Let's Have A Monstrous Good Time!

Notoriously Morbid Cosmetics is celebrating the second annual Countdown to Halloween with their Advent Calendar.
They offer a box of makeup products that are totally radical. I mean names like Mayor Monster and Hocus Pocus Crypt Creation or Cryogenic Limbo Mystic Matte. What's not to like?
Each box contains 13 new mystery items and some new products, counting down to the big fangtastic spooky day!

If you are new to advent calendars here is what last years NM's Advent Calendar looked like.

Last years theme, as you can see, was Scooby Doo. So cute!

You will receive a box in the mail with 13 products. Each product will be a mystery to open that will be numbered. You will open one item (the numbers will let you know which one to open for that day) until the very end for a sparkly, spooky, Halloween countdown!

This year Notoriously Morbid are celebrating their favourite monsters and will have products including an exclusive multichrome, several duochromes, and a few new to NM products!

It costs a pretty penny though. $55 for the mini size and $75 for the full size. Unfortunately, I won't be buying this year but if you like wearing makeup, it's fun. Their products are good but the packaging is simply horrendous and tbh I prefer my eyeshadows pressed in favour of loose powder.

There is magic in the air when pumpkins sparkle in the moonlight... Don't worry, there are no tricks in this mystical box...only treats.

TOPBOX Canada's most affordable makeup subscription box($12/month. Free shipping.) rivalling Ipsy(only 10$/month. Free shipping in US but it costs $14.95 CAD), has released their Limited Edition Just Treats Halloween Box 2018 for October. It contains makeup deluxe samples
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12 Books of Christmas 2018 Challenge List

I don't know what happened to Novella November but that meme helped get me into the Christmas spirit très beaucoup. I want to keep it a tradition on the blog so when I came upon a midnight dreary an opportunity for another reading challenge I took it and Voila!

Je Suis Prèt 

It is in this post I announce the 12 Books of Christmas Challenge. I know it's early but it'll be fun and don't shoot the messenger but take the time to gather up the materials you need and schedule your post in advance to join for the fun festivity starting on November 22-December 24 2018. It's totally up to you of course.

Don't throw your pumpkin spice latte for loot, instead look ahead. 

The basic idea is to try and read and review twelve holiday-themed books between Thanksgiving and Christmas, which gives you just over a month to get it done. 

There are achievement levels so you can complete this:

Elf Status 1-4 books,

Reindeer status 5-8 books,

Mrs. Claus Status 9-11 books,

Santa Status 10-12 books!

This girl is going full-on Santa Status!

Allow me to link to the Offical Rules and Sign Up Page 

HERE'S MY READING LIST

1. White Night (A Novella) by Arabella Abbing 
2. Mistletoe and Mischief: A Collection of Magic 
3. Santa's Secret (Christmas Wishes book1 ) by Serenity Woods 
4. Bad Boys for Hire by Rachelle Ayala 
5. Christmas at the Castle by Melissa McClone 
6. Silver Bells by CJ Hunt 
7. Santa Baby, I want a Bad Boy for Christmas by Justine Elvira 
8. The Christmas Tree Guy by Railyn Stone 
9. Twas the Knight Before Christmas by M.Clarke 
10. Love, Christmas Holiday Stories 
11. Christmas in the City II 
12. The Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Marie Landry 
13. North Pole High: A rebel without a clause 
14. Dec the Holls by Jasinda Wilder 
15. Winter Angel by Mia Hoddell: Romance YA Novella
17. A Kiss for Christmas by C.C. Wood
18. Last Christmas by Talli Roland

Book Blogger Hop

Book Blogger Hop

The question of the week

Do you like to finish one book before starting the next or do you read several at once? (submitted by Cathy @ What Cathy Read Next)

I can't begin to express how frustrated I am with books right now. I am concentrating so dang hard and nothing is grabbing my attention. I don't know if it's the book or just me. I'm not one hundred percent certain it's me. There is always room for improvement in my choices of books and I sometimes can't concentrate but come on! I am getting sick of paranormal fantasy Idk. Maybe I should step out of the proverbial comfort zone and choose some other genre for a while. I've been thinking about adult fiction or new adult fiction.
Presently I am reading Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews and Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron. I'm also listening to an audiobook, Under A Dark Sky. I'm having a hard time keeping up. Typically, I have a hard time paying attention to just listening to an audiobook. Anyway, no it doesn't work for me. I prefer to finish one book before I start another one. 

Books from the Backlog - Lolita

Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread. If you would like to join in, please feel free to enter your link @ Carole's Random Life In Books, then spend some time visiting some of the other posts.

This week's neglected book

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Awe and exhilaration--along with heartbreak and mordant wit--abound in Lolita, Nabokov's most famous and controversial novel, which tells the story of the ageing Humbert Humbert's obsessive, devouring, and doomed passion for the nymphet Dolores Haze. Lolita is also the story of a hypercivilized European colliding with the cheerful barbarism of postwar America. Most of all, it is a meditation on love--love as outrage and hallucination, madness and transformation. 

Where to begin with this one. I first heard of Lolita on MySpace. The moderator of Choking on Sunflowers (a Facebook forum) voted for Lolita in a read-along but I never read it because it got shut down or something crazy stupid like that. It was a long time ago and for all intents and purposes, Lolita came recommended. I'm afraid I won't like it. I received my copy from Secret Santa in 2011.

What are your thoughts? Have you read this book? Would you recommend it to others?

All Hallows Read Free Booklet Treat

Neil Gaiman started All Hallows Read in celebration of books and Halloween. The idea is to give a scary book on Halloween. Sounds good right? I know. There is a free booklet available for download, and it would make a great treat for giving out to young tricksters. Follow THIS LINK

Give a scary book on Halloween! #allhallowsread https://t.co/5M2w5nXDBp via @neilhimself pic.twitter.com/4EfCS0NXw1

— Jackie (@joliejackie) September 19, 2018

From the pages of What October Brings: A Lovecraftian Celebration of Halloween, a new anthology edited and with an introduction by Doug Draa, comes a treat for your trick-or-treaters! Celaeno Press has created a series of foldable booklets, reprinting Uncle’s in the Treetops by Darrell Schweitzer. Each print is on a single sheet of single-sided paper and can easily be folded and (with one small cut) turned into a small booklet.

Two different formats are provided:

  5 Booklets – The story is split into five different parts, each with their own cover. Split them among friends and family members to encourage sharing, or give each trick-or-treater a complete set.
  1 Booklet – The story is split across four pages, each of which can be folded into a booklet and then glued or taped together into one thicker booklet. For instructions on how to fold and cut your booklets, you may consult this short video tutorial or this blog post.

Books from the Backlog - Sacré Bleu

Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread. If you would like to join in, please feel free to enter your link @ Carole's Random Life In Books, then spend some time visiting some of the other posts.

This week's neglected book

Sacré Bleu: A Comedy d'Art
by Christopher Moore
The book image on the left is an Amazon affiliate link
Book title link to Goodreads

In his latest novel, Moore takes on the Great French Masters. A magnificent “Comedy d’Art”, Sacre Bleu is part mystery, part history (sort of), part love story, and wholly hilarious as it follows a young baker-painter who joins the dapper Henri Toulouse-Lautrec on a quest to unravel the mystery behind the supposed suicide of Vincent van Gogh.

  Why did I add Sacré Bleu to my bookshelf?

It was mostly because of the title. Sacred Blue or Dammit. In French. Also, he mentions the Virgin Mary because she is depicted dressed in blue, hence the sacred aspect. I thought the title and the author were brilliant. I read Christopher Moores cute little vampire story called You Suck, and I liked it. I actually started Sacré Bleu but I didn't finish it and I abandoned it sadly. There was nothing wrong with it other than it was something I wasn't too interested in at the time. Idk. It's good though.

What are your thoughts? Have you read this book? Would you recommend it to others?

Books from the Backlog

Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread. If you would like to join in, please feel free to enter your link @ Carole's Random Life In Books, then spend some time visiting some of the other posts.

This week's neglected book

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Movie Tie-in Edition

by C.S. Lewis (author)
(adult) Paperback – Oct 25 2005
Publisher: HarperFestival

They open a door and enter a world
NARNIA...the land beyond the wardrobe, the secret country known only to Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy...the place where the adventure begins. Lucy is the first to find the secret of the wardrobe in the professor's mysterious old house. At first, no one believes her when she tells of her adventures in the land of Narnia. But soon Edmund and then Peter and Susan discover the Magic and meet Aslan, the Great Lion, for themselves. In the blink of an eye, their lives are changed forever.

  The Book Depository| Goodreads | Amazon 

Why did I add it to my bookshelf? 

I won this book in a blog giveaway a few years ago @ weheartya.com. I had watched the movie already and had every intention of reading the book but never did. I remember how thrilled I was to win a copy of C.S. Lewis Lion Witch and Wardrobe.

What are your thoughts? Have you read this book? Would you recommend it to others?