that every teenager has, and she deals with them well with a whole lot of snark included. You've gotta respect someone who can hold her own with Wesley Rush.

Anyways, that's our pick for Best Heroine of 2010! Who was your favorite Heroine of 2010?

xoxo and love always,

Shelbie and Amanda

Best New Series of 2010

Hey guys, so here are our first favorites of the week!

Amanda's Favorite new series are (it's a tie):

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare(from the Infernal Devices series)

and Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel (from the Vampire Queen series:

Shelbie's favorite new series is:

The Lying Game by Sara Shepard(from the Lying Game series):

Those are our favorites! What was your favorite new series of the year?

xoxo and love always,

Shelbie and Amanda

Bookmas book awards!

Hey guys, so as part of our 30 days of Bookmas we are giving out awards for our favorite books of 2010.

We are giving out genre based awards, best series awards, best debuts, etc. We're also having fun ones like best fictional couple, best hero, best heroine. etc. Anyways, we will be having these all the way up until New years! So keep checking back the next few days to see our favorites!

xoxo and love always,

Amanda and Shelbie

Enter Our Cover Contest!

The second contest of the 30 Days of Bookmas is a cover design contest! Create your own fan cover and enter it in this contest for a chance to win awesome prizes!

What are the rules?

1. You can create a cover of whatever book you want, as long as the book was one of your favourite books of this year, or your most anticipated books for the next year.

2. You have to link to the cover or we can't judge it. You can use whatever you want to post it, whether it is Twitpic, Photobucket, Goodreads, whatever. But be wary if you use Facebook because if you have certin privacy settings, we might not be able to see it.

3. You have to explain why the book is your favourite/most anticipated. You don't have to explain farther than "it looks kewl" but please spell words correctly :). We just want the book to really be on be on your lists :)

4. This contest is OPEN INTERNATIONALLY and ends on January 6th 2011

Okay, now the fun part. What will you win?

1 signed Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick Postcard

1 copy of The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells

1 copy of The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney

1 ARC of The Liar Society by Lisa and Laura Roecker

1 ARC of The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

Enter Below!

Author Interview: Kody Keplinger!

Hey guys, we have a special treat today for you! Kody Keplinger author of The DUFF, which both me and Amanda LOVED, agreed to do an interview with us... Here it is!

1. How did you get started writing? When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

I started writing when I was really small. Well, really, it started more as me
telling stories. I used to sit at my mom's typewriter and tell her what I
thought I was writing - since I was only three or four and had no idea how to
type or write back then. When I got older and learned how to write my stories
down, I would always draw pictures to go with them and made up these epic tales.
I was about eleven when I first started writing longer, unillustrated stories.
And everything just went from there. As for deciding I wanted to be a writer - I
don't remember making that conscious decision at all. I remember telling myself
it was really unlikely to happen so I needed a backup career (my backup was actress - yes, I was a smart one). I was a senior in high school when I actually decided to major in writing at college and to try, no matter what happened. Shortly after that, The DUFF was signed my an agent and then a publisher. So I'm really, really happy I decided to take that risk and pursue a dream I knew might not ever happen.

2. What is your favourite genre to read?

Really, any type of young adult. I love both fantasy and contemporary. I love dystopian and sci-fi, too. Usually, if there are teenagers involved in the story, I'm hooked. I will say, though, that usually a romance makes me love it
even more.

3 .Describe The DUFF in 3 words.

Sarcastic, sexy, real.

4. Pick a song (or two) that describes The DUFF.

Oh, this is easy. I can just pull stuff from the book's soundtrack!

The song that most describes the book - centering on the relationship between Bianca and Wesley - is "I Can't Stay Away" by The Veronicas. That song is the reason I wrote the book. I heard it, and then I immediately started writing this story.
But if I'm allowed to pick another song, too, I'd go with "Everything is Alright" by Motion City Soundtrack. It's very much a Bianca song, from her weird habits to her constant saying "I'm all right" or "I'm fine" when she isn't.

5. What was/is your favourite character to write?

Hands down, it has to be Wesley. His character really surprised me. When I first started writing, he was a very, very different character in my head More cruel and cold and calculating - think Sebastian at the beginning of Cruel Intentions. But the more I wrote, the more his character changed and became, yes a womanizer, but also a guy with issues and compassion for those he cares about
(even if you can't see it right away.) Also, some of the jokes he makes were so
fun to write. I miss writing him so, so much.

6. Who was the first person to read The DUFF, and how did they help you with the writing process and your journey to getting published?

The very first person to read The DUFF was one of my beta readers - Hannah
Wylie. She read it very quickly (blamed me for her getting very little sleep
that night) and sent it back with lots of comments. She loved the story and had
some great advice for how to make it better. She was the first person to tell me
to go for it and send this one to agents. We're still friends today.

7. How is your writing process different now, than from when you were first writing The DUFF?

It's actually not terribly different. I still prefer writing with no outline (I have used outlines before and it worked, but I do better when I wing it the wayI did with The DUFF). I still try to focus more on my characters than on the
plot. The only major difference is that now I have more people to bounce my ideas off of. When writing The DUFF I only had a few friends and readers. Now I have a great critique group plus an agent and an editor who are GENIUSES. It's nice being able to run ideas past lots of people before I go in any drastic directions.

8. What projects are you working on now?

I'm in the middle of my last bit of edits on my second book, LUSTSTRUCK, which
will be out next year! I'm so excited!

9. What are some things you want readers to take away from The DUFF?

Just one thing, really. A sense that you are not alone. Every single person has
felt like a DUFF before, even if they aren't ugly or fat at all. Its more about
inferiority than appearance, and we all get that feeling sometimes. It's normal,
and we shouldn't let it get us down.

10. Do you have anything else to add? Anything we forgot?

Just one thing - thanks for having me here! Loved all of these questions!

Enter the Stocking Stuffer Giveaway!!

We have a small contest for you to enter!

But it's full of awesome little goodies...

What will you win you ask?

Two SIGNED Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick postcards

Two Soul Screamers by Rachel Vincent bookmarks

Two Iron Fey by Julie Kagawa promotional postcards

Some cutsey Barnes and Noble stocking stuffers

Enter below! And do it fast, this contest closes on Saturday!!



Keep it right here for the rest of The 30 Days of Bookmas!

xoxo and love always,
Shelbie and Amanda

Guest Post: Jenny from Supernatural Snark

Hi Everyone!

I’m so excited to share with you the books I’ve loved in 2010 and the ones I absolutely cannot wait for in 2011 (well the first half of 2011 anyway)! I have a couple main genres I read and review, so I broke my favorites into those categories. I’ll try not to go overboard and list every book I’ve read this year and every release coming out next year, but I make no promises;) I can’t wait to see what everyone else has loved and is waiting for!

2010

Paranormal Young Adult
Matched by Ally Condie
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel
Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Nevermore by Kelly Creagh
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy
Lover Mine by J.R. Ward
Twice Bitten by Chloe Neill
The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook
Alpha by Rachel Vincent
Double Cross by Carolyn Crane
City of Ghosts by Stacia Kane
Venom by Jennifer Estep
Dead, Undead or Somewhere in Between by J.A. Saare

2011

Paranormal Young Adult
Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Wither by Lauren DeStefano
Entwined by Heather Dixon
Enclave by Ann Aguirre
Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
Stolen Nights by Rebecca Maizel
Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins
City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy
This Side of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning
Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward
Hard Bitten by Chloe Neill
Drink Deep by Chloe Neill
Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh
Tangled Threads by Jennifer Estep

Debut Author Giveaway

To kick off Debut Author Week, we thought we'd start with a Debut Author Giveaway....

All you have do do is enter!

What will you win?

A copy of Unearthly by Cynthia Hand (We're pretty sure you'll get it a little early :) ) and a copy of The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells!



Stick around, this is just the kickoff!

xoxo and love always,

Shelbie and Amanda

It's Debut Week!

We thought it would be fitting to have our debut week of The 30 Days of Bookmas to be all about Debut Authors of 2010, so here is what we have lined up for this week:

Sunday(Today): Start of first giveaway and start of Debut Week

Tuesday: Guest post from Jenny at Supernatural Snark and Start of Stocking Stuffer Giveaway

Saturday: Last day to enter Stocking Stuffer giveaway, a Christmas Under the Mistletoe,

Hope everyone enjoys Debut Author Week and the rest of the 30 Days of Bookmas and make sure to participate in all the events to come!

xoxo and love always,

Shelbie and Amanda

Under the Mistletoe

Hey guys! So as part of Bookmas we have decided to create a fun new segment called under the mistletoe. Basically, this is a just-for-fun segment where we decide on two book characters (they don't have to be from the same book) who we think would be an interesting couple. Now guys, some of these people already do have a significant other in their book, we realize that, but this is all just for fun!

So... our first under the mistletoe couple is....

Magnus from The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare and Jamie from The Demon's Lexicon Series by Sarah Rees Brennan

I don't know about you, but I think these guys would make a very cute couple. (Although I am definitely pro Magnus and Alec) In the first Demon's Lexicon book, since I haven't read the second one yet, Jamie is a little bit shy, but he is the sweetest guy ever! I think that Magnus would be perfect for him because Magnus is really outgoing and I feel like he could he definitely bring Jamie out of his shell. So anyways, that is our first under the mistletoe couple!

I hope you enjoyed it, and feel free to leave comments and say waht you think about it, or who you would like to see under the mistletoe.

Love always,

Amanda

30 Days of Bookmas!

We are starting a new event today, called 30 Days of Bookmas. Some of you may be familliar with Fantasyfest which we do in August. 30 Days of Bookmas will work in a similar way.

This event will run from today December 17th to January 15th and we have some pretty awesome stuff for you!

We have lined up guest posts from some of our favorite bloggers and interviews with pretty awesome authors, we will be having some cool theme posts that will go up around the event and some wicked awesome giveaways (The first one starts on Sunday!)

You can keep updated by going to the tag cloud bubble thing on the right ---> and clicking on Bookmas, because our 30 days of Bookmas stuff will all be tagged under that tag. Anyways, keep checking in here and have a Merry Bookmas!

xoxo and love always,
Shelbie and Amanda

Unearthly by Cythina Hand

Release Date: 1/4/2011

Publisher: HarperTeen
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 448
Overall:

In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees. . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what it is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place--and out of place, at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make--between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

I got this book for a contest for an end of the year contest we are having *coughcough*REALLYSOON*coughcough* it was one of the books I was most looking forward to next year. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint. The synopsis above isn't really what the book is about, which was a little annoying but the book was wonderful in different ways. It was very very good.

The main character Clara was a lovely heroine, she wasn't whiny like a lot of heroines you see these days, she understood her duty and that she had to do it, and that it was the reason she was on Earth, so it needed to be done. The book didn't tell her brother Jeffery's age until like the middle of the book, so I thought he was like ten and EXTREMELY confused when he went to school with her and had her friends like falling all over him. Yeah, it was confusing.

The plot was pretty intense. The fact that she had to save Christian, who she kind of liked but she also liked Tucker, (I was totally team Tucker) and omgosh THE ENDING WAS SO INTENSE. Not that I'm going to ruin it. :)

Overall, it was very good, I recommend.

Cover:
Characters:
Plot:
Writing:
Ending:

xoxo,

Shelbie

In My Mailbox (10)

Guten Tag!

It's Sunday, and time for what I got In My Mailbox, I actually have some interesting stuff this week, if you would like to do one also, link it at The Story Siren and make sure to comment below with links to your mailbox!!

Begged to get in my mailbox:

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand (Goodreads/Amazon)

Priscilla the Great by Sybil Nelson (Goodreads/Amazon)

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White (Goodreads/Amazon)

The Liar Society by Lisa and Laura Roecker (Goodreads/Amazon)

The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells (Goodreads/Amazon)

Borrowed from the library:

Rocky Road Trip by Catherine Clarke (Goodreads/Amazon)

Stole from the bookstore (Just Kidding!):

- NONE-

What's in your Mailbox?

xoxo,
Shelbie

LOTW 10: Five things I love when home sick

Hey guys! So it has been a long time since we have done a list of the week... so obviously it is not a list of the week anymore. But anyways... I'm home sick so I thought this list was fitting. So here's my list, and I have a fun question for you below!

1. A Good Book

There's nothing better than a good book when you have to stay in bed all day. Right now I'm reading Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (cute, shelbie is reading the sequel to my book!)

2. A cup of tea

When I'm home sick, I usually have a sore throat, cough, or headache. And I find that tea helps with all of those. I love mint tea with honey!

3. Fuzzy Socks or Slippers

They keep your feet nice and warm and just feel so nice!

4. A snuggly blanket

Who doesn't love snuggling with a blanket? I have the blue one in the picture above, and it is currently parked next to my teddy bear on my bed.

5. A Pillow Pet

To be fair... I don't actually have one of these yet, but I really want one! I asked for one for Christmas and really hope I get it. :)

Okay now for my question...

What type of books do you like to read when you're home sick?

Personally, I like something with a little romance and snark. Beautiful Creatures doesn't fit that description (at least not yet) but it's pretty dang good and I was already reading it so... yeah. Anyways, leave your anwers below!

Love always,

Amanda

Blog Tour with Sybil Nelson!

Were on Priscilla the Great's Blog tour and we were lucky enough to have Priscilla's interview with Sybil Nelson, enjoy!

Hey, hold up. Before click away into cyberspace, I gotta tell you this is
not religious or anything. My creator is none other than Sybil Nelson, author of
Priscilla the Great. And I’m Priscilla. I’m a lean, mean, tween, machine and I
want to tell you all about my world. But I thought a more fun way to do that
would be to interview the person who created me. I think she might know me
better than I know myself. So here it goes:

Priss: Hey Sybil. What’s up?

Sybil: Not much.

Priss: Quick, tell the people at The Mortal’s Library five interesting
things about yourself.

Sybil: Okay, let’s see. I’m a wife and mother of two little girls. I’m a
PhD student. I love to write in my spare time and create new realities. I taught
high school math and dance for nine years. And I love Justin Bieber.

Priss: Whoa. Wait. What? You love Justin Bieber?

Sybil: And not just Justin. I love all pop music. I was just “whippin my
hair” to the latest Willow Smith song this afternoon.

Priss: For future reference, I would just like to request that you do not
have me singing any pop music in future books.

Sybil: Not a problem. You’re a horrible singer anyway.

Priss: Good point. So where did you get the inspiration for my character
and my powers and my quirky little town of River’s Bend?

Sybil: Well, you are actually a compilation of two of my students named
Helen and Ellen. They were two hilarious girls that I taught a couple of years
ago. Helen especially would come to class each day with a new story of something
weird that happened to her or that she did. Your personality came from her. And
you looks came from Ellen. As for your town, I like to think of it as a kind of
Stars Hollow from the TV show Gilmore Girls. It’s small, quaint and tight nit.
Everyone knows everything about everyone…well, except for the fact that you can
shoot fire out of your fingers.

Now your powers, that’s kind of a crazy story. Originally, Priscilla Maxine
Sumner was a girl who got super powers along with her first period.

Priss: Wait. What? Is that why my initials spell PMS? How embarrassing!

Sybil: I know. It was a funny story, but an editor talked me into taking
out that angle. So instead of The Adventures of PMS Girl, we now have Priscilla
the Great.

Priscilla the Great by Sybil Nelson

Release Date: 12/15/10
Age Group: Middle Grade
Overall:

If you think your middle school years are awkward and traumatic, try going through them with fire shooting out of your fingers!

Hey, I’m Priscilla and all I want is to be a normal seventh grader. That’s hard enough with an older brother annoyingly obsessed with Christina Aguilera, mischievous baby twin brothers who could scare the sin off of Satan, and parents more puzzling than a Rubik’s cube in the Bermuda triangle.

But when psycho, genetically enhanced assassins start trying to kill me and my family, being normal is downright impossible.

Hey yall, I feel like I haven't done a review in forever.


First of all, I think I was a little bit over the target audience for this book, Pricsilla is in seventh grade and I'm in the middle of being a sophomore in High School, so keep that in mind when reading my review.

With that in mind, I really enjoyed this book, more than I thought I would, Priscilla was a spunky funny main character, and I enjoyed the supporting characters too, especially Christina Aguilera singing older brother Josh and the plot was verydeveloped and entertaining.

Overall, very good, I'm giving it to Amanda's brother for Christmas (shhh... don't tell him!)

Characters:
Plot:
Writing:
Ending:

xoxo,
Shelbie

In My Mailbox (9)

Bonjour mes Amis!

It's Sunday, and time for what I got In My Mailbox, I actually have some interesting stuff this week, if you would like to do one also, link it at The Story Siren and make sure to comment below with links to your mailbox!!

Begged to Get in my Mailbox:

- None -

Borrowed from Someone/the Library:

The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold (GoodReads/Amazon)
Wicked: Witch & Curse by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié (GoodReads/Amazon)

Stole from the Bookstore (Just Kidding!):

- None -

What's in your mailbox?

xoxo,
Shelbie

Pre-Contest Naming Contest!!

It's like the countdown to the 25 Days of Christmas!

... sort of ...

We are having a contest where YOU get to name our next event! It is happening December 15th to January 15th and will feature the public's favourite books of 2010 and most anticipated books of 2011 and will be overall similar to our August event Fantasyfest 2010

Currently the prize is bragging rights, but I might be able to scrounge out something special for you to get...

Comment with your name, email and your suggestion!

LET THE NAMING CONTEST BEGIN!!

Book Blogger Hop 8

It's time for another meme! This one is one I love because we get to go see a whole bunch of new blogs that I never knew existed added to all of our wonderful followers that comment too :)


If you want to sign up go to http://www.crazy-for-books.com/ and sign the linky then answer the question in a post on your own blog! Don't forget to link here too, in case I accidently skip over your link on the website :)

Question:

"What very popular and hyped book in the blogosphere did you NOT enjoy and how did you feel about posting your review?"

Shelbie's Answer:

Alright, I might get some crap for this, but I didn't like Mockingjay, the third book in The Hunger Games trilogy very much. I felt like the story that I loved from the first two books changed too drastically for my liking. My review was really vague about the whole thing, which I really didn't like, but for those books I wanted people to decide things for themselves, you know?

What about you? Comment below with your answer to the question!