Fast Five Fridays And Gratitude Blog Hop Smash Up

Blog Hop Time!

This weeks Fast Five Friday has as its topic romantic movies, which is not a surprise, considering that tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. I am usually not a fan of romantic movies, I rather read this genre,  than watch them. My favorite movies are mostly of the more action oriented variety. But I did find 5 romantic movies, which I really enjoyed, and I am going to share them with you today:

Warm Bodies – The Movie

Barefoot – The Movie

The Fault In Our Stars – The Movie

City of Angels – The Movie

Dirty Dancing – The Original Movie

If you have not seen these movies, you really should. Barefoot was an unexpected pleasure, and John Green’s movie as well as City of Angels are tear-jerkers. Warm Bodies is just simply cute, and Dirty Dancing is a classic.

Celebrate The Small Things:

Now off to the gratitude list “Celebrate The Small Things” hosted by Lexa Cain:

It is getting warmer, and it stopped raining like crazy, I am very grateful for that. Still looking forward to summer, but any improvement is welcome at this moment.

This week my daughter is going to be able to go to a book signing of Amanda Palmer’s new book “The Art of Asking”. We were just talking about finding things to do over the next few days, when we found out about this event. She is so exited, and I am so happy for her.

I am grateful for the fact that I took the leap and created a puplication on Medium, and already got some submissions for it. Daring To Breathe will contain poetry, Flash Fiction and opinions. That way I will be able to not only showcase some of my own work, but that of some really talented people.

What are you grateful for this week? Do you have any Valentine’s Day plans? I will be working, because my husband is out of town on business.

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

Gratitude And Books – A Weekly Blog Hop-Smash Up

I love blog hops, but lately everyone seems to have one on Friday! In order to participate in the blog hops I want to, I chose to combine two from now on, and will call it the “Gratitude and Books Smash Up”.

The two blog hops I am combining are the weekly “Celebrate The Small Things“, hosted by dear Lexa Cain, and the “Fast Five Friday Blog Hop”, which is book related.

Here is my gratitude list for the week:

I am always grateful for books, and this week I had a special chance of purchasing a few really good non-fiction books, I have been “dying” to get. They are three books related to symbolism and lore surrounding birds, specifically as it relates to Shamanism. I love birds, and have a special connection to them, due to my spiritual path, so I was so happy to be able to get these books.

Another book I purchased, and for which I am grateful for was talked about in a productivity web series I recently watched. It is called “Getting Things Done – The Art of Stress-Free Productivity” and I highly recommend it.

Speaking of web series, I am very grateful for Michael Sliwinski, the founder of Nozbe to have created a wonderful, useful and very inspiring series on productivity. It helped me a lot so far. Organization was never my forte, but by following through on his advice, I am actually getting better at it.

I am also thankful for the fact that the holidays are over. I love holidays, but I prefer to have a more uninterrupted schedule. 2015 feels like a  year, where I need to get things done.

Now off to the second blog hop “Fast Five Friday”!

Fast Five Friday Participant

This weeks Fast Five Friday Prompt asks us to write about the five most anticipated novels of this year. For me personally, the following five novels, are those I am looking forward to reading, some of which I am already asked to review, others I hope that I will get a chance to review before their release date. Either way, these books sound pretty great. Check them out!

Hero

Silent Scream

Hades

Crown for Cold Silver

First Frost

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Claudia

Fast Five Friday – Most Adored Book Covers of 2014

Fast Five Friday Participant

Well, this weeks Fast Five Friday Post is a visual one. If limited to book covers, but not content, I will limit myself to books I came across 2014 (not necessarily published in 2014), that I found visually pleasing. Now this does NOT mean that I am commenting at this moment to the actual content, so be forewarned – these covers are simply very pretty.

  

 

I am really looking forward to seeing how everyone else interprets this weeks prompt.

Hugs and have a great weekend!

Claudia

Fast Five Friday – 5 Favorite Novels Read In 2014

A Fast Five Friday Blog Post

2014 was filled with many great books, so narrowing it down to just 5 favorite novels is not quite as easy as it might seem. Even though I did not keep track of how many books I have read, I know they were plenty.

Here are the 5 Novels, that stick out in my mind the most:

1. Beneath The Veil by Megan Hart

This book surprised me completely in it’s intensity, and even though I read (and reviewed) it in March, I am still raving about this novel to anyone who is willing to listen. Strong characters, well defined plot, and not one boring minute, I would highly suggest that you read this book. (read my more detailed review here) 

2. The Keepers: Declan by Rae Rivers

The best paranormal series I have read in a long time! I thoroughly enjoyed every book in this series, that contains Witches, and those who love and protect them, but I am featuring this book “Declan”, because it was the first one I read, thanks to Netgalley, who allowed me to review it, pre-publication. If you love paranormal novels as much as I do, Rae Rivers is your Author. (read a more detailed review of the book here)

3. Hyde by Lauren Stewart 

An urban fantasy, that I could not put down, written by an Author who writes also Young Adult books – this book is all grown up, and does not hold anything back. A new, unique Jekyll and Hide story, nothing like I expected (read my original review of the book here) 

4. Storm Front by Richard Castle

Yes, the Richard Castle, fictional character in the series Castle. What a surprise this book was! I did not expect to find such a fast paced, humor-filled spy novel, that worked as well as it did. Whomever actually wrote this book is really good! (read my original review of the book here)

5. Parker’s Passion by Sabrina York

Now for some fun at the end, I am throwing in an erotic romance that is not exactly for the faint at heart, but contains an interesting story line, that many books of this nature lack. While it is slightly rushed, it is the best book in the genre I read this year, and that is the reason I included it in this list. (read my original review of this book here)

I am grateful to be a part of this interesting blog hop, “Fast Five Fridays” and hope to connect with many of the participants.