[Post] First Grave on the Right Reading Challenge Week #2

For week two we were challenged to read chapters 6-10 of First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones and answer the following questions, one for each chapter.

1. Ch 6 – Shiny objects and old family stories are told in this chapter, including an old nickname for our dear Charley. What was the nickname her uncle Bob gave her when she was little? Do you have an old nickname from when you were a kid? You can share it, and if it's really embarrassing we won't mind. *wink*

Answer: "Yeah. Uncle Bob called me Calamity for years, as in Calamity Jane?"

I have had too many nicknames to count growing up, some not so nice. When I was very young my grandmother called me "Pumpkin", when I was a little older my mother called me "Wendy Whiner" and my brother was "Sucky Chucky". There were some really nasty ones during school (kids can be so mean) but most recently I was nicknamed "Gwendy Doll", "Gwenwen", and "The Almight Gwen" - I like all of those!

2. Ch 7 – In this chapter we met someone. A really special guy named Rocket. Now, my memory is not what it used to be, and I just can't remember what makes him so special. Can you tell me what makes this particular ghost unique among all the others? And how about you? What can you do that makes you special? Anything? Jump on one foot for a really long time counts. *giggle*

Answer: "Rocket knew the moment someone passed, and he never forgot a name."

I really don't know what I can do special that no one else can do, I can knit, I can crochet, and I can spin a mean rifle, but there are many people who can do what I can do...so...yeah...

3. Ch 8 – Charley is really *cough* not your ordinary girl. She does something that, well, there's no way around it. She named parts of her body and the names are... oh crap, I forgot. Just my luck. *sigh* But I'm sure you guys can say what part of her body she named and what the names were. And, since we are on the matter, have you ever named a part of your body? If so, what was it and what was the name? Come on, don't be shy. *wink+crooked smile*

Answer: "I pointed to my right breast. 'This is Danger.' Then my left. 'And this is Will Robinson. I would appreciate it if you addressed them accordingly."

I really love the humor in this book! As for me, I name cars, pets, and lots of other inanimate objects, but I have never named my body parts...

4. Ch 9 – We all have our little secrets. Things we don't tell anyone, not even our bff. Char (we became close :P ) is no different, but in this chapter she shared her little (big) secret (S) with her bff. What did you think about her reaction? What would be yours?

I think Cookie handled them pretty well. As mentioned, she was pretty much ready to be told. Some of the secret(s) seemed to shock her more so than what she expected, but she still wasn't nearly as freaked out as some people would be. For me, again, I want to believe in this kind of stuff, so I hopefully would react rather calmly in this type of situation.

5. Ch 10 – In this chapter, Char continues her heart-to-heart with her BFF and comes up with some theories about our fave badboy/possibly ghost. What do you think of it? Can it be? What do you think about him? Hot? Double chocolate hot? Super duper caramel chocolate cake with a cherry on top hot?

Reading everyone else's response to this question I see many of you have already read enough to know what Reyes is. I however am still not entirely sure, although the connection between him and "Big Bad" (makes me think of Spike from Buffy) is intriguing. I am still confused how Charlie feels such a strong connection to him after meeting him really only once...but I am sure it will all be explained later. But he definitely sounds like a sampling of super duper hot chocolate with whipped cream and chocolate shavings on top! Yum!

[Post] First Grave on the Right Reading Challenge Week #1

I somehow managed to stumble upon this post for a read-along challenge of a series I had not heard of before. Since my extreme success of discovering The Soul Screamers series through a similar challenge I figured what the heck!

So I jumped right in and purchased an e-copy of the first book in this series, First Grave on the Right, and immediately started reading it. It feels a little like Dead Like Me meets Anita Blake meets Soul Screamers. I am really enjoying it! It's a little more "adult" than I expected...but I certainly don't have a problem with that! Check out this quote to see what I mean!

The room seemed cold now, probably because I'd just had a near-sex experience with a blazing inferno. ~Chapter Six

Hilarious and hot! The scene leading up to this quote is too hot to share here! You have to read it yourself for the juicy goodness!

For week one we were challenged to read chapters 1-5 of First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones and answer the following questions, one for each chapter.

1. Ch 1 – We meet some of Charley’s ghostly “buddies,” do you believe you have ever had a ghostly encounter?

I believe I have had several ghostly encounters over my life. My first one occurred when I was very young after we had to put my first cat to sleep due to illness. I still swear to this day she slept on my bed in her normal spot every night until I finally got a new cat.

2. Ch 2 – Charley named her jeep Misery. Have you ever named your vehicles? What did you name them?

I recently just purchased my first new vehicle. It's a cute little Kia Soul and I had them apply their dragon decal to it. Therefore I just had to name her Dragon Soul. I'm still working on getting her more dragon themed accessories.

3. Ch 3 – Charley says her name “…brooks no opposition. It takes shit from no one.” What do you think your name says about you to strangers? Is there a different name that you think would suit you better?

Gwenyth Love is actually the name I chose for myself, it's not my birth name. I love it. I think it's beautiful, mysterious, and unique...just like me.

4. Ch 4 – Charley says her best friend Cookie is “like Kramer from Seinfeld, only not so nervous, like Kramer might have been on Prozac.” Give us your best description of your best friend. How would they would describe you?

I'm not extremely close to many people, but my best friend, Kayla, it basically my younger mirror image. It's almost like talking to myself when I talk to her, which is why we get along so well! Of course...it is quite possible I am actually talking to myself...which could be an entirely different story all together...

5. Ch 5 – Garrett is reluctant to believe in Charley’s abilities, how would you react if a friend divulged to you that they can see and speak with the dead?

Honestly, I have read so many books, and I'm so weird myself that I would probably totally believe it. I would ask for some proof, but it wouldn't take much. Most likely because I am one of those people who WANT to believe.

[Challenge] 2012 Black Stallion Reading Challenge

One of my favourite book series to read growing up was The Black Stallion series by Walter Farley. I was so obsessed with them that I would ofter pretend I had my own horse and I would ride him everywhere. That's right...I didn't have an imaginary friend...I had an imaginary horse!

I decided I would like to recreate those good old days by doing a reread of The Black Stallion series, and I also decided I wanted to spread that joy I felt when I was younger around to as many others as I could. (I'm even trying to get my teenage son to read along!)

Hence, the 2012 Black Stallion Reading Challenge was born!

I don't expect everyone to be able to get through the entire series, so I have broken the challenge down into levels:

1-5
6-10
11-15
16-20
21-24 (That's the whole complete original Black Stallion series!)
25-30 (Including the newer Young Black Stallion series by Steven Farley.)

The books should be read between January 1st and December 31st 2012. My goal is to read at least one a month, so I will be posting a wrap-up post at the end of every month and I welcome you to post your updates in the comments and let us know where you stand.

Prizes will be based on levels (amount of books) read. Please be honest!

RandomHouse Canada has graciously agreed to offer up some wonderful prizes including books and RandomHouse swag such as mugs, pens, bookmarks, etc. More details about exactly what prizes are available and how the system works will be added later. My goal is to get at least a bookmark or pen to every person who reads at least one of these fabulous novels in 2012. Right now let's get everyone signed up! Leave a comment below and let everyone know you are participating!

I have created a Goodreads Group for people interested in participating in the challenge. You don't have to have a blog, just a Goodreads account! So please join up and answer the poll stating how many of the books you think you are going to read. If you have a blog I would appreciate you using the image and code below to show your support, and make sure to tell all your friends!

<a href="http://rantsnscribbles.blogspot.com/2011/12/challenge-2012-black-stallion-reading.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6555390369_c8dfed963e_o.jpg" alt="Black Stallion Reader Challenge" width="250" border="0" /></a>

Tim Farley, Walter Farley's son, runs the official Black Stallion site and he is super excited about this challenge as well! He will be posting about it on his site to help spread the word. Make sure to take the time to pop over there and check out his blog, store, and message forums all about The Black Stallion!

Here is a complete list of the books for this challenge:

These are the books written by Walter Farley, although The Young Black Stallion was co-written by Farley's son, Steven Farley. Steven Farley continued The Young Black Stallion series, about the Black's early years, and has written four Black Stallion novels, which are included at the end of the list.

Books are available at Chapters, Amazon, The Book Depository, and now they are also available for your e-reader! I just picked up a whole ton of them for my Kobo at kobobooks.com! Of course the local library is always an option as well.

The Black Stallion Series 
1. The Young Black Stallion (1989)(Prequel)
2. The Black Stallion (1941)
3. The Black Stallion Returns (1945)
4. Son of the Black Stallion (1947)
5. The Island Stallion (1948)
6. The Black Stallion and Satan (1949)
7. The Blood Bay Colt (1951)
8. The Island Stallion's Fury (1951)
9. The Black Stallion's Filly (1952)
10. The Black Stallion Revolts (1953)
11. The Black Stallion's Sulky Colt (1954)
12. The Island Stallion Races (1955)
13. The Black Stallion's Courage (1956)
14. The Black Stallion Mystery (1957)
15. The Horse Tamer (1958)
16. The Black Stallion and Flame (1960)
17. The Black Stallion Challenged (1964)
18. The Black Stallion's Ghost (1969)
19. The Black Stallion and the Girl (1971)
20. The Black Stallion Legend (1983)
21. The Black Stallion’s Shadow (1996)
22. The Black Stallion’s Steeplechaser (1997)
23. The Black Stallion and the Shape-Shifter (2008)
24. The Black Stallion and the Lost City (2011)

The Young Black Stallion Series
1 The Promise (1998)
2 A Horse Called Raven (1998)
3 The Homecoming (1999)
4 Wild Spirit (1999)
5 The Yearling (1999)
6 Hard Lessons (1999)