A weekly meme by Ginger of GReads! In the meme I'll talk about music and showcase it here each week. And this week, I'm going to talk about... "Treme Song" by John Boutté.


This song is such an amazing song! It gets you feeling good and the flavor of NOLA comes alive in it too. I first heard it when I watched the pilot episode of Treme on HBO last year. John Boutté is an amazing trumpet player too!

What is so great about this video, is that it is the opening credits to the show. It lets the viewers see real footage of the last 50-60 years of the city itself and how it looked in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Some of the pictures and video footage is so sad because of how badly it was hit in August 2005.

Anyway, one reason I posted this song is because I just LOVE New Orleans culture! Everything about it is wonderful! Some of the oldest traditions that still live on in this country, especially in the music community, originated in this city. If I could, I would move there in a heart beat! haha And don't even get me started on how awesome the food is!

And my last reason is because I'm writing a book that has the main location of New Orleans as scenery for my characters.
It's official: I got my letter!

My name on the website is CrimsonJinx177.

And this is what it looks like inside at Privet Drive:
(click on the pictures to enlarge the image!)

That is all I can show for now, because there is a lot for Potter fans to discover. I'll post down the road pictures of the wand I get and what I house I'm in. Till then, you just may have to join when the official website opens, unless you are already an early beta tester, then come and find me.
So I came stumbling upon a link to some fantastic art work that was done on a pair of shoes. Now these are not just any style or brand, it's a pair of Vans and it has the "Hunger Games" Mockingjay and more on these two shoes! Take a look:


(click the picture to go visit the Esty webpage!)

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before--and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. - Goodreads
Title: The Hunger Games
Series: Hunger Games Trilogy
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: September 14th 2008
Format: Paperback
Pages: 374
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopia
Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤
Where to Buy: Amazon | B&N

In the book The Hunger Games, is about a young girl named Katniss or Kat some people called her. She grew up in a world run by a place called The Capitol. In the country it is split up into 12 Districts and Kat lives in the last one, District 12. All she has ever known is life in District 12, till one day she volunteers herself for The Games. There on out, her life is on the line, the question is, will she survive or will she meet death before she comes back home?

I simple LOVED this book. It ends with a cliffhanger and that is why so many others end up reading the sequel, Catching Fire, of the book series.

I simple loved the dynamic Katniss has with the characters throughout the book. Her true colors and humanity shows when she is hanging around the character Rue and Peeta. What surprised me was the love-triangle. Susan Collins woven this story arc so perfectly and leaves you wondering who she will choose in the end.

What kept me reading the book was that some parts I could relate to Katniss in some ways, which I'e always found to be what a good writer has in making their books so popular (i.e. - J.K. Rowling and Stephanie Meyers).

I would recommend this book to both genders of reading. The women will love this book for the powerful image Katniss represents and the love triangles. For the men, it is the action and suspense that keeps you reading it till the end.

What truly struck me was thatStephen King himself loved this book! That right there is compelling enough to make anyone wonder, "why?" and set forth a reading journey.

in conclusion, the book overall was amazing. Susan Collins has written a world of fantasy that is beautifully stunning.
In My Mailbox is a weekly/monthly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It's a great way to showcase the books you've gotten over the week, whether they are bought, borrowed or free.



The Luxe by Anna Godbersen (Amazon | Goodreads)
Matched by Ally Condie  (Amazon | Goodreads)

Books I Won


Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver (Amazon | Goodreads)
Darkness Falling by Peter Crowther ( Amazon | Goodreads)
Can we say, awesome!? lol this looks amazing and makes me want to own and read the book even MORE! I'd like to thank MTV for posting this and the blog that I found it on Shortie Says.
I'm starting a new meme called: "Horror Halloween"

It's celebrates everything Halloween from books, movies, television, even some myths, urban legends, and maybe some oddities?

I'm going to do a teaser posting for two reasons:

1) To get everyone pumped!

2) To see who knows their Halloween season trivia!!!

Okay so who can tell me what famous movie was filled here in the 1960's?
(no looking it up or cheating!)


I'll be back to post the answer with some facts about which movie it was and what personal stuff I know about this building! Stay tuned!


(Update: The answer is in the comment I left!)
A weekly meme originally hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine, spotlighting a soon-to-be-released book(s) that I'm very much anticipating to read.

Title: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Release Date: September 27th 2011
"Mara Dyer doesn't believe life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. It can.She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed. There is.She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love. She's wrong." - Goodreads
One big reason I'm dying to read this book is because its been a VERY long time since a book has caught my attention like this one has. Not only is the cover artistically beautiful, but the erie feeling it gives is a perfect release right before October (i.e. - Halloween!). So I'm super excited for this book!

When sophomore year ended with Buffy's defeat—just barely—of the Master, she headed off to spend the summer with her father in L.A. The theme was R&R, parties, and an occasional shopping spree. But things that go bump in the night don't take vacation. So Buffy's trying desperately to keep a lid on things in L.A.—and to keep her secret identity from her father.

Meanwhile, back in Sunnydale, trouble keeps popping up in the darnedest places. Giles wants Willow and Xander to have a "normal" summer, so he and Jenny Calendar, whose budding romance is progressing to full bloom, attempt to stave off the forces of darkness sans Slayer and Slayerettes. And Angel, grappling with Buffy's brush with death, must decide: Does he want to be a more permanent member of the Scooby Gang.

Concerts. Picnics. The resurrection of an ancient monster or two. Just your typical fun in the sun. - Goodreads
Title: How I Survived My Summer Vacation
Series: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Author: Nancy Holder
Publisher: Topeka Bindery
Release Date: August 2000
Format: Paperback
Pages: 276
Rating: ❤❤❤❤

I have to say this is one of my more favorite novels of the Buffyverse. It's set in the time frame between season one and two, when all the characters are on summer vacation. Buffy is in L.A. with her dad throughout the story. Then it also switches back to Sunnydale and deals with the Scoobies side of their summer, including Angel too.

It's defiantly a book for those that want those gaps filled in that wasn't fully explained in the show about what really happened to everyone once the Master was killed and how everyone handled it thereafter.

A real treat for a true Buffy fan!
So Michael J. Fox teamed up with the NIKE company to create the fictional shoe from "Back to the Future II", the Nike Mag. Those light up, light material wearing sneakers.

Now in the trailer they have Christopher Lloyd show up as Doc in his outfit from that movie looking for shoes haha. Check it out:






The shoe was made and is being auctioned off ebay. They made 1500 pairs of these shoes! They are not cheap, but ALL the proceeds go to Michael J. Fox's charity to help research for Parkinson's disease and to finally find a cure to rid it. One of the coolest and smartest charities.

Also don't forget to check out the auction page for the shoes: NikeMag Back to the Future
Isn't it beautiful!?!?! I love how they blended the colors so magically and the image of the way the tree is captured with the swirling is so breath taking for some reason. I'm excited for this and more!
In My Mailbox is a weekly/monthly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It's a great way to showcase the books you've gotten over the week, whether they are bought, borrowed or free.





The Secret Circle: The Initiation and The Captive Part I by J.L. Smith (Amazon | Goodreads)
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa (AmazonGoodreads)
See Jane Write: A Girl's Guide to Writing Chick Lit by Sarah Mlynowski, Farrin Jacobs(Amazon | Goodreads)


The best part about "The Secret Circle" is that the show officially airs this Thursday! I'm excited to dig into the book as soon as I can! Even if I only get to read up to 10-12 chapters, at least I'll understand the show really well :)

And since this is my first IMM, I have to also add in the books I've gotten within the last two weeks:

For Review

The Beads of Lapis Lazuli by Kenney Marcotte (Amazon | Goodreads)
Brainrush by Richard Bard (Amazon | Goodreads)

Netgalley

LIE by Caroline Bock (Amazon | Goodreads)
Shattered Dreams by Ellie James (Amazon | Goodreads)
The Mephisto Covenant by Trinity Faegen (AmazonGoodreads)

Everything Else

Aries Rising by Bonnie Hearn Hill (Amazon | Goodreads)
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Ben H. Winters, Jane Austen (Amazon | Goodreads)
Watcher in the Woods by Robert Liparulo (Amazon | Goodreads)
Day by Day Armageddon: Beyond Exile (AmazonGoodreads)
Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed. - Goodreads.com
Title: The Help
Author: Kathryn Stockett
Publisher: Putnam
Release Date: February 10, 2009
Format: Paperback
Pages: 451
Genre: Fiction
Rating ❤❤❤❤❤

The story is about three women: Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny. Each told their side of the story and life they lived from 1962 all the way to sometimes in late 1964. It was set in a small town of Mississipi, located near Jackson. It was a repressive time and it showed in the book.

One of the things that I was hung up on the first few pages was the way some of the writing was written. It was written in a deep southern tone and some words were not even proper english. So at one point I even had to say some out loud. But it was worth it because it kept the nature of the book true in tone.

My favorite part is when everything pulls together for the three main characters. As it happens things get set in motion and unraveling, for the good and bad of their town. But without the book, nothing would have changed and that I liked. It pushed boundaries that needed to be shoved and looked at closer. Something that was true in that time period in the south with freedom marches, Martin Luther King Jr., and the culture that faced all people of that minority.

There are some people who would disagree, saying that the book isn't representing things in true form. But I feel the opposite. I connected to it in such a huge way. My grandmother had a maid, who was black for over 30 years. She may have lived in New Jersey, but the point is my mother grew up having a black maid around the house. I've even met the women when my grandmother had passed away. My grandmother loved her and grounds keeper (also of the same minority). They both got compensated in her will. I think that since it was in the north, it wasn't as bad. But it's still an example of how I believe this book stayed on course and kept true in nature to the situations back then.

I feel this book is great for anyone who grew up in that time and actually lived knowing of having help in the house that wasn't white. It'll ring very true to home. I also feel this book is a great way for the younger generation to maybe understand a little deeper at what our country went through during those times.

Overall, I loved this book to no end. It's officially one of my top 10 favorites and will always have a special place in my heart.

Everyone should read this book at least once.


Almost everything in my county is flooded, again! Two weeks later and it's like the sun never came out to help dry up some of this rain.
If you go to Pulse It, you can read the books "Fury" by Elizabeth Miles and "Witchlanders" by Lena Coakley for FREE! It's made available for 54 days every time they added two or four books for their YA readers.

Just in case you don't know the synopses of these novels, here it is:



Sometimes sorry isn't enough....

It’s winter break in Ascension, Maine. The snow is falling and everything looks pristine and peaceful. But not all is as it seems...

Between cozy traditions and parties with her friends, Emily loves the holidays. And this year’s even better--the guy she’s been into for months is finally noticing her. But Em knows if she starts things with him, there’s no turning back. Because his girlfriend is Em’s best friend.

On the other side of town, Chase is having problems of his own. The stress of his home life is starting to take its toll, and his social life is unraveling. But that’s nothing compared to what’s really haunting him. Chase has done something cruel...something the perfect guy he pretends to be would never do. And it’s only a matter of time before he’s exposed.

In Ascension, mistakes can be deadly. And three girls—three beautiful, mysterious girls—are here to choose who will pay. - Goodreads.com




High in their mountain covens, red witches pray to the Goddess, protecting the Witchlands by throwing the bones and foretelling the future.

It’s all a fake.

At least, that’s what Ryder thinks. He doubts the witches really deserve their tithes—one quarter of all the crops his village can produce. And even if they can predict the future, what danger is there to foretell, now that his people’s old enemy, the Baen, has been defeated?

But when a terrifying new magic threatens both his village and the coven, Ryder must confront the beautiful and silent witch who holds all the secrets. Everything he’s ever believed about witches, the Baen, magic and about himself will change, when he discovers that the prophecies he’s always scorned— Are about him.
Goodreads.com
Okay so I had a busy weekend. I attended a friends wedding that was at their parent's house and spent the weekend with my boyfriend. On top of that I'm now in my 2nd week of class for the Fall Semester, so I'm a smidge bit busy with reading from my ENG 102 class and PSY 101.

But on a good note, I finished "The Help" last night! YAY! It is such an amazing book! I'm now onto reading "The Hunger Games".

Review for "The Help" will be happening. I don't know when, I don't know how, but it's coming... (hehe sorry Sci-Fi movie reference!)

Also lastly, I am trying to update the look of my blog. It's been tricky, but I'm almost done. So ignore the random changes I make when you come and stop by.

Other then that hope everyone had a great weekend!
It's just odd when you see two books that have the same girl for two different book series. I wonder if the people at both publishing companies know this has happened?