Top 5 Series: Favorite Book Trailers

I've been toying around with starting a Top 5 series in which I share some of my favorite bookish things such as trailers, covers, and books. I'm going to start of the series with my Top 5 Favorite Book Trailers, so I really hope you guys enjoy this! These are not in any certain order because I had a really hard time deciding which ones I liked the most.

• The Karma Club by Jessia Brody

Website: Jessica Brody
(Want to win a Flip Video Camera from Jessica Brody? Click on the link above for more info!)

• The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Website: Carrie Ryan

•  White Cat by Holly Black

Website: Holly Black

• Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Website: Lauren Oliver

• The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Website: James Dashner

So those are my Top 5 Favorite Book Trailers! What are some of your favorites?

Does This Make Sense To You?

I just got back from a trip to the college of my choice (which will remain nameless, but won't be that hard to find if you really search for it) with my dad and just found out that I may not be able to get in. Since I'm homeschooled the application process is a bit more difficult than it normally would be so we went to just check and make sure everything was good before I actually applied for *collegeofmychoice*. The woman we initially talked to said that she wasn't suited to give us that information so she gave it to another woman who had more knowledge on homeschooling and such.

The second she came out to speak with us after looking over my application was to ask about the GED I'd taken back in...well, a long time ago. She wanted to know if it was required of me (being homeschooled and all) that I get my GED and I said no that it was something we'd just done as a precaution once we "graduated". Turns out, that's a problem with them. Since I'd taken the GED I'm what they consider a "non-traditional student" which means I have to wait FIVE YEARS before I start college at *collegeofmychoice*. But since I took the SATs and did well enough to get in that kind of makes things wonky. The woman said it was a gray area, and even she wasn't qualified to give us an answer. The man who could was wasn't in and wouldn't be until Monday.

So now I will have to wait until Monday and see if I actually am qualified to get in. This is going to be one long weekend...

Does that make any sense, whatsoever, to you?

Loving the Decades?

Every once in awhile I will go through a faze where I only read books from certain decades and apparently my family finds this really weird. While eating dinner the other night I was reading one of my favorite series from the 90's and said that I may start reading my 90's books again, and my mom looked at me strangely like she was trying to decipher what I'd just said so I broke it down for her--90's books are books that were published in the 90's. Not so out there, right? She thought so because she wondered if that was something other people did or if it was just me and that got me wondering. Is it really just me? Am I the only who becomes obsessed with books from certain decades and will only read books from those decades during that time? Do you do this too? Please tell me you do!

Now since I'm all kinds of knowledgeable on books from older decades...Not really, I just wanted to let you know about my favorite books from my lovely decades!

Favorite series from the 90's: The Time Travelers series by Caroline B. Cooney

Favorite author from the 80's: Joan Lowery Nixon

Favorite book from the 80's: Don't Look Behind You by Lois Duncan

Favorite book from the 70's: Are You Alone in the House? by Richard Peck

Favorite series from the 60's: Katie John series by Mary Calhoun

Do you have any suggestions for books published in the older decades?

New Blog Starting With a Question

I've started a new blog here on blogger called Questioning My Life and I would really like it if you guys would head on over there because I've started the blog with a question that's been plaguing me for the longest time and I would really like to get y'all's opinions on it.

I do air some of my families dirty laundry so if you'd rather not read about that then you don't have to, but this is something that is really close to my heart and I would be so greatful if you guys would read it and tell me what you think.

Thanks in advance guys!

Click here to see my new blog.

More New About The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong!

Just a couple of hours ago Kelley Armstrong released the blurb for the newest book in her YA series/trilogy. It sounds interesting but it doesn't exactly draw me in or get me incredibly excited for the new trilogy. Now what I want to see are the covers! I loved the covers for the Darkest Powers series so I'm curious to see what the new trilogy's covers are going to look like.

Maya lives in a small medical-research town on Vancouver Island. How small? You can’t find it on the map. It has less than two-hundred people, and her school has only sixty-eight students—for every grade from kindergarten to twelve.

Now, strange things are happening in this claustrophobic town, and Maya's determined to get to the bottom of them. First, the captain of the swim team drowns mysteriously in the middle of a calm lake. A year later, mountain lions start appearing around Maya's home, and they won’t go away. Her best friend, Daniel, starts getting negative vibes from certain people and things. It doesn't help that the new bad boy in town, Rafe, has a dangerous secret—and he's interested in one special part of Maya's anatomy: Her paw-print birthmark.

What do you guys think? Opinions?

The Reckoning isn't the Last in the Series?

This may be crazy old news but I just discovered The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong will not be the last book in the Darkest Powers series! Turns out that it is the last book in the trilogy (duh, since it's the third book) but the next book, The Gathering, will be another trilogy that is set in the same world as the characters from the first trilogy but it will have completely new characters. The next trilogy will is called Darkness Rising. Strange, isn't it?

Here is Kelley's explanation, posted on her forum, about the two trilogies in her own worlds.

Okay, poor Alison is getting flooded with questions about the end of The Reckoning (don't worry, no spoilers here) Responses range from confusion to anger. Why were several minor plot threads left unanswered when this is supposed to be a trilogy?

At first, I scratched my head. Why would every plot thread be wrapped up when this trilogy is just the first of what I hope to be many stories set in this world? Then I realized the problem. The definition of trilogy.

1) a series of three books, connected in some way but with three separate plots

2) one plot/story stretching over three books

The Darkest Powers is #2, the rarer form. That means The Reckoning is the last book in the trilogy, not the last in the series. It only wraps up the major plotline introduced in The Summoning. It is not intended to tie off every minor plot thread and retire the characters.

The next book is The Gathering. Same world. New characters. New Edison Group experiment. The Gathering starts trilogy #2, Darkness Rising. While my plot line shows Chloe and the others being introduced late in that trilogy, that is NOT a guarantee until the whole thing is written.

So what happens beyond that second trilogy? I have no idea. I'm only contracted for 6 books, so that's all I count on. If the publishers want more, though, I'm sure Chloe and the others will return.

I know my decision to veer away from Chloe et al does not please every reader. I know it greatly displeases some readers. But The Gathering is done. There's no turning back.

I've weathered this storm before, when I announced a change of narrators after book 2 in my Otherworld series. The emails flooded in. I was an idiot. I was sabotaging my career. I'd tasted success and now failure loomed on the horizon. Ten books later, I believe it has stopped looming, but you never know

I believe I owe it to my readers to give them my best. Sure, the Chloe books are selling extremely well. Sure, I could coast on that for a while, keep churning out new adventures for her even after readers start saying "it was fun revisiting the characters, but nothing really happened." To me, though, if I know I'm coasting, then I'm not "giving readers what they want"--I'm cheating them out of decent books. Long series with a single narrator work for some writers. Some can keep it fresh and original. I can't and I know it.

So, with The Reckoning, we bid a temporary farewell to Chloe and the gang and move on to explore new corners of their world. I hope readers will stay with me for the journey. I don't guarantee you'll like the new characters as much as you liked the old ones. Some will prefer them. Some will hate them. I'll gain readers. I'll lose readers. But I'll know I'm giving all of them my best effort, and that's what counts.

It's an interesting idea and I'm excited to see what she will do with the new trilogy but I'm heart broken that I won't see any of the old characters, like Derek...let's hope HarperCollins will want more in the series from her so we can see Chloe and the gang again!

Nothing Book-Related Here.

This post has absolutely nothing to do with books (unless you count the book that was based on the video game, which I have read *NERD*) but I felt like sharing my excitement with those of you who like the Resident Evil movies and video games. Now I'm not like a crazy huge fan of the video games like some other people I know...like my sister's boyfriend, for instance, but I do love the games that I've played. I've seen every single movie, the last two in theaters so I was beyond excited when I discovered awhile ago that they were releasing a fourth movie. I was even more excited when I watched it this morning because it looks awesome. I just felt like sharing this with you guys...



Synopsis:


Five years have passed since the Hive, now Alice (Milla Jovovich) joins with an old friend Chris Redfield (Wenworth Miller) and with her sister Claire (Ali Larter) to put an stop to Wesker in order to save the world and help those who survived, with new enemies like The Executioner (based on RE5) and a new virus which makes enemies poweful.

Sound pretty awesome and it looks like their bringing some of the video game characters on in this one which is even more cool and they have a lot of the "special" zombies too! I can't wait for Sept. 10! This one may be a midnight showing!

Just Yell Fire!

I subscribe to the I Heart Daily newsletter, created by Melissa Walker and Anne Ichikawa, and today they showcased an awesome non-profit organization called Just Yell Fire. Started by Dallas Jessup, 17, to raise awareness about the astonishing number of girls who are abducted, raped, and killed everyday. The video created by this organization teaches us girls simple and effective self-defense tips and moves to help us stop a predator in his (or her) tracks.

So please, I ask that everyone, male or female readers, to watch this video because it just may say your life. Read more about the organization and even donate if you feel led to do that here! You can watch it for free here or download it for free here.

I'm going to post the trailer here so you guys can get a feel for what the "informative movie" is about.






Yes, it may be a little cheesy but I feel this is something everyone should watch! So please, go watch it!

This Bunny Mold is Ruining My Day.

I got my SAT scores earlier this morning and I did it! I did well enough to get into the college of my choice! I feel so relieved that I have that over now and I don't have to do it again! Now I have college and shots to worry about! Thank you guys so much for the great feedback I got when I posted about it a couple of days before I was supposed to take it. That made me feel really positive about the whole thing.

I'm also getting ready for Easter today! Woohoo! Not. I'm trying to make a cake from a bunny mold and it won't work. I've tried two times but each time the bunny gets stuck to the mold and breaks the cake. I tried Pam then I tried Crisco with flour and it DOESN'T WORK. So I'm going back to the store to get another cake mold so I can try it again. Cross your fingers that it works...please! I did one two years ago and it was completely adorable but for some reason it just isn't working this year. Boo you, dumb cake!

For all you bakers out there, do you have any other suggestions I could try to keep the cake from sticking to the mold? Feedback it greatly appreciated!

Update: I tried one last time and it worked! But the reason that it wasn't working before was because I was using a Red Velvet cake mix which is very moist so it stuck to the pan. This time I did a regular white cake which is more firm so it didn't stick. Thanks for suggestions guys!