Tune in Tuesday (83) - Road Trip Edition!

Tune in Tuesday is a weekly music feature originally hosted by the fabulous Ginger at GReads. However, for the time being, Katelyn of Kate's Tales of Books and Bands will be hosting. As some of you may know, I am ridiculously addicted to music. One of my favorite things to do is share the music I enjoy. Each week we'll be posting some of our favorites to spread the love of music. So link up and join the fun!

It's April! Guess what that means, music folks? It's Road Trip Edition on Tune in Tuesday! I am kind of known for absolutely HAVING to make playlists for trips. Sometimes they're full of songs that I'm currently obsessed with. Sometimes the songs have to do with what I'm traveling to or who I'm traveling with. Sometimes it's just a bunch of random songs that I like to sing to at the top of my lungs! Regardless, I love me some mix tapes.

Lightning Review: "A Million Suns" by Beth Revis

A Million Suns (Across the Universe #2) by Beth Revis
Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 386 pages
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: 10 January 2012
Source: Purchased for personal collection
Buy the book: Amazon/Book Depository

It's been three months since Amy was unplugged. The life she always knew is over. Everywhere she looks, she sees the walls of the spaceship Godspeed. But there may be hope: Elder has assumed leadership of the ship. He's finally free to act on his vision - no more Phydus, no more lies.

But when Elder learns shocking news about the ship, he and Amy race to discover the truth behind life on Godspeed. They must work together to unlock a mystery that was set in motion hundreds of years earlier. Their success - or failure - will determine the fate of the 2,298 passengers aboard Godspeed. But with each step, the journey becomes more perilous, the ship more chaotic, and the love between them more impossible to fight.

Beth Revis catapulted readers into the far reaches of space with her New York Times bestselling debut, Across the Universe. In A Million Suns, Beth deepens the mystery with action, suspense, romance, and deep philosophical questions. And this time it all builds to one mind-bending conclusion:

They have to get off this ship.

Tune in Tuesday (31) - Book Playlists Edition!

Tune in Tuesday is a weekly music feature hosted by the fabulous Ginger at GReads. As some of you may know, I am ridiculously addicted to music. One of my favorite things to do is share new and favorite songs with anyone willing to listen. Or not so willing. I'm not picky. Anyway... Each week you can post a song and share the love of music. So link up and join the fun!

I am extremely excited about this month's special edition of Tune in Tuesday. Why am I so excited about it? Well... it's Book Playlists Edition! Woo Hoo! This month is all about combining the awesomeness of books and music together. If you have a great idea for a book/song combo or there's an author playlist you simply adore, feel free to share it by joining the meme or letting me know in the comments. Let the fun begin!

I'll Forever Be Grateful For...

As many of you know, I am a HUGE fan of everything to do with books. While wandering around some of my favorite blogs, I noticed there was this awesome giveaway being held by the ever-amazing Beth Revis. She wanted us to give thanks to the book we are most grateful for and, in return, we could win a sweet pack of books! Amazing, right?!

Yeah, I thought so too... until I had to think of that ONE book I'm most grateful for. One book? Oh man. Tough! It seemed near impossible to narrow it down to just one! GAH! Then my Mum reminded me of the one book that helped reignite my love of reading: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling. That's right, Harry Potter will forever be a book I will love, cherish, and be grateful for.

So why is Harry Potter such a cherished series for me? I was a "reluctant reader" in school. Growing up, I devoured books like they were as important as oxygen. Even before I knew how to read, I could be found surrounded by books - there's even a picture of me sleeping on a bed covered in my books, hugging one close to me, when I was no more than three years old! I'll have to find that picture... Anyway! Though I loved reading, once I got into school, things changed. Suddenly I was forced to read what my teachers wanted me to read. They made us read out loud in class (which, for a painfully shy child, was torture), write book reports, have assigned reading... I hated that! I wanted to read what I wanted to read, when I wanted to read it! So, what did I do? I stopped reading all the time. Yeah, I was stubborn. As for school reading, I did as little as possible to get what the teacher wanted me to do and that was it. There were a few books that I opened long enough to capture my attention (and heart): Tuck Everlasting, The Outsiders, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Phantom Tollbooth. I mean, I was still a reader at heart, even if I was being dumb.

I had heard of Harry Potter when it first came out. I heard how people were raving about some wizard boy and his friends fighting evil and going to school with other wizards. I heard the controversies too, of course. I just couldn't imagine why this book was such a big deal. At that point, I didn't really pay attention to "the next big thing."

My second year in college, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire came out. I went up to Phoenix to visit some family friends and we went to a bookstore that was going out of business, so they were having a massive sale. Well what do you know, but they had the first four Harry Potter books on sale as well. I figured getting the first book (hardcover, too!) for a mere $6 wasn't that big of a loss if I didn't like it, so I bought it. We had some downtime for some reason or another, and I decided to pick up the oh-so-famous-and-raved-about Harry Potter... the next day I went back to the bookstore and purchased the other three books. Yeah, I read it that same day. Knowing I had to wait a WHOLE YEAR for the next book to come out, I was crushed! How could I wait that long? What would I do to help fill the void now?? Well, I read another book. And another one... and another... and, you get the picture.

Since that first day I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, I haven't stopped reading. I'll have short periods of time where I won't be reading much, but I still have something I'm reading. I will forever be grateful for the Harry Potter series and J. K. Rowling for reigniting my lifelong love of reading.

I'd love to hear what book you are most grateful for, so please leave a comment and let me know!

New(ish) Features & Some Good News!

Greetings again! So things seem to be moving right along on Blogger, thank goodness. I'm extremely excited about a couple newish features that I'm testing out. I have decided to do a weekly quote in the sidebar. The quotes will be pulled from books, songs, movies, famous people, not so famous people... you name it! I'm a huge quote lover, so this is very exciting to me; hopefully somebody else will enjoy it as well. I am also going to do a song feature (located in the sidebar under the quotes, naturally). I haven't decided if I want it to be a weekly feature, a daily thing, or just a whenever-I-feel-like-it kind of deal. Currently, it's the last one. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a HUGE music fiend, so there will be no shortage of awesome music to share with the world, I assure you. Music makes me so happy. *sigh*

Another thing I'm excited for is a new Page! Some might not consider it a big deal, but I find it very helpful for me personally. To go along with the song and quote features, I have created a Quote Archive page where I'll post items previously featured. Man, I have to find another word for "feature!" Anywhoozle... So, yes. I have added a link to this new page on the bottom of the sidebar. As I am an organized(ish) person, I'm going to keep them in order of the date they were featured. Now why am I doing this? First of all, it's my blog and I want to. So there. Secondly, I sometimes find random quotes or get a song stuck in my head & I want to share that with others. Thirdly, I have an absolutely AWFUL memory. Seriously. They should write a book about how awful my memory is. One day I may be like, "what was that song I posted last week? I can't for the life of me remember the title and I wanted to check out the rest of the album. Curse this awful memory of mine!" With this handy new page, I'll be able to go to the archive and look it up. Tada! Problem solved.

Now that I've shared some of my excitement for new features (there's that word again!), I wanted to share some fun and totally awesome news! Remember when I posted that I won a prize pack from Cynthia Leitich Smith? Well, I got my package on Valentine's Day! How sweet is that? Everything is so awesome and cute and I can't wait to read the books. Another item of total awesomeness came today when a FedEx guy knocked on my door. No, I didn't meet the man of my dreams. Sheesh, people! He gave me a white puffy envelope. My first thought was that the package was for my sister, since I wasn't expecting anything. Then I saw my name on it. I grabbed my handy dandy scissors and sliced that surprise package like it was, well, a surprise. What do you think I found inside?? A book! And not just any book, but a personalized, autographed copy of *pause for effect* Across the Universe by Beth Revis! And and and... some super sweet little buttons from the Breathless Reads book tour! I have absolutely no idea how I got this awesome gift, but I'm not complaining. My guess is that I won it in some sort of giveaway, though I don't remember entering one for this particular book. However, that's not saying much since, as I've said before, I have an awful memory. I did win a signed Galley (Advanced Reader's Copy) of Across the Universe earlier this year (which I posted about on my other blog)... maybe that's how Penguin books got my address? Hmm... Regardless of how I came into possession of this awesome book, I am so ridiculously happy that I finally have a finished (and autographed!) copy of Across the Universe. I can't wait to dive into it and see if it's all different from the ARC. Want to know why I'm so excited about winning a copy of this book? Check out this trailer and find out!

Man, what a good read!

Well, that's it for announcements. I suppose now is as good a time as any to get going. G'night!

 To purchase a copy of Across the Universe, simply click on the gorgeous cover or go to a bookstore near you!