The Week to Come: 27JAN13

I'm asking for YOUR help-I developed a blogging glossary with some commonly used blogging abbreviations, acronyms, and phrases after talking with some people in real-life who read my blog and were confused. Are there any terms you would have found helpful when you first started blogging? Or definition you could add? Leave a comment below and I'll add it with a link to you for credit.

The Week to Come:

Exciting week on the blog with lots of ARC reviews!

First up though is Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris, a 2012 debut that blew me away. I'm so glad I went back to check it out.

Then we have ARC reviews of Me, Him, Them, and It by Caela Carter; The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd; and Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, the highly anticipated (and with good reason) sequel to Cinder.

Friday's post will be a little different for the first of the month: instead of a monthly stats review, I'll be writing about my War and Peace readalong (this is also a reminder to myself to finish the section as I am a bit behind).

Saturday is a review of Christian historical romance Every Perfect Gift by Dorothy Love, the conclusion to the Hickory Ridge trilogy.

Looking forward to talking books with you this week! Happy reading :)

One last item to add is the new video from The Wanted (I can't not post this, you guys). This one is very retro (like they're on American Bandstand) and they're in suits-squee!



There are two things I really love about this video:
1. That Nathan winks after his solo because he did that in the other video for this song and it was my favorite part.
2. How it took the boys 2 hours to realize they were missing Nathan; I assure you I would always be acutely aware of where he was.

Music on #SykesSunday @thewantedmusic #IFoundYou

A quick little post that I meant to put up yesterday but time slipped away. It's not book-related but it does have a freebie at the end for US residents.

First, my beloved boys The Wanted have released their new single, "I Found You." You may remember I posted the video a while back but it's out now to buy. I believe it's available around the world and here are the links for US residents in iTunes and on Amazon.

And then for something completely different: I have also become really enamored with ZZ Ward. She had a free song available for download on US Amazon (it's actually free through November) but I liked it so much, I got the whole album. Totally worth it! Just wanted to let you know about a free song. I have also included the music video below.

Celebrating #SykesSunday with books, shoes, and #IFoundYou @thewantedmusic

Last week, I shared about some of my main preoccupations: namely, books, shoes, and The Wanted. So today I thought I'd share some specifics from those very general categories.

First up is books. I got to pick up two highly anticipated books from the library this week (expect reviews before the end of the month):

 
Next up I'm thinking about shoes; I really like these green flats from yeswalker. Firstly I prefer to fantasize about affordable shoes and second I already bought red, orange, yellow, and blue shoes from them with good results. What do you think?

And lastly, we have The Wanted's new video for the lead single from their upcoming as-yet-untitled third album, "I Found You." Please watch and then let's talk.



A. I quite like the cinematic feel as well as the violence. The ending's also a neat twist.

B. I love the Nathan wink at approximately 3:15 (and his solo before that...and the fact that he wears a watch...and, well, everything. Nathan's my favorite ;)

 C. I haven't quite been able to articulate all my feelings but I do feel like there's something problematic with the portrayal of the woman in this video. Does any one else get that feeling? If so, can you articulate it for me?

D. Cannot wait for more songs to come from the boys (as well as for them to spend more time in America so I can see them live!)

What are you up to this fine Sunday?

 

What I Think About: @thewantedmusic

Just a little bit of fun for Sunday! I think it's pretty self-explanatory for the way my mind has been working lately.

I am being a little ambitious today-I am going for a multi-mile walk with my mom (I want to say 3 but I can't remember) as well as finishing Celia Rees' This Is Not Forgiveness (I'm already halfway through) in addition to reading Summer of the Mariposas by Guadalupe Garcia McCall and starting Sam Cruz's Infallible Guide to Getting Girls by Tellulah Darling. Then I also want to catch up on reviews and comment on blogs as I haven't done so since Friday. Happy reading everyone!


 

My Music Obsession @thewantedmusic #theWantedEP2Days

Because who doesn't love cute British boys who sing?

From L to R: Tom Parker, Nathan Sykes, Jay McGuiness, Max George, and Siva Kaneswaran

This is kind of long but I'd really appreciate it if you read it and if you are at all a fan of TW, I definitely want to talk as the people who know me in real-life are maybe a little tired...

So in early February I started hearing this song on the radio a lot and I really liked the lyrics for the second verse, which went "Turn the lights out now/Now I'll take you by the hand/Hand you another drink/Drink it if you can/Can you spend a little time/Time is slipping away/Away from us so stay/Stay with me, I can make/Make you glad you came." I loved the repetition of the last word of the line as the first word of the line. So I took note that it was by some band called "The Wanted" and headed to youtube, where I discovered a. this was a boy band; b. said boy band was British and comprised of some attractive fellows; and c. they had a very active and passionate fan based mobilized via social media.



After watching the "Glad You Came" video about 3489514747 times (although admittedly the frenetic cuts kind of make me want to watch Citizen Kane), I started watching their other music videos. Then I watched the videos they posted themselves on their channel, simple flip videos featuring them answering (often-bizarre) fan questions and showing backstage stuff. I found myself wanting to watch the videos rather than read and really enjoying their different personalities and their friendships (and maybe doing a bit of ogling ;)

My personal favorite video that I've seen so far is this edited excerpt from the making of their "Lightning" video which features Nathan laughing (adorably) over some BMX tricksters:


And I'm officially obsessed. I went ahead and ordered the UK versions of their two CDs, The Wanted and Battlefield (links are to my reviews on Amazon.) I've already preordered my Fan Pack of their US Debut EP featuring new single "Chasing the Sun." And I'm trying to figure out my finances and schedule to ensure that I can see them some time...ideally soon!

And now I'm going to throw a bunch of links at you:

Follow on twitter: @thewantedmusic, @TomTheWanted, @NathanTheWanted, @JayTheWanted, @MaxTheWanted, and @SivaTheWanted

Visit their youtube channel
Official website
North American iTunes page
Order the US EP from Amazon

So what do you think? Were you already among the converted? Have I managed to pique your interest a bit?