Like you don’t love them enough. Because I SO DO.

Okay, for starters, I’m uber busy at the moment and won’t get down to real maintenance on any of my blogs until November, so they will be on official hiatus until then. However, because I heart contests will all my heart (that…was weird), I will be doing only posts throughout the hiatus of links to giveaways. So it’s not like a total hiatus. I’m still here. And alive.

I’m really tired at the moment, so I’m just going to sort of NOT ramble through this…and make it short and sweet. Please note that the ones below are ending September 10. I will add on more links for contests that are ending soon (but not ending on September 10).

Ending September 10

• Win three books at Melanie’s Musings
• Win Another Faust at Fantastic Book Review
• Win Shiver at Reverie Book Reviews

Ending September 12

• Win a prize pack from Katie’s Bookshelf

Ending September 13

• Win Dreaming Anastasia from Book Reviews by Jess

Ending September 14

• Win As You Wish from The Book Butterfly

Ending September 15

• Michelle Moran books from Garden in My Pocket
• Michelle Moran books from My Own Little Corner of the World

Ending September 19

• Win The Stolen One and cool swag at Presenting Lenore

A Whole Bunch of Links to Catching Fire Swag Ending September 15

• Presenting Lenore
• The Story Siren
• Pop Culture Junkie
• Frenetic Reader
• GreenBeanTeenQueen
• Book Love Affair
• Luxury Reading
• Booking Mama
• The Discriminating Fangirl
• MORE COMING!

Also, guys, be sure to check out my new giveaway blogroll. There are a few more there, and those will usually be updated first.

Be back later…with more links.

Traveling to Teens is holding a giveaway of Michelle Zink’s Prophecy of the Sisters, a book I simply can’t wait to read. The giveaway ends today though, so I suggest hurrying up to get over there to enter before it’s too late!

And isn’t this buttong so pretty? I LOVE it. I think I’m going to put it on my review blog’s sidebar.

Also, be sure to check out that link for another giveaway going on–Another Faust by Daniel and Dina Nayeri. I love the cover (yes, I can be a bit of a cover snob). This one started a little later, so you still have time to enter until September 10!

Want even MORE books? Go to Bloody Bookaholic’s contest going on right now until September 27. You have to see how many books are available. It is MIND-BLOWING, seriously. If you decide to sign up, be sure to say that I was your referrer (please?)! You get an extra entry for saying who your referrer was.

Yes, even more contests…

I’m proud to admit it: I am a Bloomsbury geek. So when I saw that Presenting Lenore was holding a contest of ALL Bloomsbury books (yes, including some Shannon Hale books thrown into the bunch), my jaw dropped. Really. My mouth was hanging open. Go take a look at it. Go. NOW.

I know some of you guys really liked Mary E. Pearson’s The Adoration of Jenna Fox (which is coming out in paperback in a few days! I can’t wait to get my hands on that one), so I bet you’re getting hyped up for The Miles Between. Mrs. Magoo Reads is giving away three copies of the latter novel–just check out the trailer for the book at Mrs. Magoo’s blog and enter!

I think you guys like historical fiction…well, I do anyway. The Story Siren is giving away two of Michelle Moran’s books…and these look really interesting. Probably really good reads if you’re taking AP World History (I dropped last year…this year I’m taking APUSH…but still, these look GOOD. I love historical fiction). Check it out!

I believe that’s all…I’ll let you guys know of any more that pop up!

edit: Yes, there are more! If you’d like to win Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev, your chance awaits you here!

Coming 12/22/09 from Bloomsbury…

Nimira is a music-hall girl used to dancing for pennies. So when wealthy sorcerer Hollin Parry hires her to sing accompaniment to a mysterious piano-playing automaton, Nimira believes it will be the start of a better life. In Parry’s world, long-buried secrets are about to stir. Unsettling rumors begin to swirl about ghosts, a madwoman roaming the halls, and Parry’s involvement in a group of corrupt sorcerers for whom the rules of the living and dead are meant to be broken for greater power. When Nimira discovers the spirit of a dashing fairy gentleman is trapped within the automaton, she is determined to break the curse. But even as the two fall into a love that seems hopeless, breaking the curse becomes a perilous race against time. Because it’s not just the future of these star-crossed lovers that’s at stake, but the fate of the entire magical world.

Want to win an ARC with original sketches from the author inside? See http://fabulousfrock.livejournal.com for details!

(I WANT this book. Badly. The cover is really pretty, and the premise sounds neat! And yay for authors with a similar name to mine!! )

Hey, everyone!! Today in the blogosphere we are celebrating a special birthday! Can you guess who’s it is? Here’s a hint:

Pleasant to talk to, she’s a
Radiant friend who is
Immensely kind and thoughtful–
Youthful yet wise, she is
Amiable and awesome in all ways!

There’s a hidden message in the acrostic poem (sorry it’s not very fancy ). Guessed already? If you guessed Priya, you’re absolutely right!

HAPPY FOURTEENTH BIRTHDAY, PRIYA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANKS FOR YOUR WONDERFUL FRIENDSHIP AND SWEETNESS TO ALL OF YOUR INTERNET PALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. I think this picture is ADORABLE, in my opinion. Hope you like it, Priya!

I just found out that there are several giveaways going around at the moment. This is what I love about YA: you have the chance to get a book you really want for free, because someone is always giving it away.

• If you’d like a shot at winning Cayla Kluver’s Legacy, head on over to “La Femme Readers”–there’s an awesome giveaway going on over there. Click here!
• You can win Graceling, The Hunger Games, or Water for Elephants over at “Today’s Adventure”. Check it out!

And keep coming back–I have some updates, and some fun memes that I’m going to be doing soon!

Hey, guys! I have a contest thing to help me decide what movie I should review at Butterfly Forest. There is more info over there, so I suggest you check it out! I’m choosing next week, and I will not be taking any more entries after July 28, 2009, 11:59:59 PST. Hurry and enter!

Also, I will, again, be gone this weekend to camp. Au revoir!

edit: Also, take the poll below! I’m sort of wondering whether this was a good idea (I know, I sound so wishy-washy), so please choose one of the radio buttons and submit!

I feel like I’m doing just that as far as blogging goes, especially since I’ve been so busy with class. I’ve been doing homework, studying, reading, tweeting…those are the MAIN things that I do.

I’m going to yearbook camp next weekend, but I may have Internet access daily there and may still be able to tweet. As far as blogging goes…well, it’ll be a little “sporadic”. Not that that’s uncommon, as most of you know, but I won’t even be trying to post weekly. I’m hoping to post at least three times a month until class slows, I get APUSH done, and my schedule isn’t so hectic and busy. That won’t be until probably the last week or two of August.

In the meantime, in between homework, studying, reading, and tweeting, I’m going to do some major blog maintenance (now that, I have been doing , though it’s been pretty unnoticeable; it’s not anything dramatic, but I’ve been starting a different tag system, since tags have been bugging me for a bit now), writing stuff, making Survey Monkey surveys, and…

I’m going to ask you guys a favor.

This: speaking of surveys, what do you think I can improve while I “maintain” my blogs?

Okay. If you don’t want to answer that (and it’s perfectly fine if you don’t), is anyone here interested in doing a guest blog either on here or on Butterfly Forest? And if you’re thinking, “But Butterfly Forest is like…dead,” I must contradict you. I’m planning (and this, I also am not overpromising) on trying to expand my blog so that I don’t get “occasional” readers.

Speaking of which, stop on over at Butterfly Forest. I’m putting up some new posts, and they’re like update thingies. Quite fun, I must say, and decreases the massive space in between reviews.

♥BB

Thanks so much for the awesome links and jokes, Spider and Priya! You guys rock. Those did cheer me up.

Anyhoo, this is, basically, a random, literary post that doesn’t really even deserve a title. It’s more like a “so what do you think I should do?” type of post. Lame, I know, but I really, really want everyone’s opinion!

As you all know (and should know if you don’t!), I have a mad penchant for fantasy (*coughfairytaleretellingscough*) and historical fiction. And I love it even more when those two genres are fused together into period fantasy. (♥!) So, bearing this in mind, I am going to splurge a little (I hope, at least) on Borders.com and buy some fantasy, historical fiction, and period fantasy novels, especially since most of my children’s books have now been carted off into the garage and now the few YA books I actually own make me look as if I, erm, don’t read a lot. And you all know what a lie that is.

What I need to know from YOU guys is whether the following titles are one, first and foremost, CLEAN and APPROPRIATE (nothing graphic, please), and two, interesting. And paperback, just because they’re cheaper. But the ones I’m listing are already in paperback, so I’ve already covered that for you.

I’ve pretty much vowed to myself since the fall that the next first book I would buy after this whole book ordeal I had would be Sorcery and Cecilia by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer and I may buy the rest of the sequels from online in the same purchase. I’ve heard it’s mostly pretty clean…ye or nay? I would think ye, but it doesn’t hurt to double-check.

I’m also dying to have these titles:

• The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope
• Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard
• How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier
• A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
• East by Edith Pattou
• Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George
• Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George
• Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst
• The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner
• The Explosionist by Jenny Davidson
• The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison
• Lament: The Faerie Queen’s Deception by Maggie Stiefvater
• Princess Ben by Catherine Murdock
• The Swan Maiden by Heather Tomlinson
• Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris
• Remembrance by Theresa Breslin

Oh NO. I promise, I was NOT originally going to spit out so many titles. There WERE going to be only like…five. Including Sorcery and Cecilia. But alas. There you have it. So please tell. Tell the truth. Especially whether they’re clean or not.

And now I’m going off to quickly check some HBP updates on the Leaky Cauldron (*squee!*), do some extra practice for tomorrow’s test, and read some, all in order to prevent myself from freaking out from tomorrow freaky test. Ugh. Lack of eloquence right there. Wish me luck. Hasta luego.

♥BB

P.S. Reviewer X is holding a giveaway of that novel everyone is squeeing about and murdering themselves and others for–Catching Fire!! Yup, just click here, link, leave a comment, and you’re entered.

I pulled this off from Goodreads, though the original quote is “Now, do say something funny so she can admire!” It’s from River Secrets, and as most of you probably already know, I’m reading it right now, but I haven’t yet got to the part where that quote is but it just randomly stuck in my head because it fits so well with what I want to say.

First of all, I have been swamped (and I know I haven’t used that word sparingly, but I really, honestly do mean that this time) with work, and really cannot keep this up on a regular twice or three times a week basis. But also, I’m just a bit stressed at the moment. Well, actually, quite stressed.

I won’t go into details, but allow it to suffice to say that I’m in need of a break which I cannot get ahold of, and I feel like I’m just going up and down with everything.

And I feel guilty. I shouldn’t complain. It’s summer. I’m on vacation. And despite all the work I’ve had to do, I’ve had some of my own share of fun. I’ve been watching a LOT of movies. I’ve been staying up reading. I’ve made it a habit to stay up so late that two in the morning is quite early for me now. Especially after this week I stayed up until five twice.

And why am I complaining? I have good movies, good books, good websites, good blogs to read (which I haven’t lately; I have four hundred fifty unread items on Google Reader, but most of it is probably because I subscribe to three different Harry Potter fan sites, and you know how much buzz there is right now. Plus, I have so many of those interviews and fun Harry Potter stuff, so it’s still counted as unread. I don’t just zip through it and really take it in, you know.), writing that I want to do (including some quizzes and reviews! Funness!) and…good friends! So, that’s why I’m turning to you guys. Since I haven’t seen a single friend since school got out (except for a couple friends from my old school who are sisters that I got to talk to for a bit after Mass one day because they also happened to attend church at the same time), I’m asking you guys for a bit of help. This should be easy though.

As the title of this post states, I want something amusing. Funny. They could be articles, videos, songs, something Harry Potter related would be nice… You can e-mail them, or post them right here.

Or you can comment with funny questions for my FAQ (or FAQTWNRABSB, as I actually call it) on Butterfly Forest. Check it out here.

Or, if you’d like, you can guest blog on here. You can blog about anything. You can talk about potatoes. You can talk about how you began to collect slinky toys. I don’t really care what you blog about as long as it’s appropriate and clean, and contains more than one word and isn’t the length of a novel. Oh yes, and no posting your own writing…not that I’m against that, this blog just doesn’t seem like the right place to do that sort of thing. But you can talk about your own writing, or about writing in general. Honestly, I really don’t care about the topic except for those two…exceptions.

And WordPress changed their smilies!! Aw…I really miss the old ones. They remind me of LRRH. I miss LRRH, too.

♥BB

EVERYONE has been buzzing about Eyes Like Stars–Lisa Mantchev’s debut novel. And I’m sure that if you’re dying to get your hands on this one (like me), you’ve read the synopsis a dozen times already. So I won’t post it again.

BUT.

There are contest giveaways for it!! Everywhere! (Well, maybe not everywhere, but, ya know, in more than one place. )

If you haven’t heard of it or are not sure whether to read it, put it on your list now. My friend won a special copy from the author herself, and said it was FANTASTIC.

So…where can you win this oh-so-coveted book?

• Ennalee!! Dearest Enna Isilee of Squeaky Books is holding a lovely giveaway right here. Click, blog, comment. Easy. But if you live in Antarctica, Ennalee can’t send it to you. You must be in the U.S.
• Traveling to Teens. I just found this site a few minutes ago, and lookie! An ELS giveaway! Click, blog, comment, follow. Simple, right?

I am totally addicted to WordPress numbers and bullets now. Huh. I have weird penchants.

Anyhow, today I’m going to the beach to see some yearbook staffers. Yay! I miss yearbook. And…not much else to update except:

• I’m an official Facebook addict.
• I finished The Penderwicks!
• I made this new system where I label absolute favorites “platinum”, favorites in general “gold, and close to favorites “silver”. The Penderwicks would be a silver; it’s REALLY good. I hope to write a review (haha, posting??? I’ll…fit it into my schedule somehow.)
• I’m starting a review journal, since I’m so behind on reviews. One review blogger (I forget who) said she does that for professional reviews, and I thought that since my reviews are getting close to professional reviews (in style, not in reality ), I should do the same. It’s helpful to log all your thoughts in about novels.
• I updated some stuff on Butterfly Forest! Check out the directory page!
• I’m in the middle of (somewhat crazily editing) Heaven’s Stars. It’s so corny, but so old-fashioned, simple, cutesy, and innocent. Maybe that’s why I like it so much.
• I really am addicted to these bullet points/numbers.

Hasta luego,

♥BB

P.S. Oh, and happy Fourth of July everybody. I’m going to see my family tomorrow; it’s also my uncle’s birthday. I think it was Louis Armstrong’s birthday, too, right?

P.P.S. Speaking of awesome authors and cool giveaways, check out Maggie Stiefvater’s trailer for her upcoming novel Shiver! She made it herself, composed the music, played the music, did the art…and, of course, wrote the book! Enjoy!