look what I got today...!!!

As soon as I got off work, guess where my immediate destination was??

Yup. The bookstore.

Look what I finally got my hands on!!

It still has the smell of a new book! And when I flipped through the pages, it still had the never-been-flipped-before sound! Soooo awesome. Is that weird? I think not ;)
Now the only downside is.. after reading this, the next book isn't coming out until who-knows-when? It's not like I can just go the day after I finish this and buy the next one. Tsk. This is the kind of torture series like to give us bookworms. Ah.. oh well. I still can't wait to read it anyway!
How about you? Are you getting this soon or do you already have it? Are you going to read it soon?

In other news, Top Ten Picks will hopefully be posted tonight. Also, my review for Fablehaven will be up soon too. However, if I start on The Red Pyramid, I'm pretty sure I will have nothing done! Forgive me! Haha. Anyway.. happy Reading everyoneeeeee and hope you all had a great Tuesday.

Okay.. you should enter this giveaway. Seriously.

Bloody Bookaholic is giving away tons of prizes. When I say tons, I mean tons! The giveaway ends May 14. Go to the link now to enter!

Awards Time!!

The past week, I have been given two awards from three different awesome book bloggers. I have already received these awards in the past, and the truth is, receiving them twice makes it even more exciting and rewarding! I'm always left grateful -- not to mention, surprised! -- whenever I receive them.

First one..

I got this from two bloggers: Anne from Potter, Percy, and I (love her blog name so much!) and Lily from Lily's Bookshelf (one of my favorite book reviewers!)
Thank you both so much!
What is a Prolific Blogger Award, you ask?
"A prolific blogger is one who is intellectually productive, keeping up an active blog with enjoyable content. After accepting this award, recipients are asked to pass it forward to seven other deserving blogs."

I pass it on to 7 other bloggers. If you are included, all you have to do is make a post similar to what I'm doing, and then pass it on to other 7 blogs that you love. I pass it on to:
1. Emily @ Af-fiction-ate
2. Elle @ Media Molly
3. Lesa, Delynne, and Izzy @ Baja Greenawalt's Cozy Book Nook
4. Life After Jane @ Life After Jane
5. Taschima @ Bloody Bookaholic
6. Jamie @ Book Junkie's Bookshelf
7. Lenore @ Presenting Lenore


And the second one..

This one was my very first award, ever. That was four months ago. When I got this again from Becki @ Confessions of a Bibliophile, I was super excited!
This has the same rules as the first one. If you receive this award, all you have to do is to do a post similar to what I'm doing, and then pass it on to 7 other blogs. I pass it on to:
1. Emily @ Af-fiction-ate
2. Lina @ 21 Pages
3. Lauren @ Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf
4. Kristen @ Bookworming in the 21st Century
5. Anna @ Anna's Book Blog
6. Jennifer @ Book Crazy
7. Lori @ Lori's Reading Corner

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That's it for the awards! Thanks again to Anne, Lily, and Becki!

Top Ten Picks topic this week!

First off, if you still want to list your favorite Young Adult novels, you can still do so over here. I had a really fun time posting that one up, and reading all of your lists as well.

For this week's Top Ten Picks, the topic is on our favorite love stories of all time. We can post love stories from, but not limited to books. Everyone is welcome to include love stories from films, plays, etc as well. I will be putting the post up on Wednesday, so I can't wait to hear from you then!
Generally though, what do you think about the meme? The topic? What would you like to see as a topic in the near future? Let me know. Suggestions, comments, and feedback are always welcome. Thanks everyone! :)

In My Mailbox (1)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren. It is where we showcase the books we got the past week: through the mail, purchased, won, and/or borrowed.

If you knew me, you'd know I actually DON'T purchase books that often. The reason would be that if I bought all the books I read -- and want to read -- I'd be broke. Seriously. Also, as much as I wished I had a big bookshelf, I actually don't. And believe me, it's crowded as it is.

Usually, I borrow from the library or from someone who has a copy. The only reasons I buy books are: 1) I have read the book already, liked it, and want to keep a copy for myself, 2) If it's a used book -- which would usually be half the regular price, 3) If I have a gift card for the store.

I guess at times though, the book addict in me just can't help it. It gets in a little book crazy, splurge-y mood.. like let's say for example, this past weekend.

Library Books:

• Going Bovine by Libba Bray
  

Books Purchased:

• Fablehaven Book 1
• Fablehaven Book 2: Rise of the Evening Star (bought this today actually, just because I finished the first book in this series and it was super awesome!)
  

Used Books Purchased: In all fairness, I got all of these for only $5!

• The Keepsake by Kirsty Gunn
• The Rope Walk by Carrie Brown
• The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean O' Reer
• Riding Lessons by Sara Gruen
• The Senator's Wife by Sue Miller
• The Invisible Circus by Jennifer Egan
• The Lighthouse Keeper by James Michael Pratt

Received as a Gift from someone that from now on, we shall call; Timbooktoo.

• Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card -- I usually don't read sci-fi, but everyone's raving about it! Also, this is one of Timbooktoo's favorite books, and he's been recommending this to me for the longest time! I put this on hold at the library, but he decided to give it as a pre-birthday gift! Thanks, Timbooktoo!

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That's what I got! Now head on over to The Story Siren to post your own, and to check out what other bloggers have in their mailbox.

Saturday (?) Spotlight [1]

I know, it's not Saturday. I wish it was, but I know it's not. So I am a day and a 1/2 late for this post, but thought I'd try it out anyway.

Lori's Reading Corner -- love her layout!! -- has a new meme called Saturday Spotlight. Each week, Lori will pick a specific topic for us to showcase. "It will be the place to gather, talk, and shine the "spotlight" on all things book related. "

Because it is the meme's very first week, so Lori thought it was only appropriate to start with putting the spotlight on ourselves! So... I'm going to go on ahead and talk just a little about myself..

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I'm Jillian and I am a book addict. Oh.. but we all know that by now. Haha. My whole name is Jillian Michele, but I never go by my second name. You can call me Jillian or Jill.. clever right? ;) I have a 1yr old and 6month Maltese named Kobe -- as in Kobe Bryant. Not Kobe beef.
I'm in my 3rd year as a nursing student, and I ultimately aim to be a Nurse Practitioner. Right now, I work as an english and writing tutor for children with cerebral palsy, and all I can say is.. these kids -- and their parents -- are amazing. They teach me something important every single day.
As a reader, I'm very flexible. I will read anything, no matter what the genre, as long as it sounds interesting. Usually though, the books I read fall into two genres; General Fiction and Young Adult.
Aside from being a voracious reader ever since I was a kid, I've also always loved writing. When I was younger, I'd write, but not limited to, stories and poetry. I never stopped. One of my ultimate goals in life, and I have mentioned this before, is to have at least one of my works published.
Random things: I check the weather report every single day, I'm scared of squirrels, I hate animal cruelty, humidity, too much make-up, public speaking, bad returns policy, book abuse, and judgmental people. I love vintage. I love style. I love being called a nerd. I love a lot of things, but will not list them all here. I have never eaten: lamb, goat, snails, sharks, and whales. You know what? I probably never will. And I'm perfectly 100% okay with that.
For more, maybe check out my About Me tab up there on the navigation bar? ;)

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Go ahead to Lori's blog to know more about the details. Then.. join in the fun!

165 Followers Giveaway!

I have been writing my own book reviews for almost two years now -- I was at a different blog site at that time. Unfortunately, it didn't work out over there. I had zero visitors, readers, followers, and/or comments.
I wanted and needed a change. So four months ago, I decided to switch over to Blogger. In those months, I had gained 165 awesome readers! Sometimes, looking at it gets a bit overwhelming!
I still remember being so ecstatic when I got my first follower. I still feel like that everytime I gain another. Again, like I have mentioned before, it's not about the count that matters to me. It's just that I'm extremely grateful for it. I mean, I never thought people would even be interested to read and even comment on what I have to say! Another amazing thing? How wonderful and helpful the blog community is. I have "met" fellow book blogger friends who share the same interests and passions as me through this. Because of this little 'milestone' and because of how kind&supportive everyone is to me and this blog, I decided to have a huge giveaway!
P.S. - Super special thank you to those who have contributed prizes. *cough* book fairy(ies) *cough* One day people will know of your incredibly generous book-ish group.

Important:

If The Book Depository ships to where you are, then you can enter this giveaway. For list of countries, click here.

There will be two winners!


For the first winner's prizes:

1. $30 'Shopping Spree' @ The Book Depository

2. Paperback copies of:

• Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan: Book 1: The Lightning Thief, Book 2: The Sea of Monsters, and Book 3: The Titan's Curse.

One winner can win all of these! That's a total of 3 books plus the $30 worth of books of your choice!

And because I did get 200 followers, as promised, I have added a second winner!

The second winner will get:

1. A $20 'Shopping Spree' at The Book Depository!

How to Enter:

1. Very simple. All you have to do is comment on this post by writing down your email address, and where in the world you are now <-- sounds kind of funny, haha. I just need to know if Book Depository ships to you.

By the way, you do not need to be a follower to enter this contest. I always appreciate and love a follow, but it's not required and you don't have to.

Get extra (free!) entries:

• + 2 - If you are an 'old' follower. Before I post this, I have exactly 165 followers. So if you are one of them, you are considered as one.
  
• + 1 if you are a new Follower
  
• +1 for posting a link on your blog -- whether it'd be a post or on your sidebar. Just leave a link to where I can find it.
  
• +2 for a book recommendation from you ;)
• Don't forget to let me know if you are or if you did any of these when you leave the comment.

Again, thank you to the generous bloggers that have contributed to the prize pack.

Contest ends on May 24 at 11:59PM Pacific -- which I picked randomly just because that's my birthday, haha. But that is it for this giveaway post! I'm super excited! Hope you are too! So what are you waiting for?? Can't wait to hear from all of you!

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Summary: When Nobody Owens was a baby, his family was murdered by a mysterious man. He was supposed to die that night as well, but he managed to escape. He wandered along the old cemetery where he was discovered by the dead inhabiting the place. That same night, they decided to keep him to raise him as theirs. In the graveyard, is where he now lives. This is his story.

Review: I didn't really like Coraline by Neil Gaiman -- too out there and creepy! -- but I really enjoyed The Graveyard Book. First off, seeing as it is written by someone like Neil Gaiman, it was quite expected that the plot and premise are going to be original and creative. The writing was, for lack of a better word, superb. I honestly felt like I was reading poetry the entire time. His prose and worldplay is just plain simple, but lovely. The characters are strong. The plot development -- effortless.
Also in the book, there are some illustrations included that truly captured the overall dark and creepy feel of the story of Nobody Owens and the graveyard.
Overall, it's a great novel. Its biggest strength though, at least in my opinion, would be that it is extremely well-written. Neil Gaiman is able to mix an amazing mixture of things you never thought would go well together; dark, light, humor, creepy, scary, terrifying, and wonderful all at the same time. I definitely recommend this as well, but only to certain readers. Personally, I don't believe this is appropriate for anyone younger than 10 years old, as it is quite dark for anyone of that age, but of course, it's all up to the parents in the end. Mostly, this would be a great and unique read for junior readers and older.