A Bunch of Different Things

After the fall festival recipe exchange, I had people start asking if I had anything planned for Christmas along the same lines. :) And yes actually, Nicole and I are working on something we think is pretty awesome and we'll share as soon as we get details together and probably after Halloween...just know it's coming! :)

I'm also planning a pretty big Christmas theme for the month of December on this blog. Since this is my blog, I'm going to freely say Christmas and yes there will be lots of faith tie-in, because honestly the Christmas season is a time when God feels dearer to me than any other if that can possibly make sense. Having said that, I hope even if you aren't Christian or even if you don't celebrate Christmas you will enjoy it. I love year end celebrations of all kinds, and I have always enjoyed learning about how other faiths and cultures celebrate this time of year.

I tell you all of this now because I'd like to invite a few guest posts for the month of December...but there's a catch. You have to love holiday music. And now you've probably figured out my theme! I'm looking for a few guest posts about either a Christmas song that is special to you or a special memory involving holiday music...that sort of thing. If you have some ideas of the kind of post you'd like to write, please shoot me an email at mypalamyATgmailDOTcom or use the contact form at the top of this blog and we'll talk! :)

Now to something coming up much sooner...the readathon!

I love the readathon and this time around I am going to be totally selfish. I have signed up for one thing and one thing only which is to be a reader. I am really hoping to get a lot read this time and will probably try to stay off the internet as much as possible in order to achieve that goal. But so much of the readathon is the fun of connecting with everyone so I will allow myself periodic breaks to check in! I only finished two books last readathon and that is a big reason for this decision. :) I was originally planning to read New Moon and make it a tradition to read the next book in the series right before the movies comes out, but I'm just not feeling it. I don't even have a pile to show you, because I am simply overwhelmed with choice. So I will probably post a picture of my pile at the actual starting point.

I Dare You Challenge
Also I thought I should update you on my progress in the I Dare You Challenge! In case you didn't know, Sharon and Rebecca dared me to watch the first season of Cheers by February. I am three discs into the first season of Cheers which means that I have just one left. I am really enjoying it, much more than I thought I would. Is it LOST? Not by a long shot, but it's a lot of fun. And how is Ms. Nymeth doing with Buffy? I don't even think she's started yet! Which might be smart, because as soon as you start you have less left to enjoy. :) Meanwhile, Swapna in her overacheiver ways finished the first season of Veronica Mars before I had time to write up a formal dare challenge post. And of course she likes it, who doesn't?

Book Acquisition Ban?
Lastly, I am in serious need of considering a book acquisition ban. Somehow the amount of books I'm acquiring sneaks up on me and suddenly I'm trying to figure out were else I can stash books. And I'm really really really running out of space. But the thought makes me so sad....and I know how weak I am. To be honest, I'm partly convinced that a book acquisition ban would only work if I also instituted a book blog reading ban....the lust for books in my heart when I read all your fabulous reviews is hard to squelch. Ah, but this is venturing into another post I have planned...so for the moment if you have any ideas on how I could make this work, please let me know!

That's all for this Monday morning....tell me what you think about it all and don't forget to email me if you have a great Christmas music related story! :)

Bits'n'Pieces: Jason Gray, FTC, CFBA

One reason brick and mortar stores are in trouble is because I went to the store to buy Downhere's Christmas CD (a conscious choice instead of ordering it online) and they didn't have it. Instead I picked up Jason Gray's Everything Sad is Coming Untrue (do you not LOVE that title) I haven't listened to it yet, but I saw on Rabbit Room about a special contest. To win the uber deluxe edition of this CD and a bunch of other kinda crazy loot, here's what you have to do in Jason's words:
" My new record explores the idea of how there isn’t anything beyond God’s redemptive reach, that nothing is wasted, and that God is in the business of taking the worst that happens to us and stripping it of its power to define us. In this way, He makes sad things come untrue, and can even make them beautiful. So we just want to hear your story of how God entered a sad situation and redeemed it, making it “untrue”."

So anyway go over to Jesus Freak Hideout if you'd like to enter. By the way, I don't get any extra entries or anything for posting about this, I just thought it was a neat contest, love the title of the CD and wanted to share.

FTC Guides
I actually don't have much to say about this. I already disclose the source of my books, but it is certainly interesting to see how the FTC has absolutely NO CLUE about blogging, in particular book blogging. It's definitely going to be interesting to see how it all works out. In any case, there's a group over at Book Blogs, if you are a book blogger where links can be shared, you can read up on it, and strategies can be discussed. Other than that group, I also recommend this post written by Marie's lawyer husband.

And finally, here's this week's CFBA book, Though Waters Roar by Lynn Austin:

About the Book: Thank goodness you're such a plain child. You'll have to rely on your wits."

So went the words of Grandma Bebe. And for all of my growing-up years, I scoffed at the beauty of my sister and what I saw as her meaningless existence. But my wits hadn't served me well in this instance, for here I was, in jail. And while I could have seen it as carrying on the family tradition (for Grandma Bebe landed in jail for her support of Prohibition), the truth is, my reasons for being here would probably break her heart.

So how did I end up becoming a criminal? I've been pondering that question all night. Perhaps the best way to search for an answer is to start at the very beginning.

Harriet Sherwood has always adored her grandmother. But when Harriet decides to follow in her footsteps to fight for social justice, she certainly never expected her efforts to land her in jail. Nor did she expect her childhood enemy and notorious school bully, Tommy O'Reilly, to be the arresting officer.

Languishing in a jail cell, Harriet has plenty of time to sift through the memories of the three generations of women who have preceded her. As each story emerges, the strength of her family--and their deep faith in the God of justice and righteousness--brings Harriet to the discovery of her own goals and motives for pursuing them.

(Disclosure: In theory I was supposed to have received this book to review. I did not, but am posting anyway!)

A Few Bits of Blogging Business--Need Your Help

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to let you know that I just spent a very long time trying to fix the comments, and somehow broke the blog and have just now fixed it, and will most likely be dead on my feet tomorrow. If you are one of the people who has trouble commenting, can you please let me know (via email) specifically what the problem is?

Secondly, I updated the About Me page. I'll be adding in links to the You Ask I Answer posts as well as a review policy, but if you think I'm missing anything, will you let me know by leaving a comment on this post?

Also, I need to update the Hall of Fame posts. If you have a favorite post of mine, please let me know! Otherwise, I'll go with what google analytics tells me and my personal favorites.

Lastly, in regards to this week's Weekly Geeks (which is about link exchange for book reviews). I hope you don't think I'm a party pooper, but I honestly just don't think I'm organized enough to do it. I'll say I'll add a link in and it will take me months. I very much appreciate when you link to my reviews, though. I do believe in the generosity of linkage, and I hope that the amount of other linking I do throughout the week will help to make up for my shortcomings in this area. Also, if you have a view on a book that is radically different than mine, please feel free to leave a link and I'll try to add it in.

Thanks everyone!!!!!!

Some Noteworthy Links

While I keep a shared items box on my sidebar, I do like to pull out the really fun and good stuff from time to time.

First and most important...do you like Christmas books? If so, please consider participating in the Friendly Book Nook's Christmas book swap. Read about it here.

---

The Bloggable Music Network has its own blog now and I hear next week there will be a free album download for bloggers so check it out!

----

Did you see the movie Blood Diamond? Did it make you think differently about how diamonds are obtained? Did you know that coltan...what's used in your cell phones, laptops, etc. also often finances rebel groups that are committing terrible acts in the Congo right now? Read Laura's very informative post with information about what you can do about it here.

---

Can you tell the difference between Shakespeare and the Bible? Find out here! (HT:Brant)

---

One of the cutest things ever I've read about Kat's kids.

---

Jen from Daily Mish Mash has truly outdone herself. If you're not reading her blog, why not?? This is one of the best posts I've read in a long time. Very funny stuff. Oh and if you're a Twilight fan you'll really want to click over.

---

Julie Lessman is not only one of my favorite authors, she occasionally blogs at Seekerville. (a collaborative blog of contest entering authors) and what she writes always really touches me. Here's her most recent post.

A Sobering Reality

One of the blogs that keeps me in check is LA's Homeless Blog. This blog pointed out to me during the election season that neither candidate talked about their plan for the homeless. It reminds me that episodic homelessness is on the rise and tent cities in America are growing. It shares about hate crimes against the homeless, something I never knew existed before this blog somehow ended up in my google reader. If you ever look at my shared items, I am often sharing items from LA's Homeless Blog.

And today, instead of celebrating the election of Barack Obama there was this post It brings up a good point. Obviously, we need to always be examining how we are spending money and what that really means for others. Think about how much money Obama raised by people sending in less than 200 dollars. What could that mean in the context of the global food crisis?

Every small contribution you give to others helps. Shaun Groves wrote about the power of the church in this gorgeous post here.

Also, while few people were bold enough to speak up in comments on my post about the right to abstain from voting, some wrote on their own blogs about it. Before you go read her moving post, though, I want to clarify that I did not say that not voting is a glorious choice, I said that the freedom to act according to conscience is a beautiful thing. My point, for those who missed it, is freedom.

All This Stuff I Keep Forgetting to Mention

There is a lot of REALLY cool stuff going on in the blogosphere that I've neglected to mention.

First off, Kat of The Secret Life of Kat is taking blog tours to the music level. If you are interested in Christian music and helping spread the word about fantastic under appreciated artists, you might want to sign up for the Bloggable Music Network.


Shaun Groves is taking another group of bloggers to the Dominican Republic in November with Compassion International. The last trip was amazing to follow along with and I have no doubt this one will be equally as powerful. As we struggle with our economy and the upcoming commercial holiday season we can all be reminded of how much we still have to give. You can visit this page to get widgets to add to your blog.

Tracy of Bookroom Reviews is hosting a book giveaway carnival next week. I'll be giving something away for sure!

Some Newsy Stuff

This weekend I am participating in the 24 hour Read-a-thon (does anyone else constantly mistype that to be thong???) but I'll be updating over at The Friendly Book Nook instead of here. I have many many reading goals including reading Twilight, and about 40 other books. My mom is participating as well. We'd like to raise money for Compassion International's Global Food Crisis Fund. You can read more about that here.

Starting Saturday, I'll be hosting a new carnival/round robin event for lovers of Christian fiction. If you like Christian fiction, please join in! It will basically be modeled after the many other bookish memes with the goal of connecting bloggers who read and review Christian fiction together.

If you won a book during BBAW and have not yet received don't panic yet. I may have contacted you long before I was able to send your address in. I shipped about half of the giveaways and publishers are shipping the rest. I waited until I had all the addresses to send in any list.

Now...what are your weekend plans?

Some Bookish LInks You Should Know About

Mindy Klaskey (librarian and author) created this very cool Book Groups wiki to bring authors and book groups in touch with each other. You can check it out here and add some entries!

Beatrice at My Kingdom for a Book is hosting her very first giveaway! You'll want to drop by and enter!

Ann of Booklorn has put together a really awesome meta-blog for review links. You can enter your blog and help people find your reviews!

Julie at Booking Mama is giving away a book (Hannah's Dream by Diane Hammond) I really want to read. I'll share more this week with you about the power of animal books in my life. ;) Till then...let's hope I win this one!

That's it for the moment...I have a review and Music Monday post coming later today...:)

What cool links do you want to share?

My Active Blog

I have a few new readers and I thought I'd share with you some of the other stuff I have going on at this blog.

I love to read obviously and have two reading related challenges.

The first is my Read One Book Challenge inspired by the fact that 53% of Americans didn't read a single book last year. You can read about this challenge and sign up for it here.

I also am hosting the LOST Books Challenge. I absolutely LOVE Lost. I can't wait for it to come back. By the way, if you are participating in this challenge the next Mr. Linky for reviews will be up on September 20th. You can read all about the Lost Books Challenge here.

But the truth is I love story in all of it's manifestations and I've missed several key movies in my life...so I am hosting the Couch Potato Challenge. So far, it's just me and the awesome Vader's Mom and she's way ahead of me, but I tell you what...if five more people sign up for this challenge before Friday the 5th, I'll give one lucky participant a season of Veronica Mars. Read about it here and sign up!

Finally, there are still a few days left to enter one of these giveaways!
Matrimony by Joshua Henkin
Daughters of Boston Giveaway
Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson

Field Report

It's quite possible you enjoy writing as I do, and have considered taking your writing to the next step. There's a new website out there, that will help you see what others think about your writing style...it's called Field Report.

The Basic Idea behind this site is that you write about personal experiences (your field reports on life) and submit them for review to the site. Your post will be reviewed by other users who will rate it. Each month, one field report will be chosen in each of 21 categories for a prize of 1,000 dollars! So really it's a fun way to get some feedback on your writing/blogging with possible monetary compensation. There's a grand prize you can aim for as well of 250,000 dollars.

This all might seem a little overwhelming at first, so I suggest going to the site and checking out the FAQ for more information on how to get started with this fun new project!

Another Thought on Twitter

Have you ever looked at Twitter and how some people have like, 1,000,000 people following them and they're following like 20 people?

It's another huge popularity contest. To look cool on Twitter, you should have more people following you than you're following. It's all in the word following I think.

Well, I'm the opposite. I'm following way more than are following me. Wanna know why? Because I'm nosy. The more people I'm following the more conversations that I'm not technically invited to I get in on.

What about you? Are you a cool twitterer or a nosy one?

Just a Point of Clarification

I've been watching the Olympics and I noticed that there was a little preview for Heroes that referenced Comic-Con. It seemed to indicate that upon showing the season premiere for Comic-Con attendees there was a standing ovation. I would just like to point out that not all 6,000 people gave a standing ovation, for example no one in my area did. That doesn't mean it wasn't a great premiere...it was, but that ad is just slightly misleading.

Thank you.

This Makes Me Laugh

This video is all kinds of hilarious to me. I guess America didn't know the camera was on her? (HT: TV with MeeVee)

Who's Your Favorite Superhero?

I like Buffy. If she doesn't count, then it's definitely Batman. How about you? Why?

(Buffy b/c she's a girl! and cool! and funny!)

Bits'n'Pieces Around the Web

It has been forever since I've done one of these link round-ups and that's because I've been behind on everything...reading, blog reading, reviewing, etc. Luckily, all my bills have been paid. :)

I just cleared out my reader....it's been over 1000 unread posts for over a week. There was a lot of good stuff in there, here's some of what interested me.

Free Stuff
Brody is testing out something new. Exactly what the testing is I'm not sure, but it involves you getting a free song. So check it out. I already have Daniel's music and if you enjoy worship music, I think you would enjoy his stuff.

Faith
I love this latest post at the Rabbit Room. I find the older I get, the less certain I feel of anything. If I can live certain of God's love and sure of who He is (love) than I think that's pretty huge.

We were not called to live comfortable lives as Christians, something I'm becoming more uncomfortably convicted of. This is a pretty interesting post exploring that truth as it relates to church.

Books/Reading
I thought this post was pretty interesting because I'm becoming increasingly aware that women tend to read fiction more. Sound off here please...what's your gender and do you read more fiction or non-fiction?

The Elegant Variation commented on the interesting trend of the reviewer inserting themselves more and more into reviews...what's that all about? (as a blogger, I do it all the time!)

Social Issues
5-10% of the homeless have pets and will choose their pets over lodging. Check out this solution.

What's sparked your interest around the blogosphere lately?

Something for the Girls

Jen at Daily Mish Mash hosts something called Friday Eye Candy. Anyway, after awhile she realized she kept putting up pictures of the same fine gentlemen so she offered to host our lists. And I totally took her up on it!

So, if want to see my list, pop on over for a visit. If that's not your thing, happy Friday anyway! :)

Introvert or Extrovert?

Which are you?

These are Some Contests and Yes I'd Like to Win Them

The most surefire way to get links to your blog (apart from writing stunning in-depth posts) is to have a contest and offer extra entries for the link.

So because I happen to like these blogs anyway, and because I also enjoy winning, here are some contests!

Jen is having her second Movie Madness Carnival tomorrow! Yay! She's really open on what you write about, it just has to be related to movies. You'll be thrilled to know I'm going to tell you all about why I love French Kiss. But wait! There's a contest involved! There's a really awesome movie food basket up for grabs. It includes lots of things that are probably not very good for you. But who cares? It's summer--time to watch a good movie.

Trish of Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin? is having one of those huge 14 book giveaways from Hachette Group USA. In any case, it's really important that you enter this because for each 50 entries they'll give away another lot of 14 books. Up to five. so, um get over there.

So have fun everyone!

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Anyone else looking forward to this? (Joss Whedon!!!)


Teaser from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on Vimeo.

A Few BEA Tidbits

When I was in high school, I had a picture of Anne Rice hanging up in my room. No really. Some girls might have posters of the latest teen hearthrob but me? It was a postcard I bought at Barnes and Noble of one of my favorite authors.

So it was very exciting to very briefly meet her at BEA and have her sign an ARC of her upcoming spiritual memoir, Called Out of Darkness. Which I'm dying to read, and would read right this second if I didn't have stacks of other books to read for review. Do any of you enjoy Anne Rice's books?

I also got to briefly meet Jason F. Wright, author of Christmas Jars a book you really should have in your holiday book collection. It's just that wonderful. He signed an ARC of his upcoming Recovering Charles but I couldn't help but notice he was a little paranoid....;) In any case, I'm also dying to read this book, and would read it right this second, if I didn't have stacks of other books for review...yeah you get the idea.

Right now I'm reading a book for the Spring Reading Thing, because I fell way behind when other books came in for review. It's a YA book, Wicked Lovely, but wow has it sucked me in! So far, I love it!
What are you reading?