Waiting on Wednesday
is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine
that showcases upcoming releases
that showcases upcoming releases
that people are very much anticipating.
Umm, what part about this book doesn't sound (or look) good?
Dec 31, 2014
Dec 30, 2014
Top Ten Tuesday (113)
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature meme
This Tuesday's theme is...
Top Ten Bookish Resolutions for 2015
Dec 29, 2014
Review: The Night House by Rachel Tafoya
Author: Rachel Tafoya
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC
Publishing Date: December 9, 2014
But when Bianca meets James, a reclusive empath who feels everything she does, for the first time, she considers a life outside of the Night House and a someone worth living for. But Jeremiah has decided to keep Bianca for himself; he won’t allow her to walk away.
As she allows her feelings for James to grow, she struggles to contain nauth's strong hold on her life. If they are to have a future, James must make her see what she's worth and what she means to him, before Jeremiah and nauth claim her for good.
Book in One Word: Meh.
Dec 23, 2014
Top Ten Tuesday (112)
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature meme
This Tuesday's theme is...
Top Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Bringing Me
Dec 22, 2014
Blog Tour: This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Hello, readers of the universe! I'm very excited to share my review of This Shattered World with you today as part of the blog tour hosted by The Midnight Garden! So please, don't float off into space just yet; stick around to see what I thought of this galactic companion novel, and maybe even enter a super cool giveaway. It's up to you. But you maaay want to check it out because it really is super cool (and I'll tell you about this good book, so basically, you win-win).
Dec 18, 2014
Class of 2014: YA Superlative Blogfest - Day 4
Is it really that time of the year? No, not the time filled with red and green and presents and the perfume of pine. I mean the time filled with fireworks and a late night party around the world and a marathon of The Walking Dead that I will totally be watching, even though I own all four seasons on DVD. IT IS THE END OF THE FREAKING YEAR. Most importantly, it's the time of year to rank all the books we spent most of the year reading.
Dec 17, 2014
Class of 2014: YA Superlative Blogfest - Day 3
Is it really that time of the year? No, not the time filled with red and green and presents and the perfume of pine. I mean the time filled with fireworks and a late night party around the world and a marathon of The Walking Dead that I will totally be watching, even though I own all four seasons on DVD. IT IS THE END OF THE FREAKING YEAR. Most importantly, it's the time of year to rank all the books we spent most of the year reading.
Waiting on Wednesday (111)
Waiting on Wednesday
is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine
that showcases upcoming releases
that showcases upcoming releases
that people are very much anticipating.
This just sounds so cool.
Dec 16, 2014
Class of 2014: YA Superlative Blogfest - Day 2
Is it really that time of the year? No, not the time filled with red and green and presents and the perfume of pine. I mean the time filled with fireworks and a late night party around the world and a marathon of The Walking Dead that I will totally be watching, even though I own all four seasons on DVD. IT IS THE END OF THE FREAKING YEAR. Most importantly, it's the time of year to rank all the books we spent most of the year reading.
Top Ten Tuesday (111)
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature meme
This Tuesday's theme is...
Top Ten Books of 2014
Dec 15, 2014
Class of 2014: YA Superlative Blogfest - Day 1
Is it really that time of the year? No, not the time filled with red and green and presents and the perfume of pine. I mean the time filled with fireworks and a late night party around the world and a marathon of The Walking Dead that I will totally be watching, even though I own all four seasons on DVD. IT IS THE END OF THE FREAKING YEAR. Most importantly, it's the time of year to rank all the books we spent most of the year reading.
Review: Popular by Maya Van Wagenen
Author: Maya Van Wagenen
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Publishing Date: April 15, 2014
"Stuck at the bottom of the social ladder at pretty much the lowest level of people at school who aren’t paid to be here,” Maya Van Wagenen decided to begin a unique social experiment: spend the school year following a 1950s popularity guide, written by former teen model Betty Cornell. Can curlers, girdles, Vaseline, and a strand of pearls help Maya on her quest to be popular?
The real-life results are painful, funny, and include a wonderful and unexpected surprise—meeting and befriending Betty Cornell herself. Told with humor and grace, Maya’s journey offers readers of all ages a thoroughly contemporary example of kindness and self-confidence.
Book in One Word: Interesting!
Dec 9, 2014
Blog Tour: The Night House by Rachel Tafoya
Hello, creatures of the night! Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Night House by Rachel Tafoya! (You can see all the stops on the tour here.) This is a vampire-filled book that definitely has its unique take on the fanged fiends. So stick around and see what the book is all about, learn about the author, and enter the giveaway--I promise no one will suck your blood!
Dec 8, 2014
Gobble Gobble November, December Has Arrived
HOLY CRAP, YOU GUYS. IT'S DECEMBER. But first, let's talk about all the fun stuff that happened in November, shall we?
Dec 4, 2014
Review: Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi
Author: Veronica Rossi
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publishing Date: January 8, 2013
It's been months since Aria last saw Perry. Months since Perry was named Blood Lord of the Tides, and Aria was charged with an impossible mission. Now, finally, they are about to be reunited. But their reunion is far from perfect. The Tides don't take kindly to Aria, a former Dweller. And with the worsening Aether storms threatening the tribe's precarious existence, Aria begins to fear that leaving Perry behind might be the only way to save them both.
Threatened by false friends and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, Can their love survive through the ever night?
Book in One Word: UGHMM.
Threatened by false friends and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, Can their love survive through the ever night?
Book in One Word: UGHMM.
Dec 3, 2014
Waiting on Wednesday (110)
Waiting on Wednesday
is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine
that showcases upcoming releases
that showcases upcoming releases
that people are very much anticipating.
It's, like, The Little Mermaid. This book. GIVE IT TO ME.
Dec 2, 2014
Top Ten Tuesday (110)
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.
This Tuesday's theme is...
Top Ten 2015 Releases
I'm Looking Forward To
I'm Looking Forward To
Nov 26, 2014
Waiting on Wednesday (109)
Waiting on Wednesday
is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine
that showcases upcoming releases
that showcases upcoming releases
that people are very much anticipating.
I love paranormal creatures--especially vampires and werewolves--but I haven't read much about the typically infamous witches. But the following book sounds like it could be a wicked one, especially with witch hunting, wizards, and pirates. Double, double, toil and trouble!
Nov 25, 2014
Top Ten Tuesday (109)
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.
This Tuesday's theme is...
Top Ten Books on
My Winter TBR Pile
My Winter TBR Pile
Nov 24, 2014
Blog Tour: I Wish by Elizabeth Langston
Hello, magical beings! Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Elizabeth Langston's genie-filled I Wish! I've got a super fun guest post for you, plus all the info on the book and author. And a giveaway! Now, let me just wiggle my nose and we'll get started...
Review: Hugs and Misses + Stars and Swipes by Wilhelm Staehle
Quirk Books | 30 Pages | December 3, 2014
Wilhelm Staehle’s Silhouette Masterpiece Theater is the rare Web comic that deserves to be printed. Each panel in the popular weekly strip features a painstakingly detailed etching carved from a beautiful painting; the results are gorgeous and very funny.
These two postcard books feature some of Staehle’s finest work. Hugs and Misses: 30 Postcards of Awkward Romance is a terrific Valentine’s Day gift, full of lovelorn ladies, roguish gentlemen, renegade Cupids, and indecent proposals. Stars and Swipes: 30 Postcards of Awkward Americana offers a hilarious vision of classic Americana, with farcical frontiersmen, prattling presidents, and other all-American oddities.
Books in One Word: Entertaining!
Nov 23, 2014
Mara's Retribution: Discussing The Retribution
For the past twoish months (holy crap!), there's been a readalong of the ENTIRE Mara Dyer trilogy going on. It's called #MarasRetribution and is hosted by Stacee from Adventures of a Book Junkie, Danielle from Love at First Page, Katie from Polished Page-Turners, and myself! And now it is time to discuss the one and only finale, the reason for this readalong, and the book we've all been waiting for: The Retribution of Mara Dyer.
Nov 20, 2014
Review: The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publishing Date: November 4, 2014
Mara Dyer wants to believe there's more to the lies she’s been told.
There is.
She doesn’t stop to think about where her quest for the truth might lead.
She should.
She never had to imagine how far she would go for vengeance.
She will now.
Loyalties are betrayed, guilt and innocence tangle, and fate and chance collide in this shocking conclusion to Mara Dyer’s story.
Retribution has arrived.
Book in One Word: EXPLETIVES.
There is.
She doesn’t stop to think about where her quest for the truth might lead.
She should.
She never had to imagine how far she would go for vengeance.
She will now.
Loyalties are betrayed, guilt and innocence tangle, and fate and chance collide in this shocking conclusion to Mara Dyer’s story.
Retribution has arrived.
Book in One Word: EXPLETIVES.
Nov 19, 2014
Waiting on Wednesday (108)
Waiting on Wednesday
is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine
that showcases upcoming releases
that showcases upcoming releases
that people are very much anticipating.
I'm a big, big fan of this author. I have read almost all of her YA book and just love them. Her latest novel seems totally different from everything else she's written, and I'm excited!
Nov 18, 2014
Top Ten Tuesday (108)
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.
This Tuesday's theme is...
Top Ten Sequels I
Can't Wait to Get
Can't Wait to Get
Nov 17, 2014
Review: The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey
Author: Rick Yancey
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Publishing Date: September 16, 2014
How do you rid the Earth of seven billion humans? Rid the humans of their humanity.
Surviving the first four waves was nearly impossible. Now Cassie Sullivan finds herself in a new world, a world in which the fundamental trust that binds us together is gone. As the 5th Wave rolls across the landscape, Cassie, Ben, and Ringer are forced to confront the Others’ ultimate goal: the extermination of the human race.
Cassie and her friends haven’t seen the depths to which the Others will sink, nor have the Others seen the heights to which humanity will rise, in the ultimate battle between life and death, hope and despair, love and hate.
Book in One Word: WHAT.
Surviving the first four waves was nearly impossible. Now Cassie Sullivan finds herself in a new world, a world in which the fundamental trust that binds us together is gone. As the 5th Wave rolls across the landscape, Cassie, Ben, and Ringer are forced to confront the Others’ ultimate goal: the extermination of the human race.
Cassie and her friends haven’t seen the depths to which the Others will sink, nor have the Others seen the heights to which humanity will rise, in the ultimate battle between life and death, hope and despair, love and hate.
Book in One Word: WHAT.
Nov 14, 2014
Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Author: Neil Gaiman
Publisher: William Morrow Books
Publishing Date: June 18, 2013
Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.
Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.
A groundbreaking work from a master, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human, and shows the power of stories to reveal and shelter us from the darkness inside and out. It is a stirring, terrifying, and elegiac fable as delicate as a butterfly's wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark.
Book in One Word: MAGICAL.
Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.
A groundbreaking work from a master, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human, and shows the power of stories to reveal and shelter us from the darkness inside and out. It is a stirring, terrifying, and elegiac fable as delicate as a butterfly's wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark.
Book in One Word: MAGICAL.
Nov 13, 2014
Mara's Retribution: Discussing The Evolution
In case you missed the news, there's a readalong of the ENTIRE Mara Dyer trilogy happening RIGHT NOW. It's called #MarasRetribution and is hosted by Stacee from Adventures of a Book Junkie, Danielle from Love at First Page, and Katie from Polished Page-Turners, and myself! I'm super late posting this discussion because I fell behind on my reread (SORRY), but here I am now, discussing The Evolution of Mara Dyer!
Nov 12, 2014
Blog Tour: The Hit List by Nikki Urang
Hello, lovelies! Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Hit List by Nikki Urang! This New Adult debut features dance (!!!) and a not-so-nice game played at a school for the arts, so maaaybeee you want to check it out. Lucky for you, I have an interview with Nikki right here for your viewing pleasure. And of course, all the info on the book, where to find Nikki (online), and a giveaway!
Waiting on Wednesday (107)
Waiting on Wednesday
is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine
that showcases upcoming releases
that showcases upcoming releases
that people are very much anticipating.
I was--and am--a big fan of this author's debut novel (my review is here). When I heard that she was going to have another book I was excited. And now that it has a cover and synopsis I am REALLY EXCITED and I WANT IT NOW.
Nov 11, 2014
Top Ten Tuesday (107)
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.
This Tuesday's theme is...
Top Ten Characters Who
Need Their Own Book
Need Their Own Book
Nov 10, 2014
Review: Some Boys by Patty Blount
Author: Patty Blount
Publisher: Source-books Fire
Publishing Date: August 5, 2014
Some boys go too far. Some boys will break your heart. But one boy can make you whole.
When Grace meets Ian she's afraid. Afraid he'll reject her like the rest of the school, like her own family. After she accuses the town golden boy of rape, everyone turns against Grace. They call her a slut and a liar. But...Ian doesn't. He's funny and kind with secrets of his own.
But how do you trust the best friend of the boy who raped you? How do you believe in love?
Book in One Word: ADDICTING.
When Grace meets Ian she's afraid. Afraid he'll reject her like the rest of the school, like her own family. After she accuses the town golden boy of rape, everyone turns against Grace. They call her a slut and a liar. But...Ian doesn't. He's funny and kind with secrets of his own.
But how do you trust the best friend of the boy who raped you? How do you believe in love?
Book in One Word: ADDICTING.
Nov 9, 2014
The Belles' Enchanted Book Exchange 2014
Do you smell that? The aroma of pumpkin and fall is floating away, and in its place is the scent of pine needles and peppermint and cinnamon pinecones. The leaves are raked away so the ground can be painted in snow, and the chimney cleaned for a very important person's arrival. The halls are decked with boughs of holly, lights decorate every corner from floor to ceiling, and we all get drunk off eggnog. Orange and black is now red and green, and everywhere you go, the season will follow. Why, it's the most wonderful time of the year!
Nov 7, 2014
Be Our Tattooed Guest: Emily + Looking for Disney
Welcome to Be Our Tattooed Guest, an original feature here on Beauty and the Bookshelf! This feature is all about tattoos of the literary, poetic, and bookish variety, and people showing them off! To learn more about Be Our Tattooed Guest, please go here.
Oh, you are in for a treat with today's tattoo! It's bookish and Disney. DISNEY!
Nov 6, 2014
Blog Tour: Daisy to the Rescue by Jeff Campbell
Hello, lovely people! I'm very excited to share a certain book with you today, because it is NONFICTION and about ANIMALS who are HEROES. Is that not the greatest thing in possibly ever? It's called Daisy to the Rescue: True Stories of Daring Dogs, Paramedic Parrots, and Other Animal Heroes and it's by Jeff Campbell, and I'm going to tell you all about it and show you its lovely cover. And I have an interview with Mr. Jeff Campbell, so it's a win-win situation and you should totally check it out.
Review: Of Monsters and Madness by Jessica Verday
Author: Jessica Verday
Publisher: Egmont USA
Publishing Date: September 9, 2014
A romantic, historical retelling of classic Gothic horror featuring Edgar Allan Poe and his character Annabel Lee, from a New York Times best-selling author.
Annabel Lee is summoned from Siam to live with her father in 1820's Philadelphia shortly after her mother's death, but an unconventional upbringing makes her repugnant to her angry, secretive father.
Annabel becomes infatuated with her father's assistant Allan, who dabbles in writing when he's not helping with medical advancements. But in darker hours, when she's not to be roaming the house, she encounters the devilish assistant Edgar, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Allan, and who others insist doesn't exist.
A rash of murders across Philadelphia, coupled with her father's strange behavior, leads Annabel to satisfy her curiosity and uncover a terrible truth: Edgar and Allan are two halves of the same person - and they are about to make the crimes detailed in Allan's stories come to life. Unless Annabel stops them.
Book in One Word: LIKEY!
Annabel Lee is summoned from Siam to live with her father in 1820's Philadelphia shortly after her mother's death, but an unconventional upbringing makes her repugnant to her angry, secretive father.
Annabel becomes infatuated with her father's assistant Allan, who dabbles in writing when he's not helping with medical advancements. But in darker hours, when she's not to be roaming the house, she encounters the devilish assistant Edgar, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Allan, and who others insist doesn't exist.
A rash of murders across Philadelphia, coupled with her father's strange behavior, leads Annabel to satisfy her curiosity and uncover a terrible truth: Edgar and Allan are two halves of the same person - and they are about to make the crimes detailed in Allan's stories come to life. Unless Annabel stops them.
Book in One Word: LIKEY!
Nov 5, 2014
Waiting on Wednesday (106)
Waiting on Wednesday
is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine
that showcases upcoming releases
that showcases upcoming releases
that people are very much anticipating.
I'M SO EXCITED FOR THIS AND IT'LL PROBABLY MAKE ME CRY.
Nov 4, 2014
Top Ten Tuesday (106)
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.
This Tuesday's theme is...
Top Ten Books I
Desperately Need to Reread
Desperately Need to Reread
Nov 3, 2014
Trailer Reveal: Hellhole by Gina Damico
Hello, hellish fiends! You've all heard of Gina Damico, haven't you? She's the author of the not-so-grim reaper-filled Croak, Scorch, and Rogue. I, unfortunately, have yet to read them, but I have heard excellent, fun things. Anyway, the reason I'm talking about Gina is because she has a new book publishing soon (well, early next year)! Hellhole! And it has a trailer, which I am going to show you...very shortly!
Review: Killer Instinct by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Publishing Date: November 4, 2014
Seventeen-year-old Cassie Hobbes has a gift for profiling people. Her talent has landed her a spot in an elite FBI program for teens with innate crime-solving abilities, and into some harrowing situations. After barely escaping a confrontation with an unbalanced killer obsessed with her mother’s murder, Cassie hopes she and the rest of the team can stick to solving cold cases from a distance.
But when victims of a brutal new serial killer start turning up, the Naturals are pulled into an active case that strikes too close to home: the killer is a perfect copycat of Dean’s incarcerated father—a man he’d do anything to forget. Forced deeper into a murderer’s psyche than ever before, will the Naturals be able to outsmart the enigmatic killer’s brutal mind games before this copycat twists them into his web for good?
With her trademark wit, brilliant plotting, and twists that no one will see coming, Jennifer Lynn Barnes will keep readers on the edge of their seats (and looking over their shoulders) as they race through the pages of this thrilling novel.
Book in One Word: FREAKINGAMAZING.
But when victims of a brutal new serial killer start turning up, the Naturals are pulled into an active case that strikes too close to home: the killer is a perfect copycat of Dean’s incarcerated father—a man he’d do anything to forget. Forced deeper into a murderer’s psyche than ever before, will the Naturals be able to outsmart the enigmatic killer’s brutal mind games before this copycat twists them into his web for good?
With her trademark wit, brilliant plotting, and twists that no one will see coming, Jennifer Lynn Barnes will keep readers on the edge of their seats (and looking over their shoulders) as they race through the pages of this thrilling novel.
Book in One Word: FREAKINGAMAZING.
Nov 2, 2014
Boo-Bye October, Welcome November
It's time for the pumpkins without faces to go away and for children (and adults) to gorge on candy. October is over! But it's November, which means something red and green is just around the corner...
Oct 31, 2014
Don't Look Behind the Bookshelf: Anna Dressed in Blood
Beware, beware, the third (!!!) annual Don't Look Behind the Bookshelf, a Halloween feature I like to do here on Beauty and the Bookshelf, IS FINALLY HERE...and coming to an end. For the first two years I had thirteen days of interviews and guest posts from authors whose books could somehow relate to this spooky holiday. (You can find year one here and year two here.) But this year, I'm switching it up and doing something different.
From now through Halloween, I will be posting LOTS (okay, so not LOTS, but not exactly a little either) of posts with different ideas for Halloween costumes of fictional characters! I did this for a number of reasons, one because I wanted to have a lot of FUN, and secondly because, hello, who doesn't want to dress up as a character from a book?
Costumes these days can be super pricey and, for us ladies, quite revealing. And maybe you don't want to be a cop or a devil or a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Maybe you want to be a book character, because HOW COOL would that be?! So I'm here to help you. I'm going to show you how to take the simplest things you might own and turn them into a costume fit to represent fictional characters, with some modern twists, of course.
Are you ready?
Don't Look Behind the Bookshelf: Going Goth with Eve Rosser
Beware, beware, the third (!!!) annual Don't Look Behind the Bookshelf, a Halloween feature I like to do here on Beauty and the Bookshelf, IS FINALLY HERE! For the first two years I had thirteen days of interviews and guest posts from authors whose books could somehow relate to this spooky holiday. (You can find year one here and year two here.) But this year, I'm switching it up and doing something different.
From now through Halloween, I will be posting LOTS (okay, so not LOTS, but not exactly a little either) of posts with different ideas for Halloween costumes of fictional characters! I did this for a number of reasons, one because I wanted to have a lot of FUN, and secondly because, hello, who doesn't want to dress up as a character from a book?
Costumes these days can be super pricey and, for us ladies, quite revealing. And maybe you don't want to be a cop or a devil or a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Maybe you want to be a book character, because HOW COOL would that be?! So I'm here to help you. I'm going to show you how to take the simplest things you might own and turn them into a costume fit to represent fictional characters, with some modern twists, of course.
Are you ready?
Morganville: The Series - Exclusive Behind the Scenes Look
I am such a big fan of Rachel Caine's Morganville Vampires series that you don't even know. I have all the books (of course I do) and am now starting my collection of the UK covers. And this series? It's one of my most absolute favorites and I love it so, so much. Morganville is like a second home. I know the characters and they seem so real; I love their stories; and just EVERYTHING. And now these books are also a web series, which is super freaking cool. So it is with great pleasure that I share some exclusive info with you!
Oct 30, 2014
Don't Look Behind the Bookshelf: Let's Get Vicious
Beware, beware, the third (!!!) annual Don't Look Behind the Bookshelf, a Halloween feature I like to do here on Beauty and the Bookshelf, IS FINALLY HERE! For the first two years I had thirteen days of interviews and guest posts from authors whose books could somehow relate to this spooky holiday. (You can find year one here and year two here.) But this year, I'm switching it up and doing something different.
From now through Halloween, I will be posting LOTS (okay, so not LOTS, but not exactly a little either) of posts with different ideas for Halloween costumes of fictional characters! I did this for a number of reasons, one because I wanted to have a lot of FUN, and secondly because, hello, who doesn't want to dress up as a character from a book?
Costumes these days can be super pricey and, for us ladies, quite revealing. And maybe you don't want to be a cop or a devil or a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Maybe you want to be a book character, because HOW COOL would that be?! So I'm here to help you. I'm going to show you how to take the simplest things you might own and turn them into a costume fit to represent fictional characters, with some modern twists, of course.
Are you ready?
Don't Look Behind the Bookshelf: Enter the Selection
Beware, beware, the third (!!!) annual Don't Look Behind the Bookshelf, a Halloween feature I like to do here on Beauty and the Bookshelf, IS FINALLY HERE! For the first two years I had thirteen days of interviews and guest posts from authors whose books could somehow relate to this spooky holiday. (You can find year one here and year two here.) But this year, I'm switching it up and doing something different.
From now through Halloween, I will be posting LOTS (okay, so not LOTS, but not exactly a little either) of posts with different ideas for Halloween costumes of fictional characters! I did this for a number of reasons, one because I wanted to have a lot of FUN, and secondly because, hello, who doesn't want to dress up as a character from a book?
Costumes these days can be super pricey and, for us ladies, quite revealing. And maybe you don't want to be a cop or a devil or a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Maybe you want to be a book character, because HOW COOL would that be?! So I'm here to help you. I'm going to show you how to take the simplest things you might own and turn them into a costume fit to represent fictional characters, with some modern twists, of course.
Are you ready?
Oct 29, 2014
Don't Look Behind the Bookshelf: Dressing as Tiger Lily
Beware, beware, the third (!!!) annual Don't Look Behind the Bookshelf, a Halloween feature I like to do here on Beauty and the Bookshelf, IS FINALLY HERE! For the first two years I had thirteen days of interviews and guest posts from authors whose books could somehow relate to this spooky holiday. (You can find year one here and year two here.) But this year, I'm switching it up and doing something different.
From now through Halloween, I will be posting LOTS (okay, so not LOTS, but not exactly a little either) of posts with different ideas for Halloween costumes of fictional characters! I did this for a number of reasons, one because I wanted to have a lot of FUN, and secondly because, hello, who doesn't want to dress up as a character from a book?
Costumes these days can be super pricey and, for us ladies, quite revealing. And maybe you don't want to be a cop or a devil or a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Maybe you want to be a book character, because HOW COOL would that be?! So I'm here to help you. I'm going to show you how to take the simplest things you might own and turn them into a costume fit to represent fictional characters, with some modern twists, of course.
Are you ready?
Waiting on Wednesday (105)
Waiting on Wednesday
is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine
that showcases upcoming releases
that showcases upcoming releases
that people are very much anticipating.
Seriously. WHO ISN'T WAITING ON THIS? I think we all want need this book like right freaking now.
Oct 28, 2014
Top Ten Tuesday (105)
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.
This Tuesday's theme is...
Top Ten Books to Read to
Get in the Halloween Spirit
Get in the Halloween Spirit
Oct 24, 2014
Let's Talk About Balancing School + Blogging
Oct 22, 2014
Waiting on Wednesday (104)
Waiting on Wednesday
is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine
that showcases upcoming releases
that showcases upcoming releases
that people are very much anticipating.
This is set at Woodstock. WOODSTOCK. HOW GROOVY IS THAT?
Oct 21, 2014
Top Ten Tuesday (104)
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.
This Tuesday's theme is...
Top Ten New Series
I Want to Start
I Want to Start
Oct 19, 2014
Mara's Retribution: Discussing The Unbecoming
In case you missed the news, there's a readalong of the ENTIRE Mara Dyer trilogy happening RIGHT NOW. It's called #MarasRetribution and is hosted by Stacee from Adventures of a Book Junkie, Danielle from Love at First Page, and Katie from Polished Page-Turners, and myself! To keep up with the reading schedule in time for the release of The Retribution of Mara Dyer, participants should be finishing up with The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. And that just happens to be what I'm discussing today!
Oct 15, 2014
Waiting on Wednesday (103)
Waiting on Wednesday
is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine
that showcases upcoming releases
that showcases upcoming releases
that people are very much anticipating.
While I wasn't as big a fan of the second book, book one in this trilogy was VERY GOOD. In fact, this trilogy itself is pretty gosh darn good. So OBVIOUSLY I'm waiting on the final book and hoping it will be nice to me.
Oct 14, 2014
Top Ten Tuesday (103)
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.
This Tuesday's theme is...
Top Ten Places Books Have
Made Me Want to Visit
Made Me Want to Visit
Oct 13, 2014
Review: The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
Authors: Katherine Applegate
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publishing Date: January 7, 2012
Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all.
Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.
Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.
Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope.
Book in One Word: IVAAAAAN.
Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.
Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.
Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope.
Book in One Word: IVAAAAAN.
Oct 10, 2014
Be Our Tattooed Guest: Shari Green + The Words of Aslan
Welcome to Be Our Tattooed Guest, an original feature here on Beauty and the Bookshelf! This feature is all about tattoos of the literary, poetic, and bookish variety, and people showing them off! To learn more about Be Our Tattooed Guest, please go here.
This week features a tattooed guest who's an author, with a quote from a very popular author's book tattooed on her arm.
Oct 9, 2014
Review: This Night So Dark by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Authors: Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Publishing Date: October 7, 2014
Don’t miss the breathtaking short story that connects the first two novels in the Starbound trilogy, These Broken Stars and This Shattered World.
Tarver still has nightmares about the night, six months before the Icarus crash, when he rescued a group of civilian researchers being held hostage by brutal mercenaries. Now Tarver and Lilac must reconcile his memories of that fateful night with the truth that they uncovered on a mysterious planet after the Icarus crashed.
Book in One Word: MOOORE.
Tarver still has nightmares about the night, six months before the Icarus crash, when he rescued a group of civilian researchers being held hostage by brutal mercenaries. Now Tarver and Lilac must reconcile his memories of that fateful night with the truth that they uncovered on a mysterious planet after the Icarus crashed.
Book in One Word: MOOORE.
Oct 8, 2014
Waiting on Wednesday (102)
Waiting on Wednesday
is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine
that showcases upcoming releases
that showcases upcoming releases
that people are very much anticipating.
I have yet to read anything by this author, though I do own the first book in the trilogy she's known for. I had a friend tell me this book was really, really good, but I wasn't sold; this isn't the kind of book I read much of. But then I read the beginning during the YA Scavenger Hunt, and I read the character's voice, and I was sold.
Oct 7, 2014
Top Ten Tuesday (102)
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.
This Tuesday's theme is...
Top Ten Character
Driven Novels
Driven Novels
Oct 6, 2014
September Falling into October
Oct 4, 2014
Blog Tour: Shadows Fall Away by Kit Forbes
Hello, shadows of the internet! Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Kit Forbes's Shadows Fall Away (you can see all the stops on the tour here). If you're a fan of Jack the Ripper, you maaay want to check this book out. And lucky for you, I have all the info on Shadows Fall Away, some info on the author and where you can non-murderously stalk her, and a guest post about why Forbes wrote this book with some of the elements that she did. Plus there's a giveaway, so go ahead and take it all in, but don't go down any dark or shadowy alleys...
Oct 3, 2014
Be Our Tattooed Guest: Christine + Miles to Go
Welcome to Be Our Tattooed Guest, an original feature here on Beauty and the Bookshelf! This feature is all about tattoos of the literary, poetic, and bookish variety, and people showing them off! To learn more about Be Our Tattooed Guest, please go here.
Today features a feathery tattoo with a quote from a poet who's a little frosty...
Oct 1, 2014
Mara's Retribution: A Readalong
Ever since we read the beginning of Michelle Hodkin's The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, "My name is not Mara Dyer," we've been wondering who exactly Mara Amitra Dyer is. We've seen her unbecoming and her evolution and now, in just over a month, her retribution is here. And so it is time for #MarasRetribution.
Sep 29, 2014
Review: Blackbird by Anna Carey
Author: Anna Carey
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publishing Date: September 16, 2014
This twisty, breathless cat-and-mouse thrill ride, told in the second person, follows a girl with amnesia in present-day Los Angeles who is being pursued by mysterious and terrifying assailants.
A girl wakes up on the train tracks, a subway car barreling down on her. With only minutes to react, she hunches down and the train speeds over her. She doesn’t remember her name, where she is, or how she got there. She has a tattoo on the inside of her right wrist of a blackbird inside a box, letters and numbers printed just below: FNV02198. There is only one thing she knows for sure: people are trying to kill her.
On the run for her life, she tries to untangle who she is and what happened to the girl she used to be. Nothing and no one are what they appear to be. But the truth is more disturbing than she ever imagined.
Book in One Word: Meh.
A girl wakes up on the train tracks, a subway car barreling down on her. With only minutes to react, she hunches down and the train speeds over her. She doesn’t remember her name, where she is, or how she got there. She has a tattoo on the inside of her right wrist of a blackbird inside a box, letters and numbers printed just below: FNV02198. There is only one thing she knows for sure: people are trying to kill her.
On the run for her life, she tries to untangle who she is and what happened to the girl she used to be. Nothing and no one are what they appear to be. But the truth is more disturbing than she ever imagined.
Book in One Word: Meh.
