Thursday, February 24, 2011

Literary Giveaway Blog Hop - WINNER!!

The winner of the Literary Giveaway Blog Hop - Room is.........

Anonymous said...
This sounds like a good book, that I would like to read.
I am reading THE LITTLE BEE, for my bookclub.

If I don't hear back from the winner by March 1st, I will select another winner.
Winner was chosen using random number genator at http://www.random.org/.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Top Ten Tuesday - Books to Movie Adaption

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here by The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because they are particularly fond of lists  at The Broke and the Bookish. They love to share their lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

As Kimberly (at The Broke and the Bookish) put it....as painful as book to movie adaptations can be, the changes they make, the things they leave out... there are some great ones out there, even if they aren't as good as the book (they pretty much never are) they are enjoyable. So, in no particular order, my Top Ten Book to Movie Adaptations.


1.  Where the Wild Things Are:  I just absolutely loved this movie.  I thought it was so cute and I love the soundtrack.  My kids however, didn't really care about it.

2. Romana and Beezus:  I think this movie is so different than the book(s), but it was another one of those "so cute movies."  I really liked all the stars in the movie and thought they did a fantastic job with each character.

3.  The Blind Side:  I am not sure what came first....the book or the movie.  Either way, the movie is FABULOUS and something that I wish I could do some day.  This is a 10 star(fish) movie for me.

4.  Twilight Series:  I actually like the movies better than the book.  I thought they did a pretty job keeping the movie true to the book.  Disclaimer:  I listened to the books on my ipod, I might have not been paying attention through the whole book!

5.  The Princess Diaries: I love this entire series and wish they would do more of the books into movies.  I was not thrilled with Julia Andrews as the grandmother - I think Cloris Leachman or Betty White would be a better grandmother.

6. Diary of a Whimpy Kid:  This is another movie that I think they did such a great job keeping it real with the book for most of it.  I loved the casting for this movie too.

7.  The Grinch:  Who doesn't think Jim Carey is the perfect Grinch?

8.  Message in a Bottle:  I loved the movie more than the book, but I loved Notebook, the book, better than movie!

9. The Girl With A Dragoon Tattoo series:  I liked all three movies.  Even though they didn't follow the book in the same order....they covered everything, just in a different order.

10.  Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas:  This was a tv movie....so I am not sure if it counts.  Nothing will ever be as good as the book, but it was still as good movie (for tv)!

Friday, February 18, 2011

Literary Giveaway Blog Hop





Yipee, It is a Book Blog Hop with lots of Giveaways! 

Judith (Leeswammes blog) is hosting a Literary Giveaway February 19th-23rd. The Hop starts on Saturday, February 19th  and ends on Wednesday, February 23rd.

So what am I giving away....




Synopsis

To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.
Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough...not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.
Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, ROOM is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.


GIVEAWAY:
What do you need to do to enter a chance to win the award winning book?

Become a follower of this blog = 1 entry (make sure you leave a post saying you are a follower).  If you are already a follower, just leave a comment indicating so.

Leave a comment telling me what book you are currently reading or listening too = 1 entry 

Make sure you leave a way for me to get ahold of you...email {at} where {dot} com.


Hop Around
Your next stop in the blog hop is Chocolate and Croissants

See a full listing of the blogs that are participating in the hop below or start at the beginning at Judith's blog Leeswammes. 

  1. Leeswammes (Int)
  2. Teadevotee (Int)
  3. The Book Whisperer (Int)
  4. Uniflame Creates (Int)
  5. Bookworm with a View (Int)
  6. Stiletto Storytime (USA, CA)
  7. I Am A Reader, Not A Writer (Int)
  8. The Bookkeeper (Int)
  9. Chinoiseries (Int)
  10. Ephemeral Digest (Int)
  11. bibliosue (Int)
  12. ThirtyCreativeStudio (Int)
  13. Nishitas Rants and Raves (Int)
  14. Roof Beam Reader (Int)
  15. Actin Up with books (USA)
  16. Sarah Reads Too Much (USA)
  17. Book Journey (US)
  18. The Blue Bookcase (Int)
  19. Read, Write and Live (Int)
  20. Silver’s Reviews (USA)
  21. Graasland (Int) - From Saturday evening onwards
  22. Teach with Picture Books (USA)
  23. Books in the City (Int)
  24. thebookbee (Int)
  25. The Scarlet Letter (USA)
  26. Seaside Book Nook (USA) YOU ARE HERE!
  27. Chocolate and Croissants (Int) NEXT STOP!
  28. write meg! (USA)
Thanks so much for blogging by.  
Note: contest ends 2-23-11 at 11:59 PM EST

The Book of Tomorrow

Synopsis:  What if we knew what tomorrow would bring?
Would we fix it? Could we?
Born into the lap of luxury, sixteen-year-old Tamara Goodwin has never had to look to tomorrow, until the abrupt death of her father leaves her and her mother a mountain of debt and forces them to move in with Tamara's peculiar aunt and uncle in a tiny countryside village. Lonely and bored, Tamara's only diversion is a traveling library. There she finds a large leather-bound book with a gold clasp and padlock. Intrigued, she pries the lock open, and what she finds inside takes her breath away.
Tamara sees entries written in her handwriting and dated for the next day, and when they happen exactly as recorded, she realizes she may have found the solution to her problems. But Tamara soon learns that some pages are better left unturned and that, try as she might, she can't interfere with fate.

My Review:  I absolutely loved this book.  This is not like her chic-lit book, P.S. I Love You (and I love chic-lit).  The hardest thing with this book for me was to put it down.  I was up too late too many nights reading this book!  I was completed pulled into the story.  I think the best way to describe this book is a “magic-infused suspense novel.”  It is filled with twists and turns that have me wanting more. 

The main character, Tamara, is a spoiled brat whose father commits suicide.  Tamara and her mother are forced to move to the country and live with her Uncle Artie and Aunt Rosaleen.  The people that enter her life through the book and the lessons she learns just keeps you wanting more.  Tamara soon realizes that she is responsible for her actions and learns some very valuable lessons.  My favorite character that she meets is Sister Ignatius.  I wish I knew someone like her in my life.

Thank you HarperCollins Publishers for providing me (through Outnumbered 3 to 1) a copy of this book to review. This review is my opinion and my opinion only.  I am not compensated for reading any materials or encouraged in any way to post a review I do not 100% truly agree with. 


Now for the best news…..as a writer for Outnumbered 3 to 1 blog, we are giving you a chance to win a copy!  HarperCollins Publishers has given us one book for a giveaway.  


Become a follower of this blog and post a comment (one comment letting me know you are a follower and another comment letting me know what you are reading now = two entries).  


For more chances to enter and win....go to Outnumbered 3 to 1 (http://www.outnumbered3-1.com/2011/02/book-of-tomorrow-book-review-and.html) and see all the ways you can enter as well as all the other giveaways.  Best of luck to you all!

Contest closes March 3, 2011 and is only open to US residents.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Cross Fire

Synopsis:  Wedding bells ring

Detective Alex Cross and Bree's wedding plans are put on hold when Alex is called to the scene of the perfectly executed assassination of two of Washington D.C.'s most corrupt: a dirty congressmen and an underhanded lobbyist. Next, the elusive gunman begins picking off other crooked politicians, sparking a blaze of theories--is the marksman a hero or a vigilante?

A murderer returns
The case explodes, and the FBI assigns agent Max Siegel to the investigation. As Alex and Siegel battle over jurisdiction, the murders continue. It becomes clear that they are the work of a professional who has detailed knowledge of his victims' movements--information that only a Washington insider could possess.

Caught in a lethal cross fire


As Alex contends with the sniper, Siegel, and the wedding, he receives a call from his deadliest adversary, Kyle Craig. The Mastermind is in D.C. and will not relent until he has eliminated Cross and his family for good. With a supercharged blend of action, deception, and suspense, Cross Fire is James Patterson's most visceral and exciting Alex Cross novel ever.


My Review:  Oh gosh...I hate to say it, but this was not one of the better Alex Cross series books, in my opinion.  I loved that Kyle comes back, but it lacked the excitement that Kyle usually brings with him when he enters a novel.  I am not sure why there was even a mention that Christine (Ali's mother) comes back.  She was there and gone and had nothing to do with the story.  I kept thinking she and Kyle were working together or something.  Bree....what can I say, she is a Saint.  I love that she has accepted the Cross family and Alex for who he is.  They finally get married (yeah!).  It will be interesting to see if Patterson merges his two series: The Alex Cross Series and The Women's Murder Club Series based on the ending.I really like James Patterson's books because the short chapters, large font allow me to read the book very quickly.  However, I think Patterson needs to end the Cross series.  I don't care if something happens to the family (well actually I do) or if Cross moves from DC and an island in the Atlantic ocean and that is the end of it.  I just think the series has really lost its "umph" in the past couple books. 




Overall...don't waste your time reading this one.  I am so sorry Mr. Patterson, but it is my honest opinion.  Thanks to Crazy Book Tours for allowing me to review the book.