Mailbox Monday-August 31st

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

Strangers From A Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans
I received this book from Stacy @ Stacy Buckeye. She listed a bunch of books that were first come, first served, and after reading Shanghai Girls, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, and Tallgrass earlier this summer, I thought this book would be an interesting read. Thanks Stacy!

Synopsis: In an extraordinary blend of eloquent narrative history, vivid personal recollection, and oral testimony, Ronald Takaki relates the diverse 150-year history of Asian Americans. Through richly detailed vignettes--by turns bitter, funny, and inspiring--he offers a stunning panorama of a neglected part of American history. 16 pages of photographs.


Table Manners by Mia King
This book came courtesy of Mia King and Berkley Publishing Group. But the real reason I got this book is because Mary from Bookfan Mary is a DOLL!!!! She was able to get this one for me and I love her for it!!!

Synopsis:Deidre McIntosh finally has all the ingredients for a perfect life. She has her own line of cakes and cookies, and the perfect boyfriend, Kevin Johnson, one of Seattle's top bachelors. Creative, energetic, and loving, Deidre is the person friends go to when they need a helping hand. But when Kevin's ex-fiancée, the sultry and successful magazine publisher Sabine Durant, suddenly appears in Seattle, it's Deidre who needs help.

What great books made their way to your house????

Catching Up!

I seriously need to catch up with some awards that my fellow bloggers have bestowed upon me.


Friendly Blogger Award
from Caspette of The Narrative Causality






Literary Blogger Award
from Harvee at Book Bird Dog
**The Literary Blogger Award acknowledges bloggers who energize and inspire reading by going the extra mile! These amazing bloggers make reading fun, and enhance the delight of reading!


Proximidade Award
from Avisannschild at she reads and reads and
Julie at My Own Little Corner of the World
This award invests and believes in proximity—nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this clever-written text into the body of their award.


Humane Award
from Kaye at Pudgy Penguin Perusals
"The Humane Award is to honor certain bloggers that are kindhearted individuals. They regularly take part in my blog and always leave the sweetest comments. If it weren't for them, my site would just be an ordinary book review blog. Their blogs are also amazing and are tastefully done on a daily basis. This award is to thank them for their growing friendships through the blog world."


Bloody Great Blogger Award
from Kaye at Pudgy Penguin Perusals
The Bloody Great Blogger award is to be given to 5 bloggers who have been supportive and extra special to you in the blogging process. That person who always comments or the one who emails you to let you know about that Freudian slip you missed, the blogger who links to your posts or lifts you up when your blog is down.





Zombie Chicken Award
from Rebecca at Lost in Books and Jessie at Casual Dread
The blogger who receives this award believes in the Tao of the zombie chicken - excellence, grace and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their inspiring words. As a recipient of this world-renowned award, you now have the task of passing it on
to at least 5 other worthy bloggers. Do not risk the wrath of the zombie chickens by choosing unwisely or not choosing at all...



Heartfelt Award
Shawnee from Reading in Appalachia
Do you reach for a cup of cocoa or tea when your relaxing, seeking comfort, sharing a plate of cookies with family and freinds? You know the feeling you get when you drink a yummy cup of cocoa, tea, or a hot toddy? That is what the Heartfelt Award is all about, feeling warm inside.Nominate up to to 9 blogs which make you feel comfy or warm inside.Be sure to link your nominees within your post. Let them know that they have been nominated by commenting on their blog. Remember to link to the person from whom you received your award.


Bingo's Beautiful Blog Award
from Sheree at Eclectic Reader
This award was started by Bookin With BINGO and here are the rules:
This "B-I-N-G-O" BEAUTIFUL BLOG AWARD means that this blog is...
B: Beautiful
I: Informative
N: Neighborly
G: Gorgeous
O: Outstanding

Please look carefully at as many blogs as you can to find the top FIVE blogs that YOU think also exemplify these standards and pass it along to them. Please don't break this chain of FIVE! If you are someone who doesn't want awards or doesn't pass them on, please tell the person who is giving it so they can share it with someone who would want it. Thank you. Also, link your award to the person who gave it to you so when people link on the person's name or blog name, it will take them there to see that person's BINGO-RIFFIC BLOG.


One Lovely Blog
from Heather at Cerebral Girl in a Redneck World
One Lovely Blog Award goes to new blogs and blogging friends.The rules are: Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who granted the award and his or her blog link. Pass the award to 5 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered.







I will pass each award on until I'm done every Sunday!! Again, thanks to all my blogging friends who so kindly passed these awards on to my blog....I'm ever so thankful 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?)



After the Moment by Garrett Freymann-Weyr
The premise of this book was really promising. There was all of this buildup to "after the moment" which totally fell flat in the end. I liked Leigh, the main male character. But the author chose to use this book as her way of protesting the Iraq war. To me, it just didn't fit into the book no matter how hard she tried. She should've lost that thread in the story and just concentrated on Leigh and Maia.


My rating:









The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews
This book was splendid fun! I've never read Andrews, but I will be back to read more of her works. Dempsey is a character that you just like from the very beginning. I fell in love with small town Guthrie and all of the eccentric people that lived there. I could picture the house that she renovated in my mind and I wanted to be there helping her out!! The only thing that could've made this book better was pictures of that kitchen when Dempsey was done with it!!


My rating:







Secrets She Left Behind by Diane Chamberlain
Told from several points of view this story drew me in from the very beginning. Chamberlain has a way with relationships and showing each person's perspective. The family issues are real and very relevant to today's world. The secret has a profound impact on more people than you would originally realize. The pacing is wonderful, the story engaging, and when I was done reading I was totally satisfied. I will be reading more of Chamberlain in the future!


My rating:

Review Burnout-Please Help!!!

image from: California Kit Fox

I was going to post a review for today, but as I sit here reading and commenting on blogs, I find myself with nothing to say!!! It isn't for lack of good books that I've read recently. And my husband and son can attest to the fact that me not talking is very rare. So what is the problem? I can't exactly pinpoint it, but right now I feel pretty unoriginal. I'm at a loss as how to put into words what each one of these books made me feel and to make it something that anyone would care to read. How many of you have had this happen? What did you do to re-energize your thoughts and creativity? I don't want to quit posting or take time off from my blog because I love doing it. I've just hit a road-block and need help getting around it. Any suggestions? Please share your stories with me and help give me a lift out of this funk!!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!

Review: Skinned by Robin Wasserman

Title and Author of book: Skinned by Robin Wasserman
Fiction or non-fiction: YA Fiction
Genre: Science Fiction sort-of
Where did I get the book: My public Library
Challenges that this fulfilled: None-just trying to get my library pile under control.

Who recommended this book to me? I came upon this book while browsing the YA section at one of my library locations. I thought the cover looked pretty intriguing with all of the tattoo like drawings on the girl's body. After reading the inside cover the story sounded good, so I checked it out!

Summarize the plot but don't give away the ending!

Lia Kahn was perfect: rich, beautiful, popular -- until the accident that nearly killed her. Now she has been downloaded into a new body that only looks human. Lia will never feel pain again, she will never age, and she can't ever truly die. But she is also rejected by her friends, betrayed by her boyfriend, and alienated from her old life.

Forced to the fringes of society, Lia joins others like her. But they are looked at as freaks. They are hated...and feared. They are everything but human, and according to most people, this is the ultimate crime -- for which they must pay the ultimate price.

What did you like most about this book? I really enjoyed the character Lia and how she progressed throughout the book. She wakes up only to find out that she was in a horrific car accident and basically died. But because her parents have a lot of credit (money) they were able to download her brain, buy her a new artificial body and thus save her "life." But did they really save her life or make this new one unbearable? That's the question that is explored in this book.

What did you like least? I can't really say that there was anything that I didn't enjoy while reading this one. I thought the author made the teens pretty realistic and her future world is pretty amazing. Scary, but amazing. In the future you can just climb into your car, input where you want to go, buckle up and the car drives you to your destination!! So cool!! and think about all the reading you could get done!!

Have you read any other books by this author? I've never read Wasserman but this was book one in a planned series of three books, so I will be continuing on to find out how Lia decides to tackle her new face/body and the way her family and society really feel about her because she isn't HUMAN. She's really just a MACHINE!


What about the ending? Knowing that this was book one I was not upset about the ending at all.


If you read and enjoyed The Adoration of Jenna Fox then I know for a fact that you will like this series. This one takes Adoration to another level of what the future world may look like and what science may end up being able to do with the human mind. But once again, I find myself asking the question- Where does the soul reside? In the mind? Where? Can that be downloaded into a computer? Would you want to live inside an artificial body, even if you could basically live forever?


Other Reviews:

Karin Librarian
direct quote from review: "SKINNED by Robin Wasserman is a spell-binding, futuristic story filled with issues of medical ethics, family dynamics, and loss. If you enjoyed the Uglies trilogy by Scott Westerfeld, you’ll enjoy SKINNED."

Liv's Book Reviews
direct quote from review:"Being an avid fan of futuristic fiction, I couldn't denounce Skinned just because of it's unoriginality. And there were a few bright points for me. Lia's character was pretty good. She had really relatable thoughts and struggles and worries, so as she grew and found out more about herself and her new life, I felt more connected and drawn to her."




Great news!!!

The sequel to SKINNED is finally here!

CRASHED

No one to trust... everything to lose.

Before the accident, Lia Kahn was happy.

Before the accident, Lia Kahn was loved.

Before, Lia was a lot of things: Normal. Alive. Human.

Lia no longer lives in before.

Crashed is in stores Sept. 2009.

Waiting on Wednesday

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

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney

I so have to order this book as soon as I get back to work. I can't keep any of the Wimpy Kid books on the shelf. When the students realize this one is coming out, they're going to drive me crazy!!!
Release Date: October 12, 2009

From Amazon.com:

It’s summer vacation, the weather’s great, and all the kids are having fun outside. So where’s Greg Heffley? Inside his house, playing video games with the shades drawn. Greg, a self-confessed “indoor person,” is living out his ultimate summer fantasy: no responsibilities and no rules. But Greg’s mom has a different vision for an ideal summer . . . one packed with outdoor activities and “family togetherness.” Whose vision will win out? Or will a new addition to the Heffley family change everything?

Library Loot-August 26

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.

My blame game isn't very exciting this week as I'm trying really hard to acquire some self-control. LOL!!! We'll see how long it lasts!!!!


The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
** Blame goes entirely to Nymeth. She's such an introspective person and I really take a lot away from her reviews. I'd read about this book in ALA email or something but it was her review that prompted me to get this one.






A Kiss In Time by Alex Flinn
** Just myself to blame and the author. I've enjoyed every book that she's written. This one is her spin on the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty. I loved Beastly(her take on Beauty and the Beast)...fantastic!! I can't wait to read this one!!!!





Books Read in 2009 to date: 127
Number of Books Checked out from the library:20
Book Blogger Buddies Recommendations TBR List: 222 last week 232 this week

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!

As my father said, she was lying down in the bed she'd made. And so, steeled against her and very sleepy, I lay down in my own.

p.64 While I'm Falling by Laura Moriarty






___________________________________________________________

It's Tuesday...Where Are You?

I'm in college and get a crazy phone call from my sister. Mom and Dad are divorcing!! What???? in a matter of seconds my life feels like it is falling apart.
~While I'm Falling

Mailbox Monday- August 24th

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

You know how sometimes you just feel the NEED to own a certain book? Well that happened to me last week and I couldn't resist ordering these two from ABE Books. Total bill- $10.00 with shipping!!!!


In The Woods by Tana French
I ordered it because I've checked it out from the library 2 times and never did get to it. Now I don't feel any pressure to get it read, but it's nice to know that it's waiting for me when I can get to it!!






The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James
Nicole from Linus's Blanket reviewed Lost Memoirs of Charlotte Bronte. I really loved her thoughts on this book and went to my library site to request it. Found out that they didn't have any of Syrie James books. I was really disappointed. Then the need to acquire one of these books started to become an obsession. I found it at Barne and Noble and had to fight with myself to buy it. That night I got online and was determined to find it at a much lower cost. Thank you ABE Books!!

What great books made their way to your house????

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?)


The Blue Notebook
by James Levine
This book is brutal to read. It is one of a young Indian girl who is kept in a cage for prostitution. I found my face contorted in grimaces of horror as I was reading her story. But this is a story that we, as fellow humans, can NOT turn our faces away from. If you want to BUY just one book this year then make it this one. All proceeds go to help these children that are a part of the sex slave trade.


My rating:







Dear Neighbor, Drop Dead
by Saralee Rosenberg
I so wanted to love this book. It started out promising but then something happened. The author decided to throw in every cliche that she could and make them all turn out true. The main character and her husband are drowning in debt. Someone pulls a miracle out of their butt and now they are rich and everyone is happy. Without the extra totally insane, Danielle Steel plots, constant gutter language, and better editing, this book could have taken a totally different direction.


My rating:

Review: Wuthering Heights

Title and Author of book: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Fiction or non-fiction: Fiction
Genre: Classics
Where did I get the book: My bookshelf
Challenges that this fulfilled: Random Reading Challenge











My Thoughts:
Will you still love me if I tell you how I really felt about this book? I hope so. Please don't bear me any ill thoughts after I express myself. Instead leave a comment and try to convince me that this book really should be a classic must read, that this book really is worth the time I invested in reading it!!!

Here goes:

I detested Heathcliff. There was nothing romantic in him. Nothing. I thought he was heartless and cruel. Cathy to me was insipid. That girl had no backbone whatsoever. If she wanted to marry Heathcliff then she should have. What I hated the most was that both of them married other people only to make their lives miserable. BRATS!!! If I was Linton I would've tossed Heathcliff over the cliffs..(little side joke) and be done with his intrusions into his home and life. Maybe if he had done that then Cathy's tantrums and her willing death upon herself might not have happened. Don't even get me started on trying to figure out what Joseph was saying!!!! Gibberish to me....was it a foreign language that I didn't know about? The only parts that I DID like was that the story was narrated by Ellen. I enjoyed that part of it. I also happened to like that the two offspring Hareton and Little Cathy end up together....they were perfect for each other. But what I enjoyed the most????? the final sentence which brought this excruciating read to an end.

Review: The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly

Title and Author of book: The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly
Fiction or non-fiction: Fiction
Genre: Crime Fiction
Where did I get the book: My public Library
Challenges that this fulfilled: None-just trying to get my library pile under control.

Who recommended this book to me? JoAnn from Every Day Matters. When she gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads, I took notice. Why? Because in her own words: "I am a very demanding reader. I expect a lot of an author who has managed to get published." So, after reading her thoughts on this one I couldn't pass up the opportunity to grab this at the library.

Summarize the plot but don't give away the ending!

Forced out of the Los Angeles Times amid the latest budget cuts, newspaperman Jack McEvoy decides to go out with a bang, using his final days at the paper to write the definitive murder story of his career.

He focuses on Alonzo Winslow, a 16-year-old drug dealer in jail after confessing to a brutal murder. But as he delves into the story, Jack realizes that Winslow's so-called confession is bogus. The kid might actually be innocent.

Jack is soon running with his biggest story since The Poet made his career years ago. He is tracking a killer who operates completely below police radar--and with perfect knowledge of any move against him. Including Jack's.

What did you like most about this book? I loved the plot line. It was pretty interesting and it really made me think about all of the information that we put out there about ourselves on the internet and how easy it really is for someone to target you. There are so many clues that we leave behind that makes it a piece of cake for someone to track us down. SCARY!!!!!!

What did you like least? There wasn't anything in particular that stands out to me. I really enjoyed this read.

Have you read any other books by this author? This is my first encounter with Michael Connelly. I honestly feel like I've been living under a rock!! He's written a lot of books and I've just NOW read one????


What about the ending? I find nothing to complain about with the ending. Exactly the way I wanted it to be!

I really enjoyed this book. I plowed through it in one day! I'll be back for The Poet next!!! Which I guess is Book #1 in the Jack McEvoy series. Usually, I never read out of order, but I had no idea this was #2 until I started reading it. I don't think it matters at all, honestly. The author gave you enough background information that filled in any missing gaps.

Other readers thoughts on this one:

JoAnne- Every Day Matters
Direct Quote from Goodreads: "This book is straightforward and well-done, with twists and turns, for sure, but nothing meant to trick or confuse the reader. Loved it! Lots of action, lots to make the reader think."

Rhapsody In Books-
Direct quote from review: "This is a suspenseful book that will keep you, if not on the edge of your seat, very close to it. I liked the bittersweet encomium to newspapers too. It isn’t overdone, and also serves to provide those emotional resting spaces when you recover from one roller coaster dip before going up another. Good summer read. 3.5/5"

Mo from Unmainstream Mom Reads-
Direct quote from review: "I think one thing that adds to the mass appeal of this book is that the violence, sex, and torture were not at all graphic or even mildly offensive."

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.

Welcome to another addition of "BLAME IT ON SOMEONE ELSE!" Starting from the top of the pile and working our way down to the bottom:

Last Bridge by Teri Coyne
The book blogger to blame is: LISA FROM COOKS AND BOOKS
Quoted from her review-"Once I started reading THE LAST BRIDGE I found it very hard to put down. I wanted to keep going to see what would happen next. It is a dark and troubling story told in a precise manner. It's not filled with a lot of description and airy details. Teri Coyne paints a realistic picture of Cat's life as a lost soul. For some, it might be too dark, but I find myself drawn to these types of novels and appreciate the poignancy in them."

Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman
The book blogger to blame is: Meg from Write Meg. I totally loved her review and it's about a young girl who loves all things Austen. How can I go wrong????


While I'm Falling by Laura Moriarty
The book blogger to blame is: I'm blaming Jill from Breaking the Spine because she hosts a cool meme, titled Waiting on Wednesday. If I didn't participate in this then I wouldn't have come across this one. Sounds logical to me...


Dead Dancing Women by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli
The book blogger to blame is: Kathy from Bermuda Onion. Now let me explain, Kathy hasn't read this, at least not that I'm aware of. But she does do this Literary Road Trip highlighting authors from her state. So when I picked up this book and saw that it was written by a Michigan author I decided to partake on the Literary Road Trip!! See how I made the connection??? Tricky, aren't I?


Back on Blossom Street #3 by Debbie Macomber
The book blogger to blame is: of course Dar from Peeking Between the Pages. She's the one that got me started on this series so it will ALWAYS be her fault!!

City of Glass-The Mortal Instruments Book 3 by Cassandra Clare
The book blogger to blame is: how did I not have anyone to blame for this one? Guess I'll have to take responsibility for this...darn!



70% of the books I've read this year have come from my public library!
Books Read in 2009 to date: 123
Number of Books Checked out from the library:20
Book Blogger Buddies Recommendations TBR List: 215 last week 222 this week
____________________________________________________________________

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

I, Alex Cross
by James Patterson

This is one series that I won't stop reading no matter what. The main reason, I love Alex Cross. Love him. So I will read this in one day and then wait for the next one. Alex and I have something going on!!

Scheduled for release November 16, 2009
From Amazon.com:Detective Alex Cross is pulled out of a family celebration and given the awful news that a beloved relative has been found brutally murdered. Alex vows to hunt down the killer, and soon learns that she was mixed up in one of Washington's wildest scenes. And she was not this killer's only victim.

What book are you waiting for?

Teaser Tuesday 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!

She put a hand on Keenan's chest, intending to push him away, but sunlight pulsed between them at the contact. Their bodies were a giant conduit; sunlight looped between them like a stream of energy that grew stronger as it slipped through the barrier of skin.
p.71 from Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr

______________________________________________________________________

It's Tuesday...Where Are You?

I'm now in my full power as the Summer Queen. Life is getting harder every day. Seth is mortal. I'm not. Keenan wants me to be his...forever. I love Seth, but I'm to protect my court, so where does that leave a mortal in my world?
~Fragile Eternity

Mailbox Monday

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

The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl
--This one is for an upcoming TLC Tour....looks great!!!

What came for you?

What could be better than this?

An early Sunday morning, no one else is up, and I'm sitting outside with a fresh cup of coffee, reading my Bookmarks Magazine (secretly starting my Christmas wishlist).
What are you doing today????