Explore This!: Havana, Cuba

Today, I’m whisking you all off to Havana, Cuba. Personally speaking, Cuba has always been a place that I knew would have beautiful spots, but was also a country that invoked fear at the thought of visiting. The common knowledge (rumour?) that police walk around with machine guns and the fear of doing anything wrong (even by accident) just made it seem less than appealing as a vacation destination.

To be honest, my inspiration for today’s post, Peggy Blair’s The Beggar’s Opera (I believe it’s Canadian release only so far, but keep an eye out for it), doesn’t do much to allay my fears. It did make me curious, however, to check out the sites. If you all promise to hold my hand, when can begin our tour now:

Plaza de la Catedral

Chinatown in Havana

Playas del Este

Havana night life.

A British war ship in Havana Bay. It …

The International Giveaways Café (33)

Welcome back to the café! I hope everyone has had a great week and will be able to find some well needed reading time over the weekend. I keep hearing talk of a “snowpocalypse” from our European contingent, so I hope those of you dealing with it keep bundled up…perhaps even snuggled by a fire with a good book?

There are lots of giveaways listed that go on through to mid-March, but there’s always room for more! In fact, only 4 out of the 24 previously on the list have dropped off, so there’s got to be some awesome odds there, don’t you think? And remember to let us know if you’ve won anything recently; the Book Lovers would love to hear! (I won an audio copy of Darynda Jones’ Third Grave Dead Ahead this past week, which I’m I can’t wait to receive ) …

The International Giveaways Cafe (32)

Welcome back to the café! I hope everyone has had a great week and will be able to find some well needed reading time over the weekend. Personally speaking, there never seems to be enough time in the day to get things done, so I appreciate it all the more when I get the quiet time needed to read and relax. It’s just pure bliss!

Now’s the time to list your giveaway and I’m sure that there will be a lot out there that are romance themed. We’re a mushy bunch here at BLI, so we love the lovin’ And remember to let us know if you’ve won anything recently that you’ll get the chance to read now. The Book Lovers would love to hear! At Book Lovers Inc., it’s our pleasure to share the bookish love! Good luck to everyone and hope you enjoy …

The International Giveaways Café (31)

Welcome back to the café! Sadly, we were closed last week due to medically induced forgetfulness, so I apologize profusely. (Darned cold meds!) But now, it’s back to business as usual.

I hope everyone has had a great week and will be able to find some well needed reading time over the weekend. Personally speaking, there never seems to be enough time in the day to get things done, so I appreciate it all the more when I get the quiet time needed to read and relax. It’s just pure bliss!

Now’s the time to list your giveaway and I’m sure that there will be a lot out there that are romance themed. We’re a mushy bunch here at BLI, so we love the lovin’ And remember to let us know if you’ve won anything recently that you’ll get the chance to read now. The Book Lovers …

Elements in Lit 201:

We talked a while back about the British peerages, but when reading through historicals, we quite often see the French titles mixed in with the British (English?) ones. The reason for this comes mostly from the royal families attempting alliances through the marriages of their sons and daughters.

In my first search through the information, names popped up like “Cleves”, which was the surname associated with the Count of Nevers. It’s also familiar because it was connected to one of Henry VIII’s wives, though Anne of Cleves was of German desent. (Henry VIII was considered to be “King of England, France, and Ireland” so it’s no surprise that his name would pop up, but also because he’s a subject I’ve looked into a lot over the last year :-p ) I’m sure though, that somewhere in Anne’s family tree, a connection would be made to that French house …

Explore This! Park City, Utah

To be honest, before reading Everneath by Brodi Ashton, I had never heard of Park City, Utah before, But, as I read through the pages, I discovered the connection with the Sundance Film Festival and realized I did know this place and its images, just not it’s actual name.

And though the Film Festival is running, even as we speak, Everneath is told from the perspective of someone that lives there year round. As Nikki, the main character, talks about her life, we see how important the snow is for this area but also a mix of city and rural living. Let’s check it out for ourselves:

The pristine white snow (with some track marks), make this look like the perfect winter wonderland.

This looks like a great blend of old time feel with modern amenities.

Lifestyles of the rich and famous, anyone?

The …

The International Giveaways Café (30)

Welcome back to the café! I hope everyone has had a great week and will be able to find some well needed reading time over the weekend. Personally speaking, there never seems to be enough time in the day to get things done, so I appreciate the time I get to read my books and enjoy a lovely flavoured coffee from my new Keurig. This is relaxation at its best!

Only one giveaway has dropped off the list from last week, so there’s still time to enter the active ones. Remember to let us know if you’ve won anything recently that you’ll get the chance to read now. The Book Lovers would love to hear! At Book Lovers Inc., it’s our pleasure to share the bookish love! Good luck to everyone and hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend
Here’s the fine print for entering your link:
Guidelines:
If …

My Wishlist: The Stuck on my Shelf (Romance) Edition

I’m sure this is nothing new, but I am seriously behind on my reading…seriously. And in this state (add in the necessary “perpetual” there), there are books that I’ve had for a while that are just taking up room on my shelves, waiting for the time when I can give them my undivided attention. (Don’t tell the books, but it’s not anywhere in the foreseeable future )

Add to this dilemma, that winter is traditionally romanticized by the ability to “curl up with a good book”,  especially a romance novel,  said books must be feeling even sadder. With Valentine’s Day not too far around the corner, I thought I would share the romance books that are quietly demanding to be read. I may have to break down and read at least one of these during the month of February…

The Mistress’ House by Leigh Michaels

First in a smart, …

Review: Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

Format Read: Hardcover, provided by the publisher
Release Date: September 5, 2011
Publisher: Poppy
Formats Available: Hardcover, Kindle, ebook, audiobook
Purchasing Info: Amazon, Book Depository, Chapters, Hachette Canada, Author’s Website, Goodreads

Book Blurb:

Most high school sports teams have rivalries with other schools. At Hamilton High, it’s a civil war: the football team versus the soccer team. And for her part,Lissa is sick of it. Her quarterback boyfriend, Randy, is always ditching her to go pick a fight with the soccer team or to prank their locker room. And on three separate occasions Randy’s car has been egged while he and Lissa were inside, making out. She is done competing with a bunch of sweaty boys for her own boyfriend’s attention

Then Lissa decides to end the rivalry once and for all: She and the other players’ girlfriends go on a hookup strike. The boys won’t get any action from them …

Elements in Lit 201: Today’s Lesson – Weaponry

First off, let me start with a slight apology for the last post. It was a confusing one at best but I may have made it worse. I totally blame the cold meds! Anyway, we’ll take a look again at forms of address down the road with a more concise (less medicated) list.

For today though, I wanted to look at something different. I’ve been feeling a bit feisty, listening to zombie apocalypse audiobooks and such. I think there would be a great cathartic release at being able to wield a weapon against a foe (though, I’d probably be squeamish when it came right down to it.) To this end, I thought we’d take a look at weapons we might find in stories through the ages.

 The catapult is a legendary tool, used in the Middle Ages to lay sieges on many castles. This one is a bit bulky to …