Winner of Embellish

Wanda

Please respond to my email with your address!!
Sorry for getting to this contest so late everyone!

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

It's Tuesday...Where Are You?

I'm in England learning the true meaning of Christmas.
~ A Christmas Carol
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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!

" The school is not quite deserted," said the Ghost.
"A solitary child, neglected by his friends, is left there still."
Scrooge said he knew it. And he sobbed.

p.44 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Mailbox Monday- December 14

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

Through the Heart by Kate Morgenroth
** This one just showed up one day, I didn't request it so how it got here is a mystery. But it sounds like a great read!!

Synopsis:
As Nora and Timothy take turns telling their sides of the story, the reader is caught in the net of their love, and the chilling murder that results. With big questions of love, fidelity, filial responsibility and the role of fate, Through the Heart is a page-turning love story with a jaw dropping twist readers won't soon forget!



Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde
** Review copy courtesy of publisher
I think this one is going to be a different read for me...but I'm looking forward to it. Has anyone read it yet?

Synopsis:
Stunningly imaginative, very funny, tightly plotted, and with sly satirical digs at our own society, this novel is for those who loved Thursday Next but want to be transported somewhere equally wild, only darker; a world where the black and white of moral standpoints have been reduced to shades of grey.

WHAT CAME FOR YOU?

Six Sentence Saturday

Welcome to Six Sentence Saturday.

Where I try to express my thoughts on recent reads using only 6 sentences!!!!.
At the end of each review I will post a
rating scale of 1-5 using the cute and original (lol) Playing Cards.
Rating scale will be as follows:

5 of Hearts- You must read this book NOW!!
4 of Hearts- A great read, put it on your TBR list.
3 of Hearts- Glad I read but no big deal
2 of Hearts- Why did I finish this?
Joker Card - Don't bother (why did I?)


A Beautiful Blue Death (Charles Lenox Mysteries #1) by Charles Finch
** I have finally learned that some stories are slow for a reason. This one is slow in pacing because the main character Charles is a man of privilege and wealth. His days are not owed to anyone but himself, so he goes about his day at a leisurely pace. He is asked by his good friend Lady Jane to begin an inquest as to how her former maid died, he finds himself with a wonderful puzzle to try to piece together. I enjoyed this mystery very much and found that I really liked Charles and his "close friendship" with Lady Jane. Nan of Letters From a Hill Farm, has given me much insight on how to enjoy these slower paced stories and for that I thank her!!
My Rating:






Hold My Hand by Serena Mackesy
** I read an awesome review of Hold My Hand at Fleur Fisher's blog and immediately knew I had to read this book. I was not disappointed. Take a woman who married for love (she thought) and then ends up being on the receiving end of abuse. She flees with her daughter to the Cornwall area to be a caretaker of an old mansion that quite literally is haunted. This is a very suspenseful book with a ghost that is twisted and sinister- and she's a child!!! The atmosphere of this one has been compared to Rebecca (which I have yet to read) and if you enjoyed that book plus books with that Gothic eeriness to them, then you should put this one on a TBR list!!
My Rating:






Kith (The Good Neighbors #2) by Holly Black
** Jumping back into a graphic novel was a fun way to spend an hour this past week. At times I did find myself a little lost in the story. That is the drawback to a graphic novel...the art work is open to interpretation to add to the story, and sometimes I don't INTERPRET correctly!! Black has once again taken the reader into the dark side of fairies and at times humans. If you've read her novels I think you would enjoy this graphic novel series. If you're picking up a graphic novel for the first time...don't start with this series because there are much BETTER ones out there!!
My Rating:

Show and Tell

Pieces of Me

There's more to me than just books and reading, so today I felt like sharing another hobby of mine that I love to do, which is scrapbooking. I was introduced to this hobby about 6 years ago and I fell in love with it. I made my Mom a scrapbook of her parents, siblings, my Dad, and me and my brother. After that I was hooked. I don't scrap every day but I do go almost once a month with my best pal Tracy and we spend the WHOLE day just having fun and getting a few pages done!! Here are some of my favorite pages that I would like to share with you today.

Marc learning how to eat...it only took him 13 years!!!

My cutie patootie nephew Simon at the beach.

My boys being goofy inside a photo booth!!!

Marcus with his best buddy Tyler...they've been friends since Kindergarten.

My boys at the beach a few years ago...Trouble is exactly right!!!


Thanks for stopping by today and if you're
kind enough to leave a comment
tell me what other hobbies besides reading do you enjoy?????

My Secret Santa came down the chimney!!

There's nothing quite like getting a package in the mail that you know someone picked out the contents just for you!! My package arrived and I couldn't wait to open it up.

My Secret Santa was Jennifer of Extreme Reader Book Reviews .
I absolutely loved the chocolate goodies(MIA-eaten),handmade scarf, the fluffy pen (I've been writing with it every night!), sticky notes, bookmarks, notepad, and then 3 wrapped gifts. I don't usually get anything to open on Christmas day so I'm putting the wrapped goodies under the tree!! I'll post about those later!!

Don't you just love this gorgeous scarf???? I totally need it because winter has arrived in Michigan and right now the wind is blowing about 50 mph!!

I can't thank Jennifer enough for her generosity!!!!

Library Loot- December 2 Part Two

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.

Like I said in last weeks library loot post, I felt the need to make this two parts because of the insane number of books that I checked out. If you didn't read Part One, click here....who knows I probably blamed you for one of the books on the list!! This post is dedicated to books that struck my fancy as I was going through the shelves...no one is to blame for these except ME!!!


My Life in France by Julia Child
This is the audio CD of the book. I hated Julie & Julia, but the good thing that came out of reading that one was making me interested in Julia Child. I've been meaning to find a GOOD audio book and I hope this one will be the one!







The Lumby Lines by Gail Fraser
Being true to myself I could blame the Library Ladies who made a display of this series because honestly I wouldn't have found these books any time soon, but there they were right out for me to stumble into. The cover art is spectacular and this book just looks and sounds comfy...right up my alley!






The Ninth Daughter: An Abigail Adams Mystery by Barbara Hamilton
A new mystery series set during the Revolutionary War time period. I am totally on a mystery kick right now and this one has the historical elements that I love so I thought it was worth a read!





The Four Seasons by Alice Munroe
Stories about sisters, family, and good chick-lit just draw me in.








Kith: The Good Neighbors #2 by Holly Black
Second book in the graphic novel series The Good Neighbors. Can't wait to dive in!
Edited: I read this last night will feature review on Six Sentence Saturday.





Witch Way to Murder (Ophelia & Abby Mystery #1) by Shirley Damsgaard
Another cozy mystery series......but this one has witches in it...couldn't resist!!!






Sew What! Bags by Lexie Barnes
Whenever winter sets in I feel the need to be crafty. After looking through this book I thought I just may have to make a bag or two. So I plan to get my sewing machine out, dust it off, and lose myself in a fabric store!!!
Edited: Click here for my thoughts on this one.



Simple Country Wisdom by Susan Waggoner
This book is all about making your home comfortable and countrified...I browsed through it and loved the homey way the author had of talking to the reader. Plus, there is so much eye candy going on in this book....I may make a thing or two!!





Books Read in 2009 to date: 176
Number of Books Checked out from the library:26