BuzzSugar

What's Buzzworthy: Book Club Books

BuzzSugar — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 11:30:00 PST

Reading your comments and seeing the bookmarked books for this week's Buzzworthy challenge has inspired me so much, I think I just may start a kind of virtual Book Club here on Buzz! Stay tuned for more details on that. And until then, check out some of the great book club book suggestions submitted by Buzz readers.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy
I've often heard rave reviews of this novel by No Country for Old Men author Cormac McCarthy, and liza0183 is joining the chorus of praise. liza0183 writes, "This won the Pulitzer Prize you have to go out a read it. I finished it in 2 days it's a great, solid, moving book. McCarthy is the new Steinbeck in my opinion."

Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
Adrianne has this to say about her book club book idea: "I'm not a part of any book club, but I think this is one book that will definitely have readers, namely female readers, either siding with Tess or rooting for her to overcome her many battles, both with her surroundings and within herself. The ending is really the turning point for Tess's character, as I found her to be a strong and brave character, despite the majority of the text's description of the fallen woman. Although an ancient book, it remains a classic!"

What's Buzzworthy? Book Club Books

BuzzSugar — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 11:00:00 PST

As the writers' strike seems to have no clear end in sight, now might be a good time to start a book club! There are so many books I've been meaning to read for ages, and I think a book club might be just the thing to make me sit down and read them. Now I just need some suggestions.

Some books that I think would generate great discussion - especially among women - include Elizabeth Gilbert's fabulous memoir Eat, Pray, Love, and the biblically-set novel The Red Tent. I also think it might be beneficial to check out some of the books that are about to be made into movies, since it's often hard to read the books after having seen the movie.

I'd suggest Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees (soon to star Dakota Fanning and Queen Latifah) and the classic novel Revolutionary Road (opening in December with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in the lead roles).

What book club books are your favorites? If you're a seasoned book club member, what would you suggest for all different levels of book club members (beginners, intermediates, advanced readers)? Just use BuzzSugar's cool bookmarking tool to find your favorites online, write a little blurb about why you think they make good fodder for book clubs, and tag them with the phrase book club books. Next week I'll feature some of the books here so we can all get our reading lists ready for the coming year.

10 Cheap and Easy Dates For Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film Nerds

Kristy Korcz — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:30:00 PST

Does sitting down with your favorite sci-fi novel, fantasy movie, or comic book sound better than dropping a boatload of cash on a Valentine's Day dinner date? You're not alone. These 10 geeky date ideas are two things - awesomely cheap and easy to pull off for your kindred sci-fi and/or fantasy nerd. Cheers to you!

Throw a Star Wars party for two.
Make some Lembas bread together and watch The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Whip up a batch of Cloud 9 mojitos (complete with mason jar glasses) and have a Battlestar Galactica marathon.
Bake some geeky sweets using Star Wars-themed cookie cutters.
Gift a geeky cookbook and try out a recipe together.
Create your own cocktail and top it off with nerdy ice cubes.
Take in a killer sci-fi classic at your local drive-in.
Make a pink Captain Picard cake to celebrate Valentine's Day and your mutual love for the captain who is number two in your heart.
Make some Earl Grey tea and watch a Star Trek marathon.
Rewatch the first season of Game of Thrones or start a book club for two and reread the series together.

Looking to Escape? 9 Flash Sale Travel Sites With Great Deals

Emily Co — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:26:08 PST

It's a good idea to start planning your trips for the year now, so you can keep your eye out for the best deals and you won't have to resort to paying expensive last-minute prices. If you already have several destinations in mind, check out travel flash sale sites, which can save you hundreds of dollars! Here are a couple to browse through:

Groupon Getaways

Groupon partnered up with Expedia to launch a travel deals vector that features new deals every Tuesday. The deals stay live for seven days or until they run out. The site offers a good mix of national and international travel deals.

Hot recent deal: $39 for $100 toward a round-trip Virgin America flight from San Francisco to Chicago. The deal has already sold out, and over 5,000 Grouponers bought this deal.

Jetsetter

A luxury travel site that offers deals up to 50 percent off only the most luxurious and exotic hotels around the globe. Each sale lasts about five to seven days. You can pay 10 percent of the trip price to "hold" a trip for three days to decide whether to book it. If you decide not to purchase, the 10 percent becomes Jetsetter credit that never expires.

Hot recent deal: A hotel in Rome, Italy, that's going for $130 a night. This compares with the regular nightly rate of $220.

Read on for more sites.

How-To: Start Your Own Book Club

Emily Co — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 05:00:08 PDT

Starting a book club may be for you if you find yourself constantly gushing over books with your friends or having heated debates on which character is more swoonworthy. Getting a bunch of like-minded bookworms together for a book club is a fun and frugal social activity that will enrich your minds and friendships. Read on for tips on how to create your own regular book discussion meetings.

Texts and Tunes: Lollipop Book Club

LilSugar — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:00:00 PST

Reading is sweet! Following this holiday season, I would love to put a moratorium on new toys in my home, but know it would only lead to tons of tears. While my lil ones did receive a few beloved books under the tree, I'm thinking of getting them subscriptions to one of the Lollipop Book Club programs for their birthdays.

More than just a children's book-of-the-month club, Lollipop sends beautifully handcrafted lollipops and personalized notes with each text. Gift-givers select from more than a dozen book packages, such as "Books by Famous People" and "Caldecott Medal Winners," write a personal note that is affixed inside the book and then leave it up to nice people at the club to include an appropriate sucker in the package. Available in three-, six-month and year-long installments, a subscription is a gift that keeps on giving.

To see how the books are packaged,

Would You Join Lauren Conrad's Book Club?

PopSugar — Thu, 12 May 2011 12:17:00 PDT

Lauren Conrad is a best-selling author with her LA Candy series, and it seems she's looking to share her love of books with fans in a brand-new way. She wrote on her blog today that she's starting a book club and is excited to share her passion for reading. Lauren wrote, "For me, sometimes nothing is better than curling up in bed with Chloe while reading a good book. It's pure happiness. It's my time to enjoy the quiet, get cozy and escape the real world for a while." She's set to announce the first selection for the club next week, then will interact with fellow readers on her website. So, tell us - would you join Lauren Conrad's book club?

Your Perfect New Year's Eve Party Style

Sponsor — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 03:00:00 PST

In our book, there are two kinds of New Year's Eve partiers when celebrating with your BFFs: those who go out to ring in the New Year Girls' Night Out (GNO) style at the hottest club, and those who stay in and invite the girls over for the classic Girls' Night In (GNI). Either way, Hpnotiq can enliven your 2012 celebration with tasty libations and festive cocktails. From the Snowflake Martini to The Midnight Kiss, Hpnotiq is ready to keep your New Year's party going!

For more recipes, visit the Hpnotiq site here.

Glee-ful Highlights From Episode "I Kissed a Girl"

Shannon Vestal — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 07:41:59 PST

Everyone's got election fever on this week's Glee, and we find out the results of both the student body and congressional race. Because of the political ad threatening to expose Santana, we watch her deal with her sexuality, and the support she gets (and doesn't get) from those around her. It brings out a soft side of Finn (no, that's not a reference to Santana's preferred insults for Finn), who asks everyone to sing a song celebrating women. Sue also gets taken to task for her love life, but her tactics end up hurting Coach Beiste.

Meanwhile, Puck and Shelby take their forbidden relationship to the next level, and Rachel does something to help Kurt, but she ends up hurting the whole glee club. It's a surprisingly emotional episode, and there are lots of great lines (Santana and Sue really outdo themselves this week), but what made it for me are this week's upbeat, encouraging musical numbers. Let's break it all down into the highlights when you keep reading.

Best Black Friday Deals Roundup

Kristy Korcz — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:08:53 PST

It's hard to believe that we're halfway through November already, but it's true. Not only is it time to start thinking about your guest list for Thanksgiving dinner, but also your Black Friday shopping list. Get a head start on your planning by checking out these Black Friday ads that are already posted online for your browsing pleasure.

Amazon

Motorola phones will be on sale for just a penny. Some of the available models include Droid Razr 4G, BlackBerry Torch 4G, HTC Inspire 4G, HTC Rhyme, Samsung Focus Flash 4G, and more. This sale is available now through 11:59 p.m. Monday, Nov. 28.
Verizon and Sprint customers are eligible for some extras. If they activate a mobile hotspot data plan on their hotspot-capable smartphone, they will also receive a $100 Amazon gift card.

Apple

Apple's sales will take effect on Friday, Nov. 25 at physical locations and online.

Get $101 off MacBook Airs, Pros, and iMacs. The 11-inch MacBook Air will be on sale for just $898!
Save up to $41 on iPods, including iPod Touch and Nano
iPads (first and second generation models) will be discounted up to $61.
Accessories for Macs, iPods, and iPads will be discounted as well.

Best Buy

Stores will be opening at 12 a.m. on Black Friday. Get a closer look at the Best Buy Black Friday ad here.

An insane deal, the Sharp 42-Inch LCD 1080p TV is only $200. Better get in line early for that one.
Capture precious moments with the Canon Power Shot ELPH 300HS Digital Camera for $150.
Alternatively, you can grab the Kodak PlayFull 1080p HD Camcorder for just $70.
Insane prices on DVDs - just $1 and up.
Or, grab Blu-rays starting at $5 and up.

GameStop

Stores will be opening at 12 a.m. on Black Friday.

Trade in your old DSi XL and get a 3DS bundle (that includes the system and a game) for $100.
The black Wii bundle, which includes Super Mario Bros. Wii and the official Super Mario Galaxy soundtrack, will be selling out at $150.
There's also a Xbox Kinect Bundle, which includes 250GB Xbox 360, Kinect, wireless controller, three-month Xbox Live membership, and two games for $300.

Kmart

If you're looking for a camcorder to capture family moments, snatch up the Sony Compact Camcorder with 60x Optical Zoom, which is on sale for $170.
Listen to your tunes on the cheap with Maxell Color Earbuds that are going for $2.50 a pair.
I love the Samsung PL120 DualView digital camera for self-portraits and videos, and on Black Friday, you can get one for yourself for just $99.
Looking for an affordable tablet that will let you surf the Internet on the fly? The Archos 8GB 101 Internet Tablet will be priced at just $219 on Black Friday.

Office Depot

The 17-inch HP g7 laptop is going for $350, but if you buy any HP laptop you can also get the HP Touchpad for $149.
The "tech bundle" from Office Depot offers a laptop sleeve, wireless mouse, and 500GB hard drive for $80.
8GB SanDisk SD cards are only $9 each.
All M-Edge Kindle accessories and cases are buy one get one free.
All tablets are on sale during the Black Friday sale. The BlackBerry Playbook is only $200, while the Lenovo IdeaPad is $300.
The Canon Power Shot A22 14.1MP digital camera is $90 and comes with a free 4GB SD card.

Sam's Club

Stores will be open starting at 5 a.m. on Black Friday and will include a complimentary egg sandwich breakfast for members!

It could be better, but for the price of this Samsung 51-Inch Class 720p 600Hz Plasma HDTV ($498), it's a nice upgrade for someone with a smaller screen.
If you don't already have one, the Sony PS3 160GB Bundle is going for $239.
Or, get a Nintendo Wii Limited Edition Blue Console for only $99.
Need a laptop? The HP Pavilion 17.3-Inch Notebook is $499.
And though model numbers haven't been released, select 4G Android Smartphones are going for just $1.

Target

Stores open at midnight on Black Friday.

Get your game on with the PS3 gaming bundle, that comes with a 160GB PS3 Slim, two games (including Little Big Planet 2 and a 30 day PlayStation Plus membership for $199.
The Acer 10.1-inch netbook is $72 off and priced at $157 on Black Friday.
Get a Westinghouse 47-inch 1080p LCD HDTV for $298. That's $250 off the regular price of $550!
Select video games start at $5 a piece and DVDs starting at just $2.
Other gaming bundles include the Kinect sensor bundle (Kinect, two games and two game downloads) for $99, and a 3DS bundle (red 3DS and a copy of Super Mario 3D Land) for $180.

Walmart

Walmart's Black Friday ad is available to view online. Electronics will be going on sale starting at 12 a.m. on Black Friday, while toys and other departments will be open for shopping at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

Get your hands on an LG Blu-ray Player for movie-watching fun for just $49.
Or, if you're in need of some sweet sounds to go along with your flicks, the Philips WiFi Blu-ray Home Theatre is going for $178.
Upgrade your movie-watching experience with the Samsung 51-Inch Plasma TV, priced at $498.
Keep the fun coming with DVDs starting at just $2 and up.