To Read, or Not To Read

Title: Shakespeare's Stories for Young Readers Author: E. Nesbit Publisher: Dover Publishing Publication Date: March 3, 2006 paperback, 80 pages ISBN: 0-486-44762-6 Available @:  Amazon | B&N | Book Depository Summary:   12 of the Bard's most famous plays, delightfully adapted for young readers, are filled with stories about kings, queens, ghosts, and witches. Brimming with tragedy, humor, and moral lessons, and told with wit and grace, the tales include   Romeo and Juliet,   Hamlet,   The Merchant of Venice,   King Lear,   As You Like It,   and 7 others.   E. Nesbit has written many children's books. The one I'm most familiar with is The Railway Children .  I really like that book and it influenced my decision to purchase this book. In the introduction of  Shakespeare's Stories for Young Children , E. Nesbit explains her reasons for writing this book.  She explains that her children love Shakespeare's story lines but at the time were too young to

This is a weekly meme started by yours truly as a way to get to share a bit about myself and also learning more about you. Sometimes its about books and book related topics and sometimes it's not. This is all in good fun and I would love it if you would participate.  How do you arrange your bookshelves? I have to confess right now that my bookshelves are a bit of a mess.  They don't really have a rhyme or reason to them.  I'm usually a very organized person and the state of my bookshelves have been bugging me for some time. I have books scattered throughout my home. In my home office I have three bookshelves that have a little order. I've grouped some books by authors and others by genres. In my bedroom I have a bookshelf full of books that I want to read and a few stacks of books beside it.The books I have for review are stacked upon my desk right now and are slowly taking over. I know I am in desperate need of a new bookshelf or two, so I'll probably be buying

I love book trailers! So I've decided to add a new feature here at To Read or Not To Read where I spotlight book trailers! If there is a book trailer that you think I should know about and you would like to see it featured, please feel free to contact me. This week's trailer is Timeless by Alexandra Monir. Timeless was released on January 11, 2011 published by  Delacorte Books for Young Readers. Title: Timeless Author: Alexandra Monir Genre: Young Adult 288 pages Purchase at: Amazon  / B&N   *picture taken from Good Reads *trailer from you tube *graphic from photobucket *I'm an B&N & Amazon affiliate. If you click on the links and purchase the book, I receive a very small commission.

Zakiya from  Butterfly Feet Walking on Life  has a fantastic meme. In this meme you post your status of the books your reading this week, books you finished this week, books you're going to read next, and books you plan on buying this week. You can also post what reviews and memes you participated in for the week. If your interested in participating in this meme, check of Zakiya's blog for all the info and the linky to sign up. Books I finished this week: Zan-Gah and the Beautiful Country by Allan Richard Shickman Sins of the Heart by Eve Silver The Eye of the Storm by William L.K. Shakespeare's Stories for Young Readers by E. Nesbit Books I'm reading now: Whisper of Light by Jennifer DeLucy Books I plan to read next week: Pale Rose of England by Sand Worth

So, the graphics and concept of this blog award are hideous. Here is what the original author’s rules (word for word): “1. You must proudly display the absolutely disgusting graphic that I have created for these purposes (put it in your post, you don’t have to put it in your sidebar, I think that would seriously be asking too much). It’s so bad that not only did I use COMIC SANS, but there’s even a little jumping, celebrating kitten down there at the bottom. It’s horrifying! But its presence in your award celebration is crucial to the memetastic process we’re creating here. If you need a higher resolution version… I totally have one!! 2. You must list 5 things about yourself, and 4 of them must be bold-faced lies. Just make some shit up, we’ll never know; one of them has to be true, though. Of course, nobody will ever know the difference, so we’re just on the honor system here. I trust you. Except for the 4 that you lied about, you lying bastards! But don’t go crazy trying to thi

Title: The Eye of the Storm Author: William L.K. Publisher: Sci-Fi-Cafe Publication Date: Dec. 2, 2010 e-book ASIN:  B004ELAESO Available on Kindle only@  Amazon  $2.39 Summary:  The Eye of the Storm opens the Stritonoly Chronicles series in glorious style on sci-fi-cafe.com. Dmitri, son of the Czar of Stritonoly, driven insane by the forbidden poison of the slave-race Acidel sets in motion a catastrophic chain of events. A terrifying and eternal force stalks the forest nearby as a storm of epic proportions gathers over the Citadel. This futuristic tale takes place light years away from Earth, on the planet Stritonoly. William L.K. created a fascinating world in which the characters live.  Stritonoly is very similar to Earth but with it's own distinct landscape. It has many interesting and original creatures.  I really liked the story line in this book. It's very compelling. There are many religious and historical undertones in this book. There is also a parallel sto

M.R. Mathias has written several novels including, The Royal Dragoneers, Oathbreaker and Crimson and Clover. His books look fantastic! I'm very happy to have him here today talking about The Invisible Line. So now I'll turn it over to M.R. Mathias. I’m not much of a blogger, but here it goes: The invisible line (Authors Beware) As a relatively successful indie author I find myself reading more indie than trade pub books these days. I have found that a lot of these works, though well edited, seem mechanical, and forced. There is an invisible line that novel writers need to be aware of. Before I explain, let me say this. I do not make a plot outline when I write a novel. I sit down with just a general idea of what I am after and start writing. I let the plot, and the characters, form themselves within the context of the novel I want to produce. When I get about 2/3s of the way through I stop and read what I have, and plot out the best way to tie up all the loose ends going

Title: Zan-Gah And The Beautiful Country Author: Allan Richard Shickman Publisher: Earthshaker Books Publication Date: September 26, 2009 paperback, 151 pages ISBN: 978-0-9790357-1-5 Amazon   /   B&N Summary: The prehistoric saga continues in Zan-Gah and the Beautiful Country, the sequel to the award winning Zan-Gah: A Prehistoric Adventure. In this story, Zan s troubled twin brother, Dael, having suffered greatly during his earlier captivity, receives a ruinous new shock when his wife suddenly dies. Disturbed and traumatized, all of his manic energies explode into acts of hostility and bloodshed. His obsession is the destruction of the wasp men, his first captors, who dwell in the Beautiful Country. When he, Zan-Gah, and a band of adventurers trek to their bountiful home, they find that all of the wasp people have died in war or of disease. The Beautiful Country is empty for the taking, and Zan s people, the Ba-Coro, decide to migrate and resettle there. But the Noi, Dael

To: JL Jackson I will send you an email with information on how to claim your prize. Thank you to Jennifer DeLucy and Omnific Publishing for this providing this giveaway.  I chose a winner using random.org. If you didn't win, you can buy Seers of Light and Whisper of Light here: Buy on Amazon:  The Light Series by Jennifer DeLucy  available in paperback and on the Kindle Barnes & Noble: Seers of Light for the Nook , Whisper of Light for the Nook Omnific Publishing: click here *I'm an affiliate of Amazon and B&N. If click on the links and buy, I get a very small commission. 

A few weeks ago I posted a Sorting Hat Quiz. If you missed it, click here .  Now we've (my hubby and I)  created a quiz to help you test your knowledge on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  We've had a lot of fun creating this quiz and I hope you enjoy it too! You don't have to be signed up for the Harry Potter Reading Challenge to take this quiz. This is all in good fun so don't take it too seriously. Click on the following link to take the quiz. Good luck everyone! Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Zakiya from Butterfly Feet Walking on Life  has a fantastic meme. In this meme you post your status of the books your reading this week, books you finished this week, books you're going to read next, and books you plan on buying this week. You can also post what reviews and memes you participated in for the week. If your interested in participating in this meme, check of Zakiya's blog for all the info and the linky to sign up. Books I finished this week: Evolving Ecstasy by Melanie Nowak Books I'm reading: Sins of the Heart by Eve Silver 60% finished  Shakespeare's Stories for Young Readers by E. Nesbit on page 57 of 73 Books I Plan to read next week: Zan-Gah and the Beautiful Country by Allen Richard Shickman 

This is a weekly meme started by yours truly as a way to get to share a bit about myself and also learning more about you. Sometimes its about books and book related topics and sometimes it's not. This is all in good fun and I would love it if you would participate.  Do you need silence to read? My answer is yes and no. I prefer it to be quiet when I read however, I don't always get it. Over the last few years I have learned to read with lots of background noise (i.e. spongebob, screaming, pirate attacks, tea parties gone wild). I know some people like to listen to music when they read, but I can't do that. I find myself getting distracted by the song. I end up singing along instead of reading. Sometimes it's really tough to find some quiet time to read. I must confess that I'm thinking about getting some noise reducing headphones in the near future.  So now it's your turn to answer the question: Do you need silence to read?  *If you answer this question on

I love book trailers! So I've decided to add a new feature here at To Read or Not To Read where I spotlight book trailers! If there is a book trailer that you think I should know about and you would like to see it featured, please feel free to contact me. This weeks trailer(s) is the Light Series by Jennifer DeLucy. I really really liked Seers of Light and can't wait to read Whisper of Light. Jennifer DeLucy is giving away an e-copy of Seers of Light and Whisper of Light on my blog. Click here for details. Seers and Whisper of Light are both available for purchase. If you'd like to find out more about these books and Jennifer DeLucy, be sure to check out these sites: http://www.omnificpublishing.com/ http://www.jenniferdelucy.com/ http://jenniferdelucy.blogspot.com/ http://www.facebook.com/JenCED http://twitter.com/Jen_DeLucy *I'm in no way claiming the Book Trailer Spotlight is an original idea. If I have inadvertently taken someone's idea, I am t

Today I was passed an award by two fellow bloggers. This really made my day because it the Making Smiles on Faces Award. They said my blog made them smile which in turn made me smile. So you see, it's very contagious! Thank you to Ketch Tavern  and Kelsey's Book Corner  for passing this award to me. Their blogs make me smile too, so check them out. Now I'm going to pass this award on to some bloggers who make me smile. Actually all the blogs I follow make me smile, so I'll just choose a few. I hope this makes you smile too! Ramblings From A Chaotic Mind Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers Moonlight Book Reviews Roof Beam Reader Larissa's Bookish Life

I want to thank everyone who entered this contest. If you didn't win, you can buy Almost Human trilogy from Amazon.   http://www.amazon.com/Melanie-Nowak/e/B002BRGYWS/  Don't forget to stop by Melanie Nowak's website for all the latest Almost Human information  http://www.melanienowak.com/ Also a big THANK YOU to Melanie Nowak for providing this giveaway.  Now without further ado The winner is................... EJ Stephens EJ, I've sent your information to Melanie Nowak. I hope you enjoy your books.

Title: Evolving Ecstasy (Almost Human: The First Trilogy #3) Author: Melanie Nowak Publisher: WoodWitchDame Publications Publication Date: July 3, 2008 Paperback, 248 pages ISBN-13:  978-0-9824102-7-1 Summary:  The relationship between Cain and Felicity has crested to a peak that leaves them unsure whether to step back from each other for safety, or jump into a future united in death.   Felicity is unlike any human Cain has known before. She treats him as an equal; a man worthy of friendship, respect and even… love. She embodies qualities of gentleness and loving trust that he has never found among his own kind. This makes her far more desirable to him than any creature of darkness could ever be.   The venom of Cain’s bite could protect Felicity from hostile vampires, but it would give him a measure of psychic control over her as well. Would Felicity only accept becoming a vampire, due to his addictive venom, coupled with the foolishness of a young girl in love?   Perhaps there

Title: Lost Reflections (Almost Human The First Trilogy #3) Author: Melanie Nowak Publisher: WoodWitchDame Publications Publication Date: July 3, 2008 Paperback, 272 pages ISBN-13:  978-0-9824102-4-0 Summary: Felicity has helped her friends to escape the venomous vixen Sindy, but cannot divine the motives of Cain, the vampire who captured first her gratitude, and then her heart.   She finds the historical account of Cain's past enthralling and frightening. Now she must determine whether the addictive venom in Cain's kiss is clouding her judgment, and if his thirst for her blood is a driving force too strong for their love to conquer.   It's difficult to contemplate such questions while under the attack of a vengeful vampire and his zombie slaves. Felicity's heart has already been lost to Cain; will she lose her life as well? This book is a continuation of the first book, Fatal Infatuation. You can click here to view my review. Although I try very hard not to

Title: Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone Author: J.K. Rowling  Publisher: Scholastic Publication Date: June 30, 1997 paperback, 312 pages ISBN: 0-590-35342-X Summary :  Harry Potter has never been the star of a Quidditch team, scoring points while riding a broom far above the ground. He knows no spells, has never helped to hatch a dragon, and has never worn a cloak of invisibility.   All he knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley--a great big swollen spoiled bully. Harry's room is a tiny closet at the foot of the stairs, and he hasn't had a birthday party in eleven years.   But all of that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to an incredible place that Harry--and anyone who reads about him--will find unforgettable.   For it's there that he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic in everything from classes to meals, but

Today I have the ever awesome Jennifer DeLucy here. If you haven't checked out her books Seers of Light and Whisper of Light you seriously need to. I am so excited for her to stop by and talk about using love as a symbol. Using love as a symbol… Hi everybody! For my guest post today, I really wanted to talk to you about the purpose of love in The Light Series, specifically, of romantic love.  I’ve never really talked about this before, but, the main characters of the Light Series are very intentional, they each stand for something of their own—a character virtue, a vice, a testament to life that I like to use to move people.  Let me talk about some main characters (or the two main couples, essentially), to explain what I mean. Without going into detail about who ends up with whom (for the sake of those who haven’t read the series yet), I’ll start out with Lily. You could say that Lily Hunt is one half of the heart of the series, where book two is told from the perspective of a d