Unknown's avatar

Happy Ho Ho Ho To You!

by

Today is the kick-off for the CHRISTMAS FUN that will be happening on the blog this month! We have Kristina here from Gone Pecan talking about her favorite holiday tunes! I’m a hateful sort of person so I made her stick to only SIX titles lest she get carried away with the Christmas LOVE, bah, humbug indeed!

I am partial to The Christmas Song performed by Nat King Cole myself but I have been rocking my “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” Pandora playlist since Thanksgiving! Let’s hear what K has to say…

When Alyssa asked me to guest post I agreed automatically since she is awesome sauce but to say I’m slacking in posts for November / December is putting it mildly. It’s the holiday season and life gets in the way of the blog.  It also doesn’t help that I’m not a fan of Christmas. Maybe it’s because I live in south Louisiana where even though we are in December it’s still in the 70s and there is always at least a 50/50 chance I can wear shorts on Christmas day.  Maybe it’s because everyone makes enough money to just buy what they want so Christmas is filled with less gifts each year and more cash and gift cards or maybe because I make my grandmother’s pralines and I have so many requests each year that I have to start making them three weeks before taking up what little weekend time I have left after trying to shop for gifts.  Or the real reason may be that it doesn’t help me with my anti-social tendencies.  (Bah Humbug!)
Regardless of all these things there is one thing I love that is a direct result from this holiday. The music. Ah yes, I’m a sucker for Christmas music. We even have a couple of stations where I live that switch to all Christmas music all the time after Thanksgiving.  So after thinking about what kind fo Christmas related post I could do why not talk about my favorite songs of the season?
 Louisiana Christmas Day by Aaron Neville – I’m from Louisiana so this one doesn’t need much explanation.  🙂
Last Christmas by Wham! – Ah, George Michael my first crush on someone that later came out as gay.  Note I did say first because apparently I have a knack for picking the closeted gay member of any boy band (I’m not saying that they all have at least one gay member nor that there is anything wrong with that, just that is who I end up crushing on and they are playing for the other team.)  But come on, George Michael when he had that scruffy beard, leather jacket, and aviator glasses?  I know I wasn’t alone.
Hard Candy Christmas by Dolly Parton – Hard Candy Christmas is hands down my favorite Christmas song of all time.  We’ve listened to this song so much that my brother who is NOT a country fan can identify this song by the fifth note.  (Believe me we’ve tested him.)  This song plays in one of the best movies ever The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and if the name alone doesn’t make you want to watch it I have nothing left to say to you!
All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey – This is my second favorite Christmas song.  I sing it every single time it comes on (and maybe do a little dance) regardless of who is around me so I apologize to anyone that has been subjected to this demonstration.  How can you not want to sing/dance to it though?  I feel the need to point out this is the ONLY Mariah Carey song I like and I’m pretty sure it’s going to stay that way.  (SIDE NOTE:  They sing this in Love Actually as well, a version that I can accept since the little girl singing is so darn cute.)
Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley – Every now and then there comes a song that my whole family sings.  This is one of them.  We not only sing it, we act it out, and definitely include the back up singers.  There is a local radio DJ that loves all things Elvis and he said something about Elvis hating this song and not wanting to record it so he told the back up singers to make up the most ridiculous riff they could.  I have no idea if that’s true but I find it funny.
Mele Kalilimaka by Bing Crosby – I admit it, I like this song almost entirely for that fact that I learned how to say something in Hawaiian.  I feel more cultured.  I know, it’s sad.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra by Wizards of Winter – Have you seen that new Volkswagon commerical with the guy playing air drums in his car?  (my favorite part is when he tosses the drumstick up and catches it).  This song has the same effect on me and I LOVE IT.
So while I spend Christmas with my family trying to pretend that I actually like it (not hanging with my family mind you, just the holiday) and trying to convince myself that I shouldn’t stuff my face with everything sweet I’ll be listening to all my favorites.  What about you??

Thanks, Kiki! Some of these songs brought back some fond memories for me and some I have actually never heard before! Love me some Dolly Parton though! Rock out kids! Share the love, what songs do you HAVE to listen to this time of year?

Unknown's avatar

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

by

 

queen_of_christmas_400

Okay here it is, my “I have been seriously slacking on the blog lately but I promise to get better” post. Honestly between moving and life changes and new schedules I just have had ZERO time, and more importantly, energy to blog. Sure I could have thrown together a few reviews but they would have not been my best work and frankly, you deserve better!

So here’s what’s up, I love, love, LOVE the holidays. It is my birthday month and there will be SNOW and pretty lights and yummy smells and SNOW!! These are my FAVORITE things, people! But, you know what is terrible? Life changes that happened recently mean that I won’t have a Christmas tree or stockings hung with care or any of those things. To put it lightly, I got a little depressed recently and that is really the biggest reason for my lack of blogging. So today I was thinking about how to fix my sads and I decided that to make myself happier, and to celebrate with all of you, I will deck the blog out with ALL THE THINGS! This means that for the next few weeks, you will find delicious holiday recipes, reviews of both holiday shows and movies, and holiday crafts. Some of my favorite bloggers will be helping me out and providing me with some fun posts as well. This mini event will work around all of my catch up reviews that I MUST post before the end of the year and my wrap-ups in which I include my favorite things of 2012.

I don’t have a lot of free time in December, so I have determined (with help from my Twitter friends) that I will be reading and reviewing at least 4 more books this year. I put the word out that I needed titles of books that I absolutely MUST read before the end of 2012. So in addition to the multiple titles I read months ago and need to review, I will also be reading and reviewing:

Graceling by Kristen Cashore

The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George

Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz

Krampus by Brom

I tried to pick an older and newer book of both YA and MG and I love me some Brom (plus it’s kind of Santa related,) but my number 5 pick might be a little different depending on birthday presents (I’m spoiled, you see)! Not to mention the fact that I have heard AMAZING things about The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay and just got it, thanks, Netgalley!

In a nutshell, BE PREPARED for the holiday awesomeness and PLEASE tell me if you want to take part, I would love to hear from you!

Unknown's avatar

Top Ten Tuesday (28)

by
Top Ten Books and Authors I Am Thankful For

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created over at The Broke and the Bookish which I adore and therefore chose to adopt into my weekly blog posts!

L. Frank Baum and The Wizard of Oz series – To give me a fantasy land to escape to before Harry Potter, you will always be my first love.

J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter series – Without a doubt this is the number one series I am thankful for in my life. Let me just say that I had a pretty…rough… childhood and Harry and I were alike in quite a few ways. I think I was 12 when Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets came out and it was at that point that I randomly happened upon book 1. My grandmother asked me if I was interested and I kind of shrugged. You see, I was a creature of habit and at that point I was obsessively re-reading both The Wizard of Oz series and The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. Fast forward a few days (or hours) to me curled up in my chair in my tiny room crying over Harry receiving his Hogwarts letter. Seriously. Years later I was lucky enough to work at Barnes & Noble and I was working the midnight release party for HP7. I remember getting home after 1am and reading until I fell asleep. I finished the book that day and though I was overjoyed at having another piece of Harry’s life in my hands, I cried and cried. I cried because it was over but I also cried because we both prevailed over the terrible circumstances in our lives, Harry and I. I cried because in fact, “happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”

Patricia C. Wrede and The Enchanted Forest Chronicles – Ahh the first “no nonsense” princess I ever fell in love with and the first character I can remember relating to as a young reader.

Juliet Marillier – You all saw this coming, didn’t you? Marillier was the first “adult” author that I read as a “young adult” and it was the first time I can remember becoming so engrossed in a story that I could shut out anything and everything going on around me. There are a few books and a few series that I can re-read over and over but it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I realized just how much I love this author. Of course I knew that she was my favorite but I had forgotten just how strongly I react to her words. I am re-reading Daughter of the Forest (and the rest of the Sevenwaters series) to prepare for Flame of Sevenwaters and I am having all of these FEELINGS that are nearly impossible to describe. You’re all book people though, you get it, right?!

Neil Gaiman – I was lucky enough to read Neil Gaiman for the first time this year and I just love everything about him. The more I read the more I love. Mostly, I am thankful for his amazing storytelling skills because I LOVE the audio books that he narrates. You know what, just go read this post because really it is all about my adoration for the man.

Suzanne Collins and The Hunger Games Trilogy – For getting so many “non-readers” to read! Also for being one of the first books my beau read before me and ADORED.

Christopher Healy and The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom – For reminding me how fun it is to read and for proving to me that MG novels are worth it.

Bram Stoker and Dracula – For being the first vampire I ever loved.

Gertrude Chandler Warner and The Boxcar Children – For making me feel like less of an orphan.

The Grimm Brothers and Hans Christian Andersen – Just because.

Unknown's avatar

Neil Gaiman, I love you.

by

‘What kind of story would you like me to tell you?’ ‘Well,’ he said, thoughtfully, ‘I don’t think it should be too scary, because then when I go up to bed, I will just be thinking about monsters the whole time. But if it isn’t just a little bit scary, then I won’t be interested. And you make up scary stories, don’t you?’

Many of you know that this year was the year I had my first experience with Neil Gaiman. Everyone had stressed to me how fantastic Gaiman was and everyone had ideas on which book I should begin with and I decided to go with Stardust as my first read. I was already familiar with the story (and obsessed with the movie) and therefore knew that I would be happy with the outcome. My ideas on Stardust are for another time. This post is about my first experience with Neil Gaiman as a storyteller. That’s right, into audiobooks I delved.

I mentioned All Hallow’s Read and Neil Gaiman’s free audiobook in a prior post, and I encouraged you all to go download it but I never told you that I downloaded it, and obsessively listened to it for days. Because friends? Neil Gaiman is the shit. I know, I know. You all told me how fantastic this man was but I was wary, my friends, because how often does something or someone live up to the hype? The best part about this whole situation is that it isn’t just the books that I love. Oh no, it is the audiobooks, the ones narrated by this master storyteller himself.

The ones that made me change my whole perception and made me realize that being read to is in fact a glorious past time.

I won’t go in to what Click Clack the Rattlebag is like, except that it was wonderful. Neil Gaiman asked us listeners to keep the storyline to ourselves and I for one am abiding by that. Just know that it is creepy and intriguing and really keeps you listening intently. Currently, I am listening to Gaiman’s Neverwhere and it is so amazing that I find myself driving around in circles, taking the long way home, and sitting in my car long after arriving to my destination just to continue listening. In fact, as I sit at my workstation I am counting the hours until my long drive home whenI will be soothed by Gaiman’s lovely narration.

I encourage you all, old fans and new, to take a listen to Neil Gaiman’s works as he is an excellent storyteller and heightens any listening experience.

Move over, Jim Dale, methinks I have found a new narrator husband!

Unknown's avatar

Project: Fairy Tale

by

I have been hearing about Project: Fairy Tale all over Twitter and I finally took a breather and decided to see what the fuss was all about and let me tell you, I am so excited that I did! I immediately wanted in because I am a LOVER of fairytales and their retellings!!! On one hand I wish I had looked earlier because there were a few I would have loved to focus on but it would have been super hard to choose and let’s be serious, my choice is perfect for me..

So here it is, my choice for Project: Fairy Tale is:

The Wizard of Oz!

Are we shocked? Thrilled? Rolling our eyes at the obvious “Alyssa” choice? Me too, to all of those things but mostly I am just wanting it to be the new year so we can start!

I was actually pretty surprised to see how many retellings have been written of The Wizard of Oz. I obviously knew that there is a plethora (p.s. favorite word) of books in the “series” as it has been continued on by a few people but I didn’t know that there were actual retellings out there! Here is my plan…

Read and review the original novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Read and review 1-3 others in that series that are not part of the original 14.

Read and review Dorothy: the Darker Side of Oz by Scott Stanford.

Read and review Wicked by Gregory Maguire and hopefully read the rest of the series, finally.

Watch the movie a million times.

Watch a few adaptations, including Tin Man from the Sci-Fi channel and The Muppet’s Wizard of Oz (side note: I will not be watching The Wiz because it makes me want to throw up in my mouth) and of course, some of the more obscure remakes such as Return to Oz, which traumatized me as a child.

Finally, showing off my AMAZING collection of Oz books. Be super jealous.

So, there we are. Be prepared for in a few months we will be WoO-ing all over this blog! 

Unknown's avatar

NaNoWriMo: Day One

by

Well, today is day one of NaNoWriMo and I am already FREAKING OUT wondering WHY, WHYYYY did I take this on?!

I am so excited and pukey feeling at the same time that I really don’t even know how to function..I have an idea but I am mostly going to “wing it” because I just work better that way. So we will see how that goes and I am counting on YOU to keep ASKING me about this so I will feel guilty about quitting, ya hear?

For those of you participating: First, add me as a buddy! I am on there under withthebanned. Second, RAHH RAHHH WRITE! WRITE! WRITE!

Unknown's avatar

Fortnight of Fright: Halloween Facts

by

Welcome friends! Thanks for joining me for A Fortnight of Fright over here on Books Take You Places! Fortnight of Fright is an event hosted over two weeks, by myself and Brittany from The Book Addicts Guide, we will be featuring some fabulous posts on all things Halloween!

Today I am going to share some “true” facts about Halloween!

After taking a peek around here, make sure you head over to Brittany’s blog to enjoy some more Halloween fun!!

*Before we get started I wanted to share that today is the LAST day to download Neil Gaiman’s FREE audiobook, Click Clack the Rattlebag over on audible.com. For every download, audible will donate $1 up to $100,000 to charity. It’s part of All Hallow’s Read and take it from me, the story is awesome. It was scary and intriguing and just…Gaiman. So I highly suggest that you go HERE to download the audiobook TODAY before it goes away and if you want to read more about Neil’s story or All Hallow’s read I provided some info at the bottom of this post! Happy listening!*

Halloween has always fascinated me, it is my mother’s favorite holiday and therefore we always went all out on decorating and celebrating the holiday. Additionally, many of my family members on my father’s side loathe the holiday. They believe it to be a “day of evil” and being the precocious gal that I am I spent ample time educating myself on the origin of the holiday so that I could argue with them at every chance! I’m not going to bore you with lectures or paragraphs but I thought it would be fun to share some quick info on what Halloween really represents, past the candy and costumes.

Halloween is believed to have originated from the Celtic festival of Samhain, the last day of harvest before the “dark days,” more commonly known as “winter.” It was believed that on Samhain (and Beltane) the door to the Otherworld was open and therefore spirits were able to roam the Earth. 

It was believed that some were fearful of the spirits so they carved faces into things such as turnips and placed them in their windows to ward off evil spirits. This is of course, why we carve Jack o’ lanterns today. This is also why some wore costumes, the people believed that this would trick the walking spirits so that they would not possess the living.

There is much contemplation on the origin of trick or treating. It is believed that it comes from the celebration of All Souls Day in England. On this day, the poor would go door to door asking for food and once received would pray for the souls of the givers dead relatives. This was called going “a-souling” and replaced the practice of leaving wine and cakes out for the spirits of their dead.  Additionally, the term “Trick or Treat” can be translated to “give me a treat or I will cause some mischief,” there was a time that those requesting treats would perform some “trick” also known as a song and dance as “payment” for their treat.

Other traditions, such as certain foods that were eaten, bonfires and bobbing for apples goes along with the Samhain tradition of (the end of) harvest. These things are all symbolic to the culture and it was believed that peeling apples assisted in telling the future or answering questions asked while peeling.

That’s it for me for today, do you have any traditions for Halloween? Anything I may have missed?

Thanks for reading, friends. I really hoped you all enjoyed A Fortnight of Fright over here on Books Take You Places!

While you’re all here, have you heard of All Hallow’s Read? Basically, Neil Gaiman is behind it and the gist is that during the week of Halloween, or on the night itself, you give someone a scary book. Skip the candy and GIVE OUT BOOKS, PEOPLE!! Want more info (you shouldn’t because, did you see about NEIL GAIMAN?!) go to the website and READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Happy Halloween!
Unknown's avatar

Fortnight of Fright: Haunted Places

by

Welcome friends! Thanks for joining me for A Fortnight of Fright over here on Books Take You Places! Fortnight of Fright is an event hosted over two weeks, by myself and Brittany from The Book Addicts Guide, we will be featuring some fabulous posts on all things Halloween!

Today I am going to share some creepy places around New England and we have a guest post from a fellow blogger!

After taking a peek around here, make sure you head over to Brittany’s blog to enjoy some more Halloween fun!!

I am going to stick to New England haunts since that is where I live so first let’s take a look at some of the most haunted places in Connecticut:

Dudleytown: I don’t know anyone who hasn’t heard of Dudleytown, Ed and Lorraine Warren have dubbed this one of the most haunted places in Connecticut and growing up around here it seems that everyone has a story of what goes on in this forest. The story starts off as many do, settlers came to the area and slowly, things started to happen. Things such as suicides and murders!

Norwich State Hospital in Preston, CT: I am slightly obsessed with abandoned asylums and hospitals. They are beyond creepy and it isn’t hard to imagine all of the ways they are haunted. Lucky for me, Connecticut has quite a few of them Unfortunately, patients at Norwich State Hospital were severely mistreated and at times, even tortured. Therefore, it is no question that this is a hotbed for paranormal activity. I have a few friends who snuck in here while we were in college and WOW did they have some stories to tell. These places are of course patrolled by A LOT of police but every time we head toward the casino I make sure to drive by slower than usual speed. You can really feel a difference in atmosphere even from the road.

Salem, MA: How can I not mention Salem? The terrible witch trials took place hundreds of years ago and it’s no wonder why people believe spirits haunt this town. I was lucky enough to take a trip to Salem with Heidi from Bunbury in the Stacks yesterday and I’ll be recapping it for you all tomorrow!

This really is a small percentage of the amazing “haunted” places all over New England. Any place with history is bound to contain some memories, and sometimes these moments lead to paranormal experiences.

If you’re interested in this kind of thing, you should check out The Top Haunted Places in Connecticut.

Let’s hear what Vyki from On the Shelf has to say!

Spooky Local Lore

Every county has some kind of spooky local lore. One of the places in my county is an old cemetery behind one of our local colleges called “Hell’s Gates,” and it has been called this for so long that I can’t even remember what its actual name is. This is one of the creepiest cemeteries I have ever been in!

One a trip to Hell’s Gates one night on a rather cold November night, me and a friend of mine decided to take the camera out and see what we could catch on film (that’s right, film). As soon as we entered into the cemetery, the car heated up and we had to roll the windows down to let the cold air in to cool us off, and it definitely wasn’t the car’s heating system since it didn’t work. When we got the film developed, every picture was full of orbs. For those of you who don’t follow ghostie things, orbs are a way that ghosts show up in pictures. Are they really ghosts? Maybe, maybe not, all I know is that the pictures were FULL of them!

The most known story about Hell’s Gates is the myth about going in and out the same way when you visit the cemetery. It is said that you need to make sure you come in and leave from the exact same entrance; otherwise, one of the cemetery’s ghosts will follow you home. About a year after my sister and her husband moved in to their new house, she decided she was going to go with some friend to Hell’s Gates. When leaving, she went through a different gateway than she came in, not paying any mind to Hell’s Gates’ lore. The whole way home she felt as if someone was following her. Went she walked into the house, she still felt as if there was a presence, and she tried to ignore it. What she couldn’t ignore was the footstep sounds coming from the back room and hallway. She checked around the house and never found anything. Her husband also double checked, but still found nothing at all. From the night she visited the cemetery until they moved out a few years later, there were constant thumps and bumps, footsteps and sometimes even door opening and closing sounds that came from that back bedroom and hallway. Apparently, the ghost became a new house resident and claimed that bedroom!

I want to go back out some night to take some pictures with my digital camera and see what I can catch, but I will definitely be making sure I come out the same way I went in.

Sounds pretty creepy to me! What do you guys think? Do you have any local lore or ghostly stories to share?

Unknown's avatar

Fortnight of Fright: Halloween Treats

by

Welcome to A Fortnight of Fright over here on Books Take You Places! Fortnight of Fright is an event hosted over two weeks, by myself and Brittany from The Book Addicts Guide, we will be featuring some fabulous posts on all things Halloween!

Another delicious autumn related treat over here on the blog today! I have heard these called a few different things but I like the name Hocus Pocus Rolls the best because first, Hocus Pocus is awesome and second, once you bake these delicious treats the marshmallows disappear..LIKE MAGIC!

After taking a peek around here, make sure you head over to Brittany’s blog to enjoy some other Halloween related fun! 

For this recipe you will need:
  • One can of crescent roll dough
  • Enough large marshmallows to go inside every crescent roll
  • Melted butter
  • Cinnamon and sugar

Unfortunately I only have pictures of the finished product – I didn’t anticipate featuring this one on the blog at the time! Nonetheless they are still extremely easy and delicious, so go make them!

Not the best picture but you get the idea!

1. Preheat your over to the temperature specified on the back of the crescent roll container.

2. Unroll the crescent rolls and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

3. Roll the marshmallows in the melted butter.

4. Roll the marshmallows in the cinnamon sugar – I tend to use LOTS

5. Wrap the marshmallow in the open crescent rolls; do your best to close the sides around the marshmallows.

6. Put the rolls in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes.

7. Remove the crescent rolls from the oven and allow them to cool enough to handle. When they aren’t hot enough to burn off your fingers, break them open and enjoy the MAGIC!

YUM!

Unknown's avatar

Fortnight of Fright: Halloween Shows

by

Welcome friends! Thanks for joining me for A Fortnight of Fright over here on Books Take You Places! Fortnight of Fright is an event hosted over two weeks, by myself and Brittany from The Book Addicts Guide, we will be featuring some fabulous posts on all things Halloween!

Today I am going to share my favorite  creepy shows to get into the Halloween spirit!

After taking a peek around here, make sure you head over to Brittany’s blog to read about her favorite creepy shows!!

American Horror Story – As I said before, it takes a lot to scare me and this show has definitely succeeded. I was obsessed with this show last season and though I am a little behind, I can’t wait to catch up on season 2. American Horror story didn’t just cross lines in horror (and cable television) it left them in the dust. Jessica Lange is amazing, she haunts me. Also, I was a tiny but in love with Tate. Some may call him evil but I just like to think of him as complicated. Want to check it out? It’s on FX on Wednesdays at 10pm!

The Simpsons – Treehouse of Horror: I don’t know about you guys, but I am a 90’s kid and therefore am a lover of The Simpsons. My love for The Simpsons only grew as the years went on and I was lucky enough in college to room with a gal who is in LOVE with the show so much that we spent quite a few nights falling asleep to Homer’s crazy antics. The Treehouse of Horror episodes are my FAVORITE! I have to admit, I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing them all but I do have a favorite…

 

 

 

Treehouse of Horror V: The three segments on this episode are “The Shinning,” “Time and Punishment,” and “Nightmare Cafeteria.”

“The Shinning” is of course a parody of the movie “The Shining” based on the book by Stephen King. Basically no beer and no tv make Homer go CRAZY.

In “Nightmare Cafeteria,” the teachers all go crazy and start eating the children.

In my FAVORITE Simpsons episode EVER “Time and Punishment,” Homer attempts to fix a toaster and accidentally turns it into a time machine. When he travels to the prehistoric time he realizes the hazards of changing ANYTHING because every time he alters any part of the past, the future is changed dramatically. This episode also contains one of my favorite Simpsons quotes ever, in attempting to avoid ruining ANYTHING in the past, Homer accidentally sits down on a fish on land. He then sighs and states, “Oh I wish, I wish, I didn’t sit on that fish.” HA! Not sure why this one stuck with me so much but that was in 1994 and to this day I still laugh out loud.

 

 

Side note: I just watched Treehouse of Horror TWENTY-THREE (wow I feel old) and it was just as hilarious as the ones in 1994!

What are your favorite creepy shows or Halloween episodes? Boy Meets World? Home Improvement? You’re not alone! Head on over to Brittany’s blog and see what she has to say about those creepy shows!