Follow My Book Blog Friday Hop #10

Happy Follow Friday!!

This weekly feature is hosted by

Rachel at Parajunkee's View 

and 

Alison at Alison Can Read,

 which you really must go and check out!!

You can find the rules at the links above.

Join in the fun and make new blogging friends!!

This week's featured blogs are:

Starcrossed

and

The Bookaholic!!!

Here's this week's question:

What book that hasn't been

turned into a movie (yet) would you

most like to see make it to the big screen,

and who would you like cast

as your favorite character?

Another great question this week!!  There are quite a few books I'd like to see turned into movies!!  Here are the ones that first come to mind...

The River of Time Trilogy

Lisa Tawn Bergren

This YA trilogy is full

of adventure and romance!

Two sisters go back in time to medieval Italy,

and become involved in the ongoing battles

between the cities of Florence and Siena.

In the process, they also meet the young men

who will steal their hearts!

I don't know enough actors to propose a lead,

though...all I can say is that I would

hope that Marcello is as hot as he's described to be

in the books!!

Die For Me

Amy Plum

This novel is very sweetly romantic,

and it takes place in the most romantic city

of all...Paris!

It tells the story of two sisters as well,

but they have been orphaned,

and are seeking to remake their lives.

The protagonist meets a mysterious young man

who turns out to be a 'revenant',

giving his life over and over again to save others.

I can't help but think of Robert Pattinson in

the role of Vincent, the hero...

Abandon

Meg Cabot

This mesmerizing story takes place

on an island patterned after Key West,

known as "Isla Huesos", which means "Island of Bones"

in English.

It's a very imaginative retellilng of the

myth of Persephone, and

details the near-death experience of a young girl

who meets the ruler of the Underworld.

He falls in love with her and wants her

to live with him forever...

I can't imagine who could play the role of this

ruler, but again, he would have to be

hotness personified...

Amy @ Amy's Book Den has suggested

Aaron Johnson from "Kick Ass" to portray John,

the ruler of the Underworld!

I think he's a great choice!!  Thanks, Amy!!

What wonderful novels would you like to see made into movies?

BLOGOVERSARY GIVEAWAY WINNERS!!

The winners have been picked,

and they are....

Nikki @

http://booksmostwanted.blogspot.com/

and

Nicole @  

http://nicoleyalover.blogspot.com/!!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS

TO YOU BOTH!!!

Nikki & Nicole have already

been contacted,

and they each have 48 hours

to reply.

If either one of them fails to do so,

then one or more winners

will be picked, and, of course,

I will let you all know 

as soon as possible.

Nikki wanted to win either
Touch of Frost, by Jennifer Estep,
 or Blessed, by Cynthia Leitich Smith.
Nicole selected Abandon, by Meg Cabot.

Many thanks to all who participated

in my very first blog giveaway!!

Rest assured that this will

by no means be my last one!

Meanwhile, I do hope you've all 

been enjoying my blog, 

and will continue to do so 

in the future.

I strive to bring you the best

possible content, for 

your reading enjoyment! 

Thanks for your visits and comments!!!

Thanks to all of my
loyal followers, as well!!

On My Bookshelves #2

This is the second Saturday of

my new book meme!!

This new feature highlilghts the books

we crazy book addicts have bought,

because we simply had to have them, no matter what,

took home, placed on one of

our bulging shelves, and then....forgot.

Yes, it's happened to me, and I'm sure

I'm not the only one!

So, scour your bookshelves, pull out a few

'forgotten' treasures you fully intend to read,

and then write your own post, so you can join in the fun!!

This book meme will also highlight those books we have already read,

and would love to re-read, because

they're absolutely wonderful!!

Here's my list for this week!

Star Trek: Constellations

Marco Palmier and others

Trade Paperback, 382 pages

Pocket Books

September 5, 2006

Genre: Science Fiction

From the Amazon Synopsis

Star Trek: Constellations is a mind-blowing collection of specially-commissioned stories designed to go where no anthology has gone before. Featuring the iconic heroes of the Star Trek universe -- the legendary characters who were the inspiration for all those who followed -- this treasure trove of untold tales recreates all the sense of adventure that marked the original Star Trek when it first burst on to our television screens in 1966. Each story takes as its inspiration an element of 'unfinished business' from the original series so that they read like 'lost episodes' of the television show, exploring aspects of the Star Trek crew and their adventures which have intrigued Trekkers ever since the original series ended. The result is a magnificent tribute to the series that changed the face of television history and will have millions of fans worldwide feeling as though they have just discovered a whole 'missing' season of their favourite show.

Across Realtime

Vernor Vinge

Hardcover, 532 pages

Nelson Doubleday/SFBC

(Book Club Edition)

November 1, 1986

Genre: Science Fiction

From the Amazon Synopsis

"The intricately plotted progress of characters from near to farfuture... on an Earth which, like an abandon playground, has long ago been left behind by an evolving humanity... human-scale action within a vast canvas."
-- The Excyclopedia of Science Fiction

Encompassing time-travel, powerful mystery and the future history of humanity to its last handful of survivors, Across Realtime spans millions of years and is an utterly engrossing SF classic.

Exile's Song

Marion Zimmer Bradley

Hardcover, 400 pages

DAW Hardcover

June 1, 1996

Genre: Science Fiction

From the Goodreads Synopsis

The eagerly-awaited sequel to The Heritage of Hastur and Sharra's Exile. Margaret Alton, daughter of the Darkovan representative to the Terran Imperial Senate, remembers almost nothing about the planet of her birth or her tumultuous childhood. What fleeting memories she has are fragments of terror—a strange silver man and a screaming woman with hair that circled her head like a ring of fire. Now her work has taken Margaret back to Darkover, where she must fight against inner voices that are trying to control her as she unravels the secrets of her heritage—and her destiny.

Star Trek: The Lost Years

J.M. Dillard

Trade Paperback, 440 pages

Pocket Books

August 1, 1990

Genre: Science Fiction

From the Goodreads Synopsis

After the end of the EnterpriseTM's five-year mission, Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Dr. McCoy struggle to establish new lives apart from each other and the starship. The newly-promoted Admiral Kirk is placed in charge of a specially-created Starfleet division and attempts to defuse a critical hostage situation; Mr. Spock, who, in the midst of a teaching assignment on Vulcan, finds the one thing he least expected; and Dr. McCoy, whose unerring instinct for trouble lands him smack in the middle of an incident that could trigger an interstellar bloodbath.

 

Well, all I can say is...I can't believe I haven't read

these literally 'out of this world' books!!

I hope to do something about 

this sad state of affairs soon...

like maybe within the next light year or two...

(And I must add that I love these covers!!)

By the way...I now have a link widget!!

Just scroll down to the end of the post,

and submit your link.

You can also get the code,

if you'd like to add the list to your own post.

Thanks to Mr. Linky's Magical Widgets!!!!

(And it's free, too, so I highly recommend it!!)

What wonderful books are sitting

on your bookshelves,

waiting to be read or re-read?

On My Wishlist #15

This is a fun weekly event hosted by

Carolyn and Laura at  Book Chick City,

 and runs every Saturday.

Each participating blogger features books 

s/he hasn't actually bought yet,
but desperately wants to read!!

These books can be either newly-published,

to be released in the near future,

or in print for several years.

If you'd like to know more, just click HERE.

In my particular case, any books I place

on my wish list are strictly the print versions,

since I do not read ebooks. 

Here are my choices for this week!

Pegasus In Space

Anne McCaffrey

Hardcover, 384 pages

Del Rey

April 4, 2000

Genre: Science Fiction

From the Amazon Synopsis

The next in McCaffrey's popular Saga of the Talents series (Pegasus in Flight, To Ride Pegasus), this novel follows the adventures of a group of psychically gifted scientists who nobly improve Earth's future by making space exploration and colonization possible. Paralyzed adolescent Peter Reidinger has learned how to move himself and some amazingly heavy objects psychokinetically through space. Peter lives with the grandmotherly Rhyssa, who protects him and nurtures the growth of his psychic talents. Rhyssa also takes in prepubescent Amariyah, an orphaned girl who has a talent for plants and healing. When a group of psychically gifted people sneak onto the corruptly run Padrugoi Space Station during its inauguration, it is young Peter who saves the day by using his burgeoning psychic abilities to vanquish the comically evil Space Station Construction Manager Ludmilla Barchenka as she attempts a coup.

I have just discovered this series, 

which is by one of my favorite authors!!

McCaffrey has been a major talent

in the Fantasy and Science Fiction genres for years.

Of course, I will have to feature the other books in it

in next week's "On My Wishlist" post!

The Unicorn Sonata

Peter S. Beagle

Hardcover, 154 pages

Turner Pub

October 1, 1996

Genre: Fantasy

From the Goodreads Synopsis

On a hot summer day in Los Angeles, thirteen-year-old Josephine "Joey" Rivera - a misfit in junior high school but a born musician - meets a disquieting young man named Indigo who plays ghostly, haunting music on a horn the hue of a conch shell. The sound of his music stays with her, distant and beguiling, until she follows it down an ordinary street and across an unseen border into a magical world called Shei'rah. There, satyrs, water nymphs, and six-inch-long dragons live side by side with phoenixes and two-headed serpents and the Eldest - the unicorns whose music is the soul of Shei'rah.

I read Beagle's The Last Unicorn years ago,

and was totally enchanted with it!

I love unicorns, but I'll read

anything written by him, since he's another

of my favorite authors,

and another major F & SF talent!!

Gabriel's Ghost

(Dock Five Universe #1)

Linnea Sinclair

Mass Market Paperback, 447 pages

Spectra

October 25, 2005

Genres: Science Fiction, Romance

From the Goodreads Synopsis

Award-winning author Linnea Sinclair brings her special sizzle to science fiction with this action-packed blend of otherworldly adventure and sexy stellar romance.After a decade of piloting interstellar patrol ships, former captain Chasidah Bergren, onetime pride of the Sixth Fleet, finds herself court-martialed for a crime she didn't commit and shipped off to a remote prison planet from which no one ever escapes. But when she kills a brutal guard in an act of self-defense, someone even more dangerous emerges from the shadows. Gabriel Sullivan, alpha mercenary, smuggler, and rogue is supposed to be dead. Yet now this seductive ghost from Chaz's past is offering her a ticket to freedom--for a price.

I recently discovered this author on Goodreads,

where I learned that she not only

writes science fiction and fantasy, but

paranormal romance as well!

I love the combination of science fiction and romance

she has in this series!

I am so looking forward to reading this book

and its sequels!!

So, what wonderful books are you

wishing for this week?

Follow My Book Blog Friday Hop #9

Happy Follow Friday!!

(Yes, it's a belated 'Happy Friday', I know;

I was much too tired to post anything yesterday,

since I had a rough day at work!)

This weekly feature is hosted by

Rachel at Parajunkee's View 

and 

Alison at Alison Can Read,

 which you really must go and check out!!

Rachel not only has fabulous features,

but is a web designer

'par excellence'!!

Alison has a beautiful and very

interesting blog!

You can find the rules at the links above.

Join in the fun and make new blogging friends!!

This week's featured blog is:

The World of the Spork Master!

Here's this week's question:

 Do you have a favorite series that you read over and over again? Tell us a bit about it and why you keep on revisiting it.

The Twilight Saga

Stephenie Meyer

Hardcover, 2,752 pages

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

October 12, 2010

(This is the boxed collection of all four books,

which had previously been published singly.)

WARNING

For those who have not read these books,

there are spoilers ahead!

When I saw this question yesterday, I knew I had to answer it, so I decided to post today, even though the hop runs on Fridays.  (What the heck, it's the weekend!  Lol.)

Although I haven't made a habit of re-reading this series on a regular basis, I have read all four books twice.  (So far!)  I have also re-read the first volume, Twilight, three times.

Along with all the millions of fans of this series the world over, I can point to one basic reason for my love of it: the romance.  This is an incredibly romantic series!

Another aspect of the books that has drawn me to them is that, for Stephenie Meyer, Edward's vampirism is a metaphor.  Edward, unlike so many abusive men on this planet, strives to control his basic vampire nature in order to protect his beloved Bella from himself.  At first, he attempts to simply stay away from her.  When that fails, he does everything he possibly can to stay in control of his blood thirst when he's around her.  Also, Bella becomes his whole life, his most important treasure.  What woman wouldn't want to be considered a man's most important treasure, to be cherished and loved with tenderness and passion?  Because there's plenty of passion, albeit restrained, in these books.   

On the other hand, Bella is not exactly a helpless damsel in distress.  In New Moon, for instance, she unhesitatingly jumps on a plane to rescue Edward from the Volturi, halfway across the world.  Once there, she manages to stop him just as he is about to commit the vampire version of suicide, which he had planned on because he had thought her dead.

Once Bella herself becomes a vampire, she, too, does everything in her power to protect her family.  Even before her transformation, however, she's constantly attempting to shield her parents from the strange paranormal world she has been unwittingly thrust into. 

Then there's the love of Jacob and Bella...this is even more poignant.  Even though I wanted Bella and Edward to be together, I could see that she would have had a wonderful life with Jacob, whose ability to turn into a wolf is another metaphor for a man's baser urges.  Indeed, it's even fueled by his anger.  In light of this, it's interesting to note that there's only one female werewolf in the books.

Dr. Carlisle Cullen, Edward's adoptive father and the moral compass of the Cullen family, is an incredibly compelling character as well.  Fighting the terrible nature he has been subjected to, against his will, he has become a physician, and has for centuries helped to save human lives, instead of taking them.  He has been the most important influence in Edward's life.  His compassion and gentle, philosophical guidance are the backbone of all four books. 

There are so many things I could say about these books, but that, of course, would take up several posts!  Love, self-sacrifice, hope, moral strength -- these are the basic themes of The Twilight Saga.  Meyer has woven them into a highly-emotionally charged, action-packed plot full of mythological elements.  Addictive stuff, indeed!

I simply adore these books!!   Several editions, both hardcover and paperback, grace my bookshelves.  Included are the first three collector's edition volumes, and they're waiting for the fourth, which will be coming out soon! 




Here's the list (with the Linky) of participating blogs.  I hadn't done this before because I thought only the hosting blogs were supposed to do it.  In fact, I have just found out that not every blog hop does this kind of thing.  Interesting...  Having visited other blogs in this particular hop, I've seen that they, too, have the list.  Therefore, I've included one in my own post.  Here it is!

TODAY'S MY BLOGOVERSARY!! LAST CHANCE TO ENTER MY YA FICTION GIVEAWAY!!

Today's my ONE-YEAR BLOGOVERSARY!!!!

Just one year ago, on September 22nd, 2010, I published

my very first post!! 

If you'd like to see it, you can find it

HERE.

I'm celebrating with a GREAT giveaway,, and

tomorrow will be your last chance to enter!!

The contest ends on Friday, Sept. 23rd, at 11:59 PM,

local time (Eastern Standard Time in the USA).

So, if you would like to enter, you'll have to hurry!!

For the rules and to place your entry

(you can also get extra entries!),

just go to the original post, which you will find

HERE!! 

Below are some of the YA novels in the contest!!

Warped

Maurissa Guibord

Blessed

Cynthia Leitich Smith

Unearthly

Cynthia Hand

Ultraviolet

R.J. Anderson

Die For Me

Amy Plum

So be sure to click on the original post link

above, and get your chance to win

one of these great books!! 

The two winners will be announced

on Monday, Sept. 26th!!!

Good luck to everyone!!!!!!