Birthday Story Bash: Day 2

Welcome to the second day of the Toy Story party here on my blog! I know I'm getting this day started a little early (it's still technically the first day of my party!), but I thought I would post this when I knew I could find time. We'll just keep this party rolling!

Just as a reminder, each day of the party will include a guest interview; movie, book, and song-of-the-day selections; and a giveaway! And each day will have its own theme based off of one or more of the Toy Story characters.

Today's character is . . . Buzz Lightyear! Thus, today's theme will be space/flying (because Buzz can fly, at least when he has a rocket strapped to his back!).

To get us started, I invited Renee from Black 'n Gold Girl's Book Spot to get us started! Renee is a dear blogging friend of mine. When I have blogging questions, Renee has blogging answers! She is patient, kind, and she has a wonderful blog! If you don't already follow her blog, head on over there as soon as you're done reading this post!

Amber: Who is your favorite Toy Story character?

Renee: I would definitely have to say that Buzz Lightyear is my favorite character. He is super funny and way cool, I mean he can fly (kind of) plus he has little green men for groupies! I also liked Buzz in the TV cartoon series that was released, I believe, right after Toy Story 2! I loved XR the witty robot, and Buzz's sidekicks Mira and Booster. Is it okay if I admit that I also like Evil Emperor Zurg? Really, what is a movie without a villain or two to issue a good challenge?

Amber: What is one of you favorite stories? (This could be books, movies, family stories...anything goes!)

Renee: Oh goodness this is a toughie! I will go with a book, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Ever since I first read it in high school I've been enthralled with everything Austen (I've read most of her books plus a lot of the modern "retellings").

Elizabeth is the perfect heroine and Darcy...*sigh* there are no words for him. It's easy to see why these stories have remained popular for over 200 years. There are lessons that today's readers can take away regarding first impresions and the like. Plus it's also fun to see how society has changed and how it has remained the same.

Amber: If you could be any character/toy from Toy Story, which one would you be?

Renee: Hmmmm I would have to say I would love to be Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl! She is so independent and not to be crossed LOL! She's also a tomboy like me. However the girly girl in me also likes Bo Peep with her pretty pink dress. ;-) I'm anxious to see what they do with these characters in Toy Story 3!

Amber: Do you have any other Toy Story/Pixar info you would like to share?

Renee: Besides Toy Story I really love the Disney/Pixar movie Cars! Being a bit of a car fanatic I was pleased when they decided to release this movie. I love McQueen, Mater, Sally, Doc, Luigi and Guido. I usually like the secondary characters and Luigi and Guido are definitely my favorites, especially when they meet the Ferrari towards the end of the film...soooo cute!!! I thought it was really cool, too, that Dale Jr, Darrel Waltrip and other NASCAR folks lent their voices in cameo apprearances throughout the movie. It made it seem very authentic.

Amber: Thanks so much for joining us today, Renee! It was fun to read your responses! =)

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Now for the selections of the day! Going with the space theme, I have some fun recommendations for you:

• Movie of the day: WALL-E (Another great Pixar movie! It's a bit different from the others, but I suppose all of their movies are rather unique! The robots in this one are just too cute!)


• Book of the day: Once in a Blue Moon by Leanna Ellis (To read my review of this book, click HERE. And to read my interview with Leanna Ellis, click HERE.)


• Song of the day: When You Come Back Down by Nickel Creek

Here's a video of the song that I found on YouTube. It's a beautiful song, and I think it fits with the flying part of our theme!

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Today's book giveaway is from another dear blogging friend, Angie over at Never A Dull Moment. Thank you so much, Angie, for your generosity!

Here's the description of the book from Zondervan: "In this intense, emotionally charged supernatural thriller for young adults by author Dawn Miller, the angelic forces of heaven and hell wage battle over mankind, placing five gifted teenagers in the middle of a war only they can end. Each of the five has struggled since a terrifying night in their childhood, and as memories of that evening’s events come rushing back, and the dark angels make themselves known, they discover that what was meant to destroy them has instead opened their eyes to a world otherwise hidden from humankind."

I think the cover fits well with today's theme, don't you? =) To enter this drawing, just leave a comment saying you would like to be entered. You must have a U.S. mailing address, and you must leave your e-mail address in your comment to qualify. (Just as a reminder, all the winners this week will be announced on Saturday, June 5.)

Good luck to all of you! And I wish you a fabulous day, full of fun "to infinity and beyond!"

(Toy Story picture from the Pixar website.)

Birthday Story Bash: Day 1

Welcome to the first day of my Birthday Story Bash! To give you an idea of what the next few days will be like, each day will have its own theme based off of one (or more) of the Toy Story characters. Going along with the theme, there will be a guest interview; movie, book, and song-of-the-day selections; and a giveaway!

Today's characters are Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head! Thus, the theme will be . . . food! (No, we won't talk about eating potatoes; and yes, I do like having food themes on my blog, as some of my "long-time" followers know!)

Our guest today is author Cerella Sechrist! Please join me in giving her a warm welcome!

Amber: Who is your favorite Toy Story character (this can be from the first or second movie)?

Cerella: I adore Rex the dinosaur. Despite his insecurities and paranoia, he's always willing to help his friends. =)

Amber: What is one of your favorite stories (ie: book, movie, family history, etc.)? Anything goes!

Cerella: Growing up, I loved the Berenstain Bears as well as Dr. Seuss. In particular, I'd always ask my mom to read about Seuss's Yertle the Turtle, king of the pond. It helped that she always did a variety of character voices. Story time was so entertaining at my house.

Amber: If you were in one of the Toy Story movies, which toy would you want to be?

Cerella: I think I'm gonna go with Tour Guide Barbie. I like the idea of driving a car and showing the other toys around. And she's so perky/pleasant. Now, if they had featured Strawberry Shortcake in the movie, I might change my answer... =D

Amber: You and strawberries! ;) Can't say that I blame you, though!

Cerella: All this toy talk is making me nostalgic for my childhood! I might have to go dig out some old stuffed animals to console myself. ;) Happy Toy Story week!

Thanks so much for joining us today, Cerella! I am honored to be able to host you here once again!

Readers, you can find my previous interview with Cerella HERE. And you can find Cerella at her website or her blog. She's a very sweet and very fun person (as well as a great author!), so be sure to drop by her blog and say hi!

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Now for the selections of the day:

• Movie of the day: No Reservations
  
• Book of the day: Love Finds You in Hershey, Pennsylvania by Cerella Sechrist
  
• Song of the day: Dental Care by Owl City (After watching and reading about food, you'll want to go out and eat some! But just be sure to take good care of your teeth!)

Here's a video of the song that I found on YouTube:


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And now for the giveaway! Cerella has generously agreed to give away a copy of her book, Love Finds You in Hershey, Pennsylvania. But not just any copy--Cerella said I can tell you that this copy will be "autographed - personalized to the winner (I'll inscribe their name with a brief message)"! Isn't that great? =)

To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post letting me know you want to be entered. You must have a U.S. mailing address and you must leave your e-mail address in your comment.

I highly recommend this book! (To read my review of Love Finds You in Hershey, Pennsylvania, click HERE.)

Note: I also recommend that you watch Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in preparation for the release of Toy Story 3 in theaters June 18!

(Toy Story picture is from the Pixar website.)

My Review of She Walks in Beauty

Here's the description of the book from Bethany House Publishers: "During New York City's Gilded Age...The game is played amid banquets and balls.
The prize is a lifetime of wealth and privilege.
The rules will test friendships and
the desires of a young woman's heart.
Clara Carter is the social season's brightest star...
but at what cost?

For a young society woman seeking a favorable marriage, so much depends on her social season debut. Clara Carter has been given one goal: secure the affections of the city's most eligible bachelor. Debuting means plenty of work--there are corsets to be fitted, dances to master, manners to perfect. Her training soon pays off, however, as celebrity's spotlight turns Clara into a society-page darling.

Yet Clara soon wonders if this is the life she really wants. Especially when she learns her best friend has also set her sights on Franklin De Vries. When a man appears who seems to love her simply for who she is and gossip backlash turns ugly, Clara realizes it's not just her marriage at stake--the future of her family depends on how she plays the game."

My Rating: Summer

My Review:
From start to finish, this book draws the reader in and takes the reader back to New York during the Gilded Age. All of the details--from the clothing to the furniture--make this world very real, and I quickly became involved in the story. Mitchell does a beautiful job of making everything seem so real, from the atmosphere to the emotions of the characters. And what intriguing characters they all are! Because of the first person point-of-view, it was easy to sympathize with the main character (Clara), and it was fun and enlightening to see her world through her eyes. Her options for suitors were quite the interesting lot, as well! Interestingly enough, the De Vries family reminded me a lot of the Tilney family from Northanger Abbey. (Although I confess to not having read Northanger Abbey yet; my impression was made from seeing the PBS version of the story.) I loved all of the dancing scenes, and I enjoyed learning about all of those social conventions of the day.

This story takes a while to unfold, but to be really immersed into the time period I think there would be no way to rush the plot. In my opinion, the pacing is just right, and the whole reading experience makes it feel just like the reader is debuting with Clara. And, oh! how I loved how it all turned out! The story is written beautifully and really demonstrates the wonder of unconditional love. With a great message about what is truly important in life, as well as the book being such a great love story, I highly recommend it!

*Thank you to Jim Hart from Bethany House Publishers for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.*

Get Ready for a Birthday Bash to Remember!

All you Toy Story, Toy Story 2, and soon-to-be Toy Story 3 fans, here's a heads-up! Next week's theme on my blog is going to be Toy Story, and there's lots of fun in store! To get the ball rolling, I'll be posting a poll in the sidebar, and I would love for all of you to participate!

Here's some of what you can expect next week:

• Book giveaways
• Book, movie, and song-of-the-day selections
• Guest interview(s)
• And more!

Hope to see you all here!

Also, I'll try to keep on posting more book reviews for you. Within the next week or so, be looking for my reviews of:

• She Walks in Beauty
• Love is Monumental
• Love on a Dime

Have a lovely weekend!

(Picture from the Pixar website.)

My Review of Love Finds You in Pendleton, Oregon

Here's the description of the book from Amazon.com:
"Native American beauty Sunny Westcott is not one to let her hair down. But her friend Aubrey manages to drag her to Pendleton, Oregon, and the pair arrives just as the hundredth annual Pendleton Round-Up begins. Sunny is surprised by how much she enjoys watching the rodeo, riding horseback, and getting to know Aubrey’s family—particularly a handsome cowboy named Cody. Pendleton is also home to the Umatilla reservation where Sunny’s ancestors once lived, and the trip gives her the chance to do some digging into her family’s history—a topic she knows next to nothing about. But will Sunny like what she finds? And how will skeletons from the past compete with the current drama unfolding in Cody’s own family?"

My Rating: Fall/Spring

My Review:
The aspect I enjoyed most about this book was its description of Pendleton--the imagery, history, and the information about the Pendleton Round-Up. It was a lot of fun getting to learn about this place, and I appreciate Carlson's knowledge of Pendleton! Going with the characters to some hole-in-the-wall places, learning about the museums and restaurants, and learning about the Umatilla reservation was all very interesting!

For a "Love Finds You" book, the focus seemed to be mainly on the character's search to learn more about her heritage, rather than any romance. That part didn't really develop much until the end of the story, where it all came rather quickly (and a bit unbelievably) together. But I think for the most part, many of the characters felt real and acted like people do in real life.

However, I think the spiritual aspects of the book were down-played a bit. That is to say, it felt kind of like the prayer and mentions of God were just kind of "thrown in" there occasionally.

All in all, this book is well-written, and a fun escape to a small town with some great attractions. The story is an interesting look into one person's heritage, and I appreciated that part of the story. I would recommend it for all those looking for the "fun escape" I mentioned. I'm just not sure I would recommend it as a deep, insightful romance story.

Blog Award # 3

Thanks so much to Renee at Black 'n Gold Girl's Book Spot for passing this award on to me! What a great birthday gift!

I'm not sure if the rules for these awards are strictly enforced, but I thought I would do a check to see what some rules might be for this particular award. ;) After seeing who Renee got this award from, and then the person that that person got the award from, I think I found something! (I apologize if this isn't right, but we'll go with it anyway!)

From the blog Publish or Perish: "The rules to the award are: link to the person who nominated me for this award; share seven interesting things about myself; and nominate seven other beautiful bloggers."

So here goes nothing!

Seven interesting things about me:
1. I'm a black belt in Jujitsu.
2. I hate mashed potatoes.
3. I was valedictorian of my graduating class at high school.
4. I love bluegrass music.
5. I'm majoring in English at Corban University.
6. I've been to Israel.
7. I was president of my high school's Key Club during my junior year.

Now you know a little more about me! And here are the people I'd like to pass this award on to:

• Cerella @ The Cerella Life
• Deborah @ Country at Heart
• Casey @ Operation Encourage an Author
• Sherrinda @ Sherrinda
• Tammy @ Bluerose's Heart
• Hannah @ Project Journal
• Michelle @ Edgy Inspirational Author

To those of you who keep getting tons of awards from me . . . I'm not trying to be a bother! I hope you can consider it a compliment that I think of you so often when I'm handing out awards!

Thank you all for reading my blog, and I hope you'll check out some of these other great blogs!

Books: News Update

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I thought I would share with you some of the coming events on my blog. Right now I'm reading Love Finds You in Pendleton, Oregon, and I'll plan on reading Love is Monumental after that. (However, I'm still eagerly awaiting the arrival of She Walks in Beauty in my mailbox, as well as Love on a Dime, so I'll plan on reading them soon, too!) Anyway, reviews for these books should be posted soon!

And next week, get ready for my "Birthday Story Bash!" Some of you have already heard about this on Goodreads, but for those of you who haven't: to celebrate my birthday week, I'm having a Toy Story theme on my blog. And what would a party be without party favors? Due to some generous blogging friends of mine, there will be some great book giveaways next week! I hope to see you all here!

I'm sorry there haven't been more posts so far this week. I guess all those camp activities wore me out! (Just kidding!) But I hope to see you all here next week for the big bash on my blog!

I'll leave you today with these words from Psalm 19:14--

"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer."