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 Silent Governess - Julie Klassen
Just finished this book and I have to say that I loved it! Do you like Regency fiction? If so, then you should read this story about Olivia Keene who has fled her home because she thinks she has killed her father. Through twists and turns she ends up as a Governess for the Bradley family, once that happens the story really gets going. I didn't realize how lonely the job of governess was and really liked reading about the dynamics between governess, household servants and the family of the home. This is published as a Christian fiction story, but for those that are "turned off" by preachy books, don't despair there is none of that here...just a gentle sprinkling much like you find within the pages of Austen. I will be reading more from this author!!!

My Rating:

The Nature of Jade - Deb Caletti
Can I just say that I love this author and her beautiful writing style? Jade is the girl that I wished I was when I was her age....truly loved every aspect of her personality. She lives down the street from the zoo and spends time every night watching the elephant cages via a live feed. I connected with her fascination with the elephant herd and how they react to humans and fellow elephants. One of my favorite parts of the book was the snippet about animal behavior at the beginning of each chapter...very interesting stuff!! There's so much more in this book and it's hard to put it into words....if you love YA then click on the title of the book so that you can get a better grip on this story. One of my fave YA this year!
My Rating:

Library Loot- I'm out of control!

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

Courting Trouble- Deeanne Gist
I'm so blaming Nise (Under the Boardwalk) for this one!
Synopsis: Essie Sprekcelmeyer loves her hats, her snakes and her bicycle--Peg, for short. But the one thing she wants to love, but can't, is a husband. The year of her thirtieth birthday, Essie creates a list of potential husbands to catch...but the catching, and the unintended consequences thereof, might cause her more trouble than it's worth.

A Bride Most Begruding - Deeane Gist
I was going to get A Bride in the Bargain because I love Nise's review of that one, but then I came across A Bride Most Begruding and thought that maybe this was a series. I realize that it doesn't have to be read in order but because I'm a tad "anal" about reading the first book of anything, I grabbed this one instead.
Synopsis: Any ship arriving from England means good news for Virginia colony farmers. The "tobacco brides" would be on board--eligible women seeking a better life in America, bartered for with barrels of tobacco from the fields.

 

I spent last weekend glued to the Hallmark channel watching each one of these books in the Love Comes Softly series come to life on the screen! I feel in love with the characters and knew that I had to read the books. 

Love Comes Softly (Love Comes Softly #1)- Janette Oke

Nineteen-year-old Marty Claridge starts west with her adventurous, boyish husband, Clem, seeking to claim land and hoping for good fortune. But when the venture turns suddenly to tragedy, Marty is left alone with her great loss. And coupled with her grief and heartache is the grim reality that there is no way to return home.
Clark Davis and his little girl, Missie, are also in great need. Clark's wife has died, leaving him to care to Missie and the farm at the same time. His offer to Marty comes with good intention, but will courage and faith be enough to bring them to true love?

Love's Enduring Promise (Love Comes Softly #2)
Clark and Marty Davis now preside over a growing family in their little prairie house. But as they reach out to those in their frontier community, they discover that love is not limited by the size of a dwelling.

 

Britten and Brulightly - Hannah Berry

Blame is going to Margot (Joyfully Retired)....this was her first foray into graphics novels and she truly enjoyed this one. I really like the drawings in this one and the dark feel to it!! Thanks Margot!!!

Books Read in 2010 to date: 39
Number of Books Checked out from the library:20

By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead- Julie Anne Peters

Blaming this one on Shawnee (Icedream) for this one!! Plus, I've read other books by this author and loved them.

About this book: National Book Award finalist Julie Anne Peters shines a light on how bullying can push young people to the very edge.

Cherries in Winter: My Family's Recipes for Hope in Hard Times - Suzan Colan
Bonnie is being blamed for this one!! I love her reviews and this one was no exception. As soon as I saw the book on the library shelf I knew I had to get it!
Cherries in Winter is an irresistible gem of a book. It makes you want to cook, it makes you want to know your own family’s stories, and, above all, it makes you feel rich no matter what.

Review: Mia the Magnificent

Title: Mia the Magnificent
Author: Eileen Boggess
Pages: 161
Genre: YA
Source: Bancroft Press- Many thanks to Harrison for sending me a copy to review!










Synopsis (from Goodreads):

After one summer at the Little Tykes Theatre, Mia Fullerton is meek no more, but that doesn t make her life any easier not in her sophomore year at St. Hilary's, when her best friend Lisa forces her into a dangerously big part in The Music Man. Not when her ex-boyfriend, Tim, is teaching her little brother Chris to treat women like objects. And not when she learns to drive with serious repercussions. Who is Mia?

My Thoughts:

Mia is a girl that I truly enjoy reading about. In this third installment of the series, we find Mia going through the typical teen years. Liking boys that like someone else. Liking boys that cheat on you. Having girls hate you for no good reason. Siblings that get on your nerves, and parents that still won't give you too much freedom, even though she just got her driving license! Mia the Magnificent is a fun, quick read and at times made me laugh out loud. I think Mia would appeal to 12-15 year-old age range because she's still pretty innocent and not naughty enough for that older crowd who is looking for something grittier. I look forward to the next book and to see what life has in store for Mia during her Junior year.

3.5 stars out of 5

Review: The Power of Half by Kevin and Hannah Salwen

Title: The Power of Half: One Family's Decision to Stop Taking and Start Giving Back
Author: Kevin and Hannah Salwen
Pages: 242
Genre: Non-Fiction/ Personal Growth
Source: FSB Associates
Who Recommended Book to Me: Caitlin Price - FSB Senior Publicist (thanks Caitlin!)


Synopsis:
Written in tandem by the father-daughter team of Kevin and Hallah Salwen, The Power of Half is the story of one family's life-altering decision and its unexpected results. The Salwens hoped that selling their home would allow them to make things better in a small corner of the world. Little did they expect how much they would gain themselves.


What I didn't like in this book:

• I know that it wasn't meant to be construed this way, but I didn't really see how going from a 6,500 sq. ft. home to 3250 sq.ft. was such a hardship. Is this the average size of a home in America??? When you write a book like this it leaves you open to criticism and people questioning your reasons and commitment. So I guess that is what I'm doing here in this comment.

• They were financially able to keep two houses running in regards to a monthly mortgage and upkeep. I applaud that they moved to a smaller house, but honestly where was the "risk" that others will experience if they actually were to do something like this? Again, I didn't feel that by halving the size of their home was a big enough adjustment.....remember, this is my opinion. 

• How many people in America have the financial resources that this family has? Yes, I know they worked hard for it and I respect them for that. I am just saying that when they ventured into this idea of half they really didn't have to worry about losing anything. I'm afraid with these economic times some people may only see how MUCH they still had even after giving away half, instead of focusing on their idea of helping others.

• When Kevin mentions a bag, it is an Eddie Bauer bag. When he mentions a shirt it is a Nike Golf shirt....honestly, he should have left the labels out of the description. Why were they included?? I thought the idea of this book was to INCLUDE as many people as possible in this venture and to make them feel as if they too could do something like this. Was it to remind others that he could still afford to buy the nicer things in life, even while giving up a million dollar house?????????????????

Now on to the positive side of things!!! What I did like about this book:

• Hannah! She is a young lady with a vision and with the guidance of her parents was able to start out with an idea and see it become an actual plan that she could contribute to!

• Hannah's essays which are included in each chapter. I loved her ideas and the activities she included at the end for ideas to jump start your own plans.

• The organization that they ended up pairing with: The Hunger Project. 

• Self-reliance is the key to helping others, not handouts!!!!

• Community- doing this project together as a family brought a sense of well-being to their home. It also showed the children how to bring it to a group of people.

My Final Thoughts:
This was a good book with a lot of great ideas and of course, some criticism from me. None of the criticisms are aimed at the children!! Only to Kevin. I appreciate that he does acknowledge how blessed his family is and I don't feel like he was trying to be uppity about his portfolio and equity, but at times it just seemed to rub me the wrong way. I applaud this family for putting this small seed of an idea into motion and with all of their hard work seeing it blossom into a Giving Tree!!! I found myself being inspired by Hannah and will be keeping my copy to read again and to see how my family may be able to incorporate some ideas from the  Power of Half lifestyle, especially in terms of service and giving to others.

$1 of each copy sold will be donated 

to Rebuilding Together, serving America's

low-income home-owners and providing

critical repairs at no charge to those with the greatest need. 

For more information, visit Rebuilding Together.

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book review blogs
@Barrie Summy

Explaining the name of my blog

I received an email today from a great friend who never really understood why my blog is titled, Life in the Thumb. Then she noticed (in the letter I sent her) the drawing I did of Michigan and where I made a little * of where I lived, which is the thumb area of Michigan.  So to further enlighten those who aren't familiar with Michigander's method of showing people where you live, I present to you the Hand Map of Michigan!

The X is where I live thus the name of my blog- Life in the Thumb!

 

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

It's Tuesday...Where Are You?

I've left America for a new start in post-World War II England. While touring Derbyshire, I've come across Montclair, the home that inspired Jane Austen's Pemberley. I've become totally enthralled with the letters and journals of the Lacey family, who used to own Montclair. I've just met a very handsome American pilot. I think love is in the air!
~Searching for Pemberley- Mary Lydon Simonsen

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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!

  As soon as I heard the name, Elizabeth Bennett, my ears perked up. Was it possible that I was actually standing in the home of the real Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy?

~p. 7

Mailbox Monday and It's Monday...What Are You Reading?

Mailbox Monday

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

 

 

Books That I Won:
The Post Birthday World- Lionel Shriver
I won this from Nicole @ Linus's Blanket. I can't wait to read this one. I loved, "We Need to Talk About Kevin."


Books as Gifts:
The Dark Divine-  My sweet friend Cheryl of Books I Read gave this one to me for my birthday. She's such a wonderful person!!!


Book Tours:

The Lunatic, the Lover and the Poet

TLC Tour Book- March 29th

South of Broad

TLC Tour Book- April 19th

ARCs-
Imperfect Birds- Anne Lamott
I loved her non-fiction books and am really looking forward to reading this one. Sounds very gritty!


Just Showed Up:
Truly, Madly- (Lucy Valentine #1) Heather Webber
I've seen so many good reviews on this one that I was tickled pink when I saw what was in the package. I love good surprises!!!

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Hosted by Sheila
One Persons Journey Through a World of Books
Weekly meme where we discuss the books you've read
and those you plan to read in the coming week.

Last Week I finished:

Rainwater- which I reviewed on Friday.

Shiver- will post review on Six Sentence Saturday 3/6/10

Books On Deck:

** I didn't get to these last week so they're back again!