Hey guys, the lovely Kristen at Bookworming in the 21st Century has kindly featured my blog in her weekly Saturday Spotlight! I talk a bit about my interest in books and blogging, so check it out if you're interested =)

Also, I've set up a post on my layouts site that details what features a basic layout (the prize for those who chose custom layout as their prize on my 50 followers contest) will include. Check it out here! I will also put all announcements and important changes on my blog in the "My Giveaways & Announcements" section up there ↑

I finally finished my pre-break midterms (still have one post-break) and I'm planning to have a reading marathon with Ah Yuan over the next week, so hopefully there will be more reviews posted soon =D

Happy Valentines and Chinese New Years!

A weekly event on my blog where I post about books (not necessarily pre-release or new) that I've just added to my wishlist, along with a little blurb on why I want to read it.
(hosted by Book Chick City & Breaking the Spine)


Crossing
by Andrew Xia Fukuda
release date: 27 April 2010

A loner in his all-white high school, Chinese-born Xing (pronounced "Shing") is a wallflower longing for acceptance. His isolation is intensified by his increasingly awkward and undeniable crush on his only friend, the beautiful and brilliant Naomi Lee. Xing’s quiet adolescent existence is rattled when a series of disappearances rock his high school and fear ripples through the blue collar community in which he lives. Amidst the chaos surrounding him, only Xing, alone on the sidelines of life, takes notice of some peculiar sightings around town. He begins to investigate with the hope that if he can help put an end to the disappearances, he will finally win the acceptance for which he has longed. However, as Xing draws closer to unveiling the identity of the abductor, he senses a noose of suspicion tightening around his own neck. While Xing races to solve the mystery and clear his name, Crossing hurtles readers towards a chilling climax.

Why it's on my wishlist
I have Ah Yuan to thank for bringing this to my attention ♥ Chinese-Japanese-American writer FTW! correct Chinese-name pronunciation FTW! Chinese-American teen protagonist FTW! unreliable narrator FTW! I don't even remember the last time I've read about a Chinese-American high-school protagonist, and especially one I can really identify with (the all-white high school part). This will definitely make its way onto my shelf this year!

Giveaway Reminder
If you haven't already, take a look at my 50 Followers Giveaway where you can win either a custom layout design from me, or a $5 gift card to either Amazon.COM or Amazon.CA! Contest closes February 28th at midnight!

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU FOR ENTERING, WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON =)

Thanks for the feedback on the poll! There were 34 votes, 18 of which were for the custom layout and 11 for the $5 Amazon giftcard. Since the votes were quite close for a while there, I've decided I'm going to let the winner chose the prize!

I'm still working on sorting out the details of the layout design prize and what it will include, but basically it will be a custom design with a header, background, and colour scheme of your choice. See an example made of my current layout here. It will probably take me a few weeks to get the whole thing done, but I would appreciate it if the winner can give me a general idea of what they want (ex. specific images/colours) right away.

Anyhow, here's a breakdown of the contest so far - it's my first contest, so gimme a nudge if anything seems confusing, I tried to be as (painfully) detailed as I can lol:

• You must provide a valid email address so I can contact you.
• There will be THREE (3) prizes to choose from:
  - $5 gift card for Amazon.COM
  - $5 gift card for Amazon.CA
  - basic custom layout design (details here!)
• There will be ONE (1) winner for now. We got to 100 followers! I will make it TWO (2) winners, and the prizes will break down as follows:
  - if ONE winner chooses a custom layout, the other will get the giftcard
  - if BOTH choose Amazon giftcards, they will both get the giftcards
  - in other words: I'm only giving out one custom layout =P
• This is a followers-only contest, so please click the follower button on the sidebar to participate.
• Extra entries (make sure to leave a link!)
  - twitter (+2)
  - blog sidebar (+2)
  - actual blog post (+5)
• My Top 10 Commenters by the end of this contest will also receive 3 extra entries each! Please refrain from leaving a bunch of one-word replies though, thanks.
• This contest is open internationally since the prizes are all digital.
• Contest will close on February 28th at 11:59PM EST.
• Winner(s) will be chosen with Random.org and must respond within 48 hours or I will pick another winner.
• Please fill out all required fields on THIS FORM (or use the window below) to enter. Comments on this post are NOT going to count as entries. The form is now CLOSED.

Again, thanks to all of my current followers for supporting this blog ♥

I'm working towards a book-prize for my next contest (150 followers?) but let's see how this one goes first =)

Each week I will post a list of the books I've borrowed, received, or bought. I will keep a weekly tally in each post, as well as a yearly one on the sidebar. All books with PoC themes/authors will be listed for the "New Crayons" meme.
All prices are listed in Canadian dollars.
(hosted weekly by The Story Siren / The Printed Page; New Crayons by Color Online)



Tally for 2010/02/07
Borrowed: 0
Received: 5
Bought: 0
Total Cost: $0.00

First of all, I hope you guys don't mind me flooding your readers/inbox with memes. Luckily(?) this new meme won't be weekly, despite its title...most likely bi-weekly or monthly, but always on Saturdays. Anyways, the point is, I'm averaging about 5 movies minimum per month at the moment and thought I might as well post up some mini-ratings/reviews. I've made a separate page to host all of my movie reviews here, the new reviews I post for this meme will be added to that page as I go =)

A monthly meme where I post about movies I've recently watched and ones I'm dying to see. I'll do a mini ★ review for each movie I've seen, and express in ♥s how excited I am for trailers of movies soon to be released. See all of my movie reviews here.

Recent Screenings: 7
Anticipated Screenings: 3