In My Mailbox - April 17th, 2011

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.  I know I said I wasn't going to get anymore books for a while, but I needed a book for SSR (Silent Sustained Reading) at school.  My mom was going to the store, so I asked her to just pick up any Jane Austen book she wanted.  She got this one:

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Jane Austen’s first published novel, Sense and Sensibility is a wonderfully entertaining tale of flirtation and folly that revolves around two starkly different sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. While Elinor is thoughtful, considerate, and calm, her younger sister is emotional and wildly romantic. Both are looking for a husband, but neither Elinor’s reason nor Marianne’s passion can lead them to perfect happiness—as Marianne falls for an unscrupulous rascal and Elinor becomes attached to a man who’s already engaged.

Startling secrets, unexpected twists, and heartless betrayals interrupt the marriage games that follow. Filled with satiric wit and subtle characterizations, Sense and Sensibility teaches that true love requires a balance of reason and emotion.

In My Mailbox - April 3rd, 2011

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.

I had a much longer post planned, but whenever my In My Mailbox posts get long, Blogger always screws them up.  Instead I'm just going to do it this way.  I bought:

Come, Sit, Stay by Arden Moore


Why Do Dogs Do That? by Kim Campbell Thornton

(The edition pictured is not the one I own.)

Ouran High School Host Club Volume 8 by Bisco Hatori



Beastly by Alex Flinn


Matched by Ally Condie


The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook by Dinah Bucholz


Classic Cooking with Coca-Cola by Elizabeth Candler Graham and Ralph Roberts



The Hassle-Free Walt Disney World Vacation, 2011 Edition by Steven Barrett



Universal Orlando 2011: The Ultimate Guide to the Ultimate Theme Park Adventure by Seth Kubersky, Kelly Monaghan



The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing a Novel by Tom Monteleone

(The edition pictured is not the one I own.)

At some point in time I plan on filming video In My Mailboxes, so I can say more about the books without Blogger screwing everything up.  However,  I can't this week.  I already have another video filmed, and it's not long before I need to go to work.  Maybe next time

In My Mailbox - March 20th, 2011

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren to show what books you got over the past week.  This post will include the past two weeks.

The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner

ISBN:  1400074568 (ISBN13: 9781400074563)

Release date:  September 16th, 2008

Publisher:  Waterbrook Press

Synopsis from Goodreads:

I recieved this book from the publisher for review.

“We understand what we want to understand.”

Leaving a life of privilege to strike out on her own, Lauren Durough breaks with convention and her family’s expectations by choosing a state college over Stanford and earning her own income over accepting her ample monthly allowance. She takes a part-time job from 83-year-old librarian Abigail Boyles, who asks Lauren to transcribe the journal entries of her ancestor Mercy Hayworth, a victim of the Salem witch trials.

Almost immediately, Lauren finds herself drawn to this girl who lived and died four centuries ago. As the fervor around the witch accusations increases, Mercy becomes trapped in the worldview of the day, unable to fight the overwhelming influence of snap judgments and superstition, and Lauren realizes that the secrets of Mercy’s story extend beyond the pages of her diary, living on in the mysterious, embittered Abigail.


The strength of her affinity with Mercy forces Lauren to take a startling new look at her own life, including her relationships with Abigail, her college roommate, and a young man named Raul. But on the way to the truth, will Lauren find herself playing the helpless defendant or the misguided judge? Can she break free from her own perceptions and see who she really is?

Lights! Camera! Fiction!: The Movie Lover's Guide to Writing a Novel by Alfie Thompson

ISBN:  076242401X (ISBN13: 9780762424016)

Release date:  June 12th, 2006

Publisher:  Running Press Book Publishers

Synopsis from Goodreads:

How many times have you watched a popular movie and thought, "I'd like to write something like that," or "Even I can write better dialogue!" Here's your chance to learn how to write a novel...by watching movies like "Speed," "The Sixth Sense," "Clueless," "Die Hard," "While You Were Sleeping," and more! For the first time, a professional writing instructor and movie buff will take you through the steps necessary to craft your own commercial novel using techniques found in your favorite films. What can Hollywood's biggest features teach you about writing? How to watch movies with a writer's eye. Infusing character traits into scenes and plots. Using material goals to show internal motivation. Techniques for making scenes do double duty, including foreshadowing and flashback. What is a credibility gap, and how you should bridge it.

Plus: Three 'tricks' for fixing holes in your plot, characters or anything else in your story. Thompson guides you frame by frame through the ins and outs of writing a hit, in a text that is packed with "Quick Tips" and "Quick Fixes." This is an indispensable reference work that will have you polishing your prose—and preparing it for publication—in no time!

I won this book in a giveaway over on Wordplay.  I also won a CD about inspiration while writing and a couple of bookmarks.  I may even write a review for the CD.  It's a great CD to listen to if you're a writer.

In My Mailbox - March 6th, 2011

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren to show what books you got during the week.

I've tried this about four times already, and Blogger keeps screwing up the post.  I got seven books this week, and I had a long post with summaries and everyting.  Blogger kept moving text around and deleting huge chunks of the post.  I don't have anymore time to mess with it, so I'm just going to quickly list the books.

 

Love Finds You in Paradise Pennsylvania by Loree Lough (Given to me by my aunt.)

 

Nerve by Taylor Clark (I recieved an ARC from the publisher.)

 

My dad picked the rest of the books up at the Border's closing sale:

 

Ouran High School Host Club Volumes 5, 6, and 9 by Bisco Hatori  (I actually already have volume 5.  I may do a giveaway.  Would anyone be interested?)

 

The Darwin Awards Next Evolution by Wendy Northcutt

 

Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Duke by Sarah Maclean

In My Mailbox - February 27th, 2011

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

ISBN: 0673583503

Edition I'm reading was published December 1982 by Warner Books (first published 1960)

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus--three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused of raping a white woman. Though her story explores big themes, Harper Lee chooses to tell it through the eyes of a child. The result is a tough and tender novel of race, class, justice, and the pain of growing up.

The book pictured is not the edition I'm reading, or the edition that the publication information is for.  Amazon didn't have a picture for the edition I'm reading.

We're reading this book for school, and I have one of the school's copies.  Obviously, I'm not going to be keeping the book, but I felt like it could still qualify for In My Mailbox.

In My Mailbox - February 20th, 2011

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.  You tell what books you got in the past week.  I probably won't be doing this every week since I often don't get books every week, and when I do, it's usually only one just like this week.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte with an Introduction by Alice Hoffman

ISBN: 0451529251
This Edition Published: March 2nd, 2004 (first published 1847)
Publisher: Signet Classics
Synopsis from Goodreads:

"Wuthering Heights", Emily Bronte's only novel, is one of the pinnacles of 19th-century English literature. It's the story of Heathcliff, an orphan who falls in love with a girl above his class, loses her, and devotes the rest of his life to wreaking revenge on her family.

I'm reading this book for SSR (Silent Sustained Reading) in my English 11 Honors class.  My teacher wanted us to read what he calls "smart people books."  I've been wanting to read this for a while, so I was really excited when I found it in the library.  I'd renewed it at the library three or four times before I decided I ought to just buy it.  Since I'm really only reading it in class, it may be a while before I'm done, and you see a review on here.