Mailbox Monday- November 30

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

The Piano Teacher
** I love this cover and the story sounds really entertaining so when I was offered a copy to kick-off this being in paperback from Gabrielle @ Penguin, I jumped at the chance.

In the sweeping tradition of The English Patient, a gripping tale of love and betrayal set in war-torn Hong Kong.Claire Pendleton comes to Hong Kong and is hired by the wealthy Chen family as their daughter’s piano teacher. A provincial English newlywed, Claire is seduced by the heady social life of the expatriate community. At one of its elegant cocktail parties, she meets Will, to whom she is instantly attracted—but as their affair intensifies, Claire discovers that Will’s enigmatic persona hides a devastating past. As she begins to understand the true nature of the world she has entered, and long-buried secrets start to emerge, Claire learns that sometimes the price of survival is love.

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?)


Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton
** I read a bunch of great reviews on the second book in this series and that is what made me pick up this copy. What a fun read.....I totally loved this little town in Vermont and all of its quirky and magical characters. Chloe Hobbs is a person that I would like to know in real life. Not only is she down to earth and charming but...she can knit! Something that I wish everyday I had the talent for. This one is a fast, fun read with a great romance in the works....pick it up and settle in for a cozy read!
My Rating:







Something, Maybe by Elizabeth Scott
** The first book that I read by this author was Living Dead Girl...which was an emotional powerhouse that made my skin crawl. I've been wanting to read her lighter YA fare, so I chose this one. I totally felt bad for Hannah, her mom basically does soft-porn to pay the bills and her dad is a complete rich loser who only wants to use her to promote his own reality show. With not much guidance in her life it really wasn't any surprise to me that she chose her first love based solely on his good looks. Overall, it was a fun light read but I have to admit that I kept comparing her writing to Dessen, which I feel is much stronger. I will probably try another book by Scott sometime in the future but I don't feel like my world will stop spinning if I don't read her books anytime soon.
My Rating:






Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
** OMG....I can't believe that I've waited this long to read the first one in this series. All of the kids at my middle school have been disappointed with me when I tell them, "Sorry kiddo, I haven't gotten to it yet." They basically look at me as if I was a complete and utter LOSER!! Not any longer people, not any longer. This book is hilarious, so true to how a middle school kid feels, and I have several favorite parts that I had to point out to my son Marc. If you need a good laugh and happen to have a 10-14 year-old at home then you will be uber-cool just by reading this one and sharing all your favorite Greg moments!!!
My Rating:

Giving Thanks

Book Review: The Recipe Club

Book Synopsis:
Loyalty, loss, and the ties that bind. These are the ingredients of The Recipe Club, a "novel cookbook" that combines an authentic story of friendship with more than 80 delicious recipes. Lilly and Val are lifelong friends, united as much by their differences as by their similarities. Lilly, dramatic and confident, lives in the shadow of her beautiful, wayward mother and craves the attention of her distant, disapproving father. Val, shy and idealistic—and surprisingly ambitious— struggles with her desire to break free from her demanding housebound mother and a father whose dreams never seem to come true. The Recipe Club sustains Lilly and Val's bond through the decades, regardless of what different paths they take or what misunderstandings threaten to break them apart . . . until the fateful day when an act of kindness becomes an unforgivable betrayal. Now, years later, while trying to recapture the trust they've lost, Lilly and Val reunite once more—only to uncover a shocking secret. Will it destroy their friendship, or bring them ever closer?



My Thoughts:
I found this book to be truly enjoyable. I loved how it started out with Lilly and Val re-connecting via email and then we progress to go back into time and experience the letters and recipes that they exchanged throughout their tumultuous friendship. I liked both of the characters but I seemed to be more drawn to the reserve and quiet Val. The only thing that was a drawback for me were the recipes. They seemed to be too involved and not anything that I would remotely be interested in making. With that being said, this is still a good book and I read it over a course of two days. I would recommend this to those that enjoy epistolary books, recipes, and how friendship can be restored over exchanging some once-forgotten memories and to be willing to forgive.


** I was not compensated for my review.
Cute kitty courtesy of Caribou's Mom.


A Big Thanks to Caitlin Price of FSB Associates for giving me the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book.

For more information about the book, please visit www.therecipeclubbook.com

Teaser Tuesdays and It's Tuesday Where Are You?

It's Tuesday...Where Are You?

I'm currently living and working in mid-1800s Victorian England. I'm a man of leisure but I do enjoy solving a mystery here and there. I've set out to help my good friend, Lady Jane figure out if her former servant committed suicide or if something more sinister is amiss in the Barnard mansion.
_____________________________________________

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!

"Well, there was no doubt in my mind that bella indigo killed Miss Smith. Poisons, as you know, are one of my hobbies."

~p.91 from A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch

Mailbox Monday- November 23

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

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters
** How could I resist Caitlin's email asking if I would like a review copy of this one????? Have you seen the trailer? It's hilarious!!

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters expands the original text of the beloved Jane Austen novel with all-new scenes of giant lobsters, rampaging octopi, two-headed sea serpents, and other biological monstrosities. As our story opens, the Dashwood sisters are evicted from their childhood home and sent to live on a mysterious island full of savage creatures and dark secrets. While sensible Elinor falls in love with Edward Ferrars, her romantic sister Marianne is courted by both the handsome Willoughby and the hideous man-monster Colonel Brandon.

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?)


Lost and Found by Jacqueline Sheehan
** Let's face it....I'm a sucker for dogs on covers and this was a huge reason why I picked up this book. The other reason was Diane's WOW pick , Now and Then ( I loved that one too) which directed me to this one. I connected IMMEDIATELY with Rocky and felt her pain over the sudden loss of her husband. I understood the reasons she had to leave her current life and live in a little cabin on the beach, most of her decisions made sense to me. When she finds the black lab Lloyd, rescues him, and falls in love with him, every single interaction between the two resonated with me. I believe that there are some dogs out there that are guardian angels and if you look deeply into their eyes, you can see their souls.
My Rating:






Spider's Web by Agatha Christie
** 40 years-old and I'm just now reading Christie!!! I'm so thankful that Robin of My Two Blessings suggested this one to start my reading journey. What a smart, concise, and detailed writer Christie was!! I tried to follow all of the hints, clues, and actions of everyone. But in the end I was flabbergasted that I never considered this person as "the bad guy." Agatha is a very clever magician with words and I've got a lot to learn while reading more of her books. If you're looking for a brilliant mystery writer then look no further.....Christie is accomplished in this area and I will be reading many more!
My Rating:






Family Album: A Novel by Penelope Lively
** I had such high hopes for this book. This isn't Lively's first foray into writing as she has many many books under her belt. What I can tell you is that I gave it 55 pages..........it was still SLOW. It was still BORING. It was still CONFUSING. It was a DID NOT FINISH FOR ME!
My Rating:
To be fair I will not give it a 1 or a Joker.....I just wanted to share my thoughts.

Book Review: Joker One: A Marine Platoon's Story of Courage, Leadership, and Brotherhood

Guest Review

I received this book from Alyce (At Home With Books) with one condition, that I must read it and review it. I had every intention of doing this, but then I remembered my good friend Tracy's father and brother are Marines. I asked if her if she would be willing to read it and write something about her experience. Many thanks to Tracy for doing this.....



When Joker One was recommended to me by Staci, I was immediately interested because it is about a Marine platoon's time in Iraq and is written by a Marine Lieutenant. Because my Dad was a Marine who fought in the Pacific during WWII, I have always been interested in combat and what life must have really been like for my father. By page 7 the tears were flowing. These words are the explanation I've longed for most of my life as to why my father never talked about the war:

"Our time together in Iraq seems like someone else's story, for there's nothing in American even remotely similar to what we experienced overseas, nothing that remidns us of what we've suffered and achieved together. And none of us have really been able to tell htat story, not fully, not even to our families, because each small telling takes a personal toll. No one wants to suffer the pain of trying to explain the unexplainable to those who rarely have either the time or the desire to comprehend. So, many of us have simply packed away war away and tried hard to fit into normalcy by ignoring that time of our lives."

I truly believe that none of us could possibly understand what it's like to truly be in the midst of combat and to take others lives. Most shocking to me was Campbell's description of meeting with a lawyer who explained exactly what the Marines could and could not shoot at! After spending grueling weeks being trained to kill, imagine being told what you were "legally" allowed to do in combat!

The profoundness of this book isn't in the writing itself, but in the raw emotion. Even after having grown up with the military, it astounds me that these men believe so strongly in God, their country and the American ideals that they would risk their lives fighting a losing battle on foreign soil.

I believe this book is a must read! Everyone can gain a true appreciation for what these American heroes have gone through so that we can sleep safely at night.

Semper Fi


Tracy is not only my co-worker but a dearly loved friend. She puts up with my craziness and most especially when I'm ADD!! She's a wonderful friend, mother, wife, sister, and an awesome middle-school teacher!! Thanks for doing this for me!!! Please don't hurt me for using this photo!!

Library Loot- November 19

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'm on the roll again of checking out books and passing some blame along to others this week!!



Mysterious Affair At Styles by Agatha Christie
** I read my first Christie in one day this past weekend..loved it!! Thank you Robin for your help in suggesting I read Spider's Web. This one above is where we're first introduced to Hercule Poirot and I can't wait to read it!!
~ blame goes to Robin of My Two Blessings and to Jane of Fleurer Fish. Click on their names for their reviews of this title.





Opposite of Love by Julie Buxbaum
** I, for the life of me, can not recall where I heard about this book!!! I hate that!! No one to blame for this one.








June Bug by Chris Fabry
** This one is my fault....saw the book while "browsing the library shelves" and thought the story would be good. A young girl sees her face on a Missing Child flyer hanging in Wal-Mart and everything that she thought was real comes crumbling down around her.






Always Watching by Brandilyn and Amberly Collins
** I read a great review written by Nise of Under The Boardwalk. So I had to read it because I'm always looking for great middle-school/YA books to add to our schools collection. This is a murder mystery with a Christian faith twist to it.





A Veiled Deception / Larceny and Lace (Vintage Magic Mysteries )by Annette Blair

** I'm slightly addicted to cozy mysteries and I found these on Monday during my time spent at the library. Has anyone read them???? I love the covers!! I'm blaming every single book friend that has ever reviewed a cozy mystery...this new addiction is YOUR fault!

The Quiche of Death : An Agatha Raisin Mystery by M.C. Beaton
** All blame for this one goes to Kaye of Pudgy Penguin. I'm sure that I will be tearing through this series. Thanks for the recommendation Kaye!!!








A Year in Japan by Kate T.Williamson
** I read a wonderful review of this book just the other day at Heather's blog Book Addiction. I knew that I had to get my hands on it. I was an exchange student in Japan in 1987, so I'm hoping to bring back some memories!!





Books Read in 2009 to date: 163
Number of Books Checked out from the library:23
Book Blogger Buddies Recommendations TBR List: 285 last week 293 this week

TLC Book Tour Review: The Hidden by Tobias Hill

In southern Greece in 2004, a close-knit group of archaeologists searches for the buried traces of a formidable ancient power. A student running from a failed marriage and family, Ben Mercer is a latecomer to their ranks, drawn to the charisma of the group’s members—to the double-edged friendship of Jason, the unsettling beauty of Natsuko and Eleschen, and the menace of Max and Eberhard. But Ben is far too eager to join the excavation project, and there is more to the group’s dangerous games and dynamic than he understands. And there are things that should always remain hidden.


My Thoughts:
Just from reading the synopsis I thought this sounded like an interesting book that I would enjoy. I'm sad to report that it wasn't the case. I now realize that I have no interest in Ancient Greece, Gods, or Ben (the main character). This book was too involved in the inner workings of an archaeological dig site, using terminology that went over my head. I found that I did not care about Ben, his life, or his misery. The authors lack of quotation marks for dialogue turned me off and the pacing was slow. That being said, this book may still be interesting to someone who has an affinity for Ancient Greece. I feel bad that I didn't really enjoy this book, so I thought I would leave you with more positive thoughts of this novel.

“Resonant with classical myth, this is a rich, rewarding story of the outsider—the existential loner searching for his place in the world.”
— Daily Mail (London)

“[Hill’s] prose contains many vivid traces of his poetry. . . . Exquisite and arresting images. . . . Hill’s eye for detail is superb and he never confuses relevance with truth. . . . This is a wonderful novel: elegant yet savage, restrained yet full-throttled, illuminated by the sort of brilliance that leaves you short of breath.”
— Daily Telegraph (London)

Thank you to TLC for asking me to be a part of this book tour




** I was not compensated for my review.
Cute kitty courtesy of Caribou's Mom.

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

It's Tuesday...Where Are You?

I'm currently in Sugar Maple, Vermont where everything looks and feels like a quaint postcard from the past. The only problem is that pretty much everyone who lives here is a warlock, sprite, vampire, or a witch. Almost everyone, except for me. It has been left up to me to keep Sugar Maple safe from the outside world. The only problem is that I'm only half magic and I need to find and marry Mr. Right before the protection ward on the city goes down and leaves everyone vulnerable.

~Casting Spells
____________________________________________

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!

Do you ever wonder why things happen the way they do? All of those seemingly random decisions we make throughout our lives that turn out to be not so random after all. Maybe if I had closed the shop twenty minutes earlier that night or gone for a quick walk around Snow Lake, she might still be alive today.

p.1 from Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton

Mailbox Monday- November 16

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

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
Filled with stunning parallels to today's world, The Postmistress is a sweeping novel about the loss of innocence of two extraordinary women-and of two countries torn apart by war.

I've read some divided reviews of this one but I'm still anxious to read it!! I got this from Shelf Awareness. Isn't the cover gorgeous?




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?)


Aunt Dimity's Death by Nancy Atherton
** If this is what cozy mysteries are all about then I will be reading more of them through the winter season. I totally enjoyed the storyline...how could you not? Young lady loses her mom, husband, is broke, and then comes to find that she has a so-called "fairy godmother."" Even though this all seemed highly unlikely to happen in real life, it never interfered with my ability to get lost in the story. Finding this book was just a stroke of luck, I saw the cover at B&N and thought it looked cute. Little did I know that I would find myself loving cozy mysteries and wanting more!!
My Rating:






If You Come Softly and Behind You by Jacqueline Woodson
** I read these two books during the Read-a-Thon and they made my experience wonderful. This is YA at its best...the writing is real, honest, and at times poetic. I have been meaning to read Woodson but never made time. That has all changed. I have many of her books on my middle school library shelves, so I will read those and then move on to the ones from my public library. You must read these books back-to-back because they complete the love story of Miah and Ellie, be prepared with kleenex because they pack an emotional punch!

My Rating for both:

Blogger Love from Julia Hoban, author of Willow

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to read and review Willow. This is a story about a girl who feels that she is to blame for her parent's death. The way Willow deals with her emotions is to cut herself. Beautifully written and executed, this book is one of the BEST YA novels out there. I have had the chance to get to know Julia via emails that we've exchanged and interviewing her for my blog. I missed out on an opportunity to meet her a few weeks ago in Grand Rapids due to my son's football schedule!!! One of the main reasons I wanted to meet her was to see what she looked like!! Well, she's posted a Love Letter to Book Bloggers that has her gorgeous face on it!! and I'm totally over-the-moon to see my name within her letter!! I would like to share her letter with you today and to let fellow bloggers know that authors do read our words, are truly thankful for the time we invest in our book reviews, and know that we have a powerful forum going on out in book blogging land!!

______________________________________________________

A Love Letter to Book Bloggers by Julia Hoban

When BookTrib approached me last week asking me to write a post expressing my thanks to, and admiration for, the many bloggers I have gotten to know this past year, I jumped at the chance. After all, I owe them all a debt of gratitude that I can never repay. Surely writing an extended thank you note is little enough recompense for all that they have done for my book, WILLOW.

So I sat down to write, full of excitement, extravagant phrases rich with praise dancing in my head … and then I froze. How could I possibly express my feelings towards this extraordinary group of young women? Anything I could say would sound so trite and insincere, hardly an appropriate thank you for all that they have done. Because of them, WILLOW, an underdog of a book if ever there was one, has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. Surely a book about a cutter who falls in love while discussing Claude Levi-Strauss was most unlikely to capture the imaginations of many, and yet, through the efforts of the bloggers, WILLOW is reaching a greater audience than I ever thought possible.

And then it hit me. WILLOW is not really a book about a cutter so much as it is a book about relationships. It is about four relationships specifically: Willow’s fractured relationship with her dead parents, and her living brother, her relationship with Guy which allows her to heal those damaged relationships, and her relationship with books which allows her to connect with Guy and start the healing process in motion. In fact, the love of books is really a meta theme of WILLOW, one that informs every aspect of the novel. For Willow, a life without books is simply one not worth living. Without this love of books, Willow as a character would never be able to overcome her situation, and WILLOW as a book would simply not exist.

How magical then, how synchronistic, how RIGHT it is that WILLOW’S success is through the efforts, energy, and commitment of other young women whose life is about the love of books! It is truly extraordinary, and yet, upon reflection, I don’t think any other path for WILLOW in the world was possible, certainly none would have meant so much to me personally.

It would be impossible for me to mention all the wonderful bloggers who have helped speed WILLOW on her way. They are far, far, too many to mention, but I do hope that by singling out a few I am able to capture the spirit of that amazing community. To my darling Kristi of The Story Siren, the kindest person I know, to the amazing Lauren Becker of Shooting Stars Magazine, who started it all. To Kelsey of Just Blinded Book Reviews who always makes sure that WILLOW has some new book friends. To Staci of Life In The Thumb, who not only championed my book, but in her daily life as a librarian fights to find an audience for work that might otherwise go unnoticed. To Shesten of I Heart Monster, who introduced WILLOW to the west. To Tirzah of The Compulsive Reader who made such a wonderful trailer for WILLOW, to the wonderful Miss Swiggett of The Page Flipper (who has her own book coming out soon!) To Harmony of Harmony Book Reviews who continually surprises me with her generosity, to Erica, and Beth Fish both of whom I am just getting to know, to Alea of PopCultureJunkie whom I am privileged to call a friend both in and out of the blogosphere, and to the countless others whom I am so in awe of, I won’t say thank you, but I will say that I hope that your new year is blessed with just such magical outcomes!!

Library Loot- November 11

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 broke down and requested a few books this past week!!



Surrender Bay: A Nantucket Love Story by Denise Hunter
** This is Christian fiction and I think I clicked on an advertisement of this book on Goodreads. I went to her website and liked what I read...has anyone read this one???






Rage: A Love Story by Julie Anne Peters
**This is a GLBT YA book about two girls who are in a relationship until it becomes violent. Sounds pretty intense. For some reason I want to blame Michelle of Michelle's Bookshelf for this one!! Did I blame the wrong person????





Family Album by Penelope Lively
** This one was featured on Shelf Awareness and it sounded like a great read (family secrets) so away I went and requested it from my library!!







Creature of the Night by Kate Thompson
** I read about this one in my current School Library Journal...sounds good and creepy. It's about a house where a murder has taken place and Bobby who lives there now is starting to notice strange and eerie events taking place.








44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith
** I really forgot how I heard about this one (CRS Syndrome) but it does sound interesting. This was published as a serial in The Scotsman newspaper.






Books Read in 2009 to date: 158
Number of Books Checked out from the library:20
Book Blogger Buddies Recommendations TBR List: 278 last week 285 this week