Happy Mother's Day

I wanted to wish all those mothers and soon-to-be mothers out there a special Happy Mother's Day!

I know without my mother, I wouldn't have my love of reading.  She always encouraged me to follow my passions, and never batted an eyelash when I said I was starting a book vlog.  She always buys me books for my birthday and Christmas, and listens when I wax poetic about a YA book I love!  I hope all of you have as great of a mother, or mother figure, in your lives as I do; if you do make sure she knows she's appreciated!

To make this a little more book related, I thought I'd highlight some books with moms that I love!

1. Lily Potter from the Harry Potter series - Um, her love is what saved her son from the killing curse!  What better show of motherly love than that?  Lily has always been, in my mind, a strong woman that would do, and did, anything to save her family!
2. Sally Jackson from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series - She gave up her own happiness, and her own life at one point, in order to protect her son!  Sally is the definition of being a mother.
3. Molly Weasley from the Harry Potter series - You can;t have a list of mothers and not include Mrs. Weasley.  She manages a huge family with love and compassion, bringing in Harry as one of her own.  My favorite line will always be "Not my daughter, you bitch!" GO Mrs. Weasley!!
4. Natalie Prior from the Divergent series - Another sacrifice made in order to save her child, Natalie gives her life to save Tris.  Overall, she shows immense strength when she goes to visit within the Dauntless faction, and when she transfers from Dauntless to Abnegation.
5. Nancy from the Gingerbread series - She isn't protecting her daughter from any bigger threat than  the ups and downs of life, but she is still kick-ass.  Always there for her daughter when she needs her, and even when she doesn't want her, Nancy is great, and a very true to life mother

If I've missed any important mothers, leave me a comment below, and again Happy Mother's Day!

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Poetry Sunday (12)

This is a fabulous blog feature here at Eli to the nth!  Poetry is one of my passions, but I often don't have an opportunity to share that passion.  This feature gives me the perfect opportunity to do so!  Thanks to Genna from Reading, Writing, and the World of Words, who created this awesome feature and gave me the permission to host it here, as well as, use her cute graphic!

I haven't, unfortunately, posted a Poetry Sunday since 2011.  But since April was National Poetry Month (check out my posts) my love for poetry was re-ignited, and I want to continue to share it!

In honor of Mother's Day, I've got a couple of fabulous poems all about moms!  Share one with a mom or mom-to-be in your life!  If you have any poems, share them in the comments!

Mother's Day
by David Young

        —for my children

I see her doing something simple, paying bills,

or leafing through a magazine or book,

and wish that I could say, and she could hear,

that now I start to understand her love

for all of us, the fullness of it.

It burns there in the past, beyond my reach,

a modest lamp.

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Untitled [A house just like his mother's]  

by Gregory Orr

A house just like his mother's,

But made of words.

Everything he could remember

Inside it:

Parrots and a bowl

Of peaches, and the bright rug

His grandmother wove.

Shadows also—mysteries

And secrets.

Corridors

Only ghosts patrol.

And did I mention

Strawberry jam and toast?

Did I mention

That everyone he loved

Lives there now,

In that poem

He called "My Mother’s House?"

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[Sonnets are full of love, and this my tome]  

by Christina Rossetti

Sonnets are full of love, and this my tome

Has many sonnets: so here now shall be

One sonnet more, a love sonnet, from me

To her whose heart is my heart’s quiet home,

To my first Love, my Mother, on whose knee

I learnt love-lore that is not troublesome;

Whose service is my special dignity,

And she my loadstar while I go and come

And so because you love me, and because

I love you, Mother, I have woven a wreath

Of rhymes wherewith to crown your honored name:

In you not fourscore years can dim the flame

Of love, whose blessed glow transcends the laws

Of time and change and mortal life and death.

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In My Mailbox (43)

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren and inspired by one of her friends, Alea of Pop Culture Junkie, where we get to post about the books we receive each week through publishers/authors, our own purchases, contests won, and libraries.

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Books Mentioned:

Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume

The Second Summer of the Sisterhood 

Girls In Pants: The Third Summer Of The Sisterhood

The Sweet Far Thing 

Annexed

The Gathering Storm

Insurgent

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Faery Tales & Nightmare (Review)

Title: Faery Tales & Nightmares

Author(s): Melissa Marr

Edition: ARC, 418 pages

Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: February 21, 2012

Source: Received from NCTE

Buy: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

The Summary

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Dangerous promises and beguiling threats swirl together in a dozen stories of enchantments dark and light by New York Times bestselling author Melissa Marr. Uncanny and unexpected creatures appear from behind bushes, rise from beneath the seas, or manifest from seasonal storms to pursue the objects of their attention—with amorous or sinister intent—relentlessly.

From the gentle tones of a storyteller’s cadences to the terror of a blood sacrifice, tales of favorite characters from Marr’s Wicked Lovely novels mix with accounts of new characters for readers to fall in love with...or to fear.

Lush, seductive, and chilling, Melissa Marr’s stories revel in the unseen magic that infuses the world as we know it.

(Goodreads)

My Opinion

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Who doesn’t love Melissa Marr’s amazing Wicked Lovely series? There’s always love and hate, seduction and violence, good and evil in each of her books; all facets of life while involving the supernatural! The same can be said of her collection of short stories, Faery Tales & Nightmares.

The way Marr takes traditional fairy tales and twists them to make them her own is what keeps me engaged.  This collection features several stories set in her WL universe, but also contains several original stories.  I love all the WL ones of course, but my favorites come from the original stuff: Love Struck and Winter's Kiss.  These both really embody the fairytale aesthetic, and were different from each other while still fitting into the collection together.

I think fans of Marr will be delighted with the collection, especially the WL stories.  These all add a glimpse into more of that world, and some, I believe, are edited chapters that were taken out of the books, so that’s fun!  Marr’s imaginative writing really shines, and none of the stories fall short.  Newcomers to Marr will be able to enjoy the original stories, but may feel a little lost when it comes to the WL stories.  But, overall, those are still well-written, and can stand alone in a way.

A delicious book filled with stories you can devour in one day, Faery Tales & Nightmares by Melissa Marr is a collection you’ll want to add to your shelf!

Extras

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Wicked Lovely trailer

Final Rating

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Book Cover: 4/5
Book Title: 5/5
Plot: 9/10
Characters: 9/10
Writing: 9/10
Ending: 9/10
Overall: 45/50: A-
*This is overall for the whole collection

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Current Favorite Reads

I've decided to start a new feature here for Thursdays. I think sometimes books deserve a little more TLC than a review. With that in mind, I've decided to highlight my "Current Favorite Reads". This might be for the last couple weeks, for a whole month, or even just for a few days. Please join in if you want!

Books highlighted:

The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson
Revived by Cat Patrick
I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
The Literary Ladies' Guide to the Writing Life by Nava Atlas

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Trailer Thursday (18)

Today I am highlighting the trailer to a VERY anticipated book, 
which came out this week:


The City of Lost Souls

by Cassandra Clare

Release Date: 05/08/2012

I can't wait to get my hands on the next installment of Cassandra Clare's amazing The Mortal Instruments series!  Let me know what you think of the trailer!

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Waiting on Wednesday (38)

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we seriously can’t wait for.

 Here's my pick for the week, that I seriously can't wait for:

Eve & Adam 
by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate

Publication Date: October 2, 2012

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Sixteen-year-old Evening Spiker lives an affluent life in San Francisco with her mother, Emma-Rose, a successful geneticist and owner of Spiker Biotech. Sure, Evening misses her father who died mysteriously, but she’s never really questioned it. Much like how she’s never stopped to think how off it is that she’s never been sick. That is, until she’s struck by a car and is exposed to extensive injuries. Injuries that seem to be healing faster than physically possible.

While recuperating in Spiker Biotech’s lush facilities, she meets Solo Plissken, a very attractive, if off-putting boy her age who spent his life at Spiker Biotech. Like Evening, he’s never questioned anything... until now. Solo drops hints to Evening that something isn’t right, and Emma-Rose may be behind it. Evening puts this out of her mind and begins her summer internship project: To simulate the creation of the perfect boy. With the help of Solo, Evening uncovers secrets so big they could change the world completely.

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Okay this sounds super creepy in a mad scientist way!  I like the biblical overtones, with "Eve" creating "Adam", and I want to see what direction that's taken in.  I love love love the cover to bits and pieces!  Also, Michael Grant co-authored?  Oh and Katherine Applegate; Animorphs anyone?  That means it's going to be awesome!!  Just another great book to add to my ever growing TBR list!!

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Nearly New Books for You!

I got the idea for this feature from Kathy @ I Am a Reader, Not a Writer.  I too love to receive books in the mail, and to buy the books I want to read, then I hoard them!  Muhahahah...uh hem. And while I might not get rid of as many books as I read (I re-read them all the time), there are some books that don't have a place on my shelves.  I figure giving them away would be nice!  This won't be a feature all the time, but it'll pop up now and then.

So without further ado, here's the books I have to giveaway!

All three are in good condition, and Eragon is in paperback while Eldest & Brisingr are hardcovers ! 

 Click on the titles to read more about each.

To enter just fill out the Rafflecopter below!  Easy Peasy!

There will be ONE winner for all 3!

Please remember this is U.S. ONLY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Top Ten Tuesday (17)

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because they are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. They'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week they will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of their bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join. All they ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND post a comment on our post with a link to your Top Ten Tuesday post to share with us and all those who are participating. If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.

The topic this week is: Top Ten Favorite Quotes From Books

All of the quotes come from Goodreads.  The links lead to the author pages & to the quote pages, so definitely check out all the books!

“Sorry, are you telling me that your demon-slaying buddies need to be driven to their next assignment with the forces of darkness by my mom?”
― Cassandra Clare, City of Bones

“I always think of each night as a song. Or each moment as a song. But now I'm seeing we don't live in a single song. We move from song to song, from lyric to lyric, from chord to chord. There is no ending here. It's an infinite playlist.”
― David Levithan, Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

“I don't want to lose the boy with the bread.”
― Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games

“What the hell is that?" I laughed.
"It's my fox hat."
"Your fox hat?"
"Yeah, Pudge. My fox hat."
"Why are you wearing your fox hat?" I asked.
"Because no one can catch the motherfucking fox.”
― John Green, Looking for Alaska

“A pixie's true skin color is blue. Cookie Monster, Grover, and other lovable Muppets are also blue. Do not confuse the two. Muppets don't kill you. Usually.”
― Carrie Jones, Captivate

“Francois Rabelais. He was a poet. And his last words were "I go to seek a Great Perhaps." That's why I'm going. So I don't have to wait until I die to start seeking a Great Perhaps.”
― John Green, Looking for Alaska

“It's a lie, you know, to pretend that nothing is important to you. It's hiding. Believe me, I know because I hid for a long time. But now I won't do it anymore. The truth is bioluminescent. I don't lie, and I don't waste time on people who do.”
― Ellen Wittlinger, Hard Love

“Why are they all staring?" demanded Albus as he and Rose craned around to look at the other students.
"Don’t let it worry you," said Ron. "It’s me. I’m extremely famous.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

“I feel like someone breathed new air into my lungs. I am not Abnegation. I am not Dauntless.
I am Divergent.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent

“I love you. Remember. They cannot take it”
― Lauren Oliver, Delirium

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Teaser Tuesday (39)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following!

• Grab your current read.
• Open to a random page.
• Share a few teaser sentences from somewhere on that page.
• MAKE SURE NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (you don't want to give too much away and ruin the book for other readers)

Share the title and author too, so that other readers can add your book to their TBR list if they like your teaser!

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Ripper 
by Amy Carol Reeves

Publication Date: April 8, 2010

         I felt hot breath on my neck, and, horrified, I knew that he stood behind me.
         I awoke, choking on a scream.  Chills shook my body, and yet sweat dripped down my brows

(Pg. 43)

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I am obsessed with Jack the Ripper, so this book is a must-read for me!  Set smack dab in the middle of the kill zone, the protagonist, Abbie, is having prophetic dreams involving the Ripper.  She must work to stop this monstrous killer before it's too late.  I would definitely suggest you guys check the book out, because it is fantastically chilling!

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