Snowball just leads elves on, elves and Santas.

He is playing a dangerous game.

- Holidays on Ice (1997) by David Sedaris

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Book Trailer for The Lost Saint by Bree Despain.

Contains spoilers for The Dark Divine.

Since the holliday season is breathing down our necks, let us partake in a little consumer whorism, shall we?

I love Etsy. I’m all about supporting products that have a face behind them. I can order a piece of art directly from the artist and have a little convo on the side.

Most of all, I love the variety. Want a girlcrush zombie print? Get it. Craving childhood’s simple pleasures? Whip these out. Wishing you could take a magical tour through a volatile land of volcanoes and robotic dinosaurs whilst riding on the arching back of your centaur boyfriend?  I’m not here to judge; Rock on.

I have nothing but bombastic respect for a place that can bring me comfy gloves, personalized wall art, earrings made out of spoons, and straight up crazy shit all in the same place. So that’s why Etsy is my Favorite Thing this Friday. Now please excuse me while I blow my money on zombie prints.

*Note: I am in no way affiliated with Etsy or any of its sellers. I just like buying stuff, yo.

Mmm watcha say

In honor of my upcoming review of Shiver, this week’s Soundtrack Sunday is about the ball of love that is Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver playlist.

After finishing Shiver in the wee morning hours, I immediately scampered to my computer to look up the author’s blog, crossing my fingers for a track listing. And cue the Hallelujah chorus, I found one! One of my most favorite things  in the world is seeing the inspiration behind writers’ imagined worlds–my favorite of the favorites, of course, being the novel playlist.

I don’t want to spoil the outcome of my upcoming review (…oh hell, who I am kidding. SPOILER ALERT: I AM IN LOVE WITH A BOOK), but I have to say that this novel took me over completely. After finishing the book I was desperate to find music that matched my mood and kept Shiver’s captivating world alive just a little bit longer.  And the Shiver soundtrack delivered.

But before posting Maggie’s official playlist, I have to say this: Maggie Stiefvater may be the most awesome author on earth. She writes. She draws. She composes music. And she plays bagpipes. BAGPIPES! I don’t even know the woman, and I totally want to be her BFF. Her ability to rock so many creative outlets should make anyone envious. Ahem…anyway, Maggie put several of these talents to use when she made her own trailer for Shiver. Not only did she create all the cutouts and filmed the stop-motion video personally, but she also wrote and arranged her own Shiver theme song. I’m telling you, ENVIOUS.

To hear the full version of Maggie’s song, The Golden Woods, as well as snag a free download, visit her official site.

And now to the playlist! To see the complete list, as well as the story behind it, take a peek at Maggie’s blog.

Let me just warn you, listening to Hide and Seek after reading  Shiver’s car scene had me bawling like a baby for an hour. No joke, bawling.

I honestly can’t wait to do a second read-through with this playlist drifting in the background, and I hope a few of you will do the same.

This may sound odd, but I love me some movie credits. Not only is it fun to mock innocent workers’ names and jobs (sorry guys) while waiting for the illusive after-credits scene, but some films have amazing and entertaining credits. I’ve even seen movies where the credits are by far the best part of the film (of course, this doesn’t say much for the movie…but hooray on the credit designer’s part).

SO, for the first ever Favorite Things Friday, I give you my favorite ending credit sequences:

Kill Bill Vol. 2

This is by far my most favorite ending to a movie ever. Ever. Ever. I could watch it repeat, my love for it is so deep. The music is perfect and beautiful and I love how each clip is cut in relation. And since Kill Bill was originally one film divided into two, it is nice to see the characters from both sections combined at the end. And…*sigh* I must admit, my eyes got a little misty when “AKA Mommy” popped up at the end. DON’T JUDGE.

[Read more after the jump]

It should be noted, that the plain text credits after this portion is superb as well, with an awesome song and old-Hollywood design.

And speaking of QT films…

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Death Proof

Ok, so I may be a tad of a Tarantino fangirl, but I refuse to apologise. The man does excellent credits. I decided to just include the song for this one, as the only other version of the credits on YouTube included the last awesome, but bloody/spoilery, few minutes of the film. But just imagine this one with creepy retro model/mannequin photos flashing to the beat.

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Silent Hill

Silent Hill is based off of my favorite game series, which made this movie’s credits extra enjoyable for me. Not only is the imagery dark, creepy, and rust-stained like the game, but they also use my favorite song from my favorite game (Silent Hill 3, in case you were wondering…which you probably weren’t). Can I say favorite one more time? FAVORITE. Since most songs on the SH soundtracks are atmospheric creepfests, this oddly upbeat yet slightly melancholy song is an unexpected treat.

Twilight

Aaaand, since this is a YA book blog, let’s throw in a little SMeyer. The credits are classy, what else can I say? :)

Another favorite is the end of Slumdog Millionaire with its OMGYAYBOLLYWOOD Jai Ho dance. Unfortunately, any decent clips have been taken down on YT, so I don’t have an example.

So friends, am I crazy? Does anyone else have any examples of favorite movie credits?

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

Gabry lives a quiet life. As safe a life as is possible in a town trapped between a forest and the ocean, in a world teeming with the dead, who constantly hunger for those still living. She’s content on her side of the Barrier, happy to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. But there are threats the Barrier cannot hold back. Threats like the secrets Gabry’s mother thought she left behind when she escaped from the Sisterhood and the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Like the cult of religious zealots who worship the dead. Like the stranger from the forest who seems to know Gabry. And suddenly, everything is changing. One reckless moment, and half of Gabry’s generation is dead, the other half imprisoned. Now Gabry only knows one thing: she must face the forest of her mother’s past in order to save herself and the one she loves.

[Available March 9, 2010]

I love love LOVED The Forest of Hands and Teeth, so I am super hyped about this companion novel.

Gone by Lisa McMann

OPEN YOUR EYES.
Janie thought she knew what her future held. And she thought she’d made her peace with it. But she can’t handle dragging Cabel down with her.
She knows he will stay with her, despite what she sees in his dreams. He’s amazing. And she’s a train wreck. Janie sees only one way to give him the life he deserves–she has to disappear. And it’s going to kill them both.
Then a stranger enters her life–and everything unravels. The future Janie once faced now has an ominous twist, and her choices are more dire than she’d ever thought possible. She alone must decide between the lesser of two evils. And time is running out…

[Available February 9, 2010]

I am also a HUGE fan of the Wake series, making Gone a Must Read ASAP. And, in case you missed it, check out this post for a link to McMann’s new short story, chronicling Wake from Cabel’s point of view.

Mary sat back.

She stared at the floor for a full minute and then sighed.

‘Chicken crates.’

-Monster by Christopher Pike

That’s right my friends, I’m breaking out the Pike. Be prepared. >:D