sharing my finds

To see other Friday Finds or to share some of your own, visit MizB, our Friday hostess!


I found 3 interesting books this week--and once again, I found them while browsing Target while on my lunch break.

Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg













The Lost Hours by Karen White














Vision in White by Nora Roberts (#1 in the Bride Quartet) I am not always a fan of this author, but the cover of this one caught my eye and the series looks like it might be fun.












Happy Friday & Happy Reading!

wordless wednesday

a burst of color!

cover attractions: April 29th

Marcia, over a the Printed Page, hosts Cover Attraction each Wednesday.

This is a book I received in the mail this week. It is not a new release but it is new to me as well as the author, Harriet Evans. The actual cover in real life has glitter like graphics coming from the fountain!

sweetness

I have received this award from 3 different bloggers and I am so honored. I do try to design my blog to be pretty and I was so thrilled to find The Cutest Blog on the Block site so I could change my backgrounds. I am not very tech saavy so I needed something really easy!

The 3 gals who bestowed this award on me are as follows:

Wanda from A Season to Read
Mary from Bookfan-Mary
Melissa from Melissa's Bookshelf

Please visit them and see what lovely blogs they have!

I think everybody I visit on a regular basis has already received this award. If your are reading this and haven't, please accept it from me. Oh, and leave me a comment so I can be sure to visit you if you are new to my blog!

The Wednesday Letters

Book: The Wednesday Letters
Pages: 280
Finished: April 2009
Challenges:
** Read and Review
** Support Your Library

First sentence: "Shortly after 11:00 P.M., Laurel slid under the maroon comforter and into bed next to her husband, Jack."

Last sentence: "He didn't see it land."

This book is another one I read during the read-a-thon and I found it to be an easy little read. It was just a so-so book for me. I think the storyline had a lot more potential than was realized and I felt the writing style was a bit choppy and shallow.

“A lovely story: heartening, wholesome, humorous,suspenseful, and redemptive. It resonates with the true meaning of family and the life-healing power of forgiveness all wrapped up in a satisfying ending.”
—Publishers Weekly

The End of the Alphabet

Book: The End of the Alphabet by CS Richardson
Pages: 119
Finished: April 2009
Challenges: Read and Review

First sentence: "This story is unlikely"

I read this little novella during the read-a-thon this month. It was a sad, sweet little story.


From The Washington Post
What would you do if you found out that your life would end in 30 days? Set your legal and financial affairs in order and contact the people at hospice? Forgive your enemies and send loving messages to friends and family? Or would you take a trip, stopping at all the places in the world you have loved and all those you wanted to see but never visited? When Ambrose Zephyr learns around the time of his 50th birthday that he has only one month to live, he makes frantic plans to travel the globe alphabetically from Amsterdam to Zanzibar with his beloved wife, Zappora (Zipper) Ashkenazi. These two people have been everything to each other for all the years of a quietly happy marriage. If he wants to travel at this time, she will go, wherever the journey takes them and whatever her own feelings may be.

The surprise of this little book is not that it is poignant but that it is delightful: graceful, stylish, humorous, intelligent and lacking even the faintest whiff of sanctimony. Each page shimmers with life at its gentle, everyday best: always unraveling at one end of the alphabet or the other, laced with love.

This certainly was a gentle and graceful novel. I bookmarked a couple of the passages that leaped out at me:

"She opened her journal and thought of writing. E is Eiffel's tower, standing in Paris. L is for London and home. Z is Zipper. T is for terrified. H is for hopeless."



"-- I think I am an unbelievably lucky man who is married to a woman who I think looks a little like the Rokeby Venus and I think if I open my mouth to say something I think is important I think she will discover she 's married a fool.
--You are many things, my love. A fool is not one of them. You're imagining things.
--I am keeping things to myself. Having an opinion doesn't require sharing it with everybody.
--It requires sharing it with me. Because I get to know what you think. I get to know you better than anyone else.
--You do. Always have, always will, full stop. Let it go.
--One more thing
--What?
--You're wrong.
--Am I?
-- Luck had nothing to do with us."

monday fun

What are you reading on Mondays is hosted each week by J. Kaye's Book Blog.

I am reading (and greatly enjoying) Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear. This is the 6th Maisie Dobbs book, and is set just on the cusp of WWII--and only a few months after the 5th one ended. This is definitely a darker storyline--which certainly conveys the desperate times many,many people in England (and over Europe and America) were feeling, especially he WWI veterans in that country. They were not properly looked after and suffered greatly from shell-shock, effects from being gassed, along with the whole host of physical wounds. This Maisie book is much like the earlier ones, unlike the last one which got a bit bogged down in mysticism. I hope to finish this one during the week, and also to plug away at reading Cranford by Gaskell.



What's In Your Mailbox Monday is hosted each week by Marcia over at The Printed Page.

I received a few little gems this week:

The Beans of Egypt Maine by Carolyn Chute

Tending to Virginia by Jill McCorkle

The End of Vandalism by Tojm Drury

Trouble for Lucia by E.F. Benson




Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about reading non-fiction…Do you read non-fiction regularly? Do you read it in a different way or place than you read fiction?

This answer is short and sweet! I do enjoy non-fiction, but mostly just in the form of memoirs. I read about 9-12 a year--sometimes more. I read them just the same way that I read fiction--in my car on my lunch break, on my bed at home in the evening or in the rocking chair, and sometimes at the table when I am eating! I treat all books equal!

I'm back!

We are back and boy did we have a great weekend! Our boy played wonderfully, and even though he did not place in the top 3, we could not be prouder of our son. A big Thank-You to all who wished him/us well! I thought I would share my weekend with you in pictures.

Friday night.
Trying to keep it chill and fun.
We went to Pizza Hut for dinner and the boys had fun mugging for the camera (and mom!) We had a leisurely drive over the mountains earlier in the day and then raced to the college campus where the competition was being held as some of his classmates played Friday in an ensemble competition. Austen really wanted to see them and offer some support. After our dinner at Pizza Hut we went back to our hotel to read and watch t.v.



Saturday morning found us up early and once again keeping the boy chilled and relaxed. He practiced some in our room before we headed over to the campus.



Then it was time to get tuxed out (to quote the boy!), into the car, and we were on our way. He still had about an hour before he played so he didn't want to wear the bow tie until he absolutely had to. Before we knew it, it was almost his turn so Dad had to help him get that tie on!



Then, before we knew it, it was time for him to play! He had a great accompanist.




We spent the rest of the day shopping and eating and checking scores. Austen received 2 Superior ratings (the highest) and 1 Excellent rating! After dinner the boys spent time in the hotel pool with Dad while I spent time with my book.
Sunday morning found us sleeping in, having a Starbucks breakfast and then driving back to the campus for a few pictures.

Now we are home and trying to gear up for school and work tomorrow. This week also brings us to the beginning of both boys baseball seasons. I need to hang on to my hat and enjoy the ride as we experience baseball 3 -4 evenings a week. I hope to get around to visiting all my blog friends--if not tonight, hopefully tomorrow. :)


And what did I end up reading on my trip?

Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear

I am loving this Maise Dobbs!

what I found this week

To see other Friday Finds or to share some of your own, visit MizB, our Friday hostess!

The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square by Rosina Lippa

Blue Hole Back Home by Joy Jordan-Lake

saying good-bye

Hi folks--I think this will be my last post for the weekend, until I get home on Sunday. ( I might still sneak in a Friday's Find post) We are headed out tomorrow for Ellensburg Washington where my son Austen is competing in a state music competition, with his saxophone. I wrote about his qualifying audition here--definitely an exciting time for us as a family.



I finished Sarah's Key last night--a book that keeps you thinking about it long after you are done. I will write up my review of it and the two books I finished for the read-a-thon sometime next week. I am debating what to take for our trip this weekend to read. I started Cranford, but not sure I want that as *trip read*. I am thinking of taking the book I spotlighted this week for Cover Attraction. Then there are the options from my Spring Reading Thing challenge list, The Birth House or The Land of Green Plums. Hmmm...maybe I will take them all with me! :)

my wordless wednesday

tulips in the front yard
April 2009

little of this and that

I don't know about you, but I think I have finally recovered from the read-a-thon! I still can't believe what a good time Sam and I had all day. I wish we didn't have to wait until October for the fun again.

In the last couple of hours that I was up reading for the read-a-thon, I started Sarah's Key and I have to say that it is becoming, quickly, my favorite book of the year. It is not an easy subject matter, but I love the structure of the storyline--one or two chapters in the past, and then one or two set in present day. I do seem to have a soft spot for historical fiction set during WWII so that might be part of why this book grabbed me from page 1.

I also find that I go through a WWII era reading jag every year about this time--I just read Doreen set in Britain during the war, now Sarah's Key and I just purchased a book at Target set during that time period. I am posting the cover below for my Cover Attraction portion of this post. Does anybody else find themselves returning to specific types of reading at certain times each year?



Marcia, over a the Printed Page, hosts Cover Attraction each Wednesday. The cover of this book jumped right out at me while shopping at Target and after picking it up and looking more closely I ended up buying it!

The Rain Before It Falls

































I am posting my library loot a little early, as I don't know if I will get around to it tomorrow night or not.



The Girl With No Shadow by Joanne Harris (the sequel to Chocolat)

Mailbox Monday

Monday is Mailbox time! This event is hosted by Marcia over at The Printed Page. I must admit, I surely love coming home from work, checking the mail and finding a book in my mailbox!




I had a very busy mailbox week this week!

From Amazon:
The Governess: The Litttle Female Academy by Sarah Fielding

Linen Wool Cotton by Akiko Mano

From paperbackswap:

Small Wonders by Christy Kenneally

Fanny and Sue by Karen Stolz

Diplomatic Baggage by Brigid Keenan

A Place Called Home by Deborah Smith

I somehow need to find more hours in my day so I can read more!

2009 favorites

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about 2009 favourites… Coming towards the end of April, we’re a third of the way through the way through the year. What’s the favourite book you’ve read so far in 2009? What about your least favourite?


Well, very interesting question! I must say that my favorite of the year so far is Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani. She is one of my favorite authors and it has been a while since she had a new release.

My least favorite is one I just read last week--Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha. I found it to be boring even though it was a Booker Prize winner. I just didn't connect with it.

TSS: read-a-thon wrap up

Yesterday I participated in my first Dewey's Read-a-Thon as a reader. Sam, my 13 year old son read along with me and we had a blast.
It was a special mom/son time that he and I don't get very often. Who knows if he will ever read along with me again, although he did say he couldn't wait until October. Being the tender-heart that he is, I could tell he was a little sad I didn't win anything. :) I can't believe how long that kid read! I don't have his stats with me right now but will update this post later, even if just for posterity sake.

Being sick with Bronchitis I knew I needed to get to bed at a decent hour, so I called it quits about midnight--even though I managed to read little bit longer once in bed. I made the mistake of starting a really good book around 10:00 pm and I was having a hard time putting it down--the book? Sarah's Key. Someone warned me that when I started that one it would grab me and grab me it did! I wish I had started it sooner rather than spend time on a book I ended up putting down anyway.

So on to my accomplishments!
Two books completed: The Wednesday Letters, and The End of the Alphabet
In the middle of: Sarah's Key
Total Pages: 452 (definitely not stellar)
Total Time Reading: 10.7 hours
Mini Challenges: 8 (maybe 9--I need to go back and check)


End of Event Survery:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?-
Since I did not push myself to do 24 hours due to health, I can't say any were. Probably hours 21-24 would have been though.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
I think anything by Neil Gaiman, or shorter books to break up the reading stretches

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Oh my goodness, everything was great and Trish, Nymeth, and Hannah did a fantastic job. I know Dewey was looking down with pride and joy on her face as she saw the community she was so much a part of come together again in such a great way.

Some of the mini-challenges were a bit involved for me-Personally I felt like if I did some of them they would take away too much reading time-but I must say they had a lot of variety to them and were fun. I just need to give myself permission to not feel like I am failing if I don't do them all.

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
I really liked the read-a-thon homepage. It was so well laid out and easy to glean information from. That said, it seemed the feeds page never seemed to upload my current post--it was always hours behind--not sure if that was a problem for others too or not? I liked how that page was laid out also--alphabetically and all!

5. How many books did you read?
2+ parts of 2 others

6. What were the names of the books you read?
Finished:
The Wednesday Letters
The End of the Alphabet
Started:
Kitchen
Sarah's Key

7. Which book did you enjoy most?
Sarah's Key grabbed me and I wish I had started it earlier.

8. Which did you enjoy least?
Kitchen

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
I wasn't a cheerleader this time, but I want to say a big thank-you to the cheerleaders who were faithful in leaving comments on my blog. I didn't have a ton, but I had some faithful few and I appreciated them a lot. I am not on Twitter, so I did not get to join in that whole arena, which made me appreciate the cheerleaders who actually visited my blog even more!

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
I am very likely to read again-and I might like to host a mini-challenge!

Last Post for the night--

I will post a wrap up post in the morning, but right now I need to go to bed. This has been a blast and I had such a good time having Sam along for the ride. If I wasn't sick I would try to stay awake longer, but I don't dare do that.
Happy Reading everyone!

Peeps War: mini challenge

Okay, Okay, I would not have done this challenge but Sam, my reading buddy wanted to, so I said "sure, go ahead".

We started with 4 little innocent orange baby duck peeps.

None of them fared very well as you can see. The pictures we took are a bit fuzzy cause we were trying to snap the pictures fast when we opened the microwave door to capture them at their bloated best.

They look so sad, but according to Sam, he actually likes eating them this way better now! He compared them to when we roast marshmallows for smores. :)

Enjoy!

9:00 update

Title of book(s) read since last update: Kitchen and also started Sarah's Key
Number of books read since you started: 2
Pages read since last update: 54
Running total of pages read since you started: 383
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 136 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: (keep track of this one to be eligible for a prize!) 476 minutes
Mini-challenges completed: 8
Other participants you’ve visited: 20
Prize you’ve won: 0

Started reading Kitchen, but decided I wasn't really in the mood so I switched to Sarah' Key and I must admit that book has grabbed me from page 1.

theme collage

Hour 15 mini -challenge

1) Create an artistic expression of some kind to represent what you have read so far. This can be in the form of a poem, a painting, a crafted bookmark, anything goes.

2) Scan, type, or take a picture of your creation and post it on your blog.

The two books I have finished today dealt with the themes of love, commitment and forgiveness. Here is my collage! (click picture to enlarge)

Amazon surprises

These are the two books which were in my Amazon boxes!

Progress Update

Title of book(s) read since last update: The End of the Alphabet
Number of books read since you started: 2
Pages read since last update: 119
Running total of pages read since you started: 329
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 130 ( 2hours 10 minutes)
Running total of time spent reading since you started: (keep track of this one to be eligible for a prize!) 340 minutes (6 hours 40 minutes)
Mini-challenges completed: 8
Other participants you’ve visited: 15
Prize you’ve won: 0



Sam:
Title of book(s) read since last update:--Everworld: Search for Senna
Number of books read since you started: 2
Pages read since last update: 221
Running total of pages read since you started: 561
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 4 hours
Running total of time spent reading since you started: (keep track of this one to be eligible for a prize!) 10.5 hours