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!

"It's a turnaround," said Alex, as if in wonder.
"The hell it is," said Billy. "It's a dead-end."
p.58 ~ The Turnaround by George Pelecanos

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It's Tuesday...Where Are You?

I'm in the D.C. area where I still live even though something that happened during my teens changed my life forever. It's been over 35 years and I still haven't healed. Can I forgive and make peace with the boys (now men) who put my life on a detour?
~The Turnaround

Mailbox Monday- July 20th

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

My mailbox was really good to me this week!!



The Night Gardner by George Pelecanos
** I won this from the super cool Kaye at Pudgy Penguin Perusals. I'm currently reading The Turnaround and really enjoying it so I'm sure this will be great! Thanks Kaye!






Royal Blood by Rona Sharon
** This came from FSB Associates. I love the cover and have seen this book around. I read a great review of it on The Eclectic Reader I can't wait to read it!





Benny & Shrimp by Katarina Mazetti
**Got this one from FSB too. I love the cover!! I was immediately hooked by the premise so this is a highly anticipated read.







Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf
** The cover called to me!! I got this one from Shelf Awareness.









Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi
** The author contacted me about reading this one. I read a synopsis of it and I think I'm really going to enjoy it!!

What came for you?

Book Blogger Appreciation Week- Don't forget to register and vote!!!

Announcing the Second Annual Book Blogger Appreciation Week September 14-18, 2009

Last year over 400 blogs came together to celebrate the art of book blogging during the first ever Book Blogger Appreciation Week! I am so pleased to announce that the second annual Book Blogger Appreciation Week will be taking place September 14-18.

WHO Anyone who blogs about books is invited to participate. In fact, we want everyone who blogs about books and reading to be a part of this week!
WHAT A week where we come together, celebrate the contribution and hard work of book bloggers in promoting a culture of literacy, connecting readers to books and authors, and recogonizing the best among us with the Second Annual BBAW Awards. There will be special guest posts, daily blogging themes, and giveaways.
WHEN September 14-18, 2009
WHERE Here at the new Book Blogger Appreciation Week Blog! (Please note that this year there are three separate blogs and feeds—one for the main event, one for giveaways, and one for awards.)
WHY Because books matter. In a world full of options, the people talking about books pour hard work, time, energy, and money into creating a community around the written word. I, Amy, the founder of Book Blogger Appreciation Week love this community of bloggers and want to shower my appreciation on you!

WANT TO PARTICIPATE?
Please help us spread the word about Book Blogger Appreciation Week by posting about it on your blog, stumbling this post, twittering about it, and telling everyone you know that it’s time to have a party and celebrate book bloggers!

Please register by filling out the registration form! Registering ensures your inclusion in the BBAW 09 Database of Book Bloggers and enters you into the drawing for the BBAW 09 Grand Prize!

Come back often as there will be many updates! And follow us on Twitter!

AWARDS
BBAW Award Nominations will open tomorrow, July 15 on the BBAW Awards Blog.

Taken directly from BBAW website.

Read It Forward

I'm a big fan of Marcia's (The Printed Page) READ IT FORWARD philosophy so I have listed my gently read ARC's and review copies that I have received from publishers to give away to my loyal friends.

Instructions: Important Please Read!!!

• One book per person
• Must live in the US (sorry!!)
• First come, first served
• This is important. Marcia limits her Read It Forward to her Mailbox Monday participators. Mine will be limited to a Friend that has commented on my blog more than 5x's in the last 30 days!! Commenting on this post does not count!! LOL!
  

I will try to keep the list updated as they are spoken for. Good Luck and enjoy!!!

Here are the books up for grabs:

Made in the USA by Billie Letts
Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris (my own copy)-reviewed here
Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers by Angie Fox (look for my review on this one Saturday)
Who Do You Think You Are? by Alyse Meyers -reviewed here
A World I Never Made by James Lepore- reviewed here
Into the Land of Cotton by Martha Taylor-reviewed here
The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny- for some crazy reason I received 2!

Review: The Lace Makers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri

Title and Author of book: The Lace Makers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri

Fiction or non-fiction: Fiction
Genre: Adult literature
Where did I get the book: My public Library
Challenges that this fulfilled: The Pub 2009

What led you to pick up this book? I fell in love with the cover when I saw it on Bonnie's blog Red Lady's Reading Room.

Summarize the plot but don't give away the ending!
"You can always start again," Kate Robinson's mother once told her, "all it takes is a new thread." Overwhelmed by heartbreak and loss, the struggling twenty-six-year-old fashion designer follows her mother's advice and flees to her ancestral homeland of Ireland, hoping to break free of old patterns and reinvent herself.

What did you like most about this book? The theme of loss runs deep through this story, however, the author shows the reader how each person deals differently with their own heartaches and is able to have hope once again! I also liked how the sharing of a craft brought together a group of women who treated each other like family. I would love to belong to a group like this.

What did you like least? There wasn't anything that I didn't like. This book was beautifully written and the characters came to life in my mind. The only down side to reading this is that it made me want to be in Ireland!!

Have you read any other books by this author? No, I haven't but I would easily pick up her first novel, Snow in July, because of how much I loved this one.

What did you think of the main character? I loved each of the characters introduced in this book. Each one had something to add to the story and made it that much more interesting.

What about the ending? Well, I can't tell you anything about that!! I don't want to spoil this wonderful book for anyone!!

I totally recommend this book to anyone. It was a lovely read and when I closed the book I was truly sad to say goodbye to these people. I wanted to get on a plane and travel to their village and ask them if I could be a part of their extended family!!

Other Book Friends who read and reviewed this book:
Tara @ Books and Cooks
Direct Quote: "For some reason, I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did, perhaps because it seemed formulaic. But it brought me pleasure and I am happy to recommend it."

I want to give credit to Kailana of The Written World
for the format of my review today.
I really like how she does her reviews,
so as I wanted to change things up a bit,
I thought I would review this book in her style.

Review: In the Land of Cotton by Martha A. Taylor

In the Land of Cotton
by Martha A. Taylor
Published 2009 by Outskirts Press
Pages: 256




My Thoughts:

This is the story of Martha's childhood and teen years living in Memphis during the 1950's and into the 60's. She allows us into a glimpse into her world where we find out that she experiences child molestation from an adult who was supposed to care for her, someone that should've never hurt their own grandchild. Her parents are distant, stingy with their love, and always fighting. As a way to escape these three people, she follows the babysitter, Lucy, who is a black woman, home one day. She realizes that there is a world unknown to others deep in the woods behind her sub-division. She spends much of her summers with Lucy's extended family and feels like a loved family member. During her time there she meets and falls in love with Silas. They both know that their feelings have to be kept secret,but after Silas is sent to Vietnam, they realize that they MUST be together no matter what. Her story unfolds as the Civil Rights movement is underway and her relationship with Silas is one that is fraught with danger. There is so much to learn from this wonderful book. I took more from Martha's story than I ever did in history class. She made the events come alive and because she lived during that time, her story made more of an impact on me. Not only that, but a lot of what was happening affected her and Silas's relationship. It wasn't until the late 1960's when the government finally removed the laws that had prevented blacks and whites from marrying. This book was well worth the time I spent reading it. I walked away with a much broader knowledge of the discrimination and hatred endured by our fellow Americans and I came to love Martha, Silas, Lucy, Mammy Grace and all of the other Boyd family members. I absolutely recommend this book to anyone wanting to read about an innocent and true love developing against the backdrop of racism, hatred and fear of other races, and America at war in Vietnam.

Library Loot and Waiting on Wednesday

Hosted by Eva at A Stripped Armchair and Marg at Reading Adventures.
We share what we each picked up at the library during the week.

I picked up some great books this past week!!

The Blue Notebook by James A. Levine
** There has been a lot of press on this book because of the important subject matter- child prostitution in India. I was first made aware of it from Wendy's Mailbox Monday post which can be seen here at Caribou's Mom. Then after reading Lisa's wonderful review on Books on the Brain, I knew that this was a book I had to read.






Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
**I was listening to an interview of the author on a podcast of Book Lust and really enjoyed hearing her talk about the research she did for this book. I read March and liked it a lot so when I stumbled on this the other day I decided to read it!





Secrets She Left Behind by Diane Chamberlain
** I can't remember where I first heard about this book but I thought the blurb from the back really packed a punch: One afternoon, single mother Sara Weston says she's going to the store--and never returns. In her absence, she leaves her teenage son alone with his damaged past and a legacy of secrets.




The Collected Stories by Amy Hempel
** Now I know that I didn't come across this book on my own but for some reason I never marked where I first saw it...so if it was you let me know so I can pass the blame to you!!!






The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
** As I was looking this one up in my Goodreads account I once again can't believe that I didn't list the blogger buddy who first lead me to want to read this one!! I've seen it so many places that I'm just going to blame all of you!!!







To Read List Total today 7/15/2009: 805
Last Week's To Read List total 7/08/2009: 801
Books Read in 2009 to date: 99
Number of Books Checked out from the library:25
Book Blogger Buddies Recommendations TBR List: 185 last week 195 this week


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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.

DREAMFEVER
Release Date: August 25, 2009
I absolutely LOVE this series and can not wait until this one is released. This is paranormal romance at its finest!!!!

Synopsis:
He has stolen her past, but MacKayla will never allow her sister’s murderer to take her future. Yet even the uniquely gifted sidhe-seer is no match for the Lord Master, who has unleashed an insatiable sexual craving that consumes Mac’s every thought—and thrusts her into the seductive realm of two very dangerous men, both of whom she desires but dares not trust.

As the enigmatic Jericho Barrons and the sensual Fae prince V’lane vie for her body and soul, as cryptic entries from her sister’s diary mysteriously appear and the power of the Dark Book weaves its annihilating path through the city, Mac’s greatest enemy delivers a final challenge...

It’s an invitation Mac cannot refuse, one that sends her racing home to Georgia, where an even darker threat awaits. With her parents missing and the lives of her loved ones under siege, Mac is about to come face-to-face with a soul-shattering truth—about herself and her sister, about Jericho Barrons…and about the world she thought she knew.

What book are you waiting for?