Announcements and my Love for you!

Hello, Browsers! Happy Friday!

Alright. This will be mostly an announcement post. I will not be able to post next week. It's getting to that part of the semester where life is just increasingly difficult. I have a lot of things to catch up on, and I'll use next week to do it. That's right, guys, not even the What is Monique Learning? idea can save me from the amount of studying I have to do. Meanwhile, here are some of the things you can do on the blog while I'm off studying.

All the stuff!

-Feature A Blogger Sign-ups are still open. Sign up to get a chance to be featured on my blog. 

-Get to know Olivia and Vi by reading their Feature A Blogger posts. Go say hi! :)

-Nominations for the SAC Award. Every once in awhile, we come across characters that we really hate or characters that need a good talking to. The SAC Award, also known as the Slap A Character Award is inspired by Queen Levana from The Lunar Chronicles. The award goes to a fictional character that really gets on our nerves, a character that is just mildly annoying, or a character that we love but they seriously need a wake-up call. . Scroll down and in the sidebar, there are nominees for the next SAC Award. I think you'll be surprised by who found their way on the list. So, you decide. Who should we "slap" next? Do you have nominations? Comment your nominees and I'll add them to the list. 

-Explore the features.

-Learn a tiny piece of Genetics by viewing the What is Monique Learning? post.

-Read Teasers and Theories for the upcoming novel, Winter by Marissa Meyer. 

-Go read some Fake Texting Between Emperor Kai and Captain Thorne. 

-Book recommendations? Tell me what I should read next. 

-Want to share a bookish/discussion post from your own blog? Put the link to your post in the comments.

Thank you guys for being amazing with all the views, comments, likes, and shares. I love you! <3 Never forget that.

What is Monique Learning? #1

Greetings, my wonderful browsers! :)

It's a Wednesday and I'm posting! Yes, that means we're almost done with this week, and I'm not dead from Organic Chemistry classwork! Yes!!!

I've been learning a lot of cool stuff in my science classes and also some of the boring stuff, but oh well, what are  you going to do? I have to learn all the details to figure out who I want to become and all that jazz. 

I know sometimes my schoolwork takes me away from blogging, so I wanted to find a way to incorporate school and blogging, you know, to show them that there can be a truce and that they don't always have to fight for my attention! Such greedy things! I love them both!

Well, here's the truce I've come up with: when I really don't have the time to post a very detailed, bookish blog post, I'll just post something interesting I've learned from one of my science classes! That way I'm studying and blogging all at the same time. How about that? I also promise to just post the interesting, fun things I've learned, not the details that will make your head spin.

Well here's #1 of the new "What is  Monique Learning" Experiment. This one is coming to you from Genetics.

Mosaicism can develop as a result of mitotic nondisjunction early in embryogenesis. What is embryogenesis you ask? It's the process by which the embryo forms and develops. Ok, so what's mitotic nondisjunction? To put things short and simple, it's when the chromosomes don't separate properly during mitosis. And Mosaicism? Let's just say that it's when your cells have different genotypes. I'm really simplifying here, but let's move on.  

So why am I sharing this with you? Didn't I say I would only share the fun stuff? Great question! I'm so glad you asked!

The interesting thing is in that word Mosaicism. Some organisms have sex-chromosome mosaicism that produces gynandromorphs.  Ugh! I know, right?! There I go throwing in another big word at you. Bear with me for a second. It's actually a very simple word. It means these organisms have individuals that have some female cells and some male cells (because of the mitotic nondisjunction).

Well, what do they look like? Here you go!

Examples:

Half-male/Half-Female peacock

Half-hen/Half-rooster 

Half-male/Half-female Fly

Half-male/Half-female Butterfly

I just think that's really cool! Hopefully you all enjoyed that too and I didn't bore you to death. I can't wait what wonders I'll get to learn next. 

Thanks for sticking around,
Monique loves you. <3

Book Blast: Unstrung by Kendra C. Highley + Giveaway

 Lexa Pate, seventeen-year-old thief extraordinaire, has burned a bridge or two in her life. You don’t make a career out of stealing other people’s property without making enemies. When a risky job goes from bad to worse, Lexa and her adopted family find themselves on Precipice Corporation’s hit list because they’ve accidentally stolen the wrong thing—plans for a new model of genetically engineered super humans. Now, every bounty hunter, cop on the take, and snitch in the city is after them. Lexa’s world crumbles around her as she fights to keep her family safe even as someone strolls out of her forgotten past. Quinn claims to know who Lexa really is, but can she trust a stranger she met while robbing his boss? More importantly, does she really want to know what Quinn has to tell her? Based on the fairy tale Pinocchio, UNSTRUNG takes you into a near future world where the lines between fake and real are blurred, all that’s pristine isn’t always innocent, and being a criminal isn’t always wrong.

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Smashwords * iTunes

 

Author Kendra C. Highley

Kendra C. Highley lives in north Texas with her husband and two children. She also serves as staff to two self-important and high-powered cats. This, according to the cats, is her most important job. She believes chocolate is a basic human right, running a 10k is harder than it sounds, and that everyone should learn to drive a stick-shift. She loves monsters, vacations, baking and listening to bad electronica.

Pinterest * Goodreads * Website
Twitter * Facebook

Thoughts from the blogger: It's based on the fairy tale of Pinocchio! That definitely peaked my interest. I can't wait to see what it's like. Enjoy the giveaway you guys!

    BookBlast Giveaway $50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 11/2/14 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway    

Browsing: The Treasure Files- Fake Texting with Emperor Kai and Thorne

Hello, Browsers!

I'm actually pretty nervous about this post because this time I'll be showing you something that I created. *shivers* The horror!

I typed up this fake conversation with Emperor Kai and Captain Thorne to celebrate Valentine's Day! I hope you guys get a good laugh out of it! :) I'm calling this a treasure file because it's my most liked and repinned pin on pinterest and that means a lot to me. Thanks for all the pinterest folks who repinned/liked/fangirled about it. I hope you guys like it.

My Pinterest Link: Fake Convo with Emperor Kai and Captain Thorne

Well, what did you think? Like it? Why not make your own? If you're up for it go make one of your own and tell me all about it! :)

Thanks for sticking around!

Theories for a Series: The Lunar Chronicles #4 Winter by Marissa Meyer

Theories For A Series: The Lunar Chronicles #4 (Winter)

Expected Publication Date: November 24, 2015

Hello fellow Lunartics! I've done a Winter Teasers #1 and a Winter Teasers #2 blog post, but now it's time for me to finally add Winter to my own Theories For A Series Feature.

Are you excited for the final book? I am! Winter can't come soon enough! Can you believe that we have to wait till November 2015! Meanwhile, let's speculate! 

Sadly, there is no cover yet for Winter nor a proper synopsis because the expected publication date for Winter has been moved all the way to November instead of the intended date in February :(

But we can still fangirl all about it and come up with our theories. Read mine and let me know what you think! :) 

            Warning: Incoming spoilers for the previous books!

Winter by Marissa Meyer

Monique's Theories

-I'm actually really scared for this book because I feel like Winter will be crowned Queen instead of Cinder (cause Cinder doesn't even want the throne and everybody loves Winter). I want Cinder to be Queen and Kai to be Emperor. I want them to get married and rule both Luna and Earth together in all their  majesticness!

Yes, this is important. you have no idea how important. I don't want Winter to become Queen.

-I predict Jacin and Winter are each other's love interests. I'm sure everybody already knows this. 

-I predict a character's death. Well, Obviously. I don't mean just any character, I predict the death of one of our beloved main characters. Hopefully it'll be Torin. Not that I don't like him....but if it's out of the rest of the main cast, he's got to go. 

Goodbye, Torin.

-Jacin will be Winter's "huntsman." This I'm 100% sure of. The Queen will command him to get rid of Winter.

-Thorne will get his sight back. It would be cruel to leave him in his current state.

-I'm thinking Adri and Pearl will be badly hurt and maybe they get cyborg parts? It's not likely, but oh, the irony of it all would be so sweet!

-Do you guys think Winter will recognize Cinder as soon as they meet? I sure hope so!

-Here's a juicy one! I'm predicting that there will be a Leutomosis outbreak on the moon. Think about it. Cress could be an unaffected carrier of Leutomosis and when she goes to the moon....Bam! Outbreak! Especially now that the disease has mutated and now Lunars can get it too! :p Actually, when I think about it, that means she could spread it to everybody else on the ship. Forget that! Not my Emperor! Let's pretend that thought never happened at all.

-Another one! You know how in Snow White, the wicked queen gives Snow White an apple that causes her to appear dead? Well, what if Queen Levana injects Winter with something that'll give Winter Leutomosis? I believe she really is that evil. Oh, wait! Hold up a minute! One of the meanings of Jacin's name is healer, right? Gasp! And he said he wanted to be a doctor, right? What if Jacin is the one who has to find the cure for Leutomosis because he has to save Winter?!

-There's also the part in Snow White where Snow White wonders into the house of the dwarfs, and I've got a theory for that as well. What if Jacin (after he's been told by the Queen to kill Winter) decides to help her escape instead of killing her. So...let's say that he hides her in a ship that's supposed to go to earth, but instead Winter finds out that Cinder's crew is on there instead. Can you sense the amazingness?! Or maybe Winter escapes to earth with Scarlet and then they meet the gang? 

-I'm assuming the wedding between Kai and Queen Levana is still on? The plan was to get the wedding moved to Luna, right? How are they going to do that? Theories, anyone?

-I predict a lot of heart-breaking scenes (because hello, that's what Marissa Meyer writes best!)

-I want to know more about Cinder's history. I'm hoping to maybe have some light shed on who her father is?

-Let's be honest here, I think we're going to lose Iko,*tears* I hope not, but I have a bad feeling about it. 

So what do you guys think? Do you have any theoris of your own? Share them with me! :)

Where are you, Monique?

Hello Browsers!

Yes, I know! I said I wouldn't be around for one week and it turned into two weeks! You'd never guess just how hard Organic chemistry turned out to be. I'm actually not procrastinating and reading ahead because I feel like my brain is going to explode! I'm going to take the time out today to respond to all the comments that I've been missing out on and visiting your blogs. I know my blogging schedule got a little bit out of hand while doing the TBR Challenge, but it's fine. 

I can safely return to my regular blogging schedule for the week. That's my normal Monday, Wednesday, and Friday blog posts. Here's a question that might be lurking in the minds of my subscribers: WHERE ARE THE REVIEWS?

I know, I know. Here's my answer: They are coming. Yes. It may take till November because October is a pretty busy month for me right now, but rest assured, they are coming. All of them. 

Like I said, the normal blogging schedule is on for this week. I can't guarantee next week will be the same thing. As much as I love you guys and this blog, I don't want to die in my classes, so I must focus. This is a day of visiting blogs and commenting back. :)

I have good news for my Feature A Blogger requesters. I have gotten  lots of requests and I'm planning to put that back in full effect and I'm also planning to do a little giveaway one day that has to do with the Feature A Blogger posts. The whole reason I started the feature was to promote other book bloggers and I should make sure to keep up with that. Hopefully with your support, it will turn out to be amazing. If you don't know what a Feature A Blogger post is, you can find out/sign-up here @ Feature A Blogger Explained.

I noticed that my posts about The Lunar Chronicles are my most popular posts, and I've learned that people actually type in my name in order to find out more things about The Lunar Chronicles??? Whoa!! That's amazing! As a treat, I've scheduled a blog post for Winter by Marissa Meyer as part of my Theories For A Series Feature. I hope you guys like it, it will probably show up on Wednesday. Feel free to utilize the search bar to find more Lunar Chronicles' posts. 

And as a plus, do you want Teasers for Winter by Marissa Meyer?
Here are my Winter Teasers posts:
Winter Teasers#1
Winter Teasers#2

Thanks for being awesome! :)

Tackle Your TBR: Wrap-up Post

I've had so much fun doing the TBR Readathon hosted by Tress@Wishful Endings. My goals were to read as much as I can without compromising my studies and to visit atleast 20 participants. Turns out the amount I can read without procrastinating on school isn't much. That doesn't surprise me, but it does kind of suck :P

 Thanks for all the participants and the hosts and all the challenges! I've had so much fun! Mostly twitter fun! I've seen a lot of people reading books that I've already read and LOVED, and I've seen some books that I absolutely need to add to the TBR pile. It's been fun!

Here's what I actually accomplished: 

I read

Snow Queen by Emma Harrison

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Currently Reading

Drawn by Cecilia Gray

Visited

8 participants. Disappointed in self, but I will go back and visit more! 

Added

4 twitter followers from the TBR Readathon. To be honest, they followed me first, which I'm completely thrilled about :P

For my regular subscribers, Organic Chemistry is going to prevent me from posting this week. I have a super-important gigantic test that demands I focus all my efforts on studying this week. Not to mention silly Statistics homework that I need to make sense of.

Thanks for this challenge, Tressa. And thanks to all the participants for participating. I hope you guys had as much fun as I did. And while we're at it, Thank you twitter for being awesome! :P

It's been fun!

Tackle Your TBR Challenge: Dream Character

I'm doing the Dream Character Challenge by Wishful Endings as part of the TBR Readathon! :)

1. Pick your favorite character from a book: Emperor Kai from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. One does not simply come to this blog often without noting my love for Emperor Kai. Take a look around and you'll see what I'm talking about. 

2. List the name, the book he/she is from, and why that was your choice: Emperor Kai shows up in all The Lunar Chronicles books: Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress by Marissa Meyer. I chose him cause he's witty, sarcastic, friendly, and does not object to you showing up in a muddy dress with oil stains on the gloves gave to you as a gift. 

3. Pick a celebrity or picture of who you would dream cast for that character. Ummm....I don't think I know of any. I should probably do a google search for perfect-looking Asian guys? Haha! 

Found him!!!!

Mario Maurer

Well, there you have it folks! And that wraps up my last TBR Challenge! It's been fun guys! 

Tackle Your TBR Challenge: Color Challenge

We're winding down to the last days of the TBR Read-a-thon, and today I'm doing the Color Challenge Challenge from Tressa @ Wishful Endings

I chose the color: red. Passionate, unpredictable, energizing, and exciting red. 

Have a riveting day!

Tackle Your TBR Challenge: Book Cover Opposites

Hello there, I'm back to do the Book Cover Opposites Challenge from Tressa @ Wishful Endings as part of the Tackle Your TBR Read-a-thon.

Here are my selections:

Just look at those eyes.....

     

The Different Cinderellas

Mr. Darcy, is that you?

Thanks for stopping by,

Tackle Your TBR Challenge: Random Page

I'm doing the Random Page challenge from Reading is one of my passions' blog page as part of the Tackly Your TBR Read-a-thon. I've been having a lot of fun, and I'm really sad that it has to end so soon. I need to read more books!!!

Anways, here is a random quote from pg . 147 of Snow Queen by Emma Harrison.

"What's wrong?" Aubrey asked.

"I can't move my feet," Christie said.

Aubrey blinked, her heart nose-diving. Was Christie seriously injured? She ducked behind her friend to take a look at her feet. Instantly, Aubrey's face turned read with rage. The laces on Christie's jazz shoes had been tied together.

I hope you guys enjoyed that quote. I'm a bit late on this, so I'm going to be sure to check out some of your quotes from the random page challenge.

Thanks for sticking around,

Tackle Your TBR Readathon Update

So far, I've been able to read two books: Snow Queen by Emma Harrison and The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkokski. Those are two books that I would never have gotten to if I didn't have this challenge to push me, so thank you to all participants and the host. 

I've also visited a few pages, but I haven't reached my goal of visiting 20 participants yet. There's still time! :) I've been posting my updates via twitter and I think I'm going to try to squeeze 1 or 2 more books in before this is over. I have a Genetics test this week, so I don't know if I'll get to it, but I'll definitely try. The TBR pile must be conquered!

Feature and Follow Friday: Book Recommendations?

Feature and Follow Friday is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee and Alison can Read

I'm one of this week's feature! Yay!! :D

1. When did you start blogging?

 I started my blogging adventures in May 2013.

2. What is your favorite part of book blogging?

My favorite part of book blogging is being able to share my love for books with people from all over the world. I love hearing that a book I recommended ended up on a book blogger's TBR pile. I love fangirling over Emperor Kai with my fellow bookish friends. I don't have a lot of bookish friends in my daily life nowadays (we all got separated when high school ended), so it's nice to be able to talk about my favorite books with people that actually know the blissful feeling you get when you read a great book.

3. What type of books do you mainly blog about?
ALL THE BOOKS! I mainly blog about YA books, but I also read a lot of historical fiction. I appreciate all the genres for what they are, but I mostly flock to romance books. I'm also a big hoarder for books that have the I-hated-you-but-now-I-love-you trope. I don't think I have to explain what that means :)

4. What is your favorite book(s)?
I love ALL the books in The Lunar Chronicles series. I also love Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion. I'm a big fan of re-tellings, so I think it wouldn't be fair to mention Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg in this list. It's a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice. Loved it! 

5.What has been the best thing that has happened to you because of book blogging?
The best thing that has happened....Let's see...When I just started out. I was part of a Re-Readathon for Scarlet by Marissa Meyer. The host was the lovely Ttnene Michele from NeverEndingStories. There was this big giveaway for Cress (that wasn't out yet at the time), but there were other prizes (20 prizes!!!) as well with swag bags and after the giveaway I remembered I already had a blog that I made in 2013! *facepalm*

 Anyways, let's get to the amazing part! I met so many blogging friends that I still keep up with. In fact, one of them made my blog button for me! *waves at Olivia* and Kym, who is an awesome designer made a banner with all our twitter names on them. We had friendly wars over which guy in The Lunar Chronicles was the best.

 Then, Marissa Meyer (the lovely author) joined in on our shenanigans via twitter and I guess the experience at the time was surreal for me. I had a blast! It was so much fun that I decided there was no way I would ever forget about my blog again! Plus, I did end up winning a copy of Cress, so yay!!! 

This week's question:
Before blogging (dark times people!) how would you find out about new books or did you? - Suggested by A Great Read

Dark times, indeed, but I can't complain about never finding out about new books. I lived in the library at my high school. It was a constant meeting place for my friends and I. I was also a part of the school's book club. Book suggestions are easy to get when you're friends with the librarian! :) She actually ended up buying a book for me, and I got first dibs when the library was giving away free books. I also had a great group of bookish friends in high school who told me what books I just had to read. High school was the best! 

Sorry that took so long. Thanks for taking the time to read this! :) 

What about you guys? How did you get book recommendations before you started book blogging? Most importantly, do you have any recommendations for me? :P

Tackle Your TBR Readathon

Hello there! I already told you guys about the TBR Read-a-thon in my NewsAlert post, but I didn't do a sign-up post yet, silly me! 

Since I already told you guys about this, I'll try to be as brief as possible.

Tressa from Wishful Endings is hosting a TBR Read-a-thon! Yay!!! We'll be doing this from September 8th-20th. There will be giveaways and challenges, so it's supposed to be a blast! I hope you guys can join us!

They'll be no pressure to read any certain amount of books, just read to your heart's content! You can sign up here: TBR Read-a-thon

My goals:

To read as much as I can without compromising my studies. Who knows how many books that will be? I also want to visit atleast 20 participants. Here's to having the best time possible! Have fun!!! :D

Feature and Follow Friday: Are you a Writer?

Feature and Follow Friday is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee andAlison can Read

This week's question: Tell us about a book character you’d trade places with – Suggested by The Pegster Reads

My Response

I don't think I've ever finished writing a book. I've written many things: poems, stories, and essays. I've just never been able to actually finish a complete novel. I'm still trying though. I'm working on a current one right now. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish this one! :)

What about you?