12 Blogs of Christmas: Day 12 The Page Flipper

On the 12th day of Christmas, The Page Flipper gave to me...

...Vampire Diaries, Books 1-4, in two bound books. Our last Day 12 is hosted by The Page Flipper. She's giving away The Vampire Diaries series, so if you're a fan of the TV show and have yet to read the books, this is one you won't want to miss. Head over there to enter.

And that, folks, is the end of the 12 Blogs of Christmas. I hope you had fun! Now make sure you go back and enter any you might have missed. Don't forget to check the right sidebar for links to all 12 contests. You still have until December 31st to enter them.

Happy Holidays!

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Since the 22nd is my turn for the 12 Blogs of Christmas, I thought for this holiday themed post it might be fun to take a look at the carol that inspired this idea.

You've heard the lyrics many times before. It all starts with a partridge in a pear tree. One of the most repetitive Christmas songs you've ever heard, and yet it seems Christmas just isn't complete without it.

And there are very many versions of this carol. Interestingly enough, there are even versions of the original that aren't consistent. Has anyone else noticed that although we can all agree up to 7 swans a swimming it's free game after that? The ladies dancing, maids a milking, lords a leaping, drummers drumming, and pipers piping all come in various numbers. My personal favorite is the one that has 12 ladies dancing, since that happened to be my favorite verse as a child. :)

But seriously, there are lots of versions of this. We have a CD that has Frank Sinatra's kids who sing "On the 1st day of Christmas we gave our loving day the most lovely lavender tie." Awww, how sweet. Rhiannon post about her Australian version in this guest post with "an emu up a gum tree." Some of you may remember the 13 Days of Christmas Madame Leota sings in the holiday version of The Haunted Mansion. And I'm sure there are many, many more out there.

However, I would like to share one particular version I've had stuck in my head for the last few weeks. Being the Disney Princess nut I am, I picked up their Christmas CD when I saw it at the library a few days ago. And yes, it has a version of the 12 Days of Christmas. And someone made a really nice video from it for YouTube. So I leave you at the end of this post with the Disney version of 12 Days of Christmas:

Teaser Tuesday: 12.22.09

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser today comes from page 155 of NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society by Michael Buckley (some sentences edited out for brevity's sake):

"So, how do we get up to the roof?" Jackson asked, eyeing the building. It was easily ten feet tall.
"Like this," Flinch said as he grabbed Heathcliff and tossed him high into the air.
"No way are you doing that to me!" Jackson said.
"It's really safe," Duncan said, just before he was tossed as well.
"He's right," Flinch said. "I've only crippled three people. That's a very good percentage."
"Now, let's talk about this," Jackson said, but a moment later the boy's hands hefted him off the ground and flung him igh into the sky. Flinch's toss was perfect and Jackson came down on the roof like a feather. A barfing, crying feather--but a feather nonetheless.

Okay, so that was more than two sentences, but you had to read all of those to fully appreciate the situation. I am totally loving this book! I hadn't yet picked up Michael Buckley's other books (The Sisters Grimm) but now I think I will. After I finish this one of course!

12 Blogs of Christmas: Day 11 The Shady Glade

On the 11th Blog of Christmas, The Shady Glade gave to you...



11 prizes for 11 winners!
I figured for the 11th day we should do something big, so I'm going to make 11 of you have a great holiday!

11 Books to Choose From: (some are gently used, the rest are new)
Christmas Unwrapped: Lighthearted Humor to Get You Through the Holidays by Scott Emmons (HC)
Slumgirl Dreaming: Rubina's Journey to the Stars by Rubina Ali (PB)
Fingerprints #1: Gifted Touch by Melinda Metz (PB)
Catwalk: Strike a Pose by Deborah Gregory (PB)
Nobody's Princess by Esther Friesner (PB)
The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney by Suzanne Harper (PB)
Likely Story by David Van Etten (HC)
Solace of the Road by Siobhan Dowd (HC)
The Boy Book by E. Lockheart (HC)
As You Wish by Jackson Pearce (ARC with original light blue cover)
The Monster Variations by Daniel Kraus (HC)

--1 winner will choose 3 from the above list,
--2 winners will choose 2 from the above list,
--1 winner will choose 1 from the above list.

And then:
--1 winner will receive a Looking Glass Wars Swag Pack (Hatter M poster, a postcard, 2 bookmarks, 2 stickers, a tattoo and a Redd Alert! button)
--6 more winners with receive a Mystery Swag pack with at least 7 assorted pieces of swag (bookmarks, postcards, stickers, cards, etc.)

You can count them up. That's 11 winners! Excited? Want to know how to win?

To enter this contest please finish the following sentence: "On the 11th day of Christmas my _________ gave to me 11 ________". Be creative, there might be another prize at stake here. (hint, hint)

ETA: Open internationally, yes!

Ends Dec. 31st at midnight PST. Winners will be randomly selected and announced here on January 1st, 2010. You will then have 5 days to claim your prize before it's passed to someone else. So come back on the 1st!

Please DO NOT leave your email address in the comment. This is to protect your privacy!

Extra Entries: (leave in one comment please!)
+2 Old Follower
+1 New Follower
+1 Sidebar/Twitter link (leave link)
+3 Blog Post (leave direct link)
+2 If you were referred by someone (tell me who)
+1 For every person you refer
+1 For every one of the 12 Blogs of Christmas you followed BEFORE this contest (list each one)

At the end of the month I will also give +5 entries to each person listed in the top 10 commenters in the left sidebar. So feel free to comment away!

Don't forget to check out the previous 12 Blogs of Christmas for more great contests:
Day 1 Neverending Shelf
Day 2 Literary Escapism
Day 3 Library Lounge Lizard
Day 4 Bites
Day 5 Ellz Readz
Day 6 Book Rat
Day 7 Luxury Reading
Day 8 Princess Bookie
Day 9 Shooting Stars Mag
Day 10 vv32Reads

Contest Roundup: December 21

It's time for another Contest Roundup! Yes, I've found even MORE contests that you can enter. But before you go play in the blogging universe of contests, don't forget my December Comment Contest, or Design a Button contest (sort of list of prizes here) still going on here at The Shady Glade. Also, make sure you check the right sidebar for (among other still open contests) the 12 Blogs of Christmas schedule, because there are some great prizes to be won there. And now, moving on.

Cornucopia of Reviews is celebrating with a 200 Followers Contest. Three winners will get to pick books from a long list of prizes including a copy of Dust of 100 Dogs. Ends Dec 30th


In Which a Girl Reads is also thanking followers with her 100 Followers Contest. She’s giving away books to three winners (so far) from a list which includes lots of great reads like Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. Ends Jan 19th.


There seems to a lot of follower love going around! Sophistikatied Reviews is also having a 200 Follower Contest. One winner will get to pick either an ARC of The Dark Divine or Brightly Woven. Great prizes! Ends Jan 11th.


The Book Butterfly has another great author post/contest up, this time with Lindsay Eland, author of Scones and Sensibility (released tomorrow!). Of course, she’s giving away five copies of the book in addition to the awesome post. Ends Jan 10th.


Ellz Reads (the genius behind the 12 Blogs of Christmas) also has an interview/giveaway going on right now. Check out her interview with Rachel Vincent of the Soul Screamers series and win a copy of Immortal. Ends Dec 23rd, so hurry!


Miss Attitude from Reading in Color is also having a winter contest. This one is for a $20 giftcard to Borders so you can pick out your own book! Personally, I am choosing Gateway by Sharon Shinn if I win. Ends Dec 27th.


I think I’ve mentioned before how much I love Princess Bookie’s Contests. Well, before she kicked off her 12 Day of Christmas contest, she had a pre-contest. How cool is that? This one is for three different ARCs including Wish, which comes out in January. Ends Dec 31st.

And that's it for this week. Sending good winning thoughts your way!

Christmas Winners

It's that time you've been waiting for! Time to announce the winners of the 12 Day of Christmas Giveaway-a-Day. I would have had these up earlier, but I had 72 last minute entries last night and I've been tallying up things. There were over 630 entries between all 12 contests and over 1/3 of those were international. WOW!

You'll find all 12 winners below. If you won, please email me your mailing address ASAP. You'll have 72 hours to respond before new winners are chosen.

You ready? Then here we go.

1st day, The Princess Present: Extreme Reader (claimed)


2nd day, Secret Santa: Elie (Ellz Reads)


3rd day, The Gift of the Magi and Other Stories: Sheryl (claimed)


4th day, What Child is This?: GreenBeanTeenQueen (claimed)


5th day, A Christmas Carol: Stacie (claimed)


6th day, Christmastime: Wrighty (claimed)


7th day, French Kissmas: Leslie (claimed)


8th day, 'Tis the Season and Ho, Ho, Ho: Jennifer S. (email entry) (claimed)


9th day, Christmas Dreams: Portraits of Little Women: Jessy (claimed)


10th day, Jingle Boy: TheBookworm


11th day, Santa Paws: Leafpool (claimed)


12th day, Kirsten's Surprise: Katy (claimed)

Congrats everyone! Don't forget to email me within the next 3 days with your mailing address. And if you didn't win this time, don't forget my big 12 Blogs of Christmas giveaway starts tomorrow too. Plus a contest roundup later today too!

12 Blogs of Christmas: Day 10 vvb32 reads

On the tenth day of Christmas vvb32 reads sends to you...

...Ten book and book-ish goodies! With only two days left, we're wrapping down. Day 10 is hosted by vvb32 reads. Two winners will get a holiday book box each. Head over there to enter. Come back tomorrow to see the 11th blog of Christmas, right here at The Shady Glade. Don't forget to check the right sidebar for links to all the past contests. You still have until December 31st to enter them!

Good luck!

LOL of the Week: Catmas Carols

We sang this song in church today, but after this LOL I can't seem to sing it with a straight face anymore. Just like this song:



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!

Cozy Holiday Reads

The inspiration for this post started off a little strange. When I first thought up the idea of A Shady Glade Christmas I sent out lots of emails off to people asking for recommendations for holiday reads. Some of those ideas got turned into a few of the posts you've seen so far this month. And others didn't.

So for those of you who are still looking for a great book to read during Christmas (you still have a few days to snag one!) here are some other great books suggestions:

Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances by John Green, Lauren Myracle, and Maureen Johnson
Miss Erin- "Perfect for curling up under a blanket in front of the Christmas tree with a cup of hot cocoa."

Far from You by Lisa Schroeder
The Compulsive Reader- "A wintery read that has to do with angels and miracles."

The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper
AKR- "A great holiday read. It's set during Christmas, and it's a little bit spooky, but also nice and homey and comfy at the same time. And there's lots and lots of snow."

The Christmas Doll by Elvira Woodruff
HM- "It's a lovely book, though a children book, it's something that I enjoy. It's about a girl and her sister who have no money, and how the older sister is willing to make huge sacrifices for her sister. It features a special doll with a purple heart and a doll shop. It's a treasured story!"

Kissing Snowflakes by Abby Sherr
MW- "I love reading the winter romance books over the holidays. Who says romance is just for summer?"

After by Amy Efaw
RM- "This is perfect for a chilly winter day, a sad, touching novel."


Other Suggestions:
JF- "The books I like to read are all the Harry Potters around Christmas, as well as Christmas Colt by Mallory Stevens, House of Night series by P.C. and Kristen Cast, and Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. I know these are all fairly new books but I've taken to reading them in winter, especially the third House Of Night book, because it's set around Christmas."

Angie- "I love reading fairy-tales in general, but in the winter I love it even more. Don't ask me why. But the Once Upon a Time Series, like The Storyteller's Daughter, Snow, The Rose Bride, etc. Pretty much all the books in that series I want to reread in time for the holidays. Even Ella Enchanted. Also, there is something oddly cozy about snuggling up with a blanket and pretty much any Agatha Christie. Finally, the Twilight series seems like a good fit for Christmas - the intensity of the romance, fantasy, and enigmatic atmosphere makes for a great snuggly read."

Thank you to everyone who suggested books! And for the rest of you I hope you find something nice to read this holiday!

*I quoted everybody using initials or blog names. If you see your quote and want to recognized by name, just leave me a comment and let me know and I'll get it changed.*

12 Blogs of Christmas: Day 9 Shooting Stars Mag

On the 9th day of Christmas, Shooting Stars Mag gave to me

....a $10 Gift Card to Borders! Day 9 is hosted by Shooting Stars Mag. Head over there to enter, and come back tomorrow to see what other contests we blogs can come up with. Make sure you also check the right sidebar for the updated schedule as well as links to all the past contests. You still have until December 31st to enter them!

Good luck!

Contest Reminder: Last Call!

This is your LAST CHANCE to enter the 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway-a-Day. The contests below end at midnight tonight! Here they are one last time.

I've listed them from least amount of entries to most entries. So your chances of winning are really good at the top of the list if you want to enter a few of those you missed before. Don't forget to read the rules too if you haven't already.

Kirsten's Surprise
Santa Paws
'Tis the Season and Ho, Ho, Ho
Christmas Dreams: Portraits of Little Women
What Child is This?
Jingle Boy
Christmastime
A Christmas Carol
The Gift of the Magi and Other Stories
French Kissmas
The Princess Present
Secret Santa

12 Blogs of Christmas: Day 8 Princess Bookie

From the 8th blog (Saturday) of Christmas, Princess Bookie gave to you…

Three awesome prizes! Day 8 is over at Princess Bookie. Three lucky winners will be getting some very awesome prizes. For those of you who've been wanting to get your hands on some 2010ARCs, you're going to love this contest! Head over there to enter, and come back tomorrow to see what other contests we blogs can come up with. We've had a little more shuffling with the schedule, so make sure you check the right sidebar for the updated schedule as well as links to all the past contests. You still have until December 31st to enter them!

Good luck!

Virtual Book Swap: Round 1

This is it! The moment you've been waiting for! This Round 1 of the Virtual Book Swap. If you'd like to join us, you can jump in anytime. Visit the rules page to sign up.

The choosing order for this round is:

A. Nicole (complete)
Nicola M. (complete)
Jennifer C. (complete)
Ashley E. (complete)

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)

Beware, Princess Elizabethby Carolyn Meyer (PB)
Blissby Lauren Myracle (ARC)

Cindy Ellaby Robin Palmer (PB)
Cirque Du Freak 5: Trials of Death/Cirque Du Freak 6: The Vampire Prince2-in-1 Edition by Darren Shan (ARC)

Daily Reflections For Highly Effective Teensby Sean Covey (PB)

The Fatal Childby John Dickinson (HC)
The Fetchby Laura Whitcomb (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)

House of Many Waysby Diana Wynne Jones

If I Stayby Gayle Forman (ARC)

Jinxedby Day Leclaire (ARC)
Just Ellaby Margaret Peterson Haddix (PB)

Living Dead Girlby Elizabeth Scott (ARC)

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)
Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouseby Lee Goldberg (PB)

Operating Codesby Nick Manns (HC)

Pants on Fireby Meg Cabot (HC)
Philippa Fisher's Fairy Godsisterby Liz Kessler (HC)
Politically Correct Bedtime Storiesby James Finn Garner (HC)

Snapby Carol Snow (ARC)
The Softwire: Betrayal on Orbis 2by PJ Haarsma (HC)
Speakby Laurie Halse Anderson (ARC)
The Swan Maidenby Heather Tomlinson (ARC)

Twistedby Laurie Halse Anderson (HC)

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

Non-swap participants: If you see a book you'd like, there are one of three 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.
3. The winner of the Design a Button contest will be picking a prize from this list.