Book Giveaway: Win a Signed Copy of “All About Vee” by C. Leigh Purtill [Closed]

I first read All About Vee by C. Leigh Purtill back in 2008. It arrived just before the beginning of summer and I picked it up expecting a light, girly read I would breeze through in just a few, short days, and then promptly forget most of the details within right after writing the review. My first impression of this book, the brightly-colored cover and teenagers holding hands with huge smiles plastered on their faces, pointed to precisely this series of events. When you have read and reviewed as many young adult books as I have over the years, you learn that you can indeed judge most books by their covers and know what to expect from them. The key word here is ‘most.’ But this particular book turned out to be so …

Hoarding Clean Up: Leave It to the Professionals

I used to have a particularly negative attitude towards documentary/reality television shows documenting a person’s struggle with a mental illness, an attribute that sets them apart from the society-accepted version of “normal,” or the challenge to change themselves in the face of discrimination. In my estimation, these shows, while they did strive to reveal a supposedly honest depiction of living with conditions such as substance abuse issues, obesity, and particular phobias, they were doing very little else but exploiting the subjects that were plucked from obscurity and put on the television screens of millions of homes nationwide. I saw the benefit of these shows in the sense that they bring a certain level of success to the television networks who produce and air them, and for the viewers who typically see quality entertainment value in the …

“Who does that fat girl think she is?”

This post originally appeared on C. Leigh Purtill’s personal blog. Republished with permission.

That’s the strange comment I’ve read on some reviews of my novel, All About Vee. Perhaps not quite as harsh but certainly I’ve read comments that express that sentiment.

Why? I always wonder. Why would a reader be upset that my mc, Veronica May, a plus-size actress struggling in Hollywood, has confidence in herself? Plenty of other characters in other books know they are good at something, whether it’s acting or painting or sports. So what’s the difference between them and Veronica?

Her size.

There’s an attitude among a lot of people that overweight women shouldn’t be happy with themselves. They should want to look thinner. They should not like who they are. They should feel inferior to …

Twilight “Breaking Dawn” Celebration Package Giveaway at Fangs for the Fantasy

My good friend Renee co-runs a pretty awesome urban fantasy blog that anyone who loves the genre has no reason not to check out. Fangs for the Fantasy explores urban fantasy books, movies, television shows, and news and critiques them from a social justice perspective. Because of the strong social justice background of both of the writers of this blog, Renee who is well-known for her blog Womanist Musings and Sparky of Spark in Darkness, this site makes for a really great and well-rounded read, rather than just one review after another boasting a glowing recommendation without the usual refusal to confess the problematic elements of it that we’ve all seen in most other reviews out there.

If you happen to be a Twilight fan, Fangs for the Fantasy has …

10 Best Movies for Nerds and Those Who Love Them

This is a guest post by Online Degree Blog, your guide to over 450 online degree programs.

There are some movies that seem to be made especially for the nerd community. Even though there are hundreds of types of nerds, divided by areas of interest and social tendencies, these films just seem to speak to geeks across the board. They feature relatable characters in situations most nerds find themselves in or wish they could stumble into. If you’re a self-proclaimed nerd and haven’t seen one of the movies on this list, you should check it out. If you’re trying to woo a nerd, it wouldn’t hurt to have a couple of these movies on your DVD rack when your date comes over. You’ll definitely earn some brownie points.

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″ DVD Giveaway [Closed]

Since the publication of the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, in 1998 (U.S.), J.K. Rowling’s tales of the adventures of a young wizard and his two best friends have been entertaining millions of people of all ages. No doubt boosting the substantial and impressive popularity of Harry Potter were the movies that came not long after. In fact, Harry Potter is the highest grossing film series of all time.

I think the reason why Harry Potter has done so well is due very much in part with the fact that the series lasted a substantial amount of years. I was in the fifth grade in 1998 and by the time I was in middle school, entire friendships had been fostered through the mutual fondness of …