Is That An Olympian??

I opened my Entertainment Weekly yesterday and I was very puzzled by the picture inside.  I was looking at a picture from the Olympics thinking “that guy really looks like Jason Segel……”  Then I realized that it was Entertainment Weekly and why would there be pictures from the Olympics in it?

Well, thankfully my sad little brain figured out that EW had the cast of “How I Met Your Mother” re-enacting some of the years best moments.  You must go to this link right now and check it out.  My favorite one is the Indiana Jones one because Cobie Smulders is a dead ringer for Cate Blanchett and Josh Radnor looks super hot as Shia LaBeouf.

I am sad that for the past two and half years I have worked Monday nights, so I haven’t been keeping up with HIMYM.  It used to be a can’t miss show for me.  There are so many reasons to watch it:  Neil Patrick Harris being “legendary,” Alyson Hannigan all grown up after Buffy, and all of the Canadian jokes about Robin.  Sometime I vow to catch up with the show on DVD, but for now, I will happily gaze at these pictures to tide me over until then.

Jen

My Latest Library Trip

Going to the library is seriously one of my favorite things.  I always walk out with way too many books…like today.  In true NerdGirl fashion, here’s a picture of what I got.

I think it’s a nice mixture of picture and chapter books.  I’ve been looking for a middle-reader series to replace Judy Moody, who I love, so I’m excited for Ivy + Bean.  Plus I have been craving Ella Enchanted since Lindsay mentioned it in her vlog awhile ago, and I can’t wait to listen to it on my drive home for Christmas.  And I have to admit:  I’ve never read Fancy Nancy, Olivia, or Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich, though I know Lindsay, Amber, and Jen have highly recommended them.  I figured it was about time I read them.

Iowa City Public Library has quite the Nancy Drew collection.  I was impressed.  I’m determined to make my way through them – the originals! – to make sure they get checked out and the librarians know they’re loved.  I’d love to get started on Nancy Drew and the Secret of the Old Clock now since the ice hitting my window makes for nice reading atmosphere, but unfortunately I’m too tired.  Tomorrow!

jill

The Holiday Book Everyone Needs to Read

This is just a quick video blog where I blabber on (slightly incoherently) about my new favorite book Let It Snow by John Green, Lauren Myracle, and Maureen Johnson.  If you don’t feel like watching the video, I will sum it up by saying:  GO READ THAT BOOK!

(Also, please try not to pay attention to the fact that I look like death run over by a truck.  I haven’t been feeling great and am fresh off an early evening nap, which is never a good thing.)

Jen

Just A Few Quick Recommendations

I’m sorry that I haven’t posted in so long…I’ve been going back and forth to Iowa and working all the time so it feels like I haven’t had a moment to spare.  I have been reading like crazy lately, but there haven’t been too many books that have jumped out as being great.  I have read some “great” books, but they were kind of depressing and not really very fun, so I am not going to recommend them.

But there are a couple of books that I think you guys will like, so I will mention them here.  (I totally could have done a video blog, but I feel kind of on the verge of sickness, and am not really in the video blog mood).

Impossible by Nancy Werlin is a book I read a long time ago, and I can’t believe I haven’t talked about it yet.  I met Nancy Werlin at the Young Adult Literature conference that I went to in September….and she was awesome!!!!  I bought her book first thing in the morning because I vaguely remembered reading a good review of it, and the cover is incredible.  Then she gave her talk in the afternoon and she brought me to tears.  This book is a really great story for anyone who likes Twilight.  That’s right I said it, a Twilight read alike.  It has nothing to do with vampires or werewovles, but it reminded me of Breaking Dawn (and I loved Breaking Dawn so that is not a bad thing).  I think the book trailer below describes the plot better than I ever could, but I will just mention that my favorite part about this book was how Lucy’s family rallied around her and supported her throughout the whole ordeal.  She is faced with three impossible tasks and most people would have thought she was crazy, but her family sticks by her.  Nancy Werlin said that she has written many books about what happens when the people you love let you down….this one was about what happens when they don’t.

Another book that I loved is Palace of Mirrors by Margaret Peterson Haddix.  When I lived in Iowa City, I went through a whole Margaret Peterson Haddix reading rampage and read a ton of her books.  I really liked all of them.  Her newest is Palace of Mirrors, which is a companion novel to Just Ella (but you don’t have to read Just Ella in order to understand everything).  Palace of Mirrors is about a girl named Cecilia who is the true princess of her land.  When she was a baby the king and queen were murdered so in order to keep the princess safe, she was taken away to live as a peasant and a “fake” princess was left at the palace in her place.  Cecelia has been training her whole life to take her place on the throne…but when she finally goes to the palace things are a little different than she expected.  I loved this book because it had most of my favorite things:  Princesses (check) Romance (check) An interesting plot (check) A happy ending (check–sorry I hope that didn’t spoil it for everyone).  It doesn’t take much to make me happy, but I loved this book.

One book that I just read yesterday that I enjoyed a lot was The London Eye Mystery by the late Siobhan Dowd.  I did a mock Newbery discussion on Friday and two of the ladies raved about how awesome this book was, so I had to pick it up (sorry though, not eligible for the Newbery because she is not American).  I loved it because it was set in London and it was very London-y.  Dowd described a lot of placed and I could picture myself there in the city which always makes me happy.  The book itself revolves around a really great mystery, where Ted and Kat’s cousin Salim gets on the London Eye one morning, and then he never gets off…he just disappears.  Ted is the narrartor and he has Aspergers syndrome, and he always mentions how his brain runs on a different operating system than everyone else’s.  But of course, his brain is the only one that is observant enough to figure out what is really going on.  This is a really quick read, and a good straightforward mystery where all the info is there for you to solve it, but of course I totally didn’t figure it out.

I think that one of the reasons why I haven’t been too impressed with the books I have read lately is because I just finished re-reading Twilight, so all I want to really read is New Moon…but of course I didn’t have New Moon and the holds list at the library is ginormous.  So I ordered it from Amazon, but it was taking way too long, so I ran to Target yesterday and bought the last copy they had.  Aaaaaaahhhhh (contented sigh).  I feel so much better now.  I started it last night and am on page 230.  I should work my way through the rest of the series soon and then I will get back to enjoying regular books.

Jen

Uh oh, the iPhone’s coming

Howdy y’all!

So let’s see, it’s been about a week or so since my last post…probably longer actually, but whatever.  Hmmm so what do I have to tell you all that is so important?  Not a whole lot.  It turns out working takes up a lot of time.  I used to get through a couple of books a week and that has slowed down quite a bit.  Although yesterday I went to the library (in what seemed like was FOREVER) and returned some books and got some more. 

I am proud to say that I finally read the second installment of Meg Cabot’s Allie Finkle series, The New Girl.  It was adorable – I adore Allie (and Meg) and it’s just so fun to read!  I can’t wait until the 3rd book comes out in January (along with Princess Diaries 10!!!)  I also read another Clique book yesterday (I still am going to watch the movie although it looks totally lame) – I read Dylan’s summer story.  So now I have 3 more books (Alicia, Kristen, and Claire, all summer books) and then I’m all caught up with those books till the next one comes out.

Ooooh, today I read Ally Carter’s I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You, the first book in the Gallagher Girls series.  Totally loved it, and cannot wait to go back to the library to grab the second one, Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy.  I so totally want to be a spy!!  I think I’d be really good at it – when I was little and it was winter, I’d crawl around in the snow acting like I was sneaking around.  Only you always saw me because my snowsuit was bright purple (if I remember correctly…it was at least a bright color, I know that).  If I had been educated as a spy, I’d have a white snowsuit so I could blend better.  Although maybe I was being watched to see if I could blend with my brightly colored suit.  Hmmm.

Oooooh, so I am currently obsessed with Miley Cyrus’s song, East Northumerland High.  I always passed it up in order to get to See You Again, but the other day I didn’t get to the computer in time to pass it up and I ended up totally in love with it!  Also, I finally got around to reading my ARC of 3 Willows that I won about a month or so ago.  I totally loved it too!  Plus, the artwork was exquisitely beautiful (in my opinion).  Ann Brashares is such a good author!  I didn’t have any cry moments, like I did with Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Carmen’s story always makes me choke up, along with Tibby’s), but that’s OK, I think if I reread I might have a couple- there are a few heart twinging moments.  Speaking of SotTP, I need to see the second movie still!  I have it on my netflix queue – I should move it up so I get it next. 

Well, that’s all for now – I have to go get ready for bed while rocking out to Miley. 

<3, lindsayF

P.S.  Everyone make sure to wish Amber a Happy 58th (hehehheeheheheheheheh, JK) birthday tomorrow (the 8th)!

Also, you all need to watch this video.  I have trouble watching and not thinking traiterous thoughts about how these girls are the cutest little things in the world (it’s only traiterous because I’m supposed to think my neice and nephew are the cutest things in the world, at least until I have my own children – then they will be the cutest things in the world). 

Go visit them at their channel on youtube!  http://www.youtube.com/mugglesam

Pre-Buyers Remorse: Red Lipstick will change my life?

OK, so I’m one of those people who always uses her birthday (and any holiday) as an excuse to buy herself things. My birthday is on Monday and besides buying a bunch of things at Ann Taylor Loft over the weekend, and new gloves, and a new hat (hey, those were necessary) and new footsie pajamas (I think they would be cute in a Christmas card picture, Steve and I might return them after we take a photo in front of the fireplace…) I really really want this lipstick:

Lipstick Queen Medieval and Packaging--I want it, gosh!

Oh, click on the picture and go to the Lipstick Queen site and read the description. It is all about how medieval ladies used to put lemons on their lips to make them turn bright red since wearing makeup was sinful! Uh, awesome! I have been lusting after this lipstick ever since I saw it Nylon a few months ago. I secretly have always wanted to be one of those girls (like qwen stefani) who can pull off red lipstick everyday, but I never know quite how to start—how do you make that transition from normal, chapped lips to red, badass lips without people being all like “what’s wrong with you?” But with Medieval, I can always say “oooh, I was just eating lemons” and then “oh, I just wanted to look medieval today” and then finally “what? I always have this color of lips.” This lipstick seems like it could solve all my problems, and the packaging is cool. But I really don’t need it. Life is hard.

amberj.