…and even MORE giveaways…
Like you don’t love them enough. Because I SO DO.
Okay, for starters, I’m uber busy at the moment and won’t get down to real maintenance on any of my blogs until November, so they will be on official hiatus until then. However, because I heart contests will all my heart (that…was weird), I will be doing only posts throughout the hiatus of links to giveaways. So it’s not like a total hiatus. I’m still here. And alive.
I’m really tired at the moment, so I’m just going to sort of NOT ramble through this…and make it short and sweet. Please note that the ones below are ending September 10. I will add on more links for contests that are ending soon (but not ending on September 10).
Ending September 10
- Win three books at Melanie’s Musings
- Win Another Faust at Fantastic Book Review
- Win Shiver at Reverie Book Reviews
Ending September 12
Ending September 13
Ending September 14
Ending September 15
- Michelle Moran books from Garden in My Pocket
- Michelle Moran books from My Own Little Corner of the World
Ending September 19
A Whole Bunch of Links to Catching Fire Swag Ending September 15
- Presenting Lenore
- The Story Siren
- Pop Culture Junkie
- Frenetic Reader
- GreenBeanTeenQueen
- Book Love Affair
- Luxury Reading
- Booking Mama
- The Discriminating Fangirl
- MORE COMING!
Also, guys, be sure to check out my new giveaway blogroll. There are a few more there, and those will usually be updated first.
Be back later…with more links. 🙂
More Giveaways…
Traveling to Teens is holding a giveaway of Michelle Zink’s Prophecy of the Sisters, a book I simply can’t wait to read. The giveaway ends today though, so I suggest hurrying up to get over there to enter before it’s too late!
Also, be sure to check out that link for another giveaway going on–Another Faust by Daniel and Dina Nayeri. I love the cover (yes, I can be a bit of a cover snob). This one started a little later, so you still have time to enter until September 10!
Want even MORE books? Go to Bloody Bookaholic’s contest going on right now until September 27. You have to see how many books are available. It is MIND-BLOWING, seriously. If you decide to sign up, be sure to say that I was your referrer (please?)! You get an extra entry for saying who your referrer was.
Yes, even more contests…
I’m proud to admit it: I am a Bloomsbury geek. So when I saw that Presenting Lenore was holding a contest of ALL Bloomsbury books (yes, including some Shannon Hale books thrown into the bunch), my jaw dropped. Really. My mouth was hanging open. Go take a look at it. Go. NOW.
I know some of you guys really liked Mary E. Pearson’s The Adoration of Jenna Fox (which is coming out in paperback in a few days! I can’t wait to get my hands on that one), so I bet you’re getting hyped up for The Miles Between. Mrs. Magoo Reads is giving away three copies of the latter novel–just check out the trailer for the book at Mrs. Magoo’s blog and enter!
I think you guys like historical fiction…well, I do anyway. The Story Siren is giving away two of Michelle Moran’s books…and these look really interesting. Probably really good reads if you’re taking AP World History (I dropped last year…this year I’m taking APUSH…but still, these look GOOD. I love historical fiction). Check it out!
I believe that’s all…I’ll let you guys know of any more that pop up! 😀
edit: Yes, there are more! If you’d like to win Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev, your chance awaits you here!
Another Giveaway!
Coming 12/22/09 from Bloomsbury…
Nimira is a music-hall girl used to dancing for pennies. So when wealthy sorcerer Hollin Parry hires her to sing accompaniment to a mysterious piano-playing automaton, Nimira believes it will be the start of a better life. In Parry’s world, long-buried secrets are about to stir. Unsettling rumors begin to swirl about ghosts, a madwoman roaming the halls, and Parry’s involvement in a group of corrupt sorcerers for whom the rules of the living and dead are meant to be broken for greater power. When Nimira discovers the spirit of a dashing fairy gentleman is trapped within the automaton, she is determined to break the curse. But even as the two fall into a love that seems hopeless, breaking the curse becomes a perilous race against time. Because it’s not just the future of these star-crossed lovers that’s at stake, but the fate of the entire magical world.
Want to win an ARC with original sketches from the author inside? See http://fabulousfrock.livejournal.com for details!
(I WANT this book. Badly. The cover is really pretty, and the premise sounds neat! And yay for authors with a similar name to mine!! 😀 😉 )
More Tidying Up…
So, readers, as you may well know, I’ve been saying over and over again that I would do blog maintenance. And I have been doing it, but just not recently.
If you want major blog maintenance, HERE YA GO. You’re welcome to it.
And yes, I am speaking of major blog maintenace. Major as in “I’m changing my blog title.”
If you object, by all means, do so. Look at the poll below, and vote! Easy, right? If you’re curious as to my takes on the titles below, read below the poll.
Butterfly Forest. I love the current title. I do. I just think that this would be better to label my whole “favorites” system rather than name the whole blog after it.
Read. Write. Watch. Listen. One of my favorites, from the list. But I think there are many similar blog titles out there, and I don’t want it to get all mixed up, plus I don’t want to seem like I’m stealing other people’s ideas. 😦
Clean for Teens. Another favorite. This sounds fresh and new, perfect for a blog that I’m trying to make exactly that (when it’s actually stale and old 😛 ). In addition, it sums up my blog: everything I review is clean for teens.
Books, Movies, and Music: A Nerdette’s Outlook/A Nerdette’s Outlook on Books, Movies, and Music. I’m a little more partial to the first; the second is a little too lengthy and wordy, even though it just has the word “on” added to it. I also love how fresh the basic premise of the title is. I am a nerdette, after all. 🙂
Notes from the Nerdette. Cute! But this sounds better for a personal blog, not a review blog.
The Blog Around the Corner. I. LOVE. THIS. ONE. Sadly, this one has been taken by another blog (google it), but I really would love to owe a nod to one of my favorite, most bookish movies ever, You’ve Got Mail. So cute.
Quality: A Review Blog. This one is quite cute, really. It’s a nod to Funny Face, another of my favorite movies. But people, with this in mind, might think this is a fashion blog in which I review new trends or certain kinds of clothing or whatever. Which I don’t.
The Entertainment Database/Entertainment Express. Meh. I don’t care for either one all that much. Although books are considered a branch of “entertainment”, people seldom think of it that way–“entertainment” usually signifies movies and music, and though I review both, I’m going to review more books than films or albums.
Persuasion. As much as I love the book, and this wouldn’t make all that bad a blog title, it sounds too forceful for a review blog. In some ways, I do persuade people to read or watch or listen to whatever I’m reviewing, but that’s not all I’m going to do. Plus, this also sounds more like a Jane Austen blog title. I love Austen blogs, but I just don’t think it’s going to work for my blog.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Don’t let my comments constrain you from your decision on the poll! Just choose what you like after reading my comments on each of my possible titles, and vote. If you don’t think your vote counts, trust me, it DOES. I will choose whichever gets the most votes.
Also, stay tuned next week! I’m off from class, and I will be doing more writing and blogging–yes, folks, that includes writing REVIEWS!! And, I’ll be introducing a new game next week. It is FUN. The prizes will be virtual lollipops of whatever shape, size, color, and flavor you wish. 🙂
♥BB
TFPWU 7.19.09 to 8.8.09
This week stunk. And so did like…the past weeks that I didn’t do this. So, here is a quick retrospective of my stinky weeks in which I did nothing. Thank goodness for Netflix.
What I Finished This Week
- None. Fail already.
What I’m Reading Now
- Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard
- River Secrets (The Books of Bayern #3) by Shannon Hale
- Boston Jane: An Adventure (Boston Jane #1) by Jennifer L. Holm
- Sorcery and Cecilia or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
What I’m Reviewing Now
- See last time’s TFPWU…fail again.
What I’ve Watched
- Ballet Shoes (2007)
- WALL-E (2008)
- Chocolat (2000)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
- I Dream of Jeannie: Season Four (Discs One, Two, and Three) (1968)
- Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008)
- Mary Tyler Moore: Season One (Disc One) (1970)
- Victoria and Albert (2001)
What I’m Watching Now
- Not quite sure what I’ll be watching next…probably the fourth disc of IDoJ Season Four, and another watch of North and South.
Who and What I’m Listening To Now
- Not much…although my mom has been playing an awful lot of ABBA ever since we saw Mamma Mia!, and that’s all that’s been ringing in my head as of late. 😛 (same from last time)
- “Unglamorous” by Lori McKenna–amazing, cute song! I have no idea why I didn’t buy this earlier!
- I’ve been playing a lot of Anna Nalick, as well. I guess I’ve sort of “rediscovered” her music…especially “Paper Bag”, “Forever Love (Digame)”, “In the Rough”, and “Citadel”.
Again, if you guys think I should write a review on any of the stuff that I do a weekly update on, let me know and LEAVE A COMMENT!!!!!!!! I can’t read your mind, so tell me! 😀
Giveaways! (and a quick note)
Okay, so it seems that HMHY was really, really, really, dreadfully unpopular, but thank you so much to sweet Priya for entering! You won, so I’ll be working on a review of Up soon and send it to you asap! (I am figuring out a new way to do reviews that YOU guys want to read. Come back soon to hear more about it!) Also, I just found out that there are several giveaways going around at the moment. This is what I love about YA: you have the chance to get a book you really want for free, because someone is always giving it away.
- If you’d like a shot at winning Cayla Kluver’s Legacy, head on over to “La Femme Readers”–there’s an awesome giveaway going on over there. Click here!
- You can win Graceling, The Hunger Games, or Water for Elephants over at “Today’s Adventure”. Check it out!
Help Me Help You Contest
If you’ve read at least one or two of my reviews, you will realize that they are not exactly like other reviews; not only do they give a good idea as to whether a book, movie, or album is of high-quality or not, but they also help my readers–they give them information that would take them a few extra minutes if they had to wait for that product’s Amazon page to load. I think of my reviews as almost part of a database, like IMDb–it includes my thoughts and a summary, but it also has several other tidbits as well.
With this said, I think I better make this next part clear: I have no idea what to review next. That is, I’m going to write another movie review, but I’m sort of stuck on which one to do. Since my family is getting Netflix, you would think I would have plenty to write about. And I do. And that, my readers, is my problem. I’m a rather indecisive reviewer. Actually, I’m just indecisive overall.
Anyhow, I need you guys to basically help me help you all get another review. But it’s going to be like a contest. Basically, you give me entries for what movie you want reviewed, and, next week, I’ll do a random number generator and whoever has that number and picked a movie for that entry will win…a review!
Okay, I know this sounds dumb, but I can’t afford to get a prize and send it out. Anyway, I don’t think my mom would let me.
There’s just one rule: comment, leave your e-mail address (please write it in the safe way–e.g., my.name(at)website(dot)com), and state ONE MOVIE PER ENTRY from the list I have at the end of this post.
Most blog contests have a system in which they incorporate a number of entries, so I’m going to do the same:
- 1+ Comment on this post (again, with your E-MAIL) and state which movie you want
- 2+ Send me an e-mail or put in your comment a question for me to put in the forthcoming FAQ page. It doesn’t have to be formal; it can be a joke, a random question (e.g., “What is your favorite color?”), a question about my opinions, anything. But questions like, “Where do you live?” and “How old are you?” are prohibited, even though most people may know one or the other or both of those questions’ answers. NO PRIVATE QUESTIONS.
- 3+ Each time you link anywhere; it can be anywhere you please EXCEPT for MySpace, simply because I’m not allowed to go on there and can’t verify where you link myself. Leave a comment or e-mail me with a link to where you linked. You can link on your blog, Twitter, Facebook…anywhere! Just let me know where. Also, I’m going to make a tweet that you can RT for three more entries.
- 4+ For following my blog!
Questions I Am Sure You Will Have:
- Can I make my first entry for one movie, my second entry for another movie, my third for a different movie, and so on? Absolutely. Enter in one movie per entry as erratically as you wish.
- If I make three separate posts this week, and in each post I mention and link to this post/blog, does that count for three entries? YES! Absolutely.
- What if I tweet about the contest in several intervals? Go right ahead. If you tweet a number of times (including RTing), it counts as that times three. Same goes for Facebook.
- What must I write in a comment? It is absolutely, positively, VITAL to have your e-mail and the movie you chose for that entry.
- I don’t see any movies I want reviewed. Will you being doing this again soon? Yes! I’m planning on doing a music one for my album reviews, if this goes well.
- Anything else that you should tell me? Yeah. There’s a catch, sort of. The movie you pick won’t necessarily get a good review just because it was your favorite movie.
- Do I get recognition? You get mentioned in the beginning of the review, and you will have a post announcing you as the winner (if you are the winner). But if and when I post reviews on other sites (e.g., Amazon), that will not be put on there.
- Can I make an entry a movie I haven’t seen but am interested in? Definitely, as long as it’s on the list.
- What are your reviews like? I did a review on Ratatouille last summer. All movie reviews will be formatted just like it.
- When is the last day to submit entries and enter? Next Tuesday, July 28, 2009, 11:59:59 PST
- Who do I e-mail to who? What should the subject of the e-mail be? E-mail me, bookbutterfly, at lady(d0t)dashti(at)gmail(dot)com, or bookbutterflyangel(at)yahoo(dot)com. If it is regarding a linked entry, please state so in the subject; if you have a question or comment (which I would love to hear, even if a comment is negative), please state that in the subject. Please write either “Help Me Help You”, “Help Me Help You Contest”, or “HMHY” somewhere in the subject; it would help me sort out my regular mail from ones for this contest.
THE MOVIES*
- Up (2009)
- Lost in Austen (2008)
- The Mission (1986)
- Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008)
- Little Dorrit (2008)
- Mamma Mia! (2008)
- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1996)
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
- Ballet Shoes (2007)
- North and South (2004)
*This list may grow throughout the week, though I can’t say for certain, so check back often!
TFPWU 7.12.09 through 7.18.09
What I Finished This Week
- Once Upon a Curse by E.D. Baker
What I’m Reading Now
- River Secrets (The Books of Bayern #3) by Shannon Hale
- Boston Jane: An Adventure (Boston Jane #1) by Jennifer L. Holm
- Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier
What I’m Reviewing Now
- See last week’s TFPWU…
What I’ve Watched
- Mamma Mia! (2008)
- I Dream of Jeannie: Season Three (Disc Four) (1967)
- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1996)
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
What I’m Watching Now
- Not quite sure what I’ll be watching next…maybe Ballet Shoes (2007)?
Who and What I’m Listening To Now
- Not much…although my mom has been playing an awful lot of ABBA ever since we saw Mamma Mia!, and that’s all that’s been ringing in my head as of late. 😛
edit: P.S. If you guys think I should write a review on any of the stuff that I do a weekly update on, let me know and LEAVE A COMMENT!!!!!!!! I can’t read your mind, so tell me! 😀
Hello, Again! (and the Introduction of TFPWU)
So. I have been away. But I have been brought back. If you’ve been keeping yourself updated with my journal blog, you will know why. For now, I want to share with you all that I will be trying to keep up this blog again (I didn’t abandon it, I simply didn’t have time for it 😛 ), but for now, I will be doing weekly updates called…er, I’m not quite sure what to call it, actually. 😛 I was going to call it a retrospective of sorts, but so many other blogs have something similar and call it exactly that, so it doesn’t seem highly original. My creative juices aren’t exactly flowing for this kind of thing, so I think for now I’m just going to call it “The Forest Princess’s Weekly Updates”, or TFPWU. Yes, “The Forest Princess” is yours truly. Do you guys have any ideas for a title for it? The current title seems so dry and generic, personally. Also, I will be adding some extra features to the site. I’m still working on them, but if you look at the directory tab above, you will see the few pages I have added. I’m also deleting some posts (namely, the ones explaining the format of my reviews, and yes, I am slightly changing the format, but just a wee bit) and moving them to their own separate pages parented by the directory. Just go check on the directory every so often! I may not update it every single day (I’ve been so terribly, terribly, terribly busy, and will continue to be), but just check every once in awhile for something new! 😀 So. Now I may commence “The Forest Princess’s Weekly Updates” (TFPWU). *fanfare consisting of many trumpets 😉 * But pleast note that this first one will include this week and last week’s updates.
What I Finished This Week These Past Two Weeks
- The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall
What I’m Reading Now
- Once Upon a Curse (The Tales of the Frog Princess #3) by E.D. Baker
- River Secrets (The Books of Bayern #3) by Shannon Hale
What I’m Reviewing Now
- Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale. I’m actually done writing it, and have been for several months now, but I haven’t posted it on here yet. You can read it on Goodreads, though! 😀
- Howl’s Moving Castle (The Castle Series #1) by Diana Wynne Jones. I’m done writing this one as well, and it can also be found on Goodreads, but I have yet to post it here. Grr!
What I’ve Watched
- Lost in Austen (2008)
- I Dream of Jeannie Season Three (Discs One, Two, and Three) (1967)
- The Mission (1986)
- Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008)
- Little Dorrit (2008)
What I’m Watching Now
- I believe I will be watching Mamma Mia! (2008) next, but I haven’t started it yet.
Who and What I’m Listening To Now
- I found out this week that Ashley Monroe’s debut album, Satisfied is available on iTunes, and was thrilled because I’ve been DYING to buy her songs “Satisfied” and “Pain Pain”. I’ve listened to them so many times since I bought them earlier this week, but before lunch today I had a sudden odd penchant for any song I had in three-four or six-eight time–something sort of waltz-y or dancey-ish, I guess.
edit: Hey folks, step on over to Reviewer X’s blog, where she is giving away that book you’re probably dying for (and if you’re not, you’re probably drooling all over the keyboard). Click, link (if you want), and comment! Easy and simple as that. 😀
**The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
Where I Got the Book From: I bought the paperback version with the Alison Jay illustrated cover (like the one left, except that one is a picture of the original hardcover, which I LOVE) from Barnes and Noble.
Imagine that you are a princess–you live in a luxurious palace that is filled with hundreds of servants, you can go on exciting rides on your very own horse, who is also your closest friend, any time you want. But think again: what if, even with all the riches surrounding you, you were lonely and constantly self-conscious of your actions? And, just what would you do if your own mother commanded you to marry a prince from a faraway land, a prince you’ve never even met? Or perhaps worse: what would happen if an acquaintance you trusted turned her back on you and forced you to face the troubles of lower class, the threat of death, and the possible outbreak of war?
Yikes. Talk about harsh. Well, that’s exactly what Ani, short for Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, goes through: unable to live up to her mother’s expectations of a proper Crown Princess, Ani is sent away from her home country of Kildenree to the country of Bayern, where she is to be wedded to the prince. However, her own lady-in-waiting, Selia, leads a mutiny, forcing Ani to run away from her escorts and try to stay in Bayern–but as a humble goose girl. Although her new path is tough, Ani learns valuable lessons and gains many things; for example, she learns the gift of friendship, story-telling, and communication with animals and the wind. However, when Ani discovers that Selia plots to start war with Kildenree and Bayern in order to hide her deceit, Ani knows it is about time that she takes back her rightful title and throne. But with even all her new talents, gifts, and loyal friends, will Ani succeed in bringing justice and fairness to all?
I really, really, really liked this book. I can’t say I absolutely loved it (that’s what I would say about my #1 favorite book), but it is definitely one of my favorites. Shannon Hale’s writing style shines more in this book than in any of her other works, and the simple Brothers Grimm tale was beautifully retold. Would I recommend it to someone seeking a good read? Absolutely. It is like no YA novel I have read before.
Pros: As I said before, the writing is stunning, and the lyrical style perfectly fit in with the nature-speaking concept; the character development is extremely realistic one oft forgets that this is fantasy and not historical fiction; in addition, I thoroughly enjoyed the humor inserted here and there (a few times I would recall a
hilarious scene while at school or somewhere else, and would have to really fight to stifle my giggles. In that case, I can’t even imagine how funny and comical Austenland is. 😛 ).
Cons: Even though I love the writing, sometimes I wished there was a tad bit more dialogue in some parts
Grading
Plot: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Writing: 10/10
Overall: 10/10
Tidbits
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction
Original Release Date: August 8, 2003
Also Recommended:
- Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
- Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
- Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling
Check It Out!
Notes from the Nerdette 
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