Tag Archives: blogger

Fortnight of Fright: Dionaea House & Other Scary Stories by Lindsey of A Bookish Sinister Kid

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Hello dears! Lindsey is here to chat all about Dionaea house and other creepy places! Lindsey always has the best stuff, she is the one who found me some of the ONLY stories that have ever scared me (thank you, Reddit) and I can always count on her to send me the creepiest and most perfect things that only a select few cool (okay, maybe weird) peeps would enjoy. Also, she is totally traveling to CT to see a LORE show (which she hooked me on) with me this month!! Anywho, take it away, Linz!

You can pretty much find anything on the Internet these days, which means there’s no shortage of creepy stories, websites dedicated to spreading the scariness around!

I religiously go to a livejournal that dishes the best celeb gossip called Oh No They Didn’t. Besides celeb gossip, they cover all sorts of entertainment news as well as current events once in a while. Every now and then there’s a tag that pops up with a post that’s called: “creepy post” usually associated with the horror genre releasing something. One of the reasons I love this livejournal so much is for the comments section! I live for their comment section–I’ve read new books because of them, looked up items mentioned, watched various films, and listened to great new artists because the comment section has a ripple effect.

During a creepy post a few years ago, close to Halloween, someone posted about this website called the Dionaea House. The comments I had been reading mentioned that it was “supposedly” an abandoned film project that created a website to hype up the movie before release. With it being like 1130pm and my parents downstairs I decide, eh, why not–I like being scared, let’s start reading…which was so foolish because OMG I WAS SO FREAKED and panicked to go to sleep. Continue reading →

Beyond Books: 2015 Mid Year Check-In OR “The One With All the Recaps”

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Heyyy there friends!

Lots of great things have been happening in my life so I thought that I would check in with you all! I work very hard to keep this blog a hobby that makes me happy and never something that I “must” do, which means when I am out there enjoying life, the blog stays pretty quiet. So with that in mind, I thought it would be fun to catch you all up on what I have been doing/reading/listening to for the first half of the year!

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Lore Podcast

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You guys, I can’t say enough great things about this podcast! Knowing my adoration for the macabre, Lindsey nudged me to give it a try and I am so happy that I did! So what is it? Lore is a bi-weekly (sigh, I know) podcast about true life scary stories. Each episode of Lore delves into a scary tale and uncovers the truth behind it! That’s right, we get a nice supernatural history lesson with each podcast! I was so enthralled by Lore that I actually went back and re-listened to some episodes! Now, I know most of you are thinking that this must be terrifying in order to hold my macabre interest! But you know what, it really isn’t! Some of the stories managed to get near my incredibly high threshold, but I played some episodes for my (incredibly sensitive and ahem..scaredy cat) boyfriend and he enjoyed them as well. So what I am trying to tell you is that this podcast is great for all types of listeners, those of you who love the macabre, and those of you who are in the mood for the kind of story you should listen to on a chilly October evening. Also check out Lore’s Twitter because Aaron is very fun and seems to really appreciate his fans. Also, we (ahem, I) am trying to come up with a name for our fandom…Loreates? Loreites? What say you fellow fandom dwellers?

For fans of: all things supernatural, the x-files, Welcome to Nightvale, Rick Yancy, Neil Gaiman, Mythology, folktales, chilly autum evenings…

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Penny dreadful

Penny Dreadful is still going strong, if you like gothic literature then head over and binge this show because it is gloriously macabre and wonderful. Gotham started off slow but then I fell fast and hard for it. Batman villains, I was already in love before it even started. Outlander, though I am only half way through the season, I binged that entire half and can’t wait to devour more! The book wasn’t my favorite, but the show is stellar. All things Avengers are also my (and everyone’s) current obsession. Ant Man comes out next week and I can’t wait. Continue reading →

Bard on the Blogs: Guest Post by Lily from ChaptersPagesWords

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Bard

Today, we have Lily from ChaptersPagesWords reviewing the (in my personal opinion) FANTASTIC Kenneth Branagh adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing!! This is one of my favorite Shakespearean adaptations EVER! Enjoy Lily’s review and don’t forget to head over and check out a Rafflecopter giveaway to enter for a chance to win a Shakespeare retelling of your choice!

Title: Much Ado About Nothing (1993)

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Main Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Imelda Staunton

My Rating: 4 stars

I very much enjoyed this movie not only because of the plot but because of the characters, setting and overall experience. I would recommend this movie to anyone thirteen or older because I found this movie fun and entertaining.

Much Ado About Nothing was a great retelling of the play by Shakespeare. Branagh does a good job of taking the best part of the play and making them into the movie.

The movie is set in Messina in Italy so the setting throughout the entire film is beautiful. The setting is an important aspect in this film and was in my opinion well chosen. Much Ado About Nothing is meant to be set in 1598 and Branagh chooses to show this in an interesting way that made it fun for me to watch.

This movie / play is a comedy and it did make me laugh. So many things go wrong in the plot of this movie and the actors/actresses become characters that you sympathise with  and grow to love. Although the film is in Shakespearean language, the movie was easy to follow and at times the plot benefited from this asset.

I think this movie was very well adapted from the play. With the amazing choice of cast and setting, this movie was overall very enjoyable and loyal to the play.

That’s all for this review, I hope you enjoyed and I’ll see you soon!
Happy Reading!
Lily x
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Love-A-Thon: Welcome!

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BANNER - 2015 LOVEATHON

Hello my lovelies!!

I am sure most of you know that the lovely Alexa over at Alexa Loves Books is hosting her annual Love-A-Thon, if you have no idea what I am talking about, head over to her intro post and them come on back! Awesome, right? It is just another way that some of us are trying to focus on the cheer and positive aspects of our book blogging community. I will have a few posts on the blog throughout today and tomorrow, and will be participating as much as I can on Twitter using the hashtag #LoveAThon so make sure to stay tuned! If you read on, you will learn a bit about me and the impact that the blogging community has made on my life! Happy reading, friends!

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  1. What’s your name? Alyssa! I tend to go by a myriad of nicknames, the most popular being, “A.”
  1. Where in the world are you blogging from? Snowy New England!
  1. How did you get into blogging in the first place? I was actually in graduate school for my MLIS a few years back and we had to observe different resources for reader’s advisory, one of which being blogs. I had been following a few (The Book Smugglers, and Broke & the Bookish being two!) and I thought about how fun it would be so I started one, and convinced my friend Heidi from Bunbury in the Stacks that it was a good idea that she start one as well!
  1. How did you come up with your blog name? I wanted something that was meaningful to me, that spoke of my feelings regarding books and how important they are. I have always felt that books took me away from the drama of the real world and you can become immersed in the fictional world for a little while and forget whatever it is that needs forgetting. Thus Books Take You Places was born.
  1. What genre do you read and review the most on your blog? I read a lot of fantasy, it was always my fall back growing up and I try to really focus on reading what makes me happy. I do try and read books that are different than my go to genre but if I find that I am not loving what I am reading, I put it aside. Life is too short to read books I don’t love!
  1. What other types of posts do you do on your blog, apart from reviews? Hmm I have been known to write some Disney posts ranking the swooniest male leads and villains. I also write some “non-traditional” reviews for my On the Same Page feature that I do with Amy (Tripping Over Books) and Brittany (The Book Addict’s Guide) an example of one would be the personal post I just wrote on the idea of traveling souls.
  1. Best blogging experience so far? Hmm my best blogging experience has to be meeting so many wonderful people. I was surprised to see how vast the book blogger community was, and when I first started blogging it seemed so scary because everyone was already friends. It wasn’t long before other bloggers were reaching out to me and forging friendships. Through these interactions (mostly through Twitter) I found Brittany and Amy. Meeting these two has been my best blogging experience, and one of the best experiences of my life. I can’t put into words how important these gals are to me, and how lucky I feel to have met my soul friends! We have had a few adventures like road tripping to Britt’s wedding, and our trips to NYC…but I am the most excited for FRIENDSGIVING this year for sure!
  1. Favorite thing about the blogging community? It never used to be, but it has become the kindness in the community. I think there is a large of us working quite hard to keep the community alive. We have things like this loveathon, random acts of kindness, and the secret sister project that have been started by bloggers in order to showcase and preserve the special relationships that we have. I think many of us work hard to keep the positivity alive and it definitely shows.
  1. Name the 5 books you’re most excited for this 2015! AHHH ummm only 5? Okay I will choose ones that I do not have ARCs of:
  1. What’s an underrated book or series that you think everyone should read? It is from my childhood but I am pretty obsessed with The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede. I think they are funny and fun, and full of heart.
  1. Which book boy or girl would be your book BFF? DEFINITELY Sybella from Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers, she is my spirit animal and would understand me as no one else does.
  1. Apart from reading, what are your other hobbies or interests? I like to “game.” As in, you can catch me in front of my 3DS, Xbox, or any Nintendo console for hours at a time playing Zelda or Fable. I also like to bake, hike, go letterboxing and geocaching. I drink tea, and listen to old time radio shows, sometimes while putting together a puzzle. I am a pretty stereotypical librarian, right down to the two cats named after Shakespeare’s uppity females.
  1. Apart from book shopping, what else do you like shopping for? Usually presents for other people. I honestly have to hold myself back from buying my loves things anytime I go out. I also love trinkets, so antiquing is my favorite.
  1. Pick out either a book you want turned into a film/TV show, or a film/TV show you want turned into a book. Hands down would have to choose The Lies of Locke Lamora, or Name of the Wind but they would have to be amazing. Like, HBO perfect adaptation amazing, as amazing as Game of Thrones amazing. I NEED THEM TO BE AMAZING. Also I hear that The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy is going to be a movie and I have such high hopes!

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Book Nerds Unite: A Sharing is Caring Giveaway!

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Tis the season…and all that jazz. You know how it goes. The holidays start (earlier and earlier these days) and it is all about giving. Well now it is time for some getting. With the help of 19 other bloggers we bring to you, Book Nerds Unite, a Sharing is Caring giveaway!

Book Nerds Unite: A Sharing is Caring Giveaway

**Graphic by Rachel from Hello, Chelly

Here’s a little backstory for you: Andi — of Andi’s ABCs — got this fantastic idea after seeing so many fashion blogs give out high-value items for giveaways, she brainstormed and thought it would be a good idea to let us book bloggers dip in to the fun! She contacted some lovely bloggers to inquire if we would be interested and I am so happy to say that we have a wonderful group here putting together something extra special for YOU! Each blogger has pitched in to bring you not one but TWO top dollar prizes for one exciting giveaway event!

It’s pretty easy to enter. Just click on the Rafflecopter link/widget and start following some great bloggers. For your trouble we are offering a first place prize of $150.00 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card and a 2nd place prize of $50.00 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card. Really you are the big winner either way as you get to add some fabulous new blogs to your blog feeds. Just a few rules to follow before you get started:

  • Giveaway is US only. (Sorry to international folks!)
  • It runs from 11/24/14 to 12/11/14.
  • Winners are selected at random.
  • PLEASE don’t mark a blog as followed if you haven’t in fact followed. All entries WILL be checked as we are putting together this giveaway just because we want someone to win this awesome prize, so please don’t take advantage of the generosity of these other bloggers! ❤ Happy giveaway, happy winners!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Holidays, and good luck friends!