Weekly Roundup 12.9 - 12.15

Wow, I can't believe there's only ten more days until Christmas and only sixteen more days left of 2013. Where did all the time ago? To get into the holiday season, my family tried to make hot buttered rum last night, and we failed miserably. I've never tried it before but I always thought it would be the closest thing to an alcoholic version of Butterbeer. You can imagine my disappointment when it didn't taste a thing like how I imagined it would. I think I'll stick with my hot chocolate and spiced apple cider for my seasonal drinks.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug came out this past week, and I unfortunately haven't seen it yet. I'm hoping I'll be able to see it some time this week. Have any of you seen it yet? If so, what did you think? Was it better than the first one?

For all those students out there, half of you might be done with finals week while the other half still have about a week to go. For those of you are done, CONGRATULATIONS, enjoy your holiday break to catch up on all your lost sleeping hours. For those of you who aren't, my condolences and good luck.


I'm Currently Reading

The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant
by Joanna Wiebe

This book is truly testing me. The only reason why I haven't marked this as a DNF yet is because I really want the ending to prove me wrong or else I'll have to lose a little bit of faith in humanity.

Hang Wire
by Adam Christopher

I haven't gotten far with this book yet, but I'm intrigued by what I've read so far, especially when it starts with the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. I didn't realize the book was Urban Fantasy until I started reading it, so this should be an interesting ride.

This Past Week on Bookcharmed

• Waiting on Wednesday: Moth and Spark by Anne Leonard
• Review: Rebel Spring by Morgan Rhodes (3 Hearts)
• (Mini) Review: Mitosis by Brandon Sanderson (5 Hearts)
• Bookish Mugs: Gifts for the Caffeinated Book Lover

Elsewhere on the Blogosphere

• My Friends are Fiction and Inspiring Insomnia are having a 12 Days of ARC Giveaway for the holiday season.
• Shelfspace Needed discusses book descriptions that turn her off. 
• For Spun with Words, characters are the basis of the story. 

Links of Interest

• Beyoncé - Beyonce released a surprise album on Friday the 13th that includes 14 songs and 17 videos. I wasn't really ever a Beyonce fan before, but I can't deny that her surprise strategy hooked me in and this album is pop perfection. If you haven't listened to it, you really should. 
• Disney Channel's "Descendants" - The Disney Channel is making a live-action original movie that focuses on the teenage kids of our favorite Disney villains. Kenny Ortega, the director and choreographer of the High School Musical series will be working on this one. I have some very mixed feelings on this. 

And that's all for this week. Be sure to follow us on GFC, twitter, or Bloglovin.