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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Sookie Stackhouse Challenge


I bought book number one over a YEAR ago and it wasn't until Teddyree's fantastic review of Dead as a Doornail, one of the other books in this series, that I finally sat down and read my copy. I'm so glad that I did...what fun!! Now Beth is hosting the SOOKIE STACKHOUSE READING CHALLENGE!!


The Rules:

1. Between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010, catch up on Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire series. No matter if you're starting with book 1 or book 8, you have a year to read all about Sookie. Read Sookie in print, listen to the audio, read an eBook -- format is not an issue.

The Books:

Dead Until Dark- a short review coming later this week!
Living Dead in Dallas
Club Dead
Dead to the World
Dead as a Doornail
Definitely Dead
All Together Dead
From Dead to Worse
Dead and Gone

So if you're interested in reading a great series about vampires then look no further and sign up for this challenge by clicking on the Sookie Button in this post!!!

Keeping tabs on this challenge here

Teaser Tuesdays and It's Tuesday Where Are You?


TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
Please avoid spoilers!



When I was fourteen, I thought a lot about killing myself--it's a hobby today, but at age fourteen it was a vocation. On a September morning, just after school started, I'd gotten Diane's .44 Magnum and held it, babylike, in my lap for hours.
p.153 from Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

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I am a survivor of a brutal murder that wiped out my mother, and two sisters. I helped put my brother Ben behind bars. The money that people sent to me because they felt bad has run out and I don't know what to do. So, I've decided to help out (for money of course) The Kill Club. And now I'm questioning if my brother was the killer after all?

~ Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Monday, June 29, 2009

Winner of Back Creek

Kaye of The Road Goes Ever On
I've sent you an email for your address!!
Enjoy
Thank you to everyone who entered!!

Mailbox Monday


Mailbox Monday
is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.
We share what books that we found in our mailboxes last week.



I received 1 book this week that I won from Girls Just Reading. It totally made my day!

Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
** This book has been all over blogger world and I was so jealous of everyone that had read it. Now I can turn my eyes back to their original color and enjoy my very own copy!!




What came for you?

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Review: Who Do You Think You Are? by Alyse Meyers

Who Do You Think You Are?
Author: Alyse Meyers
Published: May 6th 2008 by Simon & Schuster

Synopsis from Goodreads ( I cut and paste this together to shorten it):
We are transported back in time to the 1960s, to a working-class neighborhood in Queens, New York. It is not a happy home. Alyse's parents are young and good-looking, but they constantly veer between their mutual attraction and contempt. Alyse, on the other hand, yearns for more in life, including the right to escape. After a childhood of harrowing fights, abject cruelty, and endless uncertainty, Alyse adamantly rejects everything about her mother's life, provoking her mother's infuriated demand, "Who do you think you are?" A heart-wrenching and ultimately uplifting portrait of a mother and daughter, Who Do You Think You Are? explores the profound and poignant revelations that often come to light only after a parent has died.Her story's power lies in its simplicity and the emotions it conjures up in the reader. No matter what your relationship with own mother is like, this book will stay with you long after you put it down.



My thoughts:

This book made me sad. I had such a hard time being sympathetic to Alyse's mother at anytime during this book. Even when I knew this woman was dying, even after getting a peak into her early days when she loved with abandon. What I took away from this book is the knowledge that children are resilient. We, as children, have a way of hating our parents with such ferocity, but we also love them with great loyalty no matter what they might have done to us. In the end, Alyse was able to forgive her mother for her abusive ways and she made peace with that part of her life. I can not stand in judgment of that......it brings a closure to her childhood that she needed in order to heal and to move on. I totally recommend this well-written memoir to anyone who is interested in this genre.

Taken from the book: A Conversation with Alyse Myers

Suppose your mother could ask you today, in a thoughtful and interested tone, "Who do you think you are?" How would you respond to her now as an adult and mother?

I would tell her that I'm a loving mother and a loving wife and that I'm successful at the things that really matter: love and relationships. I would tell her that she inspired me to be the best other and wife I can be--and that I'm sorry we didn't have the time to repair the past and learn from each of our mistakes. I would tell her that she didn't deserve to have such an unhappy life--and that I wished it could have been different for her. And that I wish I could have been more of a comfort to her--instead of a thorn in her side. I would tell her that the fact that I have an incredible daughter and husband must have had something to do with her. I would also tell her I am the luckiest person in the world. And I would thank her for that.

I would like to personally thank Julie from FSB Associates and the author Alyse Myers for sending me this book to read and review. Alyse was recently a guest on The View. Please click here to see her interview.


Other reviews:
Marcia-Printed Page
direct quote from her review: "I’m always amazed by people who live through such traumatic childhoods. The determination, resiliency and guts it takes to overcome. What compels me to read these types of memoirs is the silver lining waiting at the end. The sheer willpower a person has not to be defeated by their circumstances. Sometimes you just have to dig a little deeper to find it."

Friday, June 26, 2009

Review: North of Beautiful

North of Beautiful
Author: Justin Chen Headley
Published: Feb 2009, Little, Brown Young Readers
Genre: YA
Pages: short of perfect 384


Synopsis from Goodreads:
Born with a port-wine stain birthmark covering her entire right cheek, Terra Rose Cooper is ready to leave her stifling, small Washington town where everyone knows her for her face. With her critical, reproachful father and an obese mother who turns to food to deflect her father's verbal attacks, home life for Terra isn't so great either. Fueled by her artistic desires, she plans to escape to an East Coast college, thinking this is her true path. When her father intercepts her acceptance letter, Terra is pushed off-course, and she is forced to confront her deepest insecurities.After an ironically fortuitous car accident, Terra meets Jacob, a handsome but odd goth Chinese boy who was adopted from China as a toddler. Jacob immediately understands Terra's battle with feeling different. When Terra's older brother invites her and her mother to visit him in Shanghai, Jacob and his mother also join them on their journey, where they all not only confront the truth about themselves, but also realize their own true beauty.


My Thoughts:

This book was absolutely a pure delight to read. I took my time and savored every single minute of it and really came to know Terra and love her as a young woman who just needs someone to believe in her. The characters are very well drawn in this novel and you will find yourself wanting to reach through the pages to slap her father, hug her mother, kiss Jacob, and to tell Terra that she is beautiful no matter what. My favorite part of the whole book is when Terra and her mother go to China. As I was reading the descriptions of this country, it came alive in my mind and left me with an urgent desire to visit this place before I die. I can recommend this book without any reservations to any reader out there....I'm positive that you will walk away from this experience with something to treasure.

Other great reviews:
Heather @ Book Addiction
Direct quote from her review: "Speaking of relationships, that is the other fabulous thing about North of Beautiful. What I usually love most about YA books are the relationships between the characters, both romantic and otherwise."

Presenting Lenore
Direct quote from her review: "At nearly 400 pages, North of Beautiful has the space to really explore topics such as the nature of beauty, the beauty of travel, sticking up for yourself, and trying to fit in when you stick out."

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Everything Austen Challenge- Of course I signed up!!


This is a fun challenge being hosted by Stephanie at The Written Word. Click on the Austen button to read all about this challenge and how you can sign up to participate!!


The details!
The Everything Austen Challenge will run for six months (July 1, 2009 – January 1, 2010)! All you need to do is pick out what six Austen-themed things you want to finish to complete the challenge.

What is considered Austen-themed? Obviously, any of the books Jane Austen wrote herself count, so if you’ve been contemplating reading one of her novels, now is the time! Or, maybe watch the different movie versions of Pride and Prejudice. You could even try reading one of the many sequels written by various authors or listen to one in your car on your way to work. Truly, the list can be endless! All you need to do is pick six Austen-themed items to read and/or watch to participate. Note that you can mix it up a bit – maybe commit to watching three movies and reading two books – or if your TBR pile is huge, pick out six movies you would like to watch – YOU DECIDE!
Also, you can combine this with another challenge. For example, if you are going to participate in Carl’s RIP challenge this fall, maybe add Northanger Abbey to your list. Or read a couple books during the next Dewey 24 hour read-a-thon.


How could I not participate in this challenge? Have you seen my avatar? Nuf' said. So what 6 themes am I going to do? I'm participating in the Classics Challenge already so I'm going to combine that one with this one...good way to kill two birds with one stone. So here's my plan of attack:

  1. Read Northanger Abby and then watch the DVD from the library
  2. Read Mansfield Park and watch the newest version from the library
  3. Read Emma
  4. Read Persuasion and watch the DVD, this is one that I haven't watched from beginning to end!! Should be fun!
  5. I'm planning on reading Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict (thanks to Dar!!)
  6. I bought Lost in Austen and haven't watched it yet so next week the weather is to be hot and rainy...perfect day to watch this series!!
I'm sure that I'll add to this list because they're are so many books out there that have some sort of Austen theme in them that I want to read and of course movies that I could re-watch a million times!!! So what are you waiting for? Sign up already!!!

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Library Loot and Waiting on Wednesday


Library Loot hosted by Eva and Marg
asks us to list what we brought home from
the library this week.

As it is now summer and I have some extra free time to read, I'm not quite so uptight in regards to how many books I have checked out. But that doesn't mean that I'm planning on going overboard...no, instead I'm trying to get them all read BEFORE they're due!! Imagine that!


Along For the Ride by Sarah Dessen
** I've been a Dessen fan for years so of course I had to read her newest....I'm the only one to blame for this one!






Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
** Loved her first novel, Sharp Objects and I immediately put my name on the list for this one.







The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club by Gil McNeil
** The title grabbed me immediately and then when I read the book jacket I was hooked!
MOVES FROM LONDON TO A SEASIDE VILLA, KNITTING, NEW WIDOW WITH KIDS NEEDS NEW START-who wouldn't want to read this????





To Read List Total today 6/24/2009: 781
Last Week's To Read List total 6/17/2009: 777
Books Read in 2009 to date: 86 ( read 6 this past week)
Number of Books Checked out from the library: 22 (down 2 from last week!)
Book Blogger Buddies Recommendations TBR List: 159!!!

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Waiting on Wednesday
is hosted by
Jill over at Breaking the Spine
that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.




Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
Release date: August 25, 2009

I can not wait!!! She is one of my ultimate favorite YA authors. I love her stories that brings important topics to teens in such an original and mesmerizing way!!

From Goodreads:
Five teenagers from different parts of the country. Three girls. Two boys. Four straight. One gay. Some rich. Some poor. Some from great families. Some with no one at all. All living their lives as best they can, but all searching...for freedom, safety, community, family, love. What they don't expect, though, is that they can have all of these things when those powerful little words "I love you" are said for all the wrong reasons. Five moving stories remain seperate at first, then interweave to tell a larger, powerful story- a story about making choices, taking leaps of faith, falling down, and growing up.



What book are you waiting for ?

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Teaser Tuesdays and It's Tuesday..Where Are You?


TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
Please avoid spoilers!


"Alix," she gasped. "You save my life." In that moment, Jacqueline wanted to call back every ugly thought she'd ever had regarding the young woman. She didn't care what color Alix dyed her hair.

p.186 from The Shop on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber

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I am currently living in Seattle (a place I long to visit in real life) and I own my very own Yarn Shop where I also show people how to knit. I've made it through 2 bouts of cancer, I'm mourning the loss of my beloved father but I'm hopeful that this phase in my life will be all good. I've made some interesting friends so far and Brad, the UPS guy, keeps asking me out. Should I go?
~ The Shop on Blossom Street

Monday, June 22, 2009

Mailbox Monday and a Monday Musing


Mailbox Monday
is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.
We share what books that we found in our mailboxes last week.


Any day I get books in the mail is a great day....this past week I was lucky to get two books that I won!!!


Mating Rituals of the North American Wasp
by Lauren Lipton
** won this one from Anna-Diary of an Eccentric
I've seen this everywhere and am so excited to have won my own copy!!!!!






Cycler
by Lauren McLaughlin
**This one came courtesy of Lenore of Presenting Lenore.
Being a middle school librarian, I adore YA, so when I won this book I was over the moon. I'm going to read this during the summer and then pass it on to one of my favorite students ever, who will be a freshman in the fall.




What came for you?

____________________________________________________________________

musingmondays1

Do you restrict yourself on how many books you take out from the library at a time Do you borrow books if you already have some out? Do you always reborrow books you don’t get to?

As I stated above, I work in a middle school library. So when this topic came up I just had to add my own two cents to it. Especially because libraries have always played an important part in my life since I was 5. I normally don't restrict myself to a certain number of books that I check out. I probably should because my pile has been out of control. I'm working on that!! :) I always borrow books, regardless if I still have some at home. This is part of my book addiction that I'm working on...seriously, I am! If the books I'm reading have been already renewed once and I STILL don't get them read, sometimes I do recheck them out..AGAIN. Olive Kitteridge is one that I swear I've checked out so many times this year and I still haven't read it. But I am going to get it done before June 29th!!!! I must or else I will have to buy it!!!

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Book Giveaway- Back Creek by Leslie Goetsch

To enter a chance to win this book please leave me a comment telling me about a book that transported you to another time and place...
one that has stayed with you for some time...
one that made an impact on you!!!

* Please leave me a way to contact you
* Open to US and Canadian residents only
* Giveaway will close on June 27th at 11:59 pm

Friday, June 19, 2009

Book Review: Back Creek by Leslie Goetsch

Back Creek: A Novel
by Leslie Goetsch
Genre: YA
Published: Bancroft Press 2008
Pages: 226

Synopsis from Goodreads:
It's the summer of 1975. Eighteen-year-old Grace Barnett knows she should be preparing to leave for college in September. But a strange Memorial Day boating accident on the creek near her Virginia home she s the only witness to the apparent suicide kicks off a series of events that will define her family's future as well as her emerging view of life.







My Thoughts:

I truly loved every single word written in this brilliant coming-of-age story. The main character Grace is a person some of us book geeks can totally relate to.

High school wasn't of great interest to me: I was far more absorbed by the fiction I read than the fiction I lived.
p.11
How can you not connect with this young girl? She lives inside her two favorite novels, Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. They're the one constant in her life that she can depend on, that and Back Creek itself. Within this story is another character that you will grow to love and that is Back Creek. Even though this is a fictionalized sleepy town, you feel as if you've been there on your travels to the south and that it would be a place to welcome you home. Grace's life is tumultuous, not by her own doing, but rather by the sudden departure of her mother, the sudden reappearance of her wayward sister, and her father's alcoholic binges.

Remembering my berry-picking made me realize I was always trying to make peace through gifts--drawings I made, unusual shells I found on the shore, even a heron's feather. I guess I didn't know how else to respond to the tension I felt in the house. p.75


The writing in this novel is lyrical and somehow transports you back in time to 1975....to a place that you really don't want to leave when you've read the last page. Goetsch is a new author to me that I feel has so much promise. To me this book has mass appeal that goes beyond the YA target audience. I totally recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of southern fiction and just wants to read a good story.

As we followed the recipes her mother had followed and her mother before that, we talked in an abstract way. As the afternoon wore on
and Mother kept talking, I was listening to preserve the stories in mind. p.176


Other reviews of Back Creek:
Carrie at Books and Movies

**I would like to personally thank Harrison Demchick from Bancroft Press for contacting me to read and review this great story!!!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

TLC Book Review of : A World I Never Made


A World I Never Made
by James LePore
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Published: April 14, 2009
272 fast-paced action pages

Synopsis from Goodreads:
A World I Never Made is the story of Megan Nolan, a beautiful and brilliant but cynical young writer who fakes her suicide in order to escape from an equally handsome and brilliant Saudi lover who she discovers is a terrorist mastermind. When her father, Pat, a recently retired Connecticut contractor, estranged from his daughter for many years, discovers the ploy, he commences, with the help of a lovely but oddly sad French detective named Catherine Lawrence, on a search that leads him inexorably into the dark world of terrorism, espionage and counter-espionage where he ultimately comes face to face with evil, with his lost daughter and with himself.


My Thoughts:

Dad,
I don't owe you or anybody an explanation, but I think you'll appreciate the irony of a suicide note coming from a person who has abhorred tradition all of her life.
This is the first line of the book (published version may be different from ARC), which totally pulled me into the story and had my interest until I finished. The book takes off with lightening speed and transitions between the years 2003 and 2004. The author weaves the story using Megan's past and her father's present to develop this intriguing and thought-provoking plot. I found myself at once captivated by Pat, the father. He seemed remorseful for his past years of neglecting Megan and has to come to grips with the fact that she has now taken her own life....or has she? This story puts you, the reader, right into the middle of the hotbed of terrorism, sleeper cells in France, Germany and other countries. You learn about the Muslim faith and how women are perceived in most Middle Eastern countries. You also realize early on that Megan is playing with fire when she sets out to seduce Abdel Lahani, a Saudi businessman. She has certainly bitten off more than she can chew. And while reading her story, I honestly grew to despise her character!!!! Which leads me to one of the questions I asked the author, James LePore.

Did I plan on making Megan Nolan a hard character to like.?

I did. I believe good dramatic fiction must have characters we root for as well as characters we root against. I also believe that characters, when confronted with moral choices, must decide how they will react. Sometimes a “good” character will react badly and a “bad” character will react heroically. I believe this makes for good reading. The road to corruption is and easy one. It is the road to redemption that is hard. I hope that readers will see that Megan tried to redeem herself, to atone by her heroism for the mistakes she made and the hurt she inflicted on others in her past.

As I continued on reading this book I realized that I honestly know next to nothing about terrorism and how it is viewed in most Muslim countries. This is one of the great things that I took away from this book....knowledge of other religions, beliefs, and cultures that I am not exposed to on a daily basis. As I thought about all of the differently held belief systems in our world it led me to ask James this question.

Why Muslim terrorists?

I believe that the fight between good and evil is real. In our time, that fight was waged first against Nazi Germany and Imperialist Japan and then Soviet Russia, evil entities all, all confronted head on and defeated. I believe that Muslim terrorists, or more accurately terrorists who use Islam to justify their killing of innocents, are the new face of evil on the planet. If you Google “Islamic Terrorism” you will find thousands and thousands of terrorist acts by Muslim fanatics around the world over the last 35 years, all done in an effort to impose their way of life on the rest of the world. In that way of life there is no freedom of speech or religion, and women are basically chattel. To use these people as the bad guys in a novel seems logical to me. To pretend, for politically correct reasons, that Islamic terrorism is not our enemy, will, I believe, lead to more, not less. killing of innocent people.

I normally do not read suspense books based on political happenings, but I've changed my tune after reading A World I Never Made. The author added all the right elements to this story to make it interesting to me; mystery, religion, foreign countries, a love affair, flawed characters, differing view points, redemption and in the end closure. This is James LePore first novel and I believe his future is very bright!! I look forward to reading his second book, The Story Plant, which is scheduled to be published in the spring of 2010.

I would like to thank James LePore for taking time out of his day to respond to my questions and for allowing himself to be open to my thoughts and feelings on his first novel. Many thanks also go out to Lisa of Books on the Brain and to TLC Book Tours for asking me to participate in this tour of A World I Never Made.

For further information on James LePore please visit his website: James LePore Fiction





Please make sure that you

visit the rest of the blogs featured on this tour

by clicking on the TLC Logo!!

Library Loot- June 17th and Waiting on Wednesday


Library Loot hosted by Eva and Alessandra
asks us to list what we brought home from
the library this week.

I've been pretty good as I have only added 2 books to my stash this week!!! And now that summer is here and I'm off until Sept. 4 I have high hopes that I'll be able to plow through this pile faster!!!

Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas

** as I said in an earlier post, Kaye recommended this book to me and I can't wait to read it!!








The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

** I must see what all of the fuss is about...I know I'm sure to get hooked!!!







To Read List Total today 6/17/2009: 777
Last Week's To Read List total 6/10/2009: 766
Books Read in 2009 to date: 80
Number of Books Checked out from the library: 24

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Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by
Jill over at Breaking the Spine
that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon
  • Hardcover: 992 pages
  • Publisher: Delacorte Press (September 22, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0385342454
  • ISBN-13: 978-0385342452
Jamie Fraser, erstwhile Jacobite and reluctant rebel, knows three things about the American rebellion: the Americans will win, unlikely as that seems in 1778; being on the winning side is no guarantee of survival; and he’d rather die than face his illegitimate son — a young lieutenant in the British Army — across the barrel of a gun. Fraser’s time-travelling wife, Claire, also knows a couple of things: that the Americans will win, but that the ultimate price of victory is a mystery. What she does believe is that the price won’t include Jamie’s life or happiness — not if she has anything to say.


I've been in love with this series from the very first book
and I can't wait to step back into Jamie and Claire's lives again!!!

What book are you waiting for ?

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Teaser Tuesdays....It's Tuesday..Where Are You?


TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
Please avoid spoilers!


Not one single question was asked about Mother's absence or Lillian's bulging stomach. This was the way of the Creek, and we understood it. They had sized up the situation immediately, but knew it was against the rules to talk about it. We were allowed only polite conversation: the depths below the surface were better left dark and murky.

p.131 from Back Creek: A Novel by Leslie Goetsch


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I'm eighteen getting ready to leave Back Creek, Virginia, when a so-called boating accident occurs and puts into motion events that I would never be prepared for.
~Back Creek: A Novel by Leslie Goetsch

Monday, June 15, 2009

Mailbox Monday- June 15th


Mailbox Monday
is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.
We share what books that we found in our mailboxes last week.


My mailbox has been pretty good to me lately. Here's some of the cool goodies that came my way.

The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale
** I adore Hale as a YA author and read her Austen book...loved it!! Can't wait to get into this one.







Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant
**This will be my first time with this author. I love Historical Fiction so I'm hoping this won't let me down!!!








North From Calcutta by Duane Evans
**New author to me and a genre, Suspense/Terrorism/Espionage that I haven't really delved into. I'm excited to read this one too!!







Homer's Odyssey: Tales of an Eyeless Cat by Gwen Cooper
** I love animal stories....this looked intriguing and after enjoying Dewey so much I thought this one would be another great read.






What came for you?

Friday, June 12, 2009

Review: Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas

Prayers For Sale
by Sandra Dallas
Published 2009 St. Martin's Press
Genre: Adult Lit
Pages: 305

From Goodreads:Hennie Comfort is eighty-six and has lived in the mountains of Middle Swan, Colorado since before it was Colorado. Nit Spindle is just seventeen and newly married. She and her husband have just moved to the high country in search of work. It's 1936 and the depression has ravaged the country and Nit and her husband have suffered greatly. Sandra Dallas has created an unforgettable tale of a friendship between two women, one with surprising twists and turns, and one that is ultimately a revelation of the finest parts of the human spirit.





My Thoughts:

The sun was warm on Hennie's bones, and she was not anxious to leave. "Can you stand another story?" "I can. I wouldn't like it half so well in Middle Swan if it wasn't for you and your stories." p. 190-191


The stories, that is what draws you into this wonderful book. The stories that are weaved into present day and links you to the past. Hennie is eighty-seven years old and she's experienced pretty much everything life can throw at a person: husband dying in the Civil War, brutality at the hands of a cruel man, losing her only child, living in harsh conditions, becoming a widow for the second time. She posts a sign on her fence out front that says, "Prayers for Sale." There's a story behind this sign...and one that I'm not going to tell you, but this sign is what brings Nit, a young, newlywed girl to her front door. From that chance meeting you get to watch as their friendship grows and how living life in the high country of the Rocky Mountains can forge relationships that last forever. This is definitely a character driven book. I loved Hennie by the time I came to the end, she's one tough cookie and she will stay with me for some time. Once I started this book I couldn't put it down. It made me think back to my childhood when my Grandpa Bill would get out his harmonica and start blowing on that thing, singing, and bringing all us grandkids to his feet. From there he would start telling his own stories; driving a Model A car when he was eleven, running moonshine in Kentucky, being wild with his buddies, how he met my Grandma and took her to the outdoor picture show. I loved it when he shared these treasures with us, they fascinated me and the memory of them will stay forever. Storytelling needs to be a tradition that is handed down to the next generation. So, if you're looking for good old fashioned story telling....then look no further, because this book fits the bill. I'm new to the author, Sandra Dallas, and Kaye of Pudgy Penguin Perusals assures me that Dallas is a great author. She was so enthusiastic about her that I've requested Tallgrass already from the library!!!! I feel pretty confident about Kaye's recommendation...because I loved this book!!

She'd had a good life, Hennie reflected, but there were things left for her to do before she went below. The girl Nit needed help if she was to become a mountain woman. Hennie had a lifetime of stories she wanted to tell one more time. p. 107




If you've reviewed this book let me know and I'll add your link!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Library Loot- June 10 and Waiting on Wednesday


Library Loot hosted by Eva and Alessandra
asks us to list what we brought home from
the library this week.

I read a fantastic post last night at Nicole's blog, Linus's Blanket. This was all about our book addictions and I left her a comment stating that I now had 7 good excuses for continuing to bring books into the house faster than I can read them. I was all ready to use one of them this morning but realized I only have 2 books to post......sooooo, I will save those excuses when I really need them!!



after the moment by Garret Fremann-Weyr
** I read about this book on Shelf Awareness and the premise sounds really good. My library is great about having the newest books and I looked it up and there it was!!
Told with compassion and true understanding, After the Moment is about what happens when a young man discovers that sometimes love fails us, and that, quite often, we fail love.





Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz
** I've seen this all over the book blogging community and in my own middle school hallways. YA and vampires---great combination!
The Blue Bloods vowed that their immortal status would remain a closely guarded secret. And they kept that secret for centuries. But now, in New York City, the secret is seeping out.





To Read List Total today 6/03/2009: 766
Last Week's To Read List total 5/27/2009: 766
Books Read in 2009 to date: 74
Number of Books Checked out from the library: 24

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Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by
Jill over at Breaking the Spine
that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



Undone by Karin Slaughter
Release Date: July 14, 2009

Someone had spent time with her -- someone well-practiced in the art of pain... Three years ago former Grant County medical examiner Sara Linton moved to Atlanta hoping to leave her tragic past behind her. Now working as a doctor in Atlanta's Grady Hospital she is starting to piece her life together. But when a severely wounded young woman is brought in to the emergency room, she finds herself drawn back into a world of violence and terror. The woman has been hit by a car but, naked and brutalized, it's clear that she has been the prey of a twisted mind. When Special Agent Will Trent of the Criminal Investigation Team returns to the scene of the accident, he stumbles on a torture chamber buried deep beneath the earth. And this hidden house of horror reveals a ghastly truth - Sara's patient is just the first victim of a sick, sadistic killer. Wrestling the case away from the local police chief, Will and his partner Faith Mitchell find themselves at the center of a grisly murder hunt. And Sara, Will and Faith - each with their own wounds and their own secrets - are the only thing that stands between a madman and his next crime...


What book are you waiting for ?

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Teaser Tuesdays....It's Tuesday..Where Are You?


TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
Please avoid spoilers!




"Mr. Earley seems to like you fine. He wouldn't be after your money, because he's already rich," Nit insisted. "And if you married him, you could live in a big house with somebody to do the washing and have your own automobile, a Packard maybe, and a diamond ring."
~ Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas




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I'm living in Middle Swan, Colorado around the turn of the century. I've experienced a lot in my life: war, death, joy, contentment. I've made a new friend, a sweet young girl named Nit who needs my guidance if she's going to make it out here. Plus we both understand grief and that's made us closer.
~ Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas