LOL of the Week: Raised by Penguins

Finally feeling a little better, although I still got a nasty cough. Back tomorrow with the regularly scheduled contest roundup, but for now, here's an LOL to start the week off right:




Enjoy your week!

Update for Giveaway

Thanks to the comments left letting me know that I mislinked the form to enter the Wherever Nina Lies contest. That's what happens when you type up posts while in a cold-induced haze. :P

Anyway, the problem has now been fixed. If you tried to enter previously, you can now go enter. And if you haven't tried to enter yet, now's the perfect time to try.

Onward and upwards...

Win a Copy of Wherever Nina Lies

So you know how I've been hinting at a big giveaway for a few weeks now. Well here it is! I'm giving away three (3) copies of Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten to celebrate it's new paperback release.

BOOK OVERVIEW
Nina was beautiful, wild, and adored by her younger sister, Ellie. But, one day, Nina disappeared. Two years later, everyone has given up home that Nina will return, but Ellie knows her sister is out there. If only Ellie had a clue where to look. Then she gets one, in the form of a mysterious drawing. Determined to find Nina, Ellie takes off on a crazy, sexy, cross-country road trip with the only person who believes she’s got a chance—her hot, adventurous new crush. Along the way, Ellie finds a few things she wasn’t planning on. Like love. Lies. And the most shocking thing of all: the truth.

I'm in the middle of this one now and it's actually pretty good. Review coming soon, I promise! And, you can also read the first chapter of the book here and see for yourself. So are you excited? Want to win? Here's the details:

Open to US residents only (sorry international friends!) unless you have someone in the US who can receive your prize for you.

The contest will end on March 13th (my birthday) at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. Winners will be announced the next day and will have three days to send me their address before a new winner will be chosen.

Use this form to enter.

Good luck to everyone!

AUTHOR BIO
Lynn Weingarten spends a lot of time writing in coffee shops while occasionally reading strangers’ laptops over their shoulders. In the past she has been a book editor, a barista, a counter girl at a bakery in Ireland, a waitress at a bar, and a seller of tiny homemade clay animals. She lives in New York City. Wherever Nina Lies was her first novel. Please visit her online at www.lynnweingarten.com.

Bookmark Day is March 15th!

Still sick (although doing better) but I just found something that I have to share.

The Bibliophilic Book Blog is hosting a Bookmark Day on March 15th (two days after my birthday...).

Want the details? Here they are copied from the announcement:

"Bookmark day will be an ode to the bookmark...I will showcase bookmark creators, different kinds of bookmarks and offer sales on bookmarks in addition to an amazing assortment of bookmarks you can win...Oh yes, I know how you love prizes! :) There will also be some book giveaways as well...and maybe a nice signed set of books."

I'm so excited, I can't wait. I love bookmarks, so this is a perfect celebration for me. Make sure you check out all the details here, and check out the blog too.

Oh, and if you're lucky, you might just win a handmade bookmark from me. But you'll have to check out the event on March 15th to find out.

Grab My Button!

Well, there is one good thing about being sick. I've (finally) gotten around to getting my button boxes created. So now you can grab your very own Shady Glade button. You can grab either one below, or by looking in the left sidebar.

Now, I'm off to go get some more rest...

<center><a href="http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/"><img style="WIDTH: 188px; HEIGHT: 156px; CURSOR: hand" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgriiLc12lqvFjNTd21FkCgco3IrfLqF3wIZSR9wxqA0KkxuppGWhCw-fwpWmu6e5CITA87jUvYGjYF0PmvE1tkgPMhZ_P0besmSSUOKxXuCI7JMOo5qX92zstLB4dmKYEr7JFIxA/s200/shadyglade3.jpg" /></a></center>

<center><a href="http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/"><img style="WIDTH: 188px; HEIGHT: 156px; CURSOR: hand" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRc9VoyuIbW7YBgVF0gkpfD2ed1ge4Up9X_mUV_cphRDicSxLOk1Y5ndUVGx02-RH_So-2fkRstcjvMDdASnviBKUchJ8eI59EtUkGvFy-aM5tEO3KiL8u1008pBAklhsQr_aKZA/s200/shadyglade1.png" /></a></center>

LOL of the Week: Sick

Ugh. I'm sick again. I have another really bad cold. You know the kind of cold where you are majorly tired all day so you can't really do anything, but every time you try to sleep you can't because you're hacking this horrible phlegmy cough the whole time, which makes your head throb like someone's hitting it with a hammer and your ears are so blocked that you haven't been able to hear anything straight for three days, which really doesn't matter since no one's really talking to you anyway because of the copious amounts of green slime you're blowing out of your nose on a regular basis, so really all you can do is lay on the couch like a slug and watch TV programs you'd never in your right mind watch because you don't have the strength to find the remote to change the channel?

Yeah, I have one of those. *sigh*

Anyway, I managed to drag my sorry butt over to my computer to post this LOL. So considering my condition, I thought this was appropriate this week:



Hope you got a laugh out of that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date with a nasal decongestant and some cough syrup.

Contest Monday Winner: Valentine's Edition

Time to announce the winners of my Valentine's Day edition of Contest Monday as promised. So without any further delay, the two winners are:

Lisa Richards

and

MJ

Congrats you two. Please contact me ASAP with your mailing addresses (within a week) so I can mail out your prizes to you. Also let me know if you want to change you book choice.

The rest of you, make sure you look in the right sidebar for all sort of other contests you can win, and be sure to come back next week for another chance here too.

Contest Roundup: Feb 16th

Time for another fun-filled Contest Roundup! As always, don't forget leaving a comment here during the entire month of February gets you in the running to win a copy of The Reluctant Heiress right here at The Shady Glade. Also, look for a new contest coming up here in the next few days. And now, moving on.


There's another great contest going on a Tales of the Ravenous Reader. This time she's got a February contest going on where you can win six singed books including Beautiful Creatures. Head over the to enter, and ends March 7th.


Next up is a contest over at The Undercover Book Lover (Not Really). This time you can win 12 books, including Brightly Woven. Open internationally and ends March 10th.


Here's one I'm super excited about. Rebecca is giving away a copy of Anastasia's Secret, one of my Waiting on Wednesday picks from way back. Ends Feb 25th.


Kelsy from The Book Scout is giving away a hardcover of Darklight. If you liked Wondrous Strange you won't want to miss this sequel. Ends March 3rd.


And last for today is a new Aussie blog I've come across called Story Wings. She's having a huge followers contest. The more followers she gets, the more prizes she adds, so definitely check this one out. She's got some great books up for grabs including Fallen if you haven't had a chance to get to it yet. Open internationally, ends Mar 19th (Australia time, so really more like the 18th if you're in the US like me).

That's it for me this time. Now, go enter some contests!

A President's Day Diversion

So there won't be a contest roundup today. I'm putting it off tomorrow since today is President's Day (for those of us in the United States) and I expect to be away from my computer a lot today.
So in honor of this holiday, I'm re-posting a video I did back in July about Abraham Lincoln. This went up when I was having major internet problems so I don't think a lot of people got to see it. And since Lincoln's birthday was Friday (Feb 12) I thought it was fitting. Besides, it give you something to do while waiting for that roundup doesn't it?

So come back tomorrow for the contest roundup, the winner of the Valentine's contest, and maybe something else. We'll see what happens. But without further ado, here's the video:

(feed readers will need to visit the actual post to see this).

I'd love to hear what you think. This was my first video attempt, so keep that in mind in your comments. :)

LOL of the Week: Valentine's Day Edition

Don't worry guys. If you really messed up and forgot today was Valentine's Day, here's how you can fix it:


Nothing else says "I'm sorry" enough. :)

If you'd like to learn more about LOLcats, you can check out the website, or read my review of the book.

Have a great week!

I'm On Hold...

*Please note: This is a future-dated post so it will remain at the top of the blog for a few days. Scroll down for new content*

I've tried to keep up with the blog this week, but have failed miserably. Why, you ask? Well, it's the Olympics. I love watching the Olympics and due to the fact that I missed the 2008 games and this is the first chance I've had to watch a lot of the events (thanks to the miracle of DVR), I'm spending a lot of my time catching up on that. Which means I'm not blogging.

So I may be scarce these next few days until the games are done. In the meantime, you should go watch them too!

I'd like to leave you with this quote from the CEO John Furlong’s speech at opening ceremonies:

The Olympic Flame has touched many millions and prompted spontaneous, peaceful celebration. Reminding us all that those values that unite and inspire the best in us we must never abandon. As the Olympic Cauldron is lit, the unique magic of the Olympic Games will be released upon us.

Magic so rare that it cannot be controlled by borders. The kind of magic that invades the human heart touching people of all cultures and beliefs. Magic that calls for the best that human beings have to offer. Magic that causes the athletes of the world to soar and the rest of us to dream. (Emphasis mine)

Virtual Swap: Round 3

Welcome to Round 2 of the Virtual Book Swap. And welcome to our new swappers!

If you want to join the fun, it's really easy to sign up. All you need is to make sure you're familar with the rules page and at least 2 books to trade. Visit the rules page for all the details and to sign up.

The choosing order (from Random.org) for this round is:

Kristen H. (complete)
Nicola M. (complete)
Lilibeth R. (complete)
Jennifer C.

You have 72 hours to pick a book from the list below and email me your choice. I will be marking books off as they are chosen, so make sure you come back and check again before choosing!

All books are new or gently used.
ARC=Advance Review Copy, PB=Paperback, HC=Hardcover

After Ever Afterby Jordan Sonnenblick (ARC)
All the Tea in Chinaby Jane Orcutt (PB)
Attack of the Green Gooby D.J. Milky (HC)

Banana Ninja BOLDPRINT Graphic Novel by Robert Piotrowski (PB)
Beware, Princess Elizabethby Carolyn Meyer (PB)
The Book For People Who Do Too Muchby Bradley Trevor Greive (HC)
Boys without Namesby Kashmira Sheth (ARC)

Cirque Du Freak 5: Trials of Death/Cirque Du Freak 6: The Vampire Prince2-in-1 Edition by Darren Shan (ARC)
A Cedar Cove Christmasby Debbie Macomber (HC)
Confessions of a Teenage Hollywood Starby Dyan Sheldon (PB)

Daily Reflections For Highly Effective Teensby Sean Covey (PB)
Daddy's Little Angel (Bedeviled)by Shani Petroff (ARC)
Dancing With Ana by Nicole Barker (PB)
Defining Twilight: Vocabulary Workbook for Unlocking the SAT, ACT, GED, and SSATby Brian Leaf (PB) *This is unused*

The Fatal Childby John Dickinson (HC)
Frenemies #2: Faketasticby Alexa Young (PB)

Getting the Girl: A Guide to Private Investigation, Surveillance, and Cookeryby Susan Juby (ARC)
Ghost Files: The Haunting Truthby The Ghost Society (HC)
Girl to the Coreby Stacey Goldblatt (HC)
Gone and Back Againby Jonathon Scott Fuqua (PB)
Graveyard Girlby Wendy A. Lewis (PB)

If I Stayby Gayle Forman (ARC)
The Incredible Truth about Motherhoodby Bradley Trevor Greive (HC)

The Jane Austen Book Club: A Novelby Karen Joy Fowler (PB)
Jinxedby Day Leclaire (ARC)

Meow.org: The Cat-Napping Caperby Darby Lee Patterson (PB)
Missing Persons #2: Chocolate Loverby M. E. Rabb (PB)
Missing Persons #3 The Venetian Policemanby M. E. Rabb (PB)
Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Writing Thank-you Notesby Peggy Gifford (HC)

Perseus and Medusa (Graphic Revolve)by Blake A. Hoena (PB)
The Plagueby Joanne Dahme
Pretty Little Liarsby Sara Shepard (ARC)
Pretty Little Liars #2: Flawlessby Sara Shepard (ARC)
The Princess Testby Gail Carson Levine (HC, no dust jacket)

Runaway Stormby D. E. Knobbe (HC)

Samantha Learns a Lessonby Susan S. Adler
The Secret of the Atticby Sheri Cooper Sinykin (PB)
Secret Santaby Sabrina James (PB)
The Shadow Door (Elsewhere Chronicles)by Nykko and Bannister (PB)
The Softwire: Betrayal on Orbis 2by PJ Haarsma (HC)

YUM: Your Ultimate Manual for Good Nutritionby Daina Kalnins (ARC)

Zorro: A Novelby Isabel Allende (PB)

Non-swap participants: If you see a book you'd like, there are two ways you can get your hand on it:

1. Join the swapping fun! You can sign up after reading the rules post here.
2. Trade. You can find my wishlist over in the left sidebar.