It's Magic Time! Harry Potter Book Tag

I found this tag over on We Live and Breathe Books, and although it seems everyone was doing this back in August, I thought it would be fun to save for when I was doing my Blog Ahead Challenge to have some posts pre-made for November and December.  And really, HP is always good at Christmas time since there is a Christmas scene in every book.  There wasn't a set button I could find, so I made one with my picture from meeting the Weasley twins back in the spring at our local Comic-Con.  This tag was created by Book Roast.



EXPECTO PATRONUM: A childhood book connected to good memories?

 I loved this book so much I did a book report where my mom helped me make a Bunnicula puppet that I still own to this day.  In fact, shortly after I began teaching, the author visited the students at the school where I worked.  I had to meet him and show him my puppet, which he was really impressed with.


EXPELLIARMUS: A book that took you by surprise?

   I didn't ever think this was something I would like.  But I had just begun working at B. Dalton Bookstore, and we were able to strip the cover off of paperbacks that we had to send back when the publisher requested. At the time, there were only 3 or 4 in the series out.  The other employees encouraged me to take the first one home and give it a try.  Needless to say, I was immediately hooked and now am a lifelong HP fan, proud Hufflepuff all the way!


PRIOR INCANTATO: The last book you read?

I actually completed this post back in October, so it was hard to put a book down for this spell. What I ended up going with was what is listed on my blogging calendar for being reviewed right before this post will go up.  I've been reading and loving all the books in the SmartyPants Romance series, and so you'll have to go back to yesterday's blog posts to see how much I might have enjoyed this one!  Now if this isn't the last one I read, it was probably another one in the series.



ALOHAMORA: A book that introduced you to a genre you'd never considered before?

  Okay, so it's probably not a genre exactly, but up until about 10 or less years ago, I was always only into very clean-cut guys.  This is the series that maybe got me reading about tattooed boys with piercings.



RIDDIKULUS: A funny book you've read?

 So, pretty much every book by Emma Hart cracks me up so much!  But, this one was probably one of my favorites, due to its connections to one of my all time favorite tv shows, The Big Bang Theory.



SONORUS: A book you think everyone should know about?

 This is a book that my last school district made a theme for everyone to read one year, and it is short and sweet, and really made me think.  I realized that I do things like when I'm in a bad mood, I take it out on someone without even realizing it.  While I'm still working on not doing these things myself, it has also helped me to realize that someone else may be just doing the same thing and not actually being mean to me on purpose, and that helps just by itself.



OBLIVIATE: A book or spoiler you would like to forget you ever read?

 So if you liked this book,  you probably don't want to read what I have to say about it.  This became a really big seller in the Barnes and Noble where I work for a while, and as it was a print on demand book at the time, we had a lot of people requesting, but it wasn't something we could just get to have on the shelf.  I noticed it was mostly teenagers asking for it, so I decided to get a set of the series for my school library.  Another librarian in the district wondered why I'd ordered them, because they were supposedly erotica.  Um, no.  It's not, yes, there is some sexual stuff in it, but it's not erotica.  I read it because of the other librarian bringing this to my attention.  And wow, it was boring and stupid, and I have no idea why any teen would want to read this book about a middle-aged man, one that isn't even cool in any way shape or form!  So I wish I'd never read it, but I'm glad I did, to know.



IMPERIO: A book you had to read for school?

 I don't feel like I read as many books in school as others had to read, but this is one that I remember reading.


CRUCIO: A book that was painful to read?

 I love dogs.  And this book made me cry so much it hurt at the end!  And even knowing what was going to happen, I went and saw the movie.  It is a book I can never read again and I'll never watch the movie again either.  I just cannot stand reading or thinking about dogs dying. Having had to twice make the decision to put my own dogs down as an adult breaks me to still think about.



AVADA KEDAVRA: A book that could kill (interpret as you will)?

 Left to interpret this one how I would, I am going with the fact that reading and holding this very large, over 400 page book, almost killed my arms.

I don't usually tag people on these, I figure if you want to do this you will.  If you decide to join in, I'd love to have you stop back by and drop me a link to your post so I can check it out.  If you just want to share what your choice for one of these would be, please feel free to leave me a comment with that as well!

Feature and Follow Friday 12/2812

 

This is the last one of 2012!!  Next time I participate in this it will be 2013.  Feature and Follow Friday is sponsored by Parajunkie and Alison Can Read.  The purpose of this event is to learn about the two featured bloggers each week, as well as to increase your own blog following by joining in on the fun!  Here is this week's question:

Q: What book do you think everyone should read? If you could gift the entire population with one book?

That's an easy one.  It's not even a novel, it's a nonfiction, kind of self-improvement type book.  It's called How Full is Your Bucket:  Positive Strategies for Work and Life by Tom Rath.  It was a book the school district that I teach in used as kind of a focus a few years back.  It's a quick, short read.  But it is so important I think.  It is so easy to let one person ruin your mood.  It helped me to see that just one thing I say to someone, even innocently, could be the last straw for them, based on what is going on in their life.  Whenever someone is rude, just because they're having a bad day or something, I want to hand them this book, and ask them to read it.  I just think it really brings up some good points and things to consider when you're dealing with other people.

So what about you?  What book do you think everyone should read?

Feature and Follow Friday

Feature and Follow Friday is a weekly event that helps you expand your blog following by a joint effort between bloggers. It is sponsored by Parajunkee and Allison Can Read. This week's question is:

Keeping with the spirit of giving this season, what book do you think EVERYONE should read, and if you could, would you buy it for all of your family and friends?

Again, this is a really hard question this week! I think that I would actually have to pick a book that really touched me because of what I personally deal with in my own life, as well as family members I've had do this. The book 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher. I especially want to recommend it to all middle school age kids. I know it is really about high school students, but I see my students saying these mean things to each other all the time. And I think the way the girl in the book describes how these little things that people say affect her, after all she's been through, is very realistic. It's so easy to just let your bad mood cause you to be rude or short with another person, not thinking about how it affects what they're already dealing with in their lives. And I guess along with this book, I'd also recommend the book How Full is Your Bucket by Tom Rath. This taught me a long time ago to think about how when another person doesn't say hi when you walk by or smile, or whatever, it's not necessarily anything to do with you, so don't take it personal, and also, realize how what you do or say can be taken personal by someone else, and do your best not to fall into these traps. I think the 2nd book is something to help you live by, and the first is good for those who are either suffering from depression, or who maybe are bullying, to see what they are actually doing to someone.

Okay, I think this post is kind of depressing for me today! Sorry about that! What books did you pick?

Gateway 2012-2013 Nominee 2: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


So, as I started this book, I really didn't think I was going to like it because the main character, Sam, is just so unlikable. And I know that was the whole point of it, but still, I just didn't think I'd ever feel sorry enough for her that I could get into it. And that was disappointing because I loved the book by the same author. And it was also bad because it is one of the possible nominees for next year's Gateway books that I have to read since I am a reader/selector again. It just seemed to me like a cross between the book A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray.

However, once I got into the book, I got sucked in. Every morning that Sam woke up, I wanted to see what she would do differently. It was the whole chaos theory in action. What did Sam need to do differently, first to save herself from dying. And then, when that didn't work, and she woke up again, what was it she actually needed to fix in order for it all to end? And how would she get it fixed? In a way, it brought my thoughts back to by Jay Asher. The reason I think this, is because even though the main character is so unlikable, just seeing how each little detail of what she did, or changed, affected those around her, well I think it's something good for teens/people to read. All these titles make me think of the book , a book my school district used as kind of a theme one year for the school year. It's a book I think everyone should read at some point in their life, the younger the better. I just think sometimes, myself included, that people don't realize how something they say off-handedly or out of their own frustration can really hurt someone else in a way they never intended.

So even though I was sure I was not going to give this book any higher than 3 stars, I ended up with 4, which is pretty good for me with a character I didn't like. Once you get into it, like I said, it's hard to put down until you know how each day ends, and if what she's done will fix it.



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