Life in the Thumb

Monday, June 8, 2009

Mailbox Monday- June 8th

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

I have been on a lucky streak lately and these little gems made their way to me via winning some book giveaway contests!!! I just won another one the other day (it hasn't arrived yet) so I'm thinking I should go buy a lotto ticket!!!

Testimony
won at Nise's blog Under the Boardwalk
I love Shreve so I was so excited to find out that I won this one!!

The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy and Hard Times
won this from Lesley of Lesley's Book Nook
Loved Les' review of this book and it sounds really interesting, I'm looking forward to reading it!

Girl Who Stopped Swimming
courtesy of Nicole from Linus's Blanket
I've seen this book everywhere out in blog land and everyone seemed to enjoy it...was over the moon when I found out I had won a copy!!

What came for you?

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Appreciation and Gratitude

I really need to let everyone know how much I appreciate all of your comments and support that you give to me when you visit my blog. This blog started out as a way to track what I read and to put my thoughts down and share with others. Never did I imagine how much joy it would bring to me by way of making new friends all over the world. It has been wonderful to connect with so many different people and to see that they too suffer from BOOK OBSESSION!! This blog has become a very creative outlet for me, one that has helped me get through the downs of life and one that has also helped me appreciate my life that much more. There are many of you out there that I correspond with on a regular basis through email. We've become friends....I cherish these relationships. I've met (online) several new people from Michigan. A few that I hoping to meet over the summer. Blogs are all about connecting with others who share some sort of common interest and from there it grows. I love this blogging community and I feel so lucky to be a part of it. I love having so many different people to blame for my ever growing TBR pile that is threatening to take over my scrapbook room!! I've found that when I go to the library I'm now more AWARE of different authors because I've read so many great reviews that have stuck with me. Now I'm picking up books that I may have never read and because of YOU I get to experience something wonderful through the pages of an author's writing. So today I'm sending out a big heartfelt message of GRATITUDE and APPRECIATION. You've made this book blogging experience truly something special!!!

And the book Willow goes to..........

Congratulations Liyana!!!
**email has been sent to you for your address

** winner chosen using the interactive fruit machine

Thursday, June 4, 2009

YA Review: Undercover by Beth Kephart

But playing Roxane made me feel uncomfortable. For there is Cyrano, writing letters to Roxane on behalf of the local pretty boy, and there is Roxane, buying every bit of it, hook,line, and sinker. Why can't she see that it is Cyrano's heart and head inside those letters? Why can't she tell how much he loves her? And what does this say about people in general, that they can't see what is standing before them? Beauty rules, every single time. Beauty is the password.
p.41

Undercover
Beth Kephart
Genre: YA
Published: 2007
Pages: 278 beautifully written prose

Short Synopsis: Like a modern day Cyrano de Bergerac, Elisa ghostwrites love notes for the boys in her school. But when Elisa falls for Theo Moses, things change fast.

My Thoughts:

This book is absolutely lovely. The words contained within these pages are poetic and I guess they're meant to be right? Because Elisa has a way with words, in fact, she hides behind the words that she writes. Kephart hit a home run with her first foray into YA fiction. There is so much going on underneath the facade of Elisa. She lets her guard down when she's writing for others and when she writes for herself. The poetry in this book is wonderful. At times in my life I've been intimidated by poetry, felt that I never quite got the gist of the author's meaning. Not so here. I was moved by the writing in this book so much that this book is going on my list of favorite YA books ever...!!! I'm so grateful to Lenore at Presenting Lenore for reviewing Undercover a while back. If I hadn't read that review I would've missed out on this gem. That makes me sad...this book was published in 2007, so why haven't I heard about it? And for that reason alone I'm so glad that I belong to a group of book lovers who are so passionate about what we read and are so willing to share it with others. Because without blogs some truly wonderful books may remain unread and we can't let that happen, can we? If you're new to the YA genre and are looking for a good first book then look no further......Undercover is one you should add to your list, I promise that you will not be disappointed!!

Guess what? Beth blogs!!! Beth Kephart Books

Other Reviews:
Presenting Lenore
My Friend Amy
Em's Bookshelf

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Library Loot- June 3

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

Every time Wednesday rolls around I always wonder how I'm going to justify my new library loot to all my friends.....I officially give up!!!

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
** I could blame so many book buddies for this book but in all honesty I love Lisa See and when I heard about her new book I immediately put it on request at my library.

Prayers For Sale- by Sandra Dallas
**The blame here goes to Barnes and Noble and whoever put the huge display of this book at their front entrance. I was immediately drawn to the cover and when I read what the book was about I was hooked!!!

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

Tuesday, June 2, 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!

I looked at my feet, at my beat-up, snow-stained canvas shoes, at the ugly speckles in the linoleum floor, at nothing. I looked at the floor, and I wondered what she saw when she looked at me.
~ Undercover by Beth Kephart
______________________________________________________________________

It's Tuesday...Where Are You?

I'm a teen girl (again!) who hides behind her words. I write love notes for boys to give to their adoring love interest. However, I'm now wishing that Theo would look at me the way he looks at his girlfriend. My mom and sister are all wrapped up in themselves and my dad is always "away" on business. I'm lonely......it's winter time, so I spend a lot of time skating on the pond.

~Undercover by Beth Kephart