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Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 4/28/13

Apr
28
• 3 COMMENTS • This post is filed under: Clock Rewinders, Personal •

Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 4/28/13

Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge is the weekly recap feature created by
Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Tara @ 25 Hour Books

In the life of Smash

I had an interesting weekend. Vania and I participated in a Vampire 5k on Friday night. It was the first 5k for us both. We ran about a 1/3 of the course and walked fast the rest of the time. We finished in 53 minutes, and our goal was to come in under an hour. GO US! We then rode the Superman at Six Flags (that’s where the run was) and that is a kick ass coaster!  You actually hang in a flat position parallel to the ground, like you’re flying!

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My legs HURT today.

Saturday, I scrapbooked all by my onesies. I took a class and then stayed until 8PM working on Project Life. I met a local paranormal erotica writer in the class, and gave her my card. I love when my two hobbies collide. I made some bookish pages!

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Smash Attack Reads Recap

2013 Reading Goals

It’s all about the series, yo!

SeriouslySeries02 Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 4/28/13

 Check out my book list.

YAHOO! I finished two more series! I finished GAME and DAYS OF BLOOD AND STARLIGHT. I now have 6 series completed! And I started SCARLET on audio, and SHATTER ME in hardcopy. Woot!

On another note, I inhaled read THE FAULT IN OUR STARS. This is going to be a difficult review to write. I did not write ONE SINGLE NOTE because I didn’t remove my nose from the book. This rarely happens. There was so much beauty and pain, as well as amazing characters. It was truly a work of art. I want an Augustus Waters in my life!

The Web 411

Plinky Question of the Day

If you could move to any location on the planet, where would you go and why?

Gah. Could this question be any harder? I’d have to say London or Costa Rica. Those are the top spots of the places I’ve visited, both representing very different things. London with the glitz, glamour and entertainment, and Costa Rica with the peace, relaxation and incredible scenery.

Favorite Quotes of the Week

“I’m in love with you,” he said quietly.

“Augustus,” I said.

“I am,” he said. He was staring at me, and I could see the corners of his eyes crinkling. “I’m in love with you, and I’m not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I’m in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we’re all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we’ll ever have, and I am in love with you.”
― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

ash sign Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 4/28/13





Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 4/21/13

Apr
21
• 13 COMMENTS • This post is filed under: Clock Rewinders, Personal •

Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 4/21/13

Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge is the weekly recap feature created by
Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Tara @ 25 Hour Books

In the life of Smash

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On Wednesday, I helped out a high school with their Reality U program, where students go through a real life simulation. They are given a job, monthly income, credit score and family characteristics all based off their current GPA. The lower the GPA, the crappier their situation. They then go around to the various places to purchase housing, transportation, food, clothing, child care, entertainment, etc, all the while balancing their checkbook. I manned housing for two sessions, and then child care for one session. We actually assigned them baby dolls that they had to carry around the session. Some of the kids were married to each other. It was delightful to see how awkward they felt while working through the program together. *snicker* Anywho, most of the kids I saw had a credit score too low to buy a house, so they had to rent. Some of them came back and downsized because they ended up with no money to save. There is also a Chance table, where they roll the dice and come up with either a good outcome (gas prices went down. You save $20) or a bad outcome (you fell and broke your leg. Pay the hospital $100).  I had a great time counseling the kids I saw, and tried to give them positive feedback on their choices.

BeFunky BeFunky 602076 10101749498213401 367535547 n.jpg 300x232 Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 4/21/13

My agency had a basketball fundraiser Saturday morning. Then Todd and I went to an art festival in the afternoon. We walked to the event (yay for living in the city!) and walked a lot during the festival. We stopped by Cafe Intermezzo on the way home, which is a really kick ass cafe. They have a beverage book with over 500 choices, from coffees, teas, hot chocolates, alcohol of all types, etc. I got a Spanish Mocha, which had a whole bunch of yummy stuff in it, and a crap load of calories, too… *shifty eyes*

Smash Attack Reads Recap

2013 Reading Goals

It’s all about the series, yo!

SeriouslySeries02 Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 4/21/13

 Check out my book list.

Yahoo! I finished another series. That’s 4! I will finish the Days of Blood and Starlight audio this week (#5) and will start Scarlet on audio next (#6). Once I’m finished with Game, that will be #7. YAHOO! And it looks like Shatter Me is winning the pool over on the right, which you should totally participate in since it expires today. icon wink Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 4/21/13

The Web 411

There will be a Pitch Perfect 2!!

Plinky Question of the Day

Who doesn’t love a list? So write one! Top five slices of pizza in your town, ten reasons disco will never die, the three secrets to happiness — go silly or go deep, just go list-y.

LISTS! *swoon* Ok, I have a good one. Top 10 cupcakes on Pinterest that I want to make. Get your bibs on. The drooling shall now commence. :Þ

Favorite Quotes of the Week

“So here’s the truth – I love you. I love everything about you – the way you stick up for people even when it costs you. The way you keep trying to do the right thing even when you’re not exactly sure what the right thing is. I love how you put words together. You’re as skilled with words as any knife fighter with a blade. You can put an enemy down on his back, or you can raise people up so they find what’s best in themselves. You’ve changed my life. You’ve given me the words I need to become whatever I want.

I love how you talk to lytlings. You don’t talk down to them. You respect them, and anybody can tell you’re actually interested in what they have to say.
I love the way you ride a horse – how you stick there like an upland thistle, whooping like a Demonai. I love the way you throw back your head and stomp your feet when you dance. I love how you go after what you want – whether it’s kisses or a queendom.

I love your skin, like copper dusted over with gold. And your eyes – they’re the color of a forest lake shaded by evergreens. One of the secret places that only the Demonai know about.
I love the scent of you – when you’ve been out in the fresh air, and that perfume you put behind your ears sometimes.
Believe it or not, I even love your road smell – of sweat and horses and leather and wool.
I want to breathe you in for the rest of my life.” ― Cinda Williams Chima, The Crimson Crown

“She thought of Akiva, the night he had come to her at the river, the crushing pain and shame in his face, and love, still love – sorrow and love and hope - and she remembered the night of the Warlord’s ball, how Akiva had always been the right to Thiago’s wrong, the heat to the Wolf’s chill, the safety to this monster’s menace.” ― Laini Taylor, Days of Blood & Starlight

SWOON, people. Total swoonage.

ash sign Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 4/21/13





Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 4/14/13

Apr
14
• 23 COMMENTS • This post is filed under: Clock Rewinders, Personal •

Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 4/14/13

Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge is the weekly recap feature created by
Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Tara @ 25 Hour Books

In the life of Smash

LOOK WHAT I DID!!

Smash Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 4/14/13

AND LOOK WHAT I GOT!!

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Big thanks to Shirley from Creative Deeds!  She had a brilliant idea to add the tree behind the yellow owlie, and I was overjoyed at the small but awesome detail. I also LOVE THAT FONT. It’s so whimsical and girlie. And Audrey told me about the QR code, which I had no clue lil ole me could make for my blog. Schwing! Now I need to think up a bookmark design…eeep!

Today, I’m at the Georgia Renaissance Festival with Todd. This is a yearly tradition, as it was at the Tampa Ren Fest that we had our very first date. I am hoping T gets picked by the wenches during a show. He has been picked multiple times, and I find it highly amusing. icon razz Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 4/14/13 Yay for turkey legs, wenches and people watching.

Smash Attack Reads Recap

2013 Reading Goals

It’s all about the series, yo!

SeriouslySeries02 Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 4/14/13

 Check out my book list.

4 series completed! Once I finish Days of Blood and Starlight (which I am FINALLY starting to enjoy) and The Crimson Crown, then I’ll have 6! I might read Scarlet then, so I can get 7…woot!

The Blogosphere 411

Plinky Question of the Day

Tell us about another blogger who has influenced your own online journey.

Well, that one is really easy. Brooke, my good friend from my home town who I miss to pieces, is the one who introduced me to the amazing book blogging community. She started reviewing books on Myspace years ago, and then the book blogging thing got big, and she was so involved. Then I started to notice my personal blog become bogged down with bookish things, so I took the plunge. She no longer blogs because she is now teaching middle school reading/ELA and it is no longer a priority, but she is still surrounded by books all day, every day. She has a great library in her classroom (just like Mandee does) and she has opened up the beauty of reading to kids who were never interested before. She is a hero! Her home library is SO AWESOME. I am showing you pictures because it makes me drool. Every time I visit her in Tampa, I kinda just stand in the room and blink rapidly. LOL.

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Favorite Quotes of the Week

“I wished I had a friend in the Quarter, someone like Charlotte. Someone I could share secrets with, collapse on her bedroom floor, and spill my guts about Patrick to. I saw so many girls walking arm in arm, laughing, an inexplicable closeness and comfort that they had a protector and confidante. They had someone they could count on.”
― Ruta Sepetys, Out of The Easy

“Willie said fathers were overrated, that my father could be one of thousands, most likely some rotten crotch creep that loved clip-on ties. She said I should forget about it. But I didn’t forget about it. I couldn’t. So the game continued, and for years I added names to the list, imagining that 50 percent of me was somehow respectable instead of rotten. And creepy was certainly relative. After all, what was creepier, a man who loved clip-on ties or a girl who kept a log of fantasy fathers hidden in her desk drawer?”
― Ruta Sepetys, Out of The Easy

And I would totally excerpt Chapter 36 from Twice Tempted, but that would be a terribly mean and spoilerish. But, shall I just say that Vlad and Leila’s Chapter 36 gives Cat and Bones’ Chapter 32 a huge run for the money? icon wink Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 4/14/13

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Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 3/17/13

Mar
17
• 9 COMMENTS • This post is filed under: Clock Rewinders, Personal •

Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 3/17/13

Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge is the weekly recap feature created by
Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Tara @ 25 Hour Books

In the life of Smash

I survived taking 40 middle school girls to Georgia Tech for a full day conference on Women in S.T.E.M. careers. It was so cool and most of the girls were interested and paid attention. Of course, I had a group that I had to report to administration the next day. *sigh* Tech’s campus rocks! I wish I would have went to school with so many perks. icon smile Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 3/17/13

Isalys is flying into Atlanta today for a short business trip. I am praying that her boss lets her slip away for a few hours so I can hugz her and luvz her! I miss that chic like woah. If I can’t see her (*whines*), then I will head to book club to discuss Seraphina, which I have not finished. I will get spoiled, which I hate, but I want to go if I can’t see Isa. I want to see my bookish peeps. I’ve felt isolated lately, which I think is mainly my own doing. I have not formed close relationships here (except Mandee) like I did in Miami. Not to say I don’t like my book club people, and love to see and hang out with them, but I haven’t really formed a tight-knit friendship with any of them. I’m kinda bummed by it, but I’ve only been here 8 months, and really busy with work. There’s hope for me yet! And like I said, I feel like I’m not making the effort, isolating because I don’t feel like part of the group 100%. Who knows.

Smash Attack Reads Recap

  • Smash reviews Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi - I loved the world-building, but I think the best part about this book is the connection between Aria and Peregrine. And Roar. LOVE HIM!
  • Cover Reveal: Cold Blooded by Amanda Carlson
  • World-Building Wednesdays: Jess Macallan
  • Audrey reviews The Book of Souls by James Oswald - This review is great, as are all of Audrey’s review. She entertains the hell out of me.
  • Let’s Talk: Ratings -  I’m pretty easy when it comes to reading. If a book makes me feel intense emotions (positive or negative), entertains me with imagination and creativity, or has captivating characters, then I’m a happy clam.
  • Under the Ever Night Read-Along: Under the Never Sky answers
  • Cover Reveal and Review: Pretty When They Collide by Rhiannon Frater - Aimee and Cass’ hearts collide and while they don’t understand the connection, at first, they use that bond to save each other, in very different yet similar ways. They are a duo that packs a supernatural punch!

2013 Reading Goals

It’s all about the series, yo!

SeriouslySeries02 Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 3/17/13

 Check out my book list.

The Blogosphere 411

Favorite Quotes of the Week

“This girl. She’s all I see.”
― Veronica Rossi, Roar and Liv

“We were all monsters and bastards, and we were all beautiful.”
― Rachel Hartman, Seraphina

 

ash sign Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 3/17/13





Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 3/10/13

Mar
10
• 9 COMMENTS • This post is filed under: Clock Rewinders, Personal •

Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 3/10/13

Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge is the weekly recap feature created by
Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Tara @ 25 Hour Books

In the life of Smash

  • This week was super busy and productive at work. I have random kinds coming to me now, because kids are talking about Mrs. Ashley. Woot! THAT is good, and the more they talk, the more I become entrenched in the student’s lives.  I’m taking 40 girls to Georgia Tech next Thursday for a conference to expose them to S.T.E.M. careers. It should be a great event and I’m really looking forward to it.
  • I babysat my nieces this weekend, which was fun. They are at a fun age and I enjoy their company. We played board games, watched movies and went out to eat.
  • I got a Microsoft Surface Pro, which I’m pretty in love with. It’s a powerful laptop in tablet form. I watched a movie on it last night, played a gorgeous adventure game, set up all my apps, email, calendar. I plan to blog on it today at the coffee shop. And I plan to use it at work, during meetings and such. It has this really killer handwriting feature, that turns yours handwritten notes into text. So rocksauce.

Smash Attack Reads Recap

  • Smash reviews Cinder by Marissa Meyer: “The characters in this book were so likable. Well, the likable ones anyway. Other characters were dislikable, too. Intensely liking or not liking a character is a sign of great writing, for me.”
  • Author Event: Jen D. attends Marissa Meyer’s Scarlet Tour: “She’s a HUGE Sailor Moon fan…she loves Star Wars and her uncle is one hell of a Trekkie.”
  • World-Building Wednesdays: Cathy Yardley:  She talks about her new Urban Fantasy book, TEMPTING IS HELL, which she describes as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets The Office.”
  • Mel reviews Prince of Power (Chronicles of Yavn #2) by Elisabeth Staab: “Price of Power wasn’t as good as King of Darkness in my opinion but it kept me intrigued and wanting to know what would happen next.”
  • Let’s Talk: Social Media:  I used to be a social media junkie, signing up for EVERYTHING. But now I use my favorites less and less because of my schedule and not being able to get on at work…
  • Saturday Shorts: Glitches by Marissa Meyer: “I think reading it before Cinder would be just fine, but reading it after helps with perspective and your emotional response to the situation.”

2013 Reading Goals

It’s all about the series, yo!

SeriouslySeries02 Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 3/10/13

 Check out my book list.

  • I finished Daughter of Smoke and Bone and flailed all over my review. I immediately started listening to Days of Blood and Starlight, and I must admit to disappointment over where the story has gone. It’s still early though…
  • I inhaled Under the Never Sky in 24 hours. Loved that book, so very much. Yay! I will start Through the Ever Night soon!
  • I started Seraphina for book club. This book has some intense world-building. I’m reading it slowly because it’s a lot to take in, for me.
  • I updated my book list. I least books are being crossed off. icon smile Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 3/10/13

The Blogosphere 411

Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 3/10/13

Favorite Quotes of the Week

“His hand snapped shut over the device and then he crossed his arms. Aria stared in horror. Her Smarteye was buried in a Neanderthal’s armpit.” ― Veronica Rossi, Under the Never Sky

“She knew how to put one foot in front of the other even when every step hurt. And she knew there was pain in the journey, but there was also great beauty. She’d seen it standing on rooftops and in green eyes and in the smallest, ugliest rock.”  ― Veronica Rossi, Under the Never Sky

“I don’t know many rules to live by,’ he’d said. ‘But here’s one. It’s simple. Don’t put anything unnecessary into yourself. No poisons or chemicals, no fumes or smoke or alcohol, no sharp objects, no inessential needles–drug or tattoo–and…no inessential penises either.’

‘Inessential penises?’ Karou had repeated, delighted with the phrase in spite of her grief. ‘Is there any such thing as an essential one?’

‘When an essential one comes along, you’ll know,’ he’d replied.”  ― Laini Taylor, Daughter of Smoke & Bone

“So violent. You want to mug and tase enerybody these days.”

“I do,” Zuzana agreed. “I swear I hate more poeple every day. Everyone annoys me. If I’m like this now, what am I going to be like when I’m old?”

“You’ll be the mean old biddy who fires a BB gun at kids from her balcony.”

“Nah. BBs just rile ‘em up. More like a crossbow. Or a bazooka.” ― Laini Taylor, Daughter of Smoke & Bone

ash sign Clock Rewinders on a Book Binge: 3/10/13





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2013 Reviews

We have reviewed 35/100 books so far this year.

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Series started before 2013
3/11 completed series

Series started in 2013
4/7 completed series

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0/8 completed rereads

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