GIVEAWAY Matrimony from Author Joshua Henkin!

Matrimony's author Joshua Henkin was kind enough to offer a personally inscribed copy of the newly released paperback version of Matrimony to one lucky person! Isn't the cover beautiful! You can check out my review here.

Did you know Matrimony was a New York Times Notable book? How cool is that and Joshua also has a website where you can check out his blog, download a reading group guide and see if he'll be visiting your city!

Here's how to enter: 

Leave a comment on this post telling me what about this book sounds interesting to you!

For one additional entry, blog about this giveaway and leave the link in the comments here.

This giveaway is open worldwide! 

Please leave your email address (or have an active blogger account/blog that I can contact you via) in your comment so I will be able to contact you if you are the winner. :)

The giveaway will end Saturday October 11th at 11:59 PM Central Time.

Good luck and thank you Joshua!

Matrimony by Joshua Henkin

Julian and Carter meet their freshman year of college in Professor Chesterfield's, Fiction Writing Workshop. Their professor suggests they befriend each other because they are the only two with any talent. And so they do. Second semester they both find girlfriends, first Carter finds Pilar and then Julian finds Mia. Both couples find themselves still together senior year and also living next door to each other. They are uncertain what they want to do with their lives and where they will go.

The book continues on, flashing forward several years at a time to different parts in Julian and Mia's lives. Confessions will be had and changes will be made over the years. To me this is the study of Julian and Mia's relationship, Julian and Carter's friendship and Julian's battle with himself to finish his novel.

I rather liked this book. I like when a book or even a movie follows a character or two through the ups and downs of their life. You get to see them evolve. I was thrown for a loop about halfway through the book, I suspected what happened would happen later on. I was actually very excited to see where the book would go and how it would end.

Similar to American Wife, Matrimony was able to pick up jump to years later in these character's lives several times. They had new troubles and challenges then they previously had but they were still the same person. I love seeing a character from this perspective, you really feel you get to know them and understand them.

I really liked the details in this book, Julian going to Mr. Kang's grocery or talking to students in Caribou Coffee, if you can't tell Julian is my favorite character. Overall, I enjoyed this book, it's a quiet peek at one couple's life.

What's your favorite book that takes you through one or several character's lives?

3.5/5 Stars
Review copy provided by author

This Week In Books Or It Only Gets Worse... Or Better Depending Who You Ask!

Wow... I think I felt better about myself when my weekly average was less than 10! The past two weeks it has been close to twenty! Got some good goodies this week though!

Monday: Hit the motherload today! From Bookmooch I got The Notebook Girls (which I was actually going to buy myself for my birthday but thankfully I found it this way, amazing) and The Adoration of Jenna Fox (which I hear is exceptional). I also got a review copy of North of Beautiful which I cannot wait to read. (Remember the Lookalikes post that features that book a few weeks ago? Since I first posted it several new covers have been added!)

A majority of my birthday Amazon order to myself also arrived today! Teach Me, which I had to get based on Reviewer X's review. I also got The Center of the Universe: Yep, that would be me, Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, I Was A Teenage Popsicle, Not Quite What I Was Planning, and In Cod We Trust (which I just so happened to do some work on the dust jacket for SQUEAL!!)

Tuesday: nothing

Wednesday: nothing

Thursday: Wasn't going to go to the library book sale store but then I didn't feel like standing at the bus stop for twenty minutes so I went. I figured there would be nothing since they just had a big sale, but actually they had new stuff! I picked up Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, The Dewey Decimal System of Love (Librarian Chick Lit- heck yes), Mr Maybe and Shoot the Moon (which I've been hearing a lot about on the blogs lately!)

Friday: Broken arrived which I won from Dar's blog Peeking Between the Pages. Thanks Dar!

Saturday: I went to Borders looking for one specific book and if they didn't have it I was fine to leave I told myself, I would not need to buy anything. They didn't have it. But then, I saw it, freaking Bargain Sale! With good stuff! I picked up The Areas of My Expertise, Bright Lights, Big Ass (whoops there going my kid friendly blog rating, at least this won't get me an X rating like the book I bought a few weeks ago that I left out of the post) and Fargo Rock City (always wanted to read a Klosterman book!) In the mail arrived the tiny little book Arsenic Soup For Lovers (can you see it, it's so tiny)

I've been listening the the Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist soundtrack on repeat all afternoon and it is GOOD! 

Well that's my week in books, what was your like?

Sorted Books Project

I've heard a little about the Sorted Books Project this week, what a clever idea! Lenore over at Presenting Lenore created some of her own and wants to see what the rest of us can come up with! This was too good for me to pass up. Here's my contribution! If you decide to do one let Lenore know, she's keeping a link list! I'd like to see it too! On a side note I'm proud to say I've read all of these but 2!

In case this is hard to read click to enlarge but I will also write it out.

Summer Blonde

Have I Got A Guy For You

Meet Mr. Product

Great Expectations

Will You Still Love Me If I Wet The Bed?

Mortified

Not Quite What I Was Planning

Not The End of the World

P.S. I Love You

One of those moments

Do you ever have one of those moments? You're watching a tv show or a movie and someone looks slightly familiar and you think about it for a few seconds or few minutes and then you scream "Oh my gosh I know that person, they are from so and so!" and then you rush over to your computer as soon as you can to confirm it. 

Well I just had one of those moments at Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, which by the way was awesome! There are several bands in this movie and the band, Bishop Allen's lead singer looked strangely familiar. And then I figured it out, he's the star of this movie, Mutual Appreciation. Totally random random low budget movie. Anyhow it was a cool movie too. 

It's always really random too. A few weeks ago when I was watching the movie Speed Racer one of the racers looked familiar and then I figured it out. He was one of the stars of the German movie, Run Lola Run. RANDOM! 

Anyway back to Nick and Norah. I loved the movie, just about the sweetest thing ever with a great soundtrack! I was hoping the book would be fresher in my mind since I just read it this past spring but not so much. I did recall a scene or two that I expected to see but never did. Must read book again ASAP.

Did you go see Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, will you? Have you had one of those moments?

Lookalikes 11

Thank You For All Things by Sandra Kring

When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson

Aren't these cuties! Thought you guys might like some titles and authors this time, in case they can't be read on the covers. 

I can't help but pick a favorite this time and that is When Will There Be Good News? Better colors and composition in my opinion. In a way the titles are almost similar too, like "things people would say".

Which is your favorite?

EDIT 10/4/08: Found another to go along with these two! Love the colors and curls on this one!

The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain

Booking Through Thursday!

What, in your opinion, is the best book that you haven’t liked? Mind you, I don’t mean your most-hated book–oh, no. I mean the most accomplished, skilled, well-written, impressive book that you just simply didn’t like.
Like, for movies–I can acknowledge that Citizen Kane is a tour de force and is all sorts of wonderful, cinematically speaking, but . . . I just don’t like it. I find it impressive and quite an accomplishment, but it’s not my cup of tea.
So . . . what book (or books) is your Citizen Kane?

I read this question this morning and thought about it all day. I was going to answer The Lovely Bones but that one I just downright hate and don't think it's a good book whatsoever. So I looked at my LibraryThing ratings and discovered a better answer: A Briefer History of Time by Stephen Hawking.

I know this is an important book, heck it keeps getting republished and updated. I had to read this for a program in college. Every semester a book was picked and we would discuss it at a colloquium. Big to do! They were a lot of fun but this one (along with Godel's Proof come to think of it) went right over my head. I tried to read this book and learn from it but I'm pretty sure my eyes glazed over and I didn't really read it, just thought I was. I liked the pictures, how horrible is that. I guess I've never been too into science so it wasn't surprising to me that I didn't really like it. But I do recognize that this is an important book.

What book made your eyes glaze over?

Pushing Daisies Season Premiere or SQUEAL Part 2

I hadn't realized just how long it had been since this show was on until I watched the first episode of Season 2 tonight and it all came back to me. Because of the writer's strike Season 1 was only 9 episodes long! Thankfully the new season has started and Season 1 on dvd arrived from amazon this week! I'm crossing my fingers for some good special features! 

Star Lee Pace, is also in the movie I recently mentioned The Fall. Other star, Anna Friel is in this great little gem of a movie, Me Without You. And Kristin Chenoweth is just awesome at everything she does. 

This show is like a mini movie each week! What a great first episode, bees bees bees and a ton of books at the very end! Did you watch tonight?

This Year In Movies: September

I watched 11 movies this months and one tv show season. Looking back this month was full of some great stuff. Frankly it's usually a bunch of so-so stuff. But this month was great!

Cry-Baby- This John Waters movie kept popping up on the Netflix Recommends page so I decided I needed to watch it. It was funny.

The Life Before Her Eyes- This was a really good movie. Beautiful flower imagery, great, moving plot. Made me cry. GOOD MOVIE!

21- This was a fun movie. I picked up the book it was based on, Bringing Down the House. I have a feeling that might be more interesting. I liked the lead guy in Across the Universe much more than in this movie. 

Baby Mama- Funny! The movie has a twist, I think I would have liked it more if it stuck to what we were to assume from the trailer. Great cameo part from Steve Martin. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are so funny together!

Outsourced- This was a sweet movie about an American man that goes to India to train his replacement, his division has been outsourced. There is a lot of culture clashing going on but also understanding as well. Good!

Burn After Reading- Wow was this movie funny!! Did anyone else see this, the whole theatre was just cracking up. Pretty sure the advertising images were based off of Hitchcock's posters designed by Saul Bass, which is awesome!

The Fall- This was another great movie. By the man that directed The Cell. This movie is far less creepy though. A very talented little girl stole the show!

Ghost Town- Funny but not as funny as The Office (UK Original version) or Extras. Ricky Gervais was almost too serious. He has a great laugh and we hardly got to hear it

Speed Racer- Ok. I can see why this didn't do so well. It was just meh. I was surprised I didn't hate it, not really into race cars.

Made of Honor- Funny! I especially liked the very beginning, 20 years ago part. I wish that was more of the movie. 

30 Rock Season 1- Good good good! This has a very strong cast of comedians. Great plot lines. Made me cry from laughing several times.

Flakes- Sweet little movie about competing cereal bars. Got it because Zooey Deschanel was in it.

Here's the trailer for The Fall. See doesn't that look good!

What was the best thing you saw in September?

Tuesday Thingers!

Whoops! This is similar to the one I did last night but different enough that I'll also do this one! For some reason the numbers aren't showing up when I copy it here :(

For this week's Tuesday Thingers, I've copied the list of the most-challenged books of the 1990s straight from the ALA website. I've highlighted the ones I've read. Highlight what you've read, and italicize what you have in your LT library.

Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
Forever by Judy Blume
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Giver by Lois Lowry
It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Sex by Madonna
Earth's Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
The Witches by Roald Dahl
The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
The Goats by Brock Cole
Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
Blubber by Judy Blume
Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
Final Exit by Derek Humphry
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
What's Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Pigman by Paul Zindel
Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
Deenie by Judy Blume
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
Cujo by Stephen King
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
Ordinary People by Judith Guest
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
What's Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
Fade by Robert Cormier
Guess What? by Mem Fox
The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Native Son by Richard Wright
Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women's Fantasies by Nancy Friday
Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
Jack by A.M. Homes
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
Carrie by Stephen King
Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
Family Secrets by Norma Klein
Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
The Dead Zone by Stephen King
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
Private Parts by Howard Stern
Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford (why was this banned!)
Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
Sex Education by Jenny Davis
The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

Banned Books Week- Meme

I found this over at S. Krishna's Books who found it over at Reading in Appalachia.

The list is the 115 most banned books. (Oooh). You are supposed to bold the ones you have read, italicize the ones you have read part of (good call, on meme's like this there are always some i've only partially read) and star the ones you own!

1. The Bible

2. Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
3. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
4. The Koran* *
5. Arabian Nights
6. Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
7. Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
8. Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
9. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
10. Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
11. The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli**
12. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
13. Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank**
14. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert**
15. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
16. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
17. Dracula by Bram Stoker
18. Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin
19. Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
20. Essays by Michel de Montaigne
21. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
22. History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
23. Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
24. Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
25. Ulysses by James Joyce
26. Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
27. Animal Farm by George Orwell**
28. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
29. Candide by Voltaire
30. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
31. Analects by Confucius
32. Dubliners by James Joyce
33. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
34. Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
35. Red and the Black by Stendhal
36. Das Capital by Karl Marx
37. Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire
38. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
39. Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence
40. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
41. Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser**
42. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
43. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
44. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
45. Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx
46. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
47. Diary by Samuel Pepys
48. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
49. Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
50. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury**
51. Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
52. Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant
53. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey**
54. Praise of Folly by Desiderius Erasmus
55. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
56. Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
57. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
58. Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger**
59. Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke
60. Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
61. Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe**
62. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
63. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
64. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
65. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou**
66. Confessions by Jean Jacques Rousseau
67. Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais
68. Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
69. The Talmud
70. Social Contract by Jean Jacques Rousseau
71. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (I hated this book when I was little, hated it!
72. Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence
73. American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
74. Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler
75. A Separate Peace by John Knowles**
76. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
77. Red Pony by John Steinbeck
78. Popol Vuh
79. Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith
80. Satyricon by Petronius
81. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (anyone know why this was banned?)
82. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
83. Black Boy by Richard Wright
84. Spirit of the Laws by Charles de Secondat Baron de Montesquieu
85. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
86. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
87. Metaphysics by Aristotle
88. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder**
89. Institutes of the Christian Religion by Jean Calvin
90. Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
91. Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
92. Sanctuary by William Faulkner
93. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
94. Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin**
95. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
96. Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
97. General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud
98. Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
99. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Alexander Brown
100. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
101. Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest J. Gaines
102. Émile Jean by Jacques Rousseau
103. Nana by Émile Zola
104. Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
105. Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
106. Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
107. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
108. Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Peck
109. Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
110. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes** (This book startled me in junior high)
111. Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
112. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling**
113. The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
114. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
115. The Witches of Worm by Zilpha Keatly Snyder

A Mixture of Frailties by Robertson Davies

A Mixture of Frailties opens at the funeral of Mrs. Bridgetower. During the reading of her will, her son, best friend and others are told they are to form a committee to find a young women to fund that will get an education in the arts with the money Mrs Bridgetower has left behind. Her son with get just about nothing but the responsibility to maintain her home as the property of the trust.

Once a young lady is found, Monica Gall, it switches over to her narrative. Monica is a singer and is sent abroad to England to study with several different people. This story is about her experience abroad over the next few years. A Mixture of Frailties is the third in The Salterton Trilogy but I had no problems reading it as a stand alone book.

I loved this book. I will admit that it took several weeks to get through for some reason, but I adored it nonetheless. It's hilarious in a nonchalant way. That's just the way it is. A wealth of humor comes from the cast of different characters that Monica encounters and the situations that arise. It was a refreshing piece of literature. It seems everything I read these days you don't have to think much about and could read half asleep. This book is rich with description and humor is found in every situation which I liked very much.

I liked the character of Monica and identified with the point in life she was in. With this opportunity she grows, changes and finds out who the person she is to become is. All the secondary characters were well flushed out and meaningful to the story.

5/5 Stars

I read this book for the Blog A Penguin Classic Blog.

Review copy provided by publisher

What book have you read recently with a great cast of characters?

Meme: Blogging Changed My Life

Carrie of Books and Movies tagged me for this meme. I'm so horrible I didn't even realized it until just now! I was tagged to write about 5 specific ways blogging has affected me, either positively or negatively.

So let's see. According to my blogger profile I've had this blog since June 2005! I remember I was taking a summer college course or two that summer and wanted to try something new. There weren't many people around that summer and I thought it would be fun. Until about April of this year it was a random blog that I randomly posted on. A few friends read it at first but then eventually I don't think anyone was reading it. I myself loved reading blogs, I used to read a lot of art/design and craft blogs but around April I started reading book blogs and more specifically ya book blogs. The community seemed so awesome I decided to start blogging again but this time with more of a focus and more consistently. 

1. Blogging has made me feel for the first time a part of a community of book lovers. I've never encountered any group of people that can identify with my love of books as much as you guys.

2. It's pulled me away from the tv at night if only for a little bit. If I didn't blog I'm pretty sure I'd spend the whole night in front of the tv. But now with blogging it's given me an outlet to also share my love or tv and movies!

3. Blogging has challenged me to read consistently (that and free time while riding the bus) if I haven't read any books in a long time I'd have nothing to say about them and this would probably just be a movie blog! 

4. Blogging has made me more social even if it's only through the computer. I can be very happy hanging out with myself but sometimes you should take a break from that. I really enjoy talking with you all, sharing stories and book/tv/movie recommendations!

5. I also think that blogging has given me an outlet to archive this period of my life. Imagine looking back in 20-30 years and reading tons of things you've talked about and thought about. I think that's awesome.

6. And oh, one more thing. Blogging has encouraged my bad habit of book buying! *smacks hand*

If you'd be interested in doing this meme consider yourself tagged! Put the link in the comments so I can come see!

How has blogging affected you?

PS That drawing has nothing to do with this. I just wanted to post an image with this. That's part of a zine I created entitled "Animals that Rule" and yes I mean as royalty. I crack myself up!

Squeal Worthy Covers

So I think I'm really strange. I see certain covers and they just don't leave my mind. I think about them way more than I should, it's like I have a crush on them or something! I'm not sure what it is exactly but let's see if we can't figure it out. 

Queen Geeks In Love- The Story Siren reviewed this book earlier this week. I had never seen this cover before but I love it. The image is great, I love feet shots and those tights! And the colors rock.

Pug Hill- Someone reviewed this recently. Was it you? I can't remember who. But the cover is so darn cute! Tiny little dogs and nice type treatment. Love it! Great color combination too.

Matrimony (paperback edition)- Now this is the paperback edition, the hardcover is pretty cool too. But I find myself thinking about this cover more. Once again great color palette but also, pretty sweet pair of girly shoes!

How to Be Single- Again, love the colors. Especially the pleats in the dress, that's awesome! I love the softness of the image.

Let It Snow- Now this one isn't perfect. I don't really like the present and how the title is much smaller then the SCREAMING author names. But I really like the green and white contrasting the red. 

So I guess I'm attracted to colors mostly but also beautiful photography. I  guess that's not surprising considering my background in design and photography. And yes, I do plan to read all of these... ! Marketing works! I've really enjoying all the different posts people have been doing that involve covers. My eyes just widen with excitement. Please keep it up! 

So what covers can't you get out of your head?

This Week In Books Or So This Is What It's Like To Lose Control

So yeah... can't stop buying.

Monday: nothing

Tuesday: We Bought a Zoo arrives.

Wednesday: Perfect on Paper arrives from author Maria Murnane. Thank you! Miles From Nowhere and Oh, the Humanity! arrives.

Thursday: Another trip to the comic book store got me several new very very cute things! I got Johnny Boo: The Best Little Ghost In the World (very cute), Ojingogo (even cuter, much click here to see!), The New York Four and Janes in Love (both Minx graphic novels). The library sale was extra special this day, everything was 50 percent off! I picked up the Best American Short Stories of 1997, I collect these. I also got A Rumination of Cows, for giggles and Consumer Joe, I seem to remember getting a kick out of this in a bookstore some years ago.

Friday: I decided it wouldn't hurt to see if Barnes and Noble had Death by Latte and they did. Got it on my weekly morning treat run. The book is so little and bright and cute. I love the die cuts! Got home to find an ARC of Cycler from a bookmoocher. I really like this particular ARC, it has low-res cover art (the art work is fuzzy) the title design is different from the final and it has marking showing that the actual dust jacket will have a foil background. It's truly a working design, which I love to see!

Saturday: On Friday something came in the mail saying an envelope was trying to be delivered but needed delivery confirmation so I went and got it and it was the book, Falling Under from author Danielle Younge-Ullman . Thank you! I won this book through Author Buzz, a great way to find out about new books! Now this is where I lose total control... I went to a local used bookstore to just have a peek around, hadn't been there in months and I leave with The Tipping Point (which I've read and actually got from bookmooch once but the copy wasn't as nice as I liked so I got rid of it) Bloom (which I've read) and The Secret of Boys to add to my little collection of Hailey Abbott books.

So how about you, what did you buy or not buy this week? How are you book ban challenge participants doing, is it harder than you thought, easier than you thought? 

I HEART your blog!!

The Story Siren, The Boston Bibliophile, and S. Krishna's Books were all so kind to give me this very sweet award! I love you guys! Here's me nominating you right back! 

EDIT: Thanks also goes to Planet Books who also nominated me! Thank you! *waves*

EDIT 10/4/08: Thanks also goes to The Chick Manifesto for sharing the love! Love you guys!

Rules:

1) Add the logo of the award to your blog 

2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you 

3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs 

4) Add links to those blogs on your blog 

5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs! 

So let's see. I remember back in July nominating several blogs for an award so now is my chance to talk about some other great ones!

The Chick Manifesto- This is a rather new blog. Amee (previously from the Ravenous Reader) and Taren talk about all sorts of things including books, tv shows and movies. They definitely talk about things I'm interesting in! They are very friendly, lots of great chats going on in the comments.

Melissa Walker's Blog- I love Melissa and her blog! Win-It Wednesday used to be my favorite day with all the great questions, I still like it, but now Cover Stories on Mondays is my favorite!! Each Monday Melissa shares the story of one author's cover and how it came to be. Pretty much the best thing ever! Melissa is very friendly and shares lots of great things on her blog!

Shooting Stars Mag- Shooting Stars Mag posted about all sorts of things including books, movies and music. If you can't tell those are some of my favorite things!!!

YA Fresh- Kelly and Tina (both YA authors) share a variety of things on their blog. Including interviews, giveaways and fun author things. They are so nice and make you feel welcome!

The Compulsive Reader- The Compulsive Reader is another great blogger. She posts anything from reviews to book of the month to author spotlights. I've emailed with her a few times, she's a great person to talk books with!

Bookshipper- Tina posts a great variety of reviews. Most recently I've enjoyed her series of Red Dress Ink reviews!

The Book Muncher- The Book Muncher mainly reviews young adult titles. But within the genre you will find great variety. She also posts interviews, and other great things! 

What I'm Watching This Fall Season or I Swear I Find Time to Read Too!

So yesterday, I had to squeal with joy over The Office. When in fact there are a lot of fall shows, new and returning that I enjoy/look forward to. Some of them haven't even started yet! When I named this blog Pop Culture Junkie I wasn't kidding! Every fall I carefully consult the Entertainment Weekly, Fall TV Preview Double Issue to map out my tv watching!

Let's see what we got here: 

Privileged (CW-Tuesdays-Season One) is a brand new show about a semi-recent college graduate that gets a job tutoring two not so into school teenage sisters. You'll recognize the star from the tv show Reba! I love that she wears Rocket Dogs!

One Tree Hill (CW-Mondays-Season Six) picked up right where the last season ended, several years in the future still. It's about a group of friends that went to high school together. I think I missed about a season and a half somewhere around Season Four so I need to go back and see what I missed. 

The Office (NBC-Thursdays-Season Five) also pretty much picks up where it left off last season. Pam's going away to art school (squeal). I loved the new friend character at school with her, he's from Mad Men (and The Devil Wears Prada). I got into The Office oh man maybe last summer or fall. Originally I watched the first episode or two and didn't get the humor. But once I got hooked onto it this time around I couldn't stop watching it. I guess my taste in humor has changed a lot! I've seen a season of the original Office and it's just as funny. 

America's Next Top Model (CW-Wednesdays- Cycle Eleven) Cycle Eleven already! I guess they move fast with two seasons a year. I've been watching this show since the beginning and my favorite part is the photo shoots. I have a minor in Photography so I'm all about the interesting set ups and compositions.

The Big Bang Theory (CBS-Mondays-Season Two) is a show about two nerds that live across the hall from a beautiful girl. One of the nerds has a huge crush on their neighbor.  I love the geek, nerd, dork humor!

Ugly Betty (ABC-Thursdays-Season Three) picks up in the fall (the season ended at the beginning of summer) So happy for DVRs, I was able to catch up and by winter of the first season was watching with everyone else. Looks like Betty is in for a lot of changes this year!

Do Not Disturb (FOX-Wednesdays-Season One) takes place in a hotel. I just love the idea of something taking place in a certain work location (The Office). I read something tonight saying it might be cancelled but I guess it is being denied currently. I guess we will see. I love shows like this that collect people from other hilarious short lived shows and bring them together!

How I Met Your Mother (CBS-Mondays-Season Four) is literally the story Ted, the main character, is telling his kids of how he met their mother. But really it's a show about a group of friends.  I started watching this show midway through Season 2 out of laziness, I had just graduated from college and didn't feel like doing anything so I watched tons of tv. This past spring I shot through all the episodes so I was up to date. This show is hilarious, makes me look forward to Mondays!

Mad Men (AMC-Sundays-Season Two) takes place in the advertising world of Manhattan in the early 1960s. The second season actually started in the summer so it's probably half way through already. I've been collecting this on my DVR and watching it in little spurts. I finished watching Season One on dvd the day before Season 2 premiered!

Gossip Girl (CW-Mondays-Season Two) is based on the popular teen book series by the same name. Because it was based on a book I've been watching this from the beginning, it's pretty fun. 

Pushing Daisies (ABC-Wednesdays-Season Two) is pretty much a fairy tale about a guy that can bring dead people back to life but only once and only for a very short period of time. After a very short first season because of the writer's strike I'm very excited for its return. It was my favorite new show last year! 

Desperate Housewives (ABC-Sundays-Season Five) is the story of the residents of Wisteria Lane. I started watching this at the very beginning. Me and several friends in college would always get together to watch it. I love the mystery aspect of the show. 

30 Rock (NBC-Thursdays-Season Three) takes place on the set of a show not unlike SNL, created by Tina Fey. I'm actually watching Season One right now on dvd and plan to be ready for the season premiere at the end of October. This is one of those shows I didn't start watching right away and didn't want to start in the middle of a season so now is my chance to catch up!

90210 (CW-Tuesdays-Season One) is a remake of the original. I never saw the original but I'm liking this new version so someday I may have to go back and watch the original. 

There are other shows I know I'll catch on dvd like Chuck, Samantha Who, Private Practice etc but a girl can only watch so much during the actual season! 

Now this doesn't even cover my favorite shows of all time. A lot of my favorite shows have either ended or been cancelled in the past several years... that's a whole different post! As you can tell I like tv! 

So do you watch any of these shows? What show am I missing that I should be watching? Do you buy your favorite tv shows on DVD? Do you use a DVR recorder? 

The Office Season Premiere!

*SQUEAL* Who watched The Office Season Premiere tonight? I need someone to chat with about this! I was expecting a half an hour episode and was totally surprised for a full hour! I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but near the end there.... YAY!!!!!

It's my plan to watch 30 Rock Season's One and Two by the time it premieres the end of October right after The Office. I've watched about 7 episodes so far and it's hilarious. Tina Fey is a genius.

I'm thinking I might have to go into more detail about the Fall Season at a later point.. but what are you guys watching? 

Booking Through Thursday!

What was the most unusual (for you) book you ever read? Either because the book itself was completely from out in left field somewhere, or was a genre you never read, or was the only book available on a long flight… whatever? What (not counting school textbooks, though literature read for classes counts) was furthest outside your usual comfort zone/familiar territory?
And, did you like it? Did it stretch your boundaries? Did you shut it with a shudder the instant you were done? Did it make you think? Have nightmares? Kick off a new obsession?

I flipped through my handy reading list.. I've had it since about 5th grade so that should cover most everything unusual I've read. I settled on Kissing in Manhattan. 

I think at the time, a few years ago I found the collection of short stories, Kissing in Manhattan pretty unusual. Click that link to read the amazon info, I'd write a review but I haven't read this book in a few years. 

I think this book was the beginning of my love of short stories. It weaves together a series of stories that somehow are related. There are definitely creepy aspects to some of the stories but I just loved it. 

It was sort of a new door opening, I loved this book so much. I can't even remember where or why I picked it up to read it. But I'm very glad I did. 

I guess I don't usually read too much outside of my comfort zone, I usually can tell from a synopsis if I'm going to enjoy something or not. 

If anyone is interesting... me and I think two other people have copies available on bookmooch. I picked up an extra copy at a book sale a few months ago, I just couldn't bare to let it sit there! I feel like this book is a hidden gem, or maybe it's just me! 

What book have you read that launched a love for a new genre of books or was the last straw before you banished the genre from your life?

Fall Into Reading 2008 Challenge

I was inspired to join my first challenge, the Fall Into Reading 2008 Challenge thanks to S. Krishna! She mentioned it was her first challenge and how she had never joined any before because it's hard to read books on a whim when you're part of a challenge! I agree with her, this one seems very flexible. I couldn't help but start the mental list in my mind so I decided to join in too!

Here's my list:

1. Matrimony

2. Loose Girl

3. The Wordy Shipmates gave up on after 80 pgs this rarely happens!

4. My Husband's Sweethearts

5. Swimming with Strangers

6. Off The Menu

7. Perfect On Paper

8. When We Were Romans

9. Meet Delaney

10. The Grift

11. We Bought A Zoo

12. Oh, The Humanity!

13. Miles From Nowhere

I definitely hope to read more than these 13 books over the next 3 months but this is what I'm thinking I'll focus on first of all. I'm sure others will sneak their way in! 

Are you doing this challenge?