5 Nerdy Things To Do This Halloween

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1. Play board games! Here's some spooky ideas a la Wired. I can personally testify to the awesomeness that is Arkham Horror but it is also a massively long and complicated game. Not for the light of gamer heart.

2. Watch scary movies! This is nerdy because it involves you being a little to a lot antisocial. I recommend The Alien Trilogy. Or, you know, whatever's on AMC FearFest because that shiz is bomb.

3. Read scary books! My pick is Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. It takes place around Halloween and is CREEEEPPYYYYY. And also awesome.

4. Play scary video games! If you're a big video game scare wimp (like me), I recommend Amnesia. It's legit scary but isn't super spendy. Also you can play with the lights on and only get as freaked out as you want to be.

5. Watch the X-Files! It's sci-fi! It's creepy! It has David Duchovny being crazy smart and snarky! It has Gillian Anderson being badass! All of the episodes are wonderful - alien story arch or no.

BONUS: I'd also highly recommend watching Supernatural. It's not a huge emotional investment (unless you want it to be) and it has lots of scary monsters. It's campy and cheesy and wonderful.

Do you have any other nerdy ideas? DO SHARE.

LOTR Project

Did you guys already know about the LOTR Project?

If so, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?

If not, you're welcome for introducing it to you.

Many thanks to Leila for the heads up because now I'm all like

the .gif is from here

Review: Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

Title: Falling Kingdoms (Falling Kingdoms, #1)
Author: Morgan Rhodes
Publication Deets: December 2012, Razorbill
Source: Tara @ Hobbitsies a la BEA

Amazon | Goodreads | Author Blog

In a sentence or so: The three kingdoms are tentatively peaceful at best. But when a young princess and her foolish royal friend murder a peasant, it brings about a war that will lead to heartache, betrayal, and the awakening of magic that has so long been dormant in their world.

The three kingdoms of Auranos, Paelsia, and Limeros haven't been friendly in a long time. Limeros is the northernmost and ruled by a Blood King, his dark and brooding son, and the slowly awakening magic of old. Auranos is southernmost and wealthy, entitled, and mostly absent. Paelsia is suffering from poverty, yet neither kingdom has made a move to help.

Cleo, princess of Auranos, joins her friend Aron on a trip to Paelsia for some wine, and things go wrong. Horribly wrong. Aron kills the wine seller's son and things snowball into full blown war between all three kingdoms.

I really liked the alternating chapters between the kingdoms and characters. As a fantasy reader, the abundance of names didn't bother me, but there is a handy dandy guide in the front if you needed it. The slow awakening of magic in their world is reminiscent of A Song of Ice and Fire, so naturally I was all about it.

This book is billed as George R.R. Martin meets Kristin Cashore. That's a pretty big title to live up to, and Falling Kingdoms just falls short. There was a lot to love and embrace and get swept away by in Falling Kingdoms, but it just didn't have that spark for me that I typically find in fantasy reads.

That said, I'll still totally be checking out the future installment in the series to see if we get some more character development (particularly with the ladies who have ALL THE POTENTIAL) and to see how all of the cogs fit together.

If you're looking to try a high fantasy read and aren't sure it's your bag just yet, give this one a go. It has all of the elements, while still being easy to immerse yourself in and characters you in which you want to invest.

Fave quote: "And you must draw from that strength. You must increase it. And you must hold on to it because sometimes that small glimmer of inner strength is all that we have to help press us forward through the darkness." (314, ARC)

Pairs well with: Lord of the Rings or something equally fantastical and epic on in the background. Yeah I know it's not the same kind of fantasy but it totally gets me in the zone so deal with it.

Fix er up: I found the modern dialogue a bit jarring. Also, I would have LOVED more character depth in the kick-ass heroines Rhodes created. Fingers crossed for next time!

FTC Notice: I did not receive any compensation for this review. Or any review ever, really.

In My Mailbox [45] / Stacking the Shelves [1]

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews

YOU GUYS. 

I am loved.

This isn't a grand total of all of the things but it's what I COULD find at the time of the photo.

Here we go.

The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Gifted from Amy at Tripping Books for my 5 year bloggoversary.

THANK YOU AME.

A Wrinkle In Time: The Graphic Novel by Hope Larson and Madeline L'Engle

Review copy from MacMillan Books. Hooray! 

3 Below (Floors #2) by Patrick Carman

Given from April at Good Books and Good Wine.

THANKS APRIL. 

GO BETTY.

Batman: Super Villains Strike: Choose-Your-Fate Adventure Book by Michael Teitelbaum

Also from April because she knows how I feel about Batman.

The Other Normals by Ned Vizzini

Again from April because she knows I lurve the nerds.

A Vera Bradley notebook (and loads of other stuff)

from Asheley of Into the Hall of Books 

SO MUCH LOVE. Forever.

LOADS OF OWL THINGS.

from my sister-in-law because she knows I love them lots.

Honestly I'm going to try and get better about the weekly round up deal.

Because I love seeing what y'all got too! 

If you've read any of these things, holla at me.

Happy reading! 

DAC ARC Tours - A Crossover!

I promise not to make a habit of crossing over my separate blogs often. Truly, I do.

But this is an important announcement! Here we go.

The 2013 Debut Author Challenge will be hosted by Tara at Hobbitsies. Which is rad because the 2013 DAC is fantastic and Tara is fabulous so HONESTLY I'm not sure a better pairing could have been possible since Kristi of The Story Siren has passed the torch.

I'm continuing on with the DAC ARC Tours Blog and while Tara from Fiction Folio is saying au revoir after an amazing year of partnership, Amy from Tripping Over Books and Katelyn from Kate's Tales of Books and Bands are helping me out! Hooray! We have a great team assembled to get publicity for debut authors and doing our best to share those debut titles with bloggers.

For full details about the Debut Author Challenge 2013, check here.

More details coming about the changes and revamping of the Debut Author Challenge Blog soon. Stay tuned to that blog for the deets!

Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

Title: Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Pub Date: August 2012
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Source: A fellow blogger


Amazon | Goodreads | Author Blog | Author Twitter






In a sentence or so: A tournament for the King's Champion brings assassin Celaena out of slavery and into the palace for a chance to win her freedom.

When Prince Dorian pulls Celaena out of the salt mines, she's not sure what to expect. Certainly not for him to be drop-dead gorgeous and absolutely not for a chance to win her freedom. All she has to do is win a tournament against the best of the best and not die in the process.

After arriving to the glass castle in Adarlan, Celaena quickly discovers there are dark forces at play. Someone, or something, is killing a champion before each competition. Can she figure out what in the world is going on? And does Celaena have the power to stop it?

It's really hard to sum up this book because there are SO MANY THINGS. There's love triangles and new friends and fantasy elements and dark secrets and intrigue and LOTS OF FEELS.

What most readers will like about Throne of Glass is how easily we slip into Celaena's world. the language is contemporary so it is easy to read crazy fast.

What the experienced fantasy reader might struggle with are things feelint too modern and having so many elements at play at once.

But whatever. It's fun. There's ass-kicking and mystery and kissing in a castle. ROLL WITH IT. I'm ready for the next one, please!

Fave quote: "We all bear scars, Dorian. Mine just happen to be more visible than most." (305 ARC)

Pairs well with: We Found Love by Rihanna. I know. Bear with me.

I had this crazy epiphany when I heard the song on the radio the other day and it all clicked together.  The song starts off slow and feels a bit average. That's how I felt with Throne of Glass. I knew people lurved this book but I wasn't getting any butterflies or sweaty palms over it.

Then, like when the beat builds in We Found Love to this epic dance worthy, arm flailing beauty, Throne of Glass blows the doors off and shit gets SO REAL. That's when I knew. I found love.

And also, finding love in a hopeless place = Celaena + Chaol (I ship them. Deal.) What's more hopeless than slavery to being an indentured assassin?



Fix er up: I was bummed we didn't learn more about the other champions. If we're going for epic fantasy, give me all the details.

FTC Notice: I was not compensated in any way for this review. This review is based off of the ARC.

Balance. I need some.

As you may have noticed, I've been MIA for the past few days. That's largely due to having family in town visiting (yay!) but also because I'm kind of in a reading funk.

I KNOW. I just came back from a damn sabbatical and here I am in the funk again!

I think I start to get in a reading funk when I feel like my other hobbies take a back seat to my reading. It's no secret that I'm all about the video games and board games, but I also like to watch TV series and movies with my husband and I've picked up knitting again. I do like to craft but I haven't done that in foreverrrrr.

I know I'm not the only one who has a handful of hobbies out there that include reading and blogging. So I'm curious - how do you do it?!

How do you find the balance of blog and reading? Of reading and other hobbies? Do you feel like you skew one way or the other? How do you get things back on track?

All of your insight is greatly appreciated and will be selfishly absorbed into my attempts to balance out all of my hobbies!

YOU GUYS

I know I post a lot of nerdy t-shirts but DAMN IT this is my blog and I do what I want!

Also how could I resist sharing this with you?!

source

Review: Sabriel by Garth Nix

Title: Sabriel (Abhorsen #1)
Author: Garth Nix
Pub Date: September 1995
Pub Deets: Harper Trophy
Source: Library
Challenges: Rewind and Review, Support Your Library Challenge



Amazon | Goodreads | Author Blog | Author Twitter



In a sentence or so: Necromancer Sabriel is off to save her father and lock down a seriously evil dead dude trying to cause all sorts of destruction among the living.

Sabriel’s finishing her last year of boarding school when she gets a letter from her dad, Abhorsen. He’s trapped in death and needs her help. Woefully unaware of how things work in the old kingdom, but determined to save her father, Sabriel heads out to her dad’s place to see what she can figure out from there. Once she gets to the old kingdom, things are bad. Like really bad. Charter stones, which are the source of her magic, are broken all over the place and clearly the work of some supremely powerful and evil force.

Sabriel partners up with a guardian in cat form named Mogget, suits up in all sorts of sweet necromancing gear and gadgets, and she’s off to save her father and probably the whole dang world while she’s at it.

This is one of the classic YA fantasy books, and I can totally see why. Heavy on the magic and adventure, Garth Nix writes for young adults but does so with a mature voice and lots of details. There were so many things to learn about Sabriel’s world, and I greedily gobbled them all up.

If you’re looking to start a new epic fantasy series that isn’t overwhelming, give Sabriel a go. I know I’ll be finishing up this series asap!

Fave quote: "But Mogget was silent. All Touchstone heard was the shuffling, wading, splashing of the Dead, as they slowly drew closer, like starving rats creeping up to a sleeping drunk's dinner." (211)

Pairs well with: A furry companion. While Mogget certainly won’t admit it, I’d bet he’d snuggle right up to you while you read.

Fix er up: The romance felt a little clunky and forced near the end. Like the editor told Garth Nix he HAD to have a romance in there and he was all OKAY FINE.

Top Ten Tuesday (1)

You guys! I'm getting in on the Top Ten Tuesday train! I'm excited.

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is: Older books you don't want people to forget.  Honestly, could I have picked a better time to get in on this action? NOPE.

Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness.  Seriously it is rare that any list I make about anything EVER doesn't have this series on it. But for real it's the best and it's older so DO NOT FORGET.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore. I always compare every YA fantasy and heroine back to this book and I almost always come up lacking. Katsa is the #1 badass forever and always.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. Percy. Jackson. <end>

I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak. This book had me crying all the ugly tears via audiobook in my car and too public and I didn't even care because THAT ENDING. I love you Ed. Also, Markus talked to me about the book once and I was not even calm.

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff. This was one of the first YA books I ever read and it holds a super special place in my heart. Meg writes in a way that pierces your heart again and again with her phrasing and the way she sets up her characters. This book in particular puts a bunch of teens in a war zone where they have to survive and it's NOT easy and it does NOT end well.

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. Jane Austen + gothic mystery + romance = OH YES.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Sci-Fi meets pre-teen boy. Can you think of a book more perfect for me? But really, the reason why you should never forget it is because it poses some serious moral questions and gives you a hero that makes your heart soar and weep at the same time.

Gentlemen by Michael Northrop. One of the rare books I read in a single sitting. Mostly because it was incredibly well written but also because it was super suspenseful and I could NOT sleep until I knew how it ended!

A Swift Pure Cry by Siobhan Dowd. Sometimes, I'll just be sitting and reading a book or watching a movie or something and a scene or a moment will trigger a memory of this book and I just can't help but relive the whole damn thing. It's sad and beautiful and so very hard to read. Dowd was a master.

Looking for Alaska by John Green. THE COLONEL. I love you to the moon and back. Everyone else should too. Also this was the first JG book I read and it was love at first page.

Have you read any of these? Do you agree they should not be forgotten? Do share!

Thanks for hosting the good times, Broke and Bookish! oxo

Rewind & Review: October

Rewind and Review is a feature created by Ginger of GReads! and yours truly that gives you a chance to dig deep down in your TBR and give books from 2010 or older a chance. They've been waiting for you. It's time.

You'll have to watch the video to see what books I'm Rewinding and Reviewing this month. Believe me - you'll be excited.

Please link yours up down below! You can link up your initial post, your reviews as you get them done, or both!

Good luck and happy reading, y'all.