Smokin' Seventeen (Audio)- Bookish Thoughts #5

What Smokin' Seventeen is about: Stephanie Plum once again bumbles her way through apprehensions of bond skips while Lula and Grandma yuck it up as the comic relief. She's still torn between boring Joe (IMHO) and that mouth-watering Ranger! More cars are sacrificed and someone wants her dead!

Why I wanted to read it: I have been reading these books for a few years now, found myself getting bored with Stephanie and had actually thought about stopping until  Mary @ Bookfan Mary, suggested that I listen to them instead!  

Source: Public Library

• I loved the narrator, Lorelei King, on this audio. She has some crazy voices and made the characters come to life in a great way. I will admit to having some issues at the beginning with her voices for Joe and Ranger, but I was able to set that aside and just enjoy the story.
• I will never, ever read this series again! I will forever listen to them on audio...a huge thank you to Mary! 
• Listening to this on audio helped me enjoy the story because I only listened to it in small sections. By doing this, I think it really downplayed the ineptness of Stephanie's lack of apprehension skills. It was much easier to take because I wasn't so focused on how stupid she really is!! 
• Lula and Grandma were the best part of the audio! I loved how the narrator really made them seem vivid to me and I could totally picture them in my head!
• I laughed while driving to work! and then I laughed while driving home! That is a win-win for me!

I already have requested Explosive Eighteen on audio and am actually looking forward to listening to it. The audio has renewed my interest in the series and made it fun and fresh! Plus, I have to find out who she picks in the end.......my vote is for Ranger!

Bookish Thoughts #5

© 2012, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission. 

Backseat Saints- Bookish Thoughts #4

What Backseat Saints is about:
 Rose Mae Lolley is a fierce and dirty girl, long-suppressed under flowery skirts and bow-trimmed ballet flats. As "Mrs. Ro Grandee" she's trapped in a marriage that's thick with love and sick with abuse. Her true self has been bound in the chains of marital bliss in rural Texas, letting "Ro" make eggs, iron shirts, and take her punches. She seems doomed to spend the rest of her life battered outside by her husband and inside by her former self, until fate throws her in the path of an airport gypsy---one who shares her past and knows her future. The tarot cards foretell that Rose's beautiful, abusive husband is going to kill her. Unless she kills him first.

Why I wanted to read it: Many of my fellow bloggers have read and raved about this author's books. I have two of hers sitting on my shelves but never seemed to find the right time to read them. But with my resolution to do more reading from my shelves I decided that 2012 was the year for this one, plus it's the B title for my Alphabetical Challenge!

Source: My personal library, but the book has been languishing on my shelves for almost two years. I want to thank Grand Central Publishing for sending me this copy. 

• Holy cow...the opening of the book was fantastic and pulled me immediately into the story.
• I love the southern style and the cadence of Rose's speech. I could hear her voice in my head as I was reading this one.
• I was rooting for the REAL Rose the entire story...she touched my heart!
• Her husband terrified me!! Domestic violence is just plain scary and I couldn't imagine being in the same situation as Rose.
• The story was a fast read and it held my attention the entire way. I liked Jackson's writing style.

I still have The Girl Who Stopped Swimming sitting on my shelves and because I really enjoyed Backseat Saints, I'm sure I will get to this one sometime in the summer.

Bookish Thoughts #4

© 2012, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission. 

First Chapter, First Paragraph Tuesday Intros

Every Tuesday, Diane @ Bibliophile by the Sea

 posts the opening paragraph (maybe two) of a book

 she decided to read based on the opening paragraph (s).

 Feel free to grab the banner and play along!

My selection this week is from a review book titled, "Irish Lady." I chose to read this one because it takes place in Ireland and it has the magical element of blending the past with the present...let's hope it is a good read!

   Four centuries had passed and yet I had not forgotten the smell of charred wood nor the searing heat of a fire bent on destruction. I opened my eyes and saw the leap of flame against shadow, gutted dwellings, the silhouette of a church steeple outlined against an orange sky--an entire world engulfed in fire.

Would you continue reading this one

 based on the opening paragraph?

Mailbox Monday and It's Monday...What Are You Reading?

Mailbox Monday 

is a gathering place for readers to share the books that

came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. 

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

January Host: A favorite blogger of mine- 

Alyce @ At Home With Books

What Happened to Hannah- courtesy of William Morrow Paperbacks and TLC Tour Books.

The Baker's Daughter- courtesy of Crown Publishing and TLC Tour Books.

------------------------------------------------------

Hosted by Sheila @ One Person's Journey Through a World of Books

We discuss the books that we've read 

and what we're planning to read for the week.

Read and reviewed last week:

The Night Sky: A Journey From Dachau to Denver and Back - recommended

The A.B.C. Murders- fantastic Agatha Christie mystery!

Guest Post on At Home With Books- Best/Worst Author -Wednesday, January 25th

Bookish Thoughts for this week:

Backseat Saints

Unlikely Friendships

Smokin' Seventeen

Cottage By the Sea

In my book box:

Irish Lady

The Diary of Mattie Spenser

Saturday Snapshot- He loves me

Saturday Snapshot

is hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books.

It’s easy to participate – just post a picture

that was taken by you, a friend, or a family member and add your link on Alyce’s site.

My husband totally surprised me with these flowers yesterday for our 17th Wedding Anniversary! I actually scrapbooked the last time I received flowers from him and remember writing that I probably wouldn't get flowers until 2023!  Boy, was I wrong! I love the whole arrangement and the vase screams me! And if you can believe this....he picked it all out!! He gets me....he really gets me!!!

The A.B.C. Murders- Bookish Thoughts #3

What this book is about: Someone is murdering people in alphabetical order by name and location and has dared Poirot to try to catch them!

Why I wanted to read it: I've been meaning to read more Agatha Christie this year so that is one reason. The second reason is that I'm vowing to read more from my own shelves. Thirdly, I am participating in a the 52 Books 52 Weeks Challenge and I'm doing it with a twist by reading in alphabetical order! So, this is the perfect choice isn't it?? Get it, A.B.C. Murders......alphabetical reading challenge???? I'm easily amused!

Source: My personal library, but the book was purchased for a quarter from my library sale cart.

• I loved the story being sort of narrated by Captain Hastings. This made the story fun and engaging for me.
• The book flowed and was a fast read.
• Poirot is so quirky and cool...how could I not like him? More Poirot!!!
• I figured out who the real murderer was about 10 pages before the story ended...made me feel like I was playing the board game Clue (which I loved).

I am now addicted to all things Christie and have even listed all of her Poirot and Marple books on my challenge blog. I'm also inspired to listen to some of these books on audio. Has anyone out there listened to these and if so, any suggestions?

Bookish Thoughts #3

© 2012, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission. 

The Night Sky: A Journey From Dachau to Denver and Back

About the book:
Maria Sutton's memoir, The Night Sky is the culmination of her forty-three year search for her father. Without knowing the spelling of her father's name, or his date and place of birth, Maria was able to find him - proving that with unwavering determination, anything is possible.


My first thoughts after finishing: "This was a powerful and moving journey...well done!"

I like to read a memoir that speaks to me on some level and after perusing the information Maria sent me and doing a bit of research of my own, confirmed that this was one I had to read. I picked it up right after I finished The Lost Wife, which was a book that wounded me to the soul. I thought it fitting that I would read more about the affects of WWII on people who survived the war but now found themselves labeled as a Displaced Person.  Maria's mother is really a strong woman and I know that throughout the book she greatly downplayed and even tried to distance herself from her experience. She was put into horrible conditions and had to make crucial and heart wrenching decisions that would impact not only herself, but her two young daughters. I was amazed at the tenacity and perseverance that Maria exhibited as she began her forty-year long quest to find the answers to questions and to get a family history that could slightly resemble her own husband's. I enjoyed reading about the methods that Maria used to find her information and couldn't believe the amount of red tape and just plain old waiting that she experienced.

I am always amazed at how little I truly know about this time period and once again loved how I learned new facts about the war. I had never heard of the massacre in the Katyn Forest of Poland.  I learned more about Stalin's rule reading this book than I ever did from high school history class. I loved learning about Poland and the Ukraine and WWII from Maria's mother's perspective.

My emotional moment while reading this book was the story of Maria's Uncle Wasyl. I was thrilled that about the outcome of her search for him, yet at the same time it quite literally broke my heart.

I highly recommend this book to those that enjoy memoirs and moving family stories. Maria has taken a snapshot of the life of displaced persons and shown us their trials and within that story she has also found her identity.

Author: Maria Sutton
Source: review copy courtesy of author
Genre: Memoir
Pages: 226
Published:  2011 Johnson Books



Disclaimer:Thank you to Maria Sutton for sending me a review copy. I was not compensated for my review. My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist.They are my personal reflections based solely on MYexperience while reading this novel.

Review Book #2
© 2011, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.