Sep 30, 2022
Book Blogger Hop
Sep 29, 2022
Random Thursday
We are down to the last three weeks' worth of factoids from Shane Carley's True Facts That Sound Like Bull$#*t! So let's learn a few more totally random and bizarre facts that we can shock our friends with!
(image borrowed from World Wildlife Fund)
Not only are wild hippos found in Africa, but they can be found in Colombia as well. This is mainly due to Pablo Escobar, a drug kingpin, who kept them as pets. Since his death, the hippos have continued to breed and grow in population, becoming a problem for the country.
That's bizarre!
(image borrowed from Wikipedia)
Did you know that during WWI, Americans called sauerkraut, "liberty cabbage?" French Fries were referred to as "Freedom Fries" as well. This was apparently a way to disparage other countries by renaming certain foods.
(image borrowed from CNN)
Did you know that Christmas was banned in the American colonies in the early days? The ban lifted before the start of the American Revolution, but the holiday still took awhile to become mainstream in the States.
I mean from what little of my history I can remember, I can see this happening.
(image borrowed from Youtube)
Did you know that humans are capable of echolocation? Not everyone can do it, but some blind people have figured out a way to get around by using "clicks" in a way that is similar to how bats navigate the dark.
I would've never thought this possible!
(image borrowed from Robb Report)
The U.S. Supreme Court apparently has a secret basketball court on the fifth floor.
Okay, it's probably not "secret" since the book mentions it, but I thought it sounded cooler that way! Lol!
Sep 28, 2022
Let's Discuss: Squishmallows
Yup, two discussions in one week! I'm trying to make better numbers on this challenge! I used to talk about weird stuff all the time. I don't know if Covid has had an effect on the weird stuff I learn that sparks a discussion or what. Because I feel like I haven't had these weird questions pop in my head that sparked a discussion post! Today, it's a little bit of weird one. So business as usual!
Squishmallows
I feel like it was only a year or two ago that I started learning what these things were about! And omg, they are so cute and squishy! Lol. It's this generation Beanie Babies fad! Any other 90s kids here remember those? Omg, those guys were nuts! And of course now every single one of them is worthless! Especially if they have their tags cut off...which all of our "old, rare" ones do, because we played with them! Just those weird games kids make up on the fly. I remember in our house, we originally had this weird teal colored carpet in the living room...it resembled the sea. So, naturally, the Beanie Babies would hang out on the blanket boat while all the water ones swam alongside of them! Lol.
But back to these Squishmallows! They are so darn cute! You might have noticed one in my Halloween giveaway last year. I feel like that's when they started popping up in my area. I mean, I occasionally google them...mainly in this Halloween season trying to find cute ones. And omg, the resellers must live next to the factory or something because I seen TONS. Like ones I never ever see in the store and I'm wondering where they get them because oddly, the website rarely has any seasonal ones in stock.
They are just this crazy thing kids like to collect and adults too apparently. Many a time I've stopped by Five Below and see a line that I join to snag a cutie! Granted, I believe a lot of these adults are just reselling them online for double because I've seen the ones I have bought for $4.50 for around $10-$15. Yeah.
That they come in so many sizes is crazy too! I like the wee mini ones, like the koala and cat next to that gray owl on the right in front. Those usually range in the $5-$6 price and look great on the bookshelves for the holidays! Lol. I don't know, they just have these cute little faces and they're super soft because sometimes we all need a hug and these guys are definitely huggable! Lol.
So yeah, weird post here. What's your stance on stuffed animals? Or Squishmallows? Or even Beanie Babies? Do you get the craze? Were you apart of it? What Squishmallow creature would you want?
**Also note, this picture is one I found online. It's in no way my collection! Lol!
Can't Wait Wednesday
Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.
New York Times Bestselling author Nalini Singh takes us into the dangerous, haunting world of archangels…and a love that is legend.
For thousands of years, the passion between Alexander, Archangel of Persia, and Zanaya, Queen of the Nile, burned furious and bright, seemingly without end. But to be an archangel is to be bound to power violent and demanding. Driven by its primal energy, Alexander and Zanaya fought as fiercely as they loved. Locked in an endless cycle of devotion and heartbreak, it is only Zanaya’s decision to Sleep that ends their love story.
Eons later, it is the Cascade of Death that wakens them both. The passion between them a flame that yet burns, Alexander and Zanaya stand together in one last battle against the ultimate darkness. But even a warrior archangel cannot win every war. Alexander’s scream shatters the world as Zanaya falls, broken and silent…only to rise again in a miracle that may be a devastating curse. For is it truly the Queen of the Nile who has been resurrected?
Only one thing is clear: this is the last beat of their passionate, angry dance. The final song for Alexander and his Zani…
One day, I will get caught up in this series. Oh yes, one day...I will get caught up! And I'll have all the books lined up for it!
TITLE: Archangel's Resurrection
AUTHOR: Nalini Singh
PUBLISHER: Berkley Books
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: October 25, 2022
Sep 27, 2022
Let's Discuss: Arts & Crafts
So the other day I was working on a diamond art project! It's been a work in progress for over a month now and I've come to realize, that though I enjoy some arts & crafts projects...they are really, really exhausting!
Arts & Crafts
So we all might remember the big coloring books for adults phase that was around a handful of years ago! It seemed to spark this new activity for adults that we used to do as kids! I got into it for awhile, but then grew exhausted with trying to color so many details! Lol. I guess part of the problem is that I tend to be a bit of perfectionist with things. Guess you can chalk it up to the the OCD I have when it comes to my books. I like things to look pristine!
So here I am working on a diamond art project and I find it takes a lot out of me. I'm hunched over the table as I try to perfectly center the diamond on it's little circle. Then I press down hard to make sure it sticks and begin the process over. There is the occasion where I shake the "diamonds" to get them to lie in the right position to be picked up and placed. Then I'll have to put one color away to take out another. It's a process.
It's fun in some sense, but omg, please tell me these are not marketed as a relaxing activity for adults like the coloring books were! I am not even halfway done with this piece either! I posted a progress picture last Saturday on Instagram. It's sad as I've seen others that are finished!
The other problem though is finding the time to do these projects! I mean, I work full-time and then when I'm done with work, I use my last waking hours to do a little bit of blogging, eat dinner, and then read until bedtime! It's a glamorous life! Lol. So then I'm left wondering how everyone gets so much reading done, so many other activities, meals, sleep! I mean, I get audio books can be involved and help with the reading and activity-ing at the same time.
But I wonder, how do you decide to manage your free time? We all have so many things we want to do when we aren't required to do something. I still have a stack of movies I want to watch that I've had for many Black Fridays now! And yet I didn't even think to pop one in when I was working on my activity...mainly because I was working on it an hour or so before I knew I had to go run errands and whatnot.
So how do you manage your free time? What activities do you like to do?
Review--Horror Hotel by Victoria Fulton & Faith McClaren
This addictive YA horror about a group of teen ghost hunters who spend the night in a haunted LA hotel is The Blair Witch Project for the TikTok generation.
When the YouTube-famous Ghost Gang—Chrissy, Chase, Emma, and Kiki—visit a haunted LA hotel notorious for tragedy to secretly film after dark, they expect it to be just like their previous paranormal huntings. Spooky enough to attract subscribers—and ultimately harmless.
But when they stumble upon something unexpected in the former room of a gruesome serial killer, they quickly realize that they’re in over their heads.
Sometimes, it’s the dead who need our help—and the living we should fear.
Underlined is a line of totally addictive romance, thriller, and horror paperback original titles coming to you fast and furious each month. Enjoy everything you want to read the way you want to read it.
Let the spooky reading season begin! I was eager to read Victoria Fulton and Faith McClaren's Horror Hotel because the premise was spot on for the kind of read I was looking for; spooky, creepy, and ghosty! This one hit the mark on all three points and was a delight to read!
After a school project put Chrissy and Chase together, the two realized they had something in common; ghosts, Chrissy sees them and Chase believes in them. Joined by their friends Emma and Kiki, the four have created their own Youtube channel in which they have ghostly adventures. Chrissy is their ghost whisperer and though they go to haunted places, they are not so much exorcists. They just document the hauntings. They have become pretty popular with fans and a stalker or two; Chase hopes they can one day hit the one million subscriber mark and all the perks that come with it; i.e. a plastic trophy (but also notoriety!).
When Chase plans for the group to go to the Hearst Hotel on Halloween weekend to hopefully find out what happened to Eileen Warren, another internet famous kind of ghost whisperer who was found brutally murdered at the hotel sometime ago. When they get to the hotel, it is most certainly without its charm. Back in the day it was likely a bustling place, but now it caters more to the type who pay in cash and don't want to be seen. There are also communal rooms and bathrooms, so it shouldn't surprise anyone that they have an "interloper" in their hotel room due to the type of room it was.
Bram is a young man Chrissy's age and the two share a connection with one another. Bram can see ghosts too and isn't opposed to help Chrissy find the ghosts of Hearst Hotel. You can smell the love triangle coming a mile away, for we learn early on Chase has a secret crush on Chrissy, but hasn't had the courage to tell her yet and now that she is showing Bram the affection he so longs to have, there is a great deal of tension.
Everything starts to go smoothly, averagely. The teens start to walk around the hotel and Chrissy is definitely seeing and sensing the ghosts. It's creepy and terrifying because they're ghosts and some of them are really creepy and terrifying! Lol. But when they enter the room of the serial killer that supposedly stayed at the hotel during his crime spree, they find a dead body that is most decidedly NOT a ghost!
While I wouldn't call this one a full out horror fest, it was definitely creepy! I mean there are ghosts and I wouldn't call them Casper anytime soon. Add in a murder mystery and you have the makings of terrifying situation for four teenagers! You've also got an array of suspects from the shady hotel owners to the other hotel stayers to even the creepy ghosts themselves!
I will say that I kind of foresaw what this outcome was going to amount to. Call it good detectiving, years of Scooby Doo watching, or an easy guess...it's a mix of all that really. But still, while I may be able to see something about the ending, the details are always up for grabs and these details were very telling indeed! And I while I did enjoy that aspect of the story, I guess I just wanted more from their original mystery of trying to find out what happened to long ago Eileen Warren. Her mysterious death will remain a mystery sadly.
All in all, while some aspects of this book may come off as a cheesy 90s horror movie--a fact that does get mentioned in the book and had me cackling--it was still a mighty entertaining read! The horror aspects were terrifying and mysterious, the other mystery that the teens find themselves in was chilling and made for good story telling! There were some cheesy romantic moments as well, but again, I'll direct you back to other 90s horror flicks! This book pretty much had it all! And though it definitely rings as a standalone, I would not be adverse to a sequel if only to tell more of Eileen's tale, but I'll have to learn to live with a lack of answers...something I've experience in with other canceled series.
Horror Hotel is the perfect read for this year's spooky season! It's a verifiable fright fest! What more could you ask for than ghosts, murderers, shady hotel owners and a mystery to boot? I mean besides the talking Great Dane...this book had it all!
Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars
Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays
Teaser Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by Purple Princess of The Purple Booker.
Here are the rules:
1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a page
3. Pick out 2 lines that are SPOILER FREE
4. Name the title, author, etc.
"I slam the side of the machine with my fist and it makes a whirring sound that indicates ice is coming. I hold out hte bucket eagerly.
I watch as ice pours into the bucket.
Blood-red ice." p 135
TITLE: Horror Hotel
AUTHORS: Victoria Fulton & Faith McClaren
PUBLISHER: Underlined
GENRE: YA Horror
RELEASE DATE: February 1, 2022