To Read, or Not To Read

Dear Readers, To Read or Not To Read has decided to take a hiatus until the New Year. So we'll be back in 2014 with reviews, giveaways, interviews, and guest posts. Until then we wanted to leave you with a Christmas giveaway, or er, the day after Christmas giveaway. This giveaway is a little different. Instead of telling you what books you're entering for, we're going to give you hints instead. Since we're giving away a good number of books, this giveaway is only open to US addresses only. Remember you must be at least 13 years old to enter. Good luck and Happy Holidays. Giveaway #1: Hint 1: book 1 is a western romance and book 2 is a contemporary romance Hint 2: Both books have a second chances theme Hint 3: If you like men in uniform you'll really like book 2; if you like hell-raisers, then book 1 will definitely be for you. a Rafflecopter giveaway Giveaway #2: Hint 1: This book is for fantasy lovers. Especially lovers of fairy tales. Hint 2: This

Paula Brackston Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/worldofpaulabrackston Paula Brackston Facebook tab: https://www.facebook.com/worldofpaulabrackston/app_440177176029706 Includes quizzes, polls, etc. Paula Brackston Website:  http://www.paulabrackston.com /  Read an excerpt here:  http://www.wattpad.com/30761354-the-winter-witch-excerpt-excerpt-chapter-1  or here:  http://issuu.com/stmartinspress/docs/9781250001313_search Thanks to St. Martin's Press I have a copy of the book to giveaway to a lucky reader. To enter you must be at least 13 years old. Also this giveaway is for US residents only. Good luck!  a Rafflecopter giveaway

The first official all-access look into the life of singing sensation Cody Simpson. Follow Cody as he goes from singing cover songs in his bedroom to opening sold-out concerts for Justin Bieber. With never-before-seen photos, behind-the-scenes interviews, and exclusive information, this book is perfect for pop music fans and for Cody's Angels. Calling all One Direction fans! This is the only official book from 1D charting their journey over the last year and a half—from the places they've visited and fans they've met, to their thoughts and feelings, hopes and dreams, highs and lows. It has been a phenomenal year—and this is a phenomenal story. This Christmas, there will be no other book that true One Direction fans will want! Two new books for Cody Simpson and One Direction lovers have come out just in time for the holidays! These books are lovely. They're both hard cover novels full of beautiful photographs and juicy information. And the One Direction book

If you're just joining the rewatch, here's what we're doing:  We're re-watching Doctor Who this fall to prepare for the big anniversary special. I know that  Doctor Who  has been around for 50 years, but for time sake we're going to start with series 1 of 2005. If you've not watched it, but have wanted to. Here's your chance. We're watching via Netflix, so join us if you can. I'm sorry this is up so late, but I've got whatever is going around, and it's left me a little sluggish. However today's episode will only be one. Season 2, episode 13. This episode left me with so many feels that I could bear to watch another just yet. If you've watched Doctor Who before, you're familiar with what I'm talking about. Season 2, episode 13 Title: Doomsday Original Air Date: July 8, 2006 Directed by:  Graeme Harper Written by: Russell T Davis So after we left off with that huge cliffhanger of Daleks and Cybermen invaded eart

Featuring never-before-seen information about the warrior cats,  Warriors: The Ultimate Guide  is a necessary addition to every Warriors collection and is perfect for both longtime fans and those just getting to know the world. This full-color book includes: All of the content from  Warriors: Cats of the Clans Brand-new art and detailed descriptions for forty more cats An in-depth look at each of the five warrior Clans Warriors: The Ultimate Guide has everything you ever wanted to know about the wild cat clans in The Warriors series. The book includes maps, in-depth looks at characters, and beautiful illustrations. Plus there's also short stories and the book cover turns into a poster.  This book is a must have for fans of the series. You could spend hours upon hours reading this book. It's also a great companion to have with the series. When my daughter started reading these books, I was a bit concerned she'd have a hard time keeping the characters straight. Mostl

A few years ago, my son was heavy into dinosaurs and that's when we got hooked on BBC's Walking With Dinosaurs. We watched the DVD at least fifty times. It was incredibly crafted. The graphics were so life-like, it was as if a television crew were really filming live dinosaurs. Then we bought tickets to Walking With Dinosaurs live. If you ever get the chance to go, you should! It was really cool. Now a new Walking With Dinosaurs 3D will be in theaters December 20. Here's the trailer: In the television series, the dinos don't talk. Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about that. However I think it will still be cool to watch. To go along with the movie, Harper Collins has come out with companion books.  The Walking with Dinosaurs Encyclopedia  is filled with facts about the dinosaurs from the movie as well as facts about the world the dinosaurs inhabited and theories about their rise and fall. With full-color images from the film and photos of paleontologist

The Wilde Passions of Dorian Gray by Mitzi Szereto Publication date: Nov. 2013 (North America); Dec. 2013 (rest of the world) Trade paperback 288 pages ISBN #978-1573449656 Publisher: Cleis Press, USA Genre: Paranormal Romance/Gothic Horror/Erotic Fiction/LGBT Fiction Blurb: What if Dorian Gray Faked His Death and Led a Secret Life? Inspired by Oscar Wilde’s classic novel The Picture of Dorian Gray , Mitzi Szereto’s The Wilde Passions of Dorian Gray continues where Wilde left off with the Faustian tale of a man of eternal youth and great physical beauty who lives a life of corruption, decadence, and hedonism. The story begins in the bordellos of Jazz-Age Paris, moving to the opium dens of Marrakesh and the alluring anonymity of South America. In his pursuit of sensation and carnal thrills, Dorian’s desires turn increasingly extreme as he leaves behind yet more devastation and death. He ultimately settles in present-day New Orleans, joining forces with a g

Title: Deck the Halls, We're Off the Walls! (My Weird School Special) Author: Dan Gutman Pictures by Jim Paillot, Publisher: Haper Collins Childrens Published: September 24, 2013 Paperback, 144 pages ISBNN: 978-0-06-220685-4 Genre: Children's Source: Publisher About the book: It's Christmas, and you know what that means! Santa Claus is coming to town! Or at least to the local mall. But what happens when kid rapper Cray-Z gives a Christmas concert at the same mall and all his fans go bananas? One thing's for sure—if A.J. and his friends from Ella Mentry School want to save the day, they will need a Christmas miracle. My thoughts: Deck the Halls, We're Off the Walls  a Weird School holiday special. The kids are on Christmas vacation and what do you do on Christmas vacation? Go see Santa of course! A.J. and his friends load up to go to the mall, but with these kids you know it's not going to be an easy trip. A.J. gets in all sorts of mischief as th

This summer was a summer of change.  My husband semi-retired in June and we moved from Louisiana to Alabama.  July our two oldest grandchildren moved in with us.  During this time of transition, I have done a lot of reading.  I found a new genre that I simply adore.  I read sequels to the books I have waited patiently   (not really)  to be published.  I have been introduced , thru reading, to new authors like: Karen Cantwell, Stephanie Bond, Barbra Annieno, and Tony Bertauski just to name a few. The first set of books I want to tell you about are written by Tony Bertauski .  Claus: Legend of the Fat Man and The Annihilation of Foreverland. Claus: Legend of the Fat Man: In 1818, William Perry commanded the ship, Alexander into the Artic region.  Upon returning to England, it was reported that three of his crew members had gone missing during a stop to Baffin Bay. While the missing crew members appeared to be acquaintances,  there were rumors that they were actua

Title: A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Making of a Tradition Author: Lee Mendelson Publisher: It Books Published: October 22, 2013 Hardcover, 192 pages ISBN: 978-0-06-227214-0 Genre: Nonfiction Source: Publisher Goodreads Summary: A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Making of a Tradition is a lushly illustrated tribute to the beloved television classic that takes readers behind-the-scenes of the Peanuts holiday special. It includes the script of A Charlie Brown Christmas, more than two hundred full-color pieces of original animation art, Vince Guaraldi's original score and publication notes for the songs "Christmas Time is Here" and "Linus and Lucy," and a look at the making of the feature from producer Lee Mendelson and original animator, the late Bill Melendez. The two share their personal memories and charming reminiscences on the Christmas special and reflect on their three decades of working with Peanuts creator, Charles M. Schulz. A Charlie Brown Chr

Considered useless by his cold-hearted father, Nico Foscari, eldest son of one of the founding families in Venice, hides his pain behind gambling, drinking and womanizing. After her husband’s untimely demise, Marietta Gatti returns to her hometown of Venice in hopes of starting a new life and finding the happiness that was missing in her forced marriage. When Fate throws them together, friendship begins to grow into love until Marietta learns a Foscari family secret that may have cost her father his life. Now, she must choose between vengeance, forgiveness, and love. Elizabeth McKenna’s latest novel takes you back to the days of eighteenth century Carnival, where lovers meet discreetly, and masks make everyone equal. About the author: Elizabeth McKenna works as a full-time technical writer/editor for a large software company. Though her love of books reaches back to her childhood, she had never read romance novels until one Christmas when her sister gave her the

If you're just joining the rewatch, here's what we're doing:  We're re-watching Doctor Who this fall to prepare for the big anniversary special. I know that  Doctor Who  has been around for 50 years, but for time sake we're going to start with series 1 of 2005. If you've not watched it, but have wanted to. Here's your chance. We're watching via Netflix, so join us if you can. This is week we're discussing Season 2, episodes 11 and 12.  Season 2, episode 11 Title: Fear Her Original Air Date: June 24, 2006 Directed by:  Euros Lyn Written by: Matthew Graham What is it about children that make them really creepy villains. Like when they're possessed by aliens and they trap everyone they see into pictures that are alive. Yeah. Like that. It's creepy. It's a wonder the human race has survived thus far. Who wants to procreate when you're children might end up terrorizing you. Okay, I know that most of the time that only h