Harry Potter Reading Challenge

Marcie at To Read or Not to Read is hosting a Harry Potter Challenge. It has been years since I've read the whole series, and I am actually excited to read the series again. I've been semi-protesting them because I'm not too happy with J.K. Rowlings body count in Deathly Hallows, but this should be some fun reading before Deathly Hallows 2 comes out.

Page to Screen: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

I recently sat down to rewatch and reread The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares and as much as I enjoyed both the book and the movie, there were a few things that I really wished they had NOT changed in the movie.  I miss Lena's sister Effie-- mostly because she does a MAJOR thing in the 4th book, I miss Lena flying to California/Mexico to rescue Bridget from herself, I miss knowing Bridget has a twin brother!

Even though the movie had several flaws that made the book so wonderful, I loved it! I really thing Jenna Boyd completely stole the show as Bailey and like I did when I read the book, I bawled my eyes out when she left the story. I found myself connecting even more with Carmen as I watched the movie this time than the first time, but Lena will always be my favorite.

The one thing I wish was real-- those magic pants. How cool would it be to find pants that fit you and your best girlfriends?

Bloggiesta. . . this is actually really fun. (Button!)

So I am so grateful to Elisabeth Marie at YS Princess for reminding me that Bloggiesta was coming up. I have been having a lot of fun learning really cool blog things that I can share with you. As you may have noticed Amber's Teen Reads is in the process of a makeover and today I learned how to make my very own button! I've been wanting to learn how to make one for some time now, but never really tried to look up the information until today. Callista at SMS Book Reviews has a really cool tutorial on Banners and Buttons that I was way too excited to try. While I will admit, I had some difficulty with her tutorial, I was able to find another one that worked really well for me. The tutorial that worked the best for me was actually from Okiology101. I never would have found Okiology had I not started out at SMS. So, thanks Callista.

If you take a look to the left of this post, you should see my really cool new button and if you look up by the url, you should see my brand new favicon!

This Bloggiesta has been AMAZING. Who knows what I'll have done by the end of the weekend.

Love and Happy Reading,

My Blog Goals for 2011

I still can't believe 2011 is actually here. Since I am participating in Bloggiesta this year, one of the mini-challenges is to think about what your goals are for your blog. I've actually been thinking about this for awhile. I have not been nearly as consistent with my blogging as I initially planned and I think that will be a great place to start. With that stated, my goals for 2011 are:

• to be more consistent with my blogging practices
• Make my blog more aesthetically pleasing to my readers
• Learn the really cool codes to make fun gadgets for my blog
• Not be afraid to use my voice, even if a review isn't all sunshine and roses.

I think these few goals are a really good start for me and I hope you will join me to see how well I do. Hopefully, this will work MUCH better than the New Years Resolutions I make for myself each year. :O)

Love and Happy Reading,

Bloggiesta!

Bloggiesta!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Bloggiesta has arrived and for the first time, I am planning on participating. Bloggiesta is the creation of Natasha at Maw Books and is used as a time to PEDRO (Plan. Edit. Develop. Review. Organize) your blog. I'm really excited about this because Amber's Teen Reads is going through some makeover changes (if you hadn't noticed, I can't seem to settle on a background right now.)

For 72 hours (not necessarily consistent) I will be PEDROing it up and reevaluating the way my blog is going. I'm going to learn how to make my blog more fun (not just for me, but for you as well), participating in mini-challenges and of course I'm going to read and review books.

This should be a really fun experience for me and I really hope you stay tuned. Fellow bloggers, head on over to Maw Books and read the description of Bloggiesta. I think you'll have fun if you choose to participate.

Love and Happy Reading,

Page to Screen Reading Challenge ( I So wish this was my idea!)

Okay, so I came across a really cool reading challenge today that I HAD to spread the word about. It's called the Page to Screen Reading Challenge. I must say that I LOVE reading books that I know are going to become movies. Reading Extensively  (the challenge host) is offering different levels to this particular challenge, and the one that appeals to me the most is The Read and Watch. As of right now, I'm going to be cautious and attempt Level 1 of the Read and Watch, which is simply 5 books and movies/t.v. shows. I know I could probably do more, but I want to make sure. I figure it couldn't hurt to err on the side of caution this time. This one is going to be SUPER fun! Popcorn anyone?

Out with a Bang Read-a-Thon

You know, I always think about participating in challenges, but I have yet to be able to actually complete one. It's kind of sad, however, I am hoping to change that behavior by participating in and COMPLETING the Out with a Bang Read-a-Thon hosted by Casey at The Bookish Type and Heather at Book-Savvy.

I know that I have several book sitting in my To Be Read pile that I keep neglecting, including a couple from brand new authors. This challenge is simple-- pick a book off of my pile, read it and  I'm done.







The books on my list are:
Girl Parts by John M. Cusick
Tell Me a Secret by Holly Cupala
Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin
Deathday Letters by Shaun David Hutchinson
The Hollow by Jessica Veraday
Bystander by James Preller
Matched by Ally Condie
Geography Club by Brent Hartinger
and a few more that I can't remember right now.

I am optimistic that this is a challenge I can handle.  So for Decembe 29-31, I'm going to try to tackle as many of these as I can. Wish me luck.

2011 Debut Author's Challenge

I finally found a challenge that I'm really excited about. I am going to attempt the 2011 Debut Author's Challenge and try to read 12 books by new authors. Some of the Books I am looking foward to next years are:

 1. Across the Universe by Beth Revis

2. Other Words for Love by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal

3. Exposed by Kimberly Marcus

4. I am J by Cris Beam

5. Wake Unto Me by Lisa Cach

6.Jane Jones: Worst. Vampire. Ever by Caissie St. Onge

7. Paper Covers Rock by Jenny Hubbard

8. Never Sit Down in a Hoop Skirt and Other Things I Learned in Southern Belle Hell by Crickett Rumley

9.Sister Mischief by Laura Goode

10. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

11.Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading by Tommy Greenwald
12. The Latte Rebellion by Sarah Jamila Stevenson (January 2011)
13. But I Love Him by Amanda Grace (May 2011)


I am hoping more titles will jump out at me and I'm really excited about giving these new author's a chance to prove themselves. This should be fun!
You can read more about this challenge here and I hope you think about joining it too.

Pretty Little Liars Challenge hosted by Trisha's Book Blog

I have been meaning to read the Pretty Little Liars series for some time now, and just haven't gotten around to it. Well, Trisha at Trisha's Book Blog has come up with a challenge to read all the books by 31 December 2010. I'm going to try to do it! I hope you will join me.

Go to Trisha's blog to find out all about the challenge and sign up. This should be fun.

*** Update: This was an EPIC FAIL for me. I still need to finish the first one. . . and I'm already a full session behind on the show.***

I've joined a reading challenge!

I have joined my first official challenge! The Green Bean Teen Queen has issued a Georgia Nicolson reading challenge. All you have to do is read all 10 books by June 18, 2010. That gives me a little over 10 months. So, each time I read one, I'll post about it here and hopefully I will get through the series in time. I'm so excited!!!! Find out about the challenge here: http://www.greenbeanteenqueen.com/2009/06/georgia-nicolson-reading-challenge.html