MockingJay

I am pleased to say, the third book in the Hunger Games series has a release date!! If you haven't started the series, you MUST. They are fabulous books! I got the following from USA Today:

"Since the September release of Catching Fire, the second in Suzanne Collins' best-selling Hunger Games trilogy for teens, Internet speculation has focused on the title of the third book. The most common guess: The Victors. Not even close. Today, Scholastic reveals the title and cover of the last book in the series set in a dictatorship where teens are forced to fight to the death on TV. It's Mockingjay, out Aug. 24. In the series, mockingjays are offspring of mockingbirds and jabberjays, a government-bred mutant designed to spy on rebels. Mockingjays become symbols of resistance. Collins is finishing her screenplay of The Hunger Games, the first book. Catching Fire entered USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list at No. 1."

August 24th people... mark your calendars!

GoodReads - Top Books Published in February

Just thought I would share what the top 100 books in February were according to goodreads.com.

Have you read any? Any favorites?

You can also vote on books on the website!

"Books on the Cheap"

If you haven't checked out the little 'fun links' over there on the right, please do! You will find such fun things! (Get it? fun links?) :) I came across this at Booklicious and thought it was too awesome not to share!

They combine many different online stores and coupon codes you can use! Is my reading list growing steadily? uh-huh! Do I buy a book a month (minimum)? Maybe... Do I love a good deal on books?? Yes please! Go ahead and bookmark the page so you always know where to go to get some deals! :)

Book Help - Chosen by a Horse

It's about that time again! Time to get that book club book so we can have it finished before the next meeting.. right?? :) I do know that B.C. member Sharon finished it in a couple days, so it isn't very long and it must be really good! Below are some places you can find the book to purchase it!

Amazon New= $10.04 Used= $4.00

Borders New= $13.95

Borders (Used Marketplace)= $2.09

Barnes & Noble Reprint= $10.04 Bargain= $4.48

I also just came across this website called dealoz.com, haven't had time to check the whole thing out but when I plugged in the book title, it compared prices for me from different sites! Check it out!!

Choosing Books for your Book Club

So it's your month to choose the book. What should you choose? This is a question that I have to seriously think about a month before I get to choose. Do I theme it with the corresponding month? Do I choose a style opposite of the book chosen last month? Do I look to much into this? :)

Thankfully, there are some places to help! Over at Flashlight Worthy, they have created lists under Book Club Recommendations. Such lists in this category are, The 10 Best Books of 2009 for Book Clubs, The Best Book Club Selections of 2009 as chosen by Women Book Bloggers, and more. There are many other categories, and all are helpful when trying to choose a good book to read, whether you are in a book club or not.

Another place to find goodreads (hehe) is goodreads! They have tons of books to choose from, from so many genres and lists! They even have a "Worst books of all time" list! I'm not recommending you read them, I'm just sayin!

One other place I've found to help you choose a bookclub book, is over at LitLovers. They have an entire section devoted to Book clubs! Perfect!! They not only have book ideas, but questions to discuss at the meetings and.. umm.. recipes/menus?? ::Swoon:: We are ALL about that!

Go check em out, get lost for hours and add to your ever-expanding, to-read list!

*Spark*

I found this little blurb from USA Book News about the latest greatest health book. And lets face it, I'm biased because I am a spark person and have been for over a month! If you are like me and want to shed some pounds, this is the way to go!

A revolution is taking place! Millions of people are discovering a new way of thinking about their weight, their health, and their lives. They are taking part in a visionary approach to weight loss that combines goal setting, nutrition, exercise, motivation, and community that has a proven track record of ten million pounds lost. From the experts who created SparkPeople.com, one of the most successful online weight-loss programs to date, comes The Spark, a ground-breaking book that focuses on what you can do, instead of what you can’t do. The Spark is about transforming your life and your idea of what dieting means. With dozens of photos—including stunning before-and-after shots and easy-to-follow exercise images—this book distills the best of SparkPeople’s medically accepted nutrition and fitness plan and infuses it with a program of personal empowerment. In this book, you’ll discover:

• Secrets of Success—the best habits of SparkPeople’s most successful members

• A 28-day program that brings together the most effective practices from SparkPeople into an innovative 4-stage plan, available only in this book

• Dozens of success stories that show the power of this transformational program

The Spark delivers inspirational health and weight-loss advice that will surely spark countless lives.

Forrest Gump - The Movie

One of my favorite movies' books was chosen to read this month. As I read I'm finding how different the movie is from the book, but good just the same! Forrest Gump was released in 1994 and stars: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright Penn, Gary Sinise, and Sally Fields to name a few.

Some famous lines in the movie (and some of my favorites) are:

"Run Forrest, Run!"

"Life is Like a Box of Chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."

"I may not be a smart man, but I know what love is."

"Stupid is as stupid does."

Do you know any I missed? Do you not love this movie??

If for some reason, you've never seen it.. here is the trailer to convince you to rent/buy it! :)

ipad

ipad: not the NY way of saying ipod. This I have learned.

No, this my friends, is like an enlarged iphone or Sony Reader where you can download books. But with the ipad, you have a 3G network, therefore you have internet wherever you go!

It's full features list includes:

Safari

Mail

Photos

Video

You Tube

ipod

itunes

App Store

Maps

Notes

Calendar

Contacts

and.. ibooks!

I can't decide if I think digital books are a good idea. I'm quite the book hog in that I want a copy of each book I read. I like having the physical book to put on a shelf. I like having books on display. On the other hand, how convenient would it be to travel with 7 books all the size of this ipad? I do think this idea is fabulous, will have many versions before it's done right, and I will want one undoubtedly.

What do you think about the new ipad?

Borders

Maybe I'm biased and other book stores do this too, but I just LOVE Borders rewards card. It's just like one you'd get at a grocery store that they scan with every purchase but you also get these in your email:

(This coupon has been claimed already.)

I get a coupon from 15%-50% off on item almost every month (sometimes 2x a month)! This comes in pretty handy since I buy a book club book once a month. :) I highly recommend it and if Barnes & Noble has this too, please let us know! :)

Skipping Christmas - The Movie

If you didn't already know, Skipping Christmas was made into a movie in 2004. The movie is called Christmas with the Kranks starring Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis. It's a funny family movie so I wonder if the book will be the same. Not that they ever are. I try to live by the phrase, never judge a book by its movie. Maybe not live by it, but I agree 110%! :)

Here is a trailer of the movie Christmas with the Kranks. Pretty funny/silly movie! I would recommend it, especially during Christmas time!

Christmas Jars - Experiences

I hope everyone is enjoying or enjoyed Christmas Jars as much as I did! It was such a good, dare I say, heartwarming book! :) I would definitely LOVE to start a Christmas Jar of my own. So many people all over the country have started a Christmas Jar tradition. I found this map on his website at http://www.christmasjars.com:

As it states, each star represents communities where jars have been given to someone in need. Also on the website are stories of people's experiences they have with their Christmas Jars. I have read a few and they are truly great, and inspiring stories. If you have a few minutes, I recommend reading some: http://www.christmasjars.com/share.php This was such a perfect way to get into the Holiday spirit. I can't wait to discuss the book! The website also has book club questions so we will have plenty to discuss! I have included the questions below. If you've read it, please leave your answers in a comment so I can share them at the meeting!

1. In one sentence, how would you define the word HOPE?

2. In the prologue, "Hope" is unexpectedly discovered, and it forever changes the life of Louise. What have you recently unexpectedly discovered and how do you think it can/will change your life?

3. What was the significance of the tic-tac-toe game of tater tots (pg. 16)? What simple traditions do you have in your life and what do they symbolize?

4. "This just don't belong in the papers" (pg. 31). Do you agree? Are acts of kindness better left anonymous?

5. How can you give away Christmas (pg. 69)?

6. What "jar story" did you most relate to? Why?

7. Have you or your family been blessed by a Christmas act of kindness?

8. Do you believe that "good goes around"? How have you seen that in your own life?

9. What can your book club group do to bring hope to someone in need this holiday season? Who do you know who might be in need of their own Christmas jar?

10. Will you go home today and start a Christmas Jar of your own?

The Haunting of Hill House - Movies

Since we are reading a "scary" book this month, you may be interested in a scary movie to go along with it before Halloween. Although we are firm believers in the phrase: "Never judge a book by its movie", sometimes the movies are fun too! :)

The Haunting of Hill House was first made into a movie in 1963 titled The Haunting. This one stars (L to R) Julie Harris as Eleanor, Claire Bloom as Theo, Richard Johnson as the Dr., and Russ Tamblyn as Luke. I'm gonna have to Netflix that one for sure!

The second movie was made in 1999 also titled The Haunting and stars (L to R) Lili Taylor as Eleanor, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Theo, Liam Neeson as the Dr., and Owen Wilson as Luke. Has anyone seen these and if so are they scary/suspenseful? I can't imagine anything with Owen Wilson as scary/suspenseful but ya never know!

Price War: Walmart vs. Amazon

Looks like Walmart and Amazon are going head to head to offer the lowest prices on some of the newest books! Check out this article from the NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/books/17price.html?_r=1&hpw

Honestly, I never thought Walmart even had many books to choose from, but going online, they had this month's book, The Haunting of Hill House for $10.17, which is pennies cheaper than Amazon! I guess if you are a fan of Walmart, they offer competitive pricing for books!