This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is fun – Ten Characters I’d Name a Pet after! [You can also do child, car, etc.]
Addy (American Girls) – When I was a kid I loved the American Girl dolls. I had the Samantha doll and read the books for each girl that was out at the time. I named one of my cats Addy, after Addy Walker.
Watson (Sherlock Holmes) – I feel like this would be a good name for a cat. Preferably one those cute ones with a smushed face.
Finn (Huckleberry Finn) – Not much to say here, I just like the name.
Milo (Catch-22) – A perfect name for a dog, if you ask me.
Frankie (Frankenstein) – I had a cat named Frankie. The original owners named him Frankenstein because he had a white lighting bolt-looking patch of hair down the center of his face. He was adorable.
Darcy (Pride & Prejudice) – I think this could work for a male or female pet.
Daisy (The Great Gatsby) – I have a little shih-poo (half miniature poodle, half shih-tzu) named Daisy. I’ve always liked the name, I think it’s sweet.
Jo (Little Women) – When I got my cat Addy, I also got her sister, Josie. I was inspired by Josephine March in Little Women when I picked the name.
Blanche (A Streetcar Named Desire) – Plus it would remind you of the Golden Girls, and that’s fun.Stella also works (probably a little better.)
Blue (The Passenger) – I’m picturing a dog with this name but it could work for anything, really.
I can’t wait to read your lists! Feel free to posts links in the comments below 🙂
This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic: Books You Read Because of a Recommendation! The following books were recommended to me by friends and family – some I enjoyed, others…not so much.
The Weight of Blood: This is a murder mystery/psychological thriller that takes place in the Ozarks. This was recommended by a friend who has similar taste in books and movies. I really enjoyed this book. It’s not a pleasant story but it’s well written and held my interest from start to finish.
50 Shades of Grey: I had multiple friends and family reading this (and enjoying it) so I finally gave in and got the book. This was probably some of the worst writing in a published book I’ve ever read. I do not get why people love this. Well, I mean I get it but…no.
The Hunger Games: This was recommended by a classmate. I saw her reading it before class one day and thought the title was interesting. I asked her about it (having never actually spoken to her before), and she raved about it. I bought it the next day and thought it was great!
The Martian: This was recommended (and loaned to me) by a coworker/friend. We also went to see the movie together when it came out! Great book and a great movie.
A Walk to Remember: I have a family member that is obsessed with Nicholas Sparks. When I casually mentioned I hadn’t read any of his books, she suggested I start with this one, her favorite. I didn’t become a Sparks super fan but it was better than I expected it to be.
Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx: This was recommended to me by a high school teacher (he gave me his personal copy, now that I think of it.) It’s a true story and I could not put it down.
My Sister’s Keeper: This was recommended by a cousin, who happens to be a big Jodi Piccult fan. I have mixed feelings about this book. I didn’t particularly care for the ending (at all) but it did tackle a difficult subject and raised some interesting questions. I don’t think I would recommend it to others though, just because I was so annoyed at the end.
Marley & Me: This was recommended by my mom. I’ll start by saying I don’t like books or movies about animals because I usually end up crying. That being said, I really enjoyed this and it made me laugh out loud numerous times. And yes, I still wound up crying.
Shiver: This was recommended by a friend and fellow fan of YA. She pitched it to me as “like Twilight but better.” I didn’t really care for it but I’ve read some really good reviews of other books by this author so I will give her books another try.
Shutter Island: This was a recommendation by the same friend as mentioned above. I read it just before the movie came out. Since then I’ve read seven other Dennis Lehane books and plan on reading Mystic River in 2017.
Do you read books recommended by friends or do you prefer to pick them on your own?
Today I’m super excited to post my first author interview!
My friend Nicole Sewell is publishing her second book – Emerson Hills – on October 6th. It’s a ghost story (just in time for Halloween!) and is available for pre-order now – links below!
YA Author Nicole Sewell
Heather: Hi Nicole! Thanks so much for agreeing to be interviewed! Can you tell the readers a little about yourself?
Nicole: I’m a full-time wife, mother, and recruiter at a staffing company. I love toast made from white bread, and HATE bananas.
Heather: Emerson Hills releases October 6th – what is it about?
Nicole: Trailer parks, ghosts, and the power of friendship. Ha! Kidding. Sort of. It’s about a girl who is being haunted by the ghost of her worst enemy. And smoking pot. And concussions. And friendship bracelets…I’m bad at this. Here’s the jacket summary:
Seventeen-year-old Jordyn Bentley lives in a trailer park in Georgia with her overworked mother and slacker older brother. Like any trailer park, Emerson Hills is full of drama usually reserved for daytime talk shows. But things get serious when local pageant princess and trailer park resident Emmy Roper goes missing after shoving Jordyn in front of a truck.
All eyes are on Jordyn, who has been Emmy’s worst enemy for years and has every reason to want revenge. To make matters worse, Jordyn is being haunted by Emmy’s annoyingly cryptic spirit.
With accusations flying and an irritating ghost on the loose, Jordyn sets out to prove her innocence and put Emmy to rest with the help of her best friend Rachel, and Brandon, her brother’s hot friend who lives across the road. The cops are breathing down her neck, the clock is ticking, and it just might take help from beyond the grave to clear her name.
Heather: This book is considered Young Adult. What draws you to this genre?
Nicole: I prefer Young Adult just because I’m not a fan of gratuitous sex. There’s plenty of sex in YA, but no heaving bossom’s and throbbing members. I also have decent memories of my late teen years, so it’s fun to relive those to some extent.
Heather: Emerson Hills is a ghost story. Do you believe in ghosts?
Nicole: I do. And here’s why: I believe in spiritual entities, beings that exist on a higher non-corporeal plane, and everything in between. If you believe in God, angels, demons, souls, aliens, etc., you kind of have to include ghosts in that mix. Now, do I believe ghosts are scary things that float around and terrorize people out of spite? No. I think “ghosts” are released souls or energy that are making their way to the next plane. Occasionally one gets caught here.
Heather: Did you have to do any research for this book? There is a séance scene that was pretty creepy; have you been to a séance before?
Nicole: I’ve never been to a séance, but I did pick the brain of a few people that I know dabble with that kind of stuff. I guess you can call that research. I also watched some YouTube videos. They were all pretty lame, honestly. The most informative people I spoke with were the Pagan and the Satanist. Two different perspectives that are radically different from my own Christian perspective. I did a little research on head injuries and the rate of decomposition of bodies too. Not exactly the most pleasant, but it was interesting.
Heather: Along with being a ghost story, Emerson Hills is also a murder mystery. I was surprised by who the killer was – was that your intention?
Nicole: Fo’ sho! Actually, I went back and forth with who I wanted the killer to be. Literally right up to the very end, I had one person in mind. And then I was like, “No, THIS!!!” I’m always REALLY happy when someone tells me they were surprised.
Heather: Can you give us a small excerpt of the book?
Nicole: Sure…
“Wanna go in?” she asks.
I stand up from the porch swing and stretch with my arms above my head. “Yeah, why not?”
Movement three trailers up catches my eye. It’s Jason and his lifelong best friend, Kyle, with that bitch Emmy.
I roll my eyes. “God. What’s she doing here?”
Rachel twists around in her seat. “Let’s go inside before they get here.”
Jason catches my eye and walks a little faster, leaving Kyle and Emmy behind.
“Hey,” he says, taking the four front steps in two strides.
“Carlos is looking for you,” I say, watching him closely for signs of nervousness. His face tells me nothing, other than that he needs to shave. And cut his hair. It’s starting to curl around his ears and at the back of his neck. His shirt is so wrinkled it’s like crepe paper. “You look like shit,” I add.
He narrows his eyes, giving me a bland smile before he turns to Rachel. “What’s up?”
“We were about to go inside for a minute,” she says, standing up.
Jason’s eyes drift to Kyle and Emmy as they cut across the neighbor’s yard to join us on the front porch.
Emmy stomps up the steps in her stupid ballet flats. She’s only been on the porch for three seconds and I already want to punch her in the throat.
We didn’t always hate each other. Emmy Roper has always been Camp Springs, Georgia’s pageant princess. We used to compete side by side until fifth grade, when I won the crown and she got first alternate. Emmy considered it an act of war, and even though I quit competing, she’s hated me ever since.
I take in her freshly bleached roots and immaculate hot pink nail polish. Why anyone would want to be a living Barbie doll is beyond me.
“Mom probably won’t want a bunch of people in the house,” I say, glancing pointedly between Jason and Emmy.
“She’s working late. It’ll be fine,” he says, putting his arm around Emmy. Emmy giggles and flips her hair over her shoulder, eyeing me, daring me to say something.
“Well, I don’t want her in the house,” I say.
“Tough shit.” He tightens his grip on her and leads her into the house.
The screen door screeches and bangs behind me, the last one in. If it was just Rachel and me, we’d go to my room. Since Jason brought his fan club, we make ourselves at home in the living room because the last thing I want is Emmy Roper in my bedroom, touching my stuff.
Heather: Even though Outside was a serious topic, there were times when I laughed out loud. Does Emerson Hills also have humor in it or is it just totally scary?
Nicole: I meant for Emerson Hills to be a comedic horror. I’m a fan of movies like Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead and Jennifer’s Body. I don’t like super-intense horror. If there aren’t moments of hope and a laugh or two, I usually can’t handle it.
Heather: What was the hardest part of writing Emerson Hills?
Nicole: Developing the romance at a reasonable pace and keeping it relevant. I always struggle with that, though. I’m a fan of the slow-burning romance, but have a hard time writing it myself.
Heather: Okay, last question: What can we expect from you in the future?
Nicole: I’m working on two projects simultaneously. Literally one sentence at a time… One is a contemporary romantic thriller that takes place in the same universe as Outside. The other is a supernatural angels/demons type thing that I plan to make into a series. Finding time to write is a serious challenge though. I’m probably going to have to take some vacation days or call in sick if I ever hope to finish anything!
Heather: Thanks so much, Nicole! I hope Emerson Hills is a huge success!
You can pre-order Emerson Hills on Amazon now! And be sure it add it to your to-read list on Goodreads! You can also purchase her first book, Outside, for only $2.99!
This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic: In honor of fall TV, do a TV-themed topic! I was originally going to somehow tie in a book theme with this (being that this is a book blog and all) but instead I’m going with TV Shows I Discovered This Year.
Some of these are NOT new – I just happened to start watching them a lot later than everyone else!
New Girl – I actually watched the first season of this when it debuted and really liked it. My husband had never seen it and we couldn’t find anything good on TV so we decided to watch an episode. A month later and we’d watched all 5 seasons! (Thanks, snow days!)
Making a Murderer – I’ve recently started watching Netflix and they have so many interesting shows! My coworker insisted I watch this and I was hooked by episode 2. With the recent news that Brendan Dassey’s conviction was overturned I’m sure there will be another season of this.
Stranger Things
Stranger Things – Okay, I LOVED this. This was another Netflix binge watch (sensing a theme yet?) and it was so good. The best way I can describe this is: mix together Goonies and E.T. and then make it really creepy.
FARGO
Fargo – If you haven’t seen this (and don’t mind violence) you need to watch this ASAP. Both seasons are fantastic. They manage to pull in some really great actors, too.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt – First of all, the theme song is the best. This is a really quirky show and it cracks me up. Tina Fey is one of the producers – she also appears now and then – and if you watched 30 Rock you’ll like this, I think.
The Jinx – I watched this while I had a free HBO trial and oh my God, this guy is bizarre. Watch this, then check out All Good Things with Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst. And then be weirded out forever.
Bob’s Burgers – I am not usually a cartoon person. I don’t watch Simpsons, Family Guy, or any of those shows. But Bob’s Burgers? YES. This is such a funny show. Tina is my personal favorite but the entire family is bonkers and it’s fantastic.
Breaking Bad – Another Netflix show. We just finished the first season – so far so good!
Playing House – This is super funny. The seasons are pretty short so you could definitely binge watch this without it taking up your entire life.
Andy Samberg and Melissa Fumero
Brooklyn Nine-Nine – This has been on for a few years but I just started watching it. I didn’t care for it the first time I watched it but now I’m hooked.
So there you have it – I watch way too much TV. As far as what I’m looking forward to, I cannot wait for Gilmore Girls to come back! Can. Not. Wait. Oh, and Sherlock. I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for new Sherlock episodes.
Let me start with a THANK YOU to Av8tor1988 from Inside My Minds for nominating me for a Blogger Recognition Award and Michael J. Miller from My Comic Relief for the Versatile Blogger Award nomination! I’m going to post about both below!
Starting with the Blogger Recognition Award, Av8tor1988 nominated me back in June so (a) apologies for the late post on this and (b) yay! Inside my Minds is super fun to read – we both participate in Top 5 Wednesday and Top Ten Tuesday AND this blog has lots of Harry Potter love going on, which I great – you should definitely check it out!
Here are the Blogger Recognition rules:
Write a post showing the award
Give a brief story of how your blog started
Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers
Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog
Select 15 other blogs you want to give the award to (more on this at the very bottom of the post!)
As far as how this blog started, I really just wanted a way and place to talk about books! It seemed like a lot of fun – and I was right! I haven’t been doing this for very long so I’m not sure how useful my advice will be but…
Don’t worry too much about what people will think of your posts. Write about what interests you. If you follow me, you know I do a lot of book memes (Top 5 Wednesday, Top Ten Tuesday, etc.) Some bloggers hate these (both reading and writing them). I happen to have a lot of fun doing them. Blogging should be fun so do what makes you happy!
Interact with other bloggers! I’ve had so many fun discussions and gotten a ton of book recommendations this way. This whole blogging thing is so much more fun when you have blogger friends to interact with!
Okay, now on to the Versatile Blogger Award! Thank you Michael for the nomination! As you can probably guess from the blog’s name, My Comic Relief focuses on comic books! Michael puts a ton of work and thought into his posts and I really love reading them. He also loves Ghostbusters, which is awesome!
Versatile Blogger Award Rules:
Thank the blogger who nominated you
List seven fun facts about yourself
Nominate up to fifteen other blogs you’d like to share this award with
Fun facts…
I have two dogs. One is a large 10-year-old Australian Shepard and the other is a tiny 2-year-old Shih-poo (half shih-tzu, half miniature poodle). I’ve actually always been a cat person but I love these two rascals.
I’m originally from Michigan. I live in Colorado now but run into people from MI at least once or twice a month. There is some sort of migration going on, apparently! I miss the water but not the humidity or mosquitoes.
I’m obsessed with TV shows/movies about dancing. Even if it’s a horrible movie (and let’s be honest, a lot of dance movies are), I have probably seen it at least twice.
My lucky number is 56. I have no reason for this.
I love to travel. If I ever win the lottery I’ll probably spend most of it on travelling. I keep trying to get my husband to try out for Wheel of Fortune because he’s really good at it and I want him to win me a trip J
I love theater! It costs a fortune but I really love going to the theater. I try to go at least once or twice a year. There is a rumor that Hamilton is coming to my area next year so I’m hoping to make that happen!
I love classic books and movies! When I was younger I had a list of the top 100 books and the top 100 movies and tried to work my way through them. I haven’t read/seen them all yet but I’ve got a pretty good chunk of them done!
As far as nominating others, I’m going to take a page from Cover2CoverMom’s book, er, blog, and open this tag up to anyone who thinks it sounds interesting/fun! [Semi-related note, Cover2CoverMom is a really fun blog to read so check it out!]
It’s time for Tuesday Talks! If you would like to participate, you can join the Goodreads Group to see all of the monthly topics!
This week’s topic: Do you unhaul books and if so, how often?
I typically do an annual unhauling of books in the spring – which is also when I clean out my closets!
Reasons I unhual each year:
To make room for more books!
To get rid of books I wasn’t crazy about (I like to keep physical copies of books I really love)
Multiple copies of books thanks to friends/family gifts
Some years I have a ton of books to give away and other years I hardly have any; it really just depends. I usually donate the books to my library (many libraries have a “friends” bookstore that will sell your unwanted titles.)
I’ve decided to pick a previous TTT topic – Top Book to Movie Adaptations!
1. To Kill a Mockingbird – This is one of my all-time favorite books AND one of my favorite movies. I think they did such a great job with the casting of this film; I can watch this movie over and over.
2. Pride & Prejudice – Confession: I am a total sucker for all things P&P! I enjoy most adaptations of this novel. I just really enjoy the story and characters!
3. Little Women – I absolutely adore the film version with Winona Rider and Christian Bale (any other Christian Bale lovers out there?) I like to watch this at least every other winter!
4. Harry Potter – Okay, of course I’m putting this on the list. I mean, come on!
5. Stephen King Adaptations – I’m cheating here but there are SO MANY great film adaptations of King novels. I’m thinking particularly of Stand By Me, Carrie, and The Shining, just to name a few!
Honorable mention to Gone Baby Gone/Mystic River/Shutter Island – film adaptations of Dennis LeHane books tend to be pretty darn good, in my opinion!
It’s Top Five Wednesday time! Click here to join the Goodreads group!
In honor of June 19 being Father’s Day, this week’s topic is Favorite Literary Fathers/Father Figures!
1. Will Freeman in About a Boy – He’s not your typical father figure but I think it still counts! If you haven’t read About A Boy I highly recommend it!
Will Freeman may have discovered the key to dating success: If the simple fact that they were single mothers meant that gorgeous women – women who would not ordinarily look twice a Will – might not only be willing, but enthusiastic about dating him, then he was really onto something. Single mothers – bright, attractive, available women – thousands of them, were all over London. He just had to find them.
SPAT: Single Parents – Alone Together. It was a brilliant plan. And Will wasn’t going to let the fact that he didn’t have a child himself hold him back. A fictional two-year-old named Ned wouldn’t be the first thing he’d invented. And it seems to go quite well at first, until he meets an actual twelve-year-old named Marcus, who is more than Will bargained for…
2. Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird – I’ll be surprised if the majority of bloggers don’t put Atticus on their list! I haven’t read Go Set a Watchman – I think that may change my view of Atticus a bit? Have any of you read it? And yes, I picture Gregory Peck when I read the book!
3. Matthew Cuthbert in Anne of Green Gables – I know I’m constantly referencing this book but I can’t help myself.
4. Hans Hubermann in The Book Thief – The first time I read this I couldn’t get into it and stopped after a few chapters. The second time around I absolutely loved it! I’m pretty sure I went through an entire box of tissue by the time I was finished. The relationship between Hans and Liesel is great.
5. Baba in The Kite Runner – I’m a huge fan of Khaled Hosseini (does anyone know when he’ll release another novel?) This is one of those can’t-put-it-down books.
Your turn! Who are some of your favorite literary fathers/father figures?
This week’s Top 5 Wednesday is a fun one – Favorite Character Names!
Years ago I briefly worked in a call center and got a kick out of some of the names people had (Kim Schlim and Cinnamon Stickle were my personal favorites – actual legal names, btw.) Here are five of my favorite literary characters names!
Sherlock 2 Specials Shoot 30th July 2011
1. Huckleberry Finn
2. Ponyboy Curtis (followed closely by Sodapop Curtis)
3. Beloved
4. Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes
5. Holly Golightly
And honorable mentions go to basically every single name in any Harry Potter book!
I’m so excited that Nancy from Graphic Novelty2 nominated me for a Liebster Award! How cool is that?!
Graphic Novelty2 is a great blog so make sure to check it out! There is a super helpful list of Graphic Novel recommendations for those, like myself, who are somewhat clueless about such things. I think I’ll give A.D.:New Orleans After the Deluge by Josh Neufeld a try based on this list!
The Liebster Award is passed around the blogging community as a fun way of getting to know each other. Here is how it works – once you get nominated:
Thank the nominator and link back to their blog
Answer 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you
Nominate other bloggers that you think deserve the award
Write 11 questions for your nominees
Let them know you’ve nominated them
Okay, so I would like to nominate:
Pearl Kirkby at Old Fossil Writes – I loved her short story Folded Dreams and her blog posts are great! (Plus she gets bonus points for loving Harry Potter and Midsomer Murders!)
Nicole Sewell – Nicole is a blogger and amazing YA writer!
Arvenig: Arvenig’s blog is full of book reviews, author interviews, and the occasional giveaway!
My 11 questions for the nominees:
What is your favorite book or series?
If you could do anything (other than your current job) what would you do for a living?
What is your favorite book-to-film adaptation?
What is your least favorite book-to-film adaptation?
On average, how many books do you read each month?
What is your favorite thing about blogging?
What is the most challenging thing about blogging?
Why is your blog focused on the topic(s) you’ve chosen? If you can write about anything, why this?
How often do you blog?
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Tell us a fun fact about yourself!
And here are the answers to the questions Nancy gave me!
1) What is your favorite book or series? My favorite stand-alone book is probably To Kill a Mockingbird; I can’t remember how many times I’ve read that – I really love it! My favorite series is hands-down Harry Potter. I’m a little obsessed.
2) What are you thankful for? My family! I’m super thankful that I have an awesome husband that will go on random adventures with me J I also have great parents and in-laws. I love ‘em! Oh, and my two rowdy dogs!
3) What is your favorite place to visit? That’s a tough one! I always have fun in Vegas (I got married there!) I also really love D.C. and am super excited to be visiting again in a few weeks.
4) Why is your blog focused on the topics you’ve chosen? If you can write about anything, why this? My life has always involved books, reading, and writing in one way or another. Along with loving to read in my spare time, I have an English degree as well as a Library Science degree. I’ve worked in various bookstores, for a publishing company, and now I’m an archivist at a library. It just seemed like a natural fit for me to have a book blog.
5) Do you hold yourself to any sort of schedule as a writer (for example, you must write a little every day or do a post every week) or do you just write when you feel so moved? Why is this your chosen path? I have a lot of fun doing the Top Ten Tuesday, Top 5 Wednesday, and Tuesday Talks so I try to do at least 1-2 of those a week. I also make an effort to write a recap of the books I’ve read each month. Otherwise I just write when a topic pops into my head.
6) What would you like to learn how to do? I would love to learn sign language. I know the alphabet but that’s it. We have a school for the deaf and blind where I live and we often get hearing impaired patrons at the library where I work – it would be great to be able to communicate with them more effectively.
7) What do you want people to remember about you? I would like to be remembered as a kind person.
8) What is the reason behind the name of your blog? It’s just my name! I suppose I could have been a little more creative with that one J
9) Which post on your blog would you like to have gotten more readership? I’m always surprised by which posts get a lot of likes and comments. I’m not sure that I have a particular post that I wish had more readership. I am always thrilled when people like my posts though!
10) Has there been anything challenging about blogging since you’ve started writing for an online audience? The biggest challenge is probably finding time to blog. It was also difficult at first to build an audience and jump into interacting with other bloggers since I didn’t know what on earth I was doing. But I’m getting better!
11) Lastly, what have you found to be the most rewarding part of blogging since you began your writing venture? I’ve added so many books to my to-read list based on blogger’s recommendations, discovered some great indie authors as well. It’s just great to hang out (virtually) with other book nerds!
Thanks again to Nancy at Graphic Novelty2 for the Liebster nomination – what a wonderful surprise!
Heather Hobbs 