Follow Friday and Haiku Poll

Q. Do you have anyone that you can discuss books with IRL? Tell us about him/her.

A. I have a group of friends that I talk about books with. In fact, almost all my friends love to read. They all have similar tastes to me, albeit some of them are slightly more critical of the books then I am. I refer books to them and they refer books to me. We can get onto the topic of books and stay there quite a while!

Please leave a link so I can check you out!

In other News....

My April Haiku Contest is going into phase two as of today. The chance for submitting is over unfortunately, but now we all get to vote, the poll is on the top right of the page! You can refer to the April Haiku Contest page if you wish, but I figured it would be easier if I just set up all of the entries right here for you to vote on, so here we go!

1. Howling turtle writes
Anyone may enter Thrice.
I don't think that's nice!
By DocLouie

2. Flower of grandeur
Always growing to thrill us
My amaryllis
By Grandma Pat

3.Sunbeams in the clouds
Light lines over miles of sky
Bright spots on the fields
By Chloe

4.Dancing dolphins swim
Jumping in our boat's white wake
They're playing playing with us
By Chloe

5.Harvest time is near
Colored leaves begin to fall
Autumn is now here
By Chloe

6. Howling Turtle writes
Anyone may enter thrice
That is very nice!
By Doclouie

7. Our words have power
They kill or heal equally
Choose truth above all
By Lisa

8. Pure Costa Rica
Clear beauty and energy
An amazing place
By Maya

9. The wolf cries at night
Boy in the wild is now man
As blood hits the ground
By Alleged Author

10. Can't write haikus, but
I love Larissa and blog
so here you go, Lar
By Sarah

11. Long silver-smudged line
Slicing through rippling sea foam
Dolphins diving north
By r.k.pease

12. The warm ocean breeze
Relaxing under palm trees
Lazy days with sun
By Linnea

13. Soaring speeding sphere
Arching plunging toward target
Crowds cheer the tied score
By r.k.pease

14. The Kleenex is blue.
You're almost out of tissue.
Mwahahahaha
By Amanda

15. Revenge is a dish
best served cold. Some sage advice?
Make war in winter.
By Amanda

16. Break out the Ginseng
We are of a certain age
What was I saying...?
By Susan

17. Creativity.
Liminal. Subliminal.
Sacred Soul at play.
By Susan

18. Ashes to ashes.
Smashana Kali watches.
Nothing's as(h) it seems.
By Susan

Waiting on Wednesday: The Power of Six

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted at Breaking the Spine.

Book: The Power of Six - Lorien Legacies book 2
Author: Pittacus Lore
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: August 23rd 2011

What It's About:

I've seen him on the news. Followed the stories about what happened in Ohio. John Smith, out there, on the run. To the world, he's a mystery. But to me . . . he's one of us.

Nine of us came here, but sometimes I wonder if time has changed us—if we all still believe in our mission. How can I know? There are six of us left. We're hiding, blending in, avoiding contact with one another . . . but our Legacies are developing, and soon we'll be equipped to fight. Is John Number Four, and is his appearance the sign I've been waiting for? And what about Number Five and Six? Could one of them be the raven-haired girl with the stormy eyes from my dreams? The girl with powers that are beyond anything I could ever imagine? The girl who may be strong enough to bring the six of us together?

They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They tried to catch Number Four in Ohio—and failed.

I am Number Seven. One of six still alive.

And I'm ready to fight.


I am really excited for this release! I loved the first book, and the movie was really good - not as good as the book, (but then again, they never are). This is a great Science Fiction series, and if you haven't read the first one (I Am Number Four) yet, you really should!

Poetry Month Series II of III

This is the second part of my three part poetry series I am doing. This poem was inspired by an abstract painting (that is probably important to know otherwise the poem will make absolutely no sense). It was a big painting, it took up a huge space on the wall - it definitely wouldn't fit anywhere in my house that is for sure!

Just a reminder that you have only three days left to submit for the Haiku Contest I am hosting! This will be my last reminder so be sure to click on the link for guidelines. (You can post your entries as a comment for this post - that would probably be the easiest).


Beyond All This

What if
Beyond all this
Was

A cave

That carried you
Away from all that
In an ocean of bath water

To a place
Where red sound
Rises circling, sprouting
Making isles of clumped grass
And seaweed

A place where souls
Are dandelion fluff
And fireflies glow
Brightest in the
Mist

Poetry Month Series I of III

In honor of National Poetry Month, I am doing a short series of poems I wrote. They are all inspired from paintings I saw at an art museum. I searched for them, but I could not actually find a picture of the paintings to post with the poems, so I guess they will have to be descriptive enough on their own.

This first one was a painting of the Seine Valley.


Dream Carrier
The meadow
Overrun with wildflowers
With leaves of luscious green
That reach for the summer sky
The lazy clouds hanging
Like the bees over
Clover

The trail
Cleared by homecoming cattle
Leads down the valley
To the Seine

That long-winding vessel
Carrying the dreams of lovers
And the love searching

To the cradle of the ocean
As rivers do

On a summer afternoon
Where meadows are overrun
With wildflowers
And leaves of luscious green
Reach for the sky

Follow Friday!

Q. Do you judge a book by it's cover?
A. I am embarrassed to say that I have. I judged 'City of Bones' by it's cover and almost did not read it, but my friend said it was good and now it is one of my all time favorites!


~ Larissa

Waiting on Wednesday: Crossed

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted at Breaking the Spine

By: Ally Condie
Released: Nov. 1 2011
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky — taken by the Society to his certain death — only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.


Cassia’s quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander — who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia’s heart — change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

I am so excited for this book, I loved "Matched" and am highly anticipating its sequel!

New Layout

As I have become more used to the whole blogging thing I have been experimenting with new things, and since I have had the same plain-ish layout since I started this blog last February, I though now might be a nice time for a change. It took me a while to figure out how to get a picture up on the header, and once I did, I realized that my old template formatted it in a really ugly way, so I got a new one. (Wow, that's really weird, the second I finished typing that a bird flew into my window and then flew away. Poor little guy!) Anyway, I got the picture at a botanical garden in Santa Barbara when I was on vacation a few weeks ago, they were sun-bathing, so I had to tweek the photo so it looked more night timey, and... Voila brand new Howling Turtle layout. I'll stop rambling now and let you get back to enjoying your week end.

Cheers
~ Larissa