AriSafari

I just updated my shelf and I currently have read 29 books this year. I'm behind on my pacing for my goal but I know I can catch up! I decided not to count all the kids books I read to #JuJuDanger since that doesn't seem fair. Off to read!

A new year means I will blog at least once, so here I am. I just gained access to a ton of new ebooks and this post will be short because I'm about to dive into The Unleashing by Shelly Laurenston! Off to read. :)

The only thing I didn't like about this book was that it ended. I wish there was a sequel! It's amazing to get a peek into what Helen's life might have been. Highly recommend. 

Today IBFB (my daughter) was whining and grunting because she wanted me to pick her up. I am trying to be a good parent so I told her, "Please use your words to tell me what you would like." She looked me straight in the eye and said...

"Tacos."

Brilliant bikes is running a contest, and everyone who gets 99 people to sign up for their mailing list (and stay subscribed for at least 48 hours) will win a free bicycle! All you have to do is click on the link below and enter your email! Thank you so much!!

Ari's Brilliant link.

It was late at night and I had over caffeinated in an attempt to counteract the Nyquil I was taking. I turned to Oyster and started searching for a book. It suggested a book by Meg Cabot and I was sort of surprised. Wasn't she the one who wrote the Princess Diaries? I decided to give it a chance, and downloaded The Boy Next Door. 

This book was actually very good! I was surprised because it's written entirely through email exchanges between the characters. The main character, Melissa, is a gossip columnist at a New York paper with a chronic tardy problem. Her latest late arrival at work happened because she discovers her elderly next door neighbor face down in her apartment, and the mystery of whodunit unfolds throughout the book. There's a hunky man who may not be who he seems (Spoiler! He isn't), dogs, a horrible boss, and more! I highly recommend this book. PLUS- there are two other books in the series.

4 stars.

So I decided to take a leap and order some custom fit dresses from eShakti! They're having a decent sale and I had a coupon so I thought I would take a chance. We're going on a cruise in June and there will be both a formal and semi formal night so my big risk is...full length with bracelet length sleeves on the black grace dress! I NEVER do long dresses because I have a long torso and stubby legs, but I'm hoping the custom aspect will help. Scheduled delivery of the dresses is March 27th, so I'll keep updating here!

o I d

I sort of fell off the blogging wagon there for a while. We've all been sick this last weekend and it was probably the worse sickness ever for me. My fever was so high I was hallucinating and I totally had a zombie apocalypse Snow White themed one which made me start thinking about Cinder by Marissa Meyer. That in turn reminded me that Bookishly Delighted is reading it this month, and the discussion has moved here to Booklikes and voila! here I am again. I will try to blog about books once a week, and random musings interspersed throughout. 

I'm currently between books, does anyone have a recommendation?

So far, I'm doing okay! I finished Insurgent yesterday even though it didn't have the forward movement the original did and it was very difficult to keep my attention on it. I downloaded Karen Marie Moning's Fever series and I'm about 24% through the first book. woot!

Books Finished: 3

Currently reading: Karen Marie Moning's Fever series.

Today's Challenge is hosted by Writing my own fairytale and is a

"Character Coupling Challenge. 

Here is how it works –

1. You must take two characters from two different books and put them together in a relationship. Make sure you list the book and author that the characters comes from.
2. You must explain why you put them together.
3. The relationship is up to you (friendship, romantic, parental, etc.), let’s just keep it appropriate, please.
4. Characters must come from different books and series. Same author is okay with me as long as they aren’t in the same series or a companion series."
5. 

I would put Rachel Morgan from Kim Harrison's Hollows series together with Schuyler Van Alen from Melissa De La Cruz's Blue Blood series. They're both characters that have to straddle being different in an already different world, and I feel like they could really understand each other. They're also both strong female protagonists who tend to make bad choices about men, so they'd have a lot to talk about.

What do you think?

Thanks to Tina at HDB for this perfect synopsis!

"The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 5th and runs through Sunday, January 11th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 12 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog."

My goal is to read 10 books this week.

Read:2

Currently Reading: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Trees of Reverie is hosting today's challenge!

"You’ve just started to work at a bookstore (or library) - what are your top ten go-to book recommendations?"

I chose these book because they're all part of series that I really enjoyed, either in the past or currently. 

• In no particular order-
• 1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
• 2. Anne of the Island by LM Montgomery
• 3. A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Engle
• 4. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
• 5. The Naming by Alison Croggon
• 6. These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• 7. Sabriel by Garth Nix
• 8. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
• 9. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
• 10. Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison

What would your recommendations be?

I wrote out an entire blog post only to have my toddler jump on me and yell "ME PRESS LETTERS!!!!!!!"

Blog post gone. 

This is a perfect representation of what my life is now.

The end.

Christmas is the most magical time of year. You can also feel the magic on BookLikes and switch on the winter mode on your Dashboard with the Snowman icon - click it to make it snow :-)

Due to Christmas time we're postponing Thursday release until the first day of January. But don't go far -- we do have a special holiday treat for you :-)

We've prepared two surprise packages filled up with books and gadgets: one is called Nice Books, and the other Naught Books -- this is a blind Christmas book date so you have to trust us and rely on our literary taste :-)

So, who wants them? 

If you're nodding your head and saying loud "Yes!" you're in! 

This is what you have to do: post a photo of you with your book/e-reader in a holiday spirit on your BookLikes blog - make sure to add the BookLikes Christmas tag so we could find your photo set. 

And remember to write a note which book package would you like to get: Nice books or Naughty books. Be creative: dress up, climb the tree, build a cozy reading room igloo, make a ski reading slide... go crazy!

Can't wait to see your Christmas book inspired photos! We'll pick 2 winners and the deadline is January 10, 2015. 

And this is a cozy one took by one of BookLikes' teammates :-) 

Best wishes!

May this holiday season sparkle and shine. Let’s share the magic with each other this entire season and in the new year. May all your wishes and dreams come true and may you feel this happiness all year round. Best wishes to all of you!