Saturday Snapshot- friendly visitor

Saturday Snapshot

is hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books.

It’s easy to participate – just post a picture

that was taken by you, a friend, or a family member and add your link on Alyce’s site.

I have been stalking this Hairy Woodpecker for a few weeks now and every time he shows up I don't have my camera out!! But the other day he was so busy eating that I was able to sneak in the house, turn the camera on inside, and then quietly walk back out front to snap a few photos!! I have two teacher friends who make suet bags with their daughters and then give them away at school. I can't wait to show them what was snacking on the feed bag hanging from my tree!

The Girl with the Dragon Tatto- Bookish Thoughts #26

What The Girl With the Dragon Tatto is about:
Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch--and there's always a catch--is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues. 


Why I wanted to read it: Because of all of the hype surrounding this trilogy!!

Source: Personal Shelves

• Thank goodness that I watched the Swedish version of this movie before ever trying to read this book. Sometimes it is beneficial to see the movie before reading because without some of my prior knowledge I think I would have bailed on this book.
• The first 300 pages were so hard to plod through. Every time I thought about stopping I would go back and read a fellow blogger's review that said is was slow in the beginning but it got better. 
• The characters were a bit hard to keep track of, especially the family that Mikael was writing a book about..talk about head swimming with details, people, and financial information that went right over my head. All of it together made it hard for me to enjoy reading.
• I think for me the book started to get more interesting and compelling when Lisbeth showed up more and the author started to peel away her layers of insecurity. I still don't know what makes her tick and why she is like she is, but I believe that more information about her childhood will be brought to light in book two!

This was a book that I wanted to love from page one, however, it turned out that I didn't really enjoy my reading until I was more than halfway involved in this story. I would be hard pressed to tell my friends that it was a stellar read. How can I convince them that even though the first half of the book is tedious, you need to wade through it because it's important to the story??? I will continue on with the next book but I don't feel any rush to get to it. 

Overall: 3/5

Bookish Thoughts #26

© 2012, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission. 

Deep Down True- Bookish Thoughts #25

What Deep Down True is about:
Newly divorced Dana Stellgarten has always been unfailingly nice- even to telemarketers-but now her temper is wearing thin. Money is tight, her kids are reeling from their dad's departure, and her Goth teenage niece has just landed on her doorstep. As she enters the slipstream of post-divorce romance and is befriended by the town queen bee, Dana finds that the tension between being true to yourself and being liked doesn't end in middle school... and that sometimes it takes a real friend to help you embrace adulthood in all its flawed complexity.


Why I wanted to read it: I read Juliette's debut novel, Shelter Me (my review here), and really enjoyed it. I noticed that she had a new book out and wanted to read it.


Source: Public Library

• The book started out slowly for me and I wasn't too sure that I was going to keep reading it. It could have been my mood at the time but for whatever reason I had a hard time connecting to the story. About 60 pages in though, something changed and I was a bit more invest into the main protagonist's story. 
• Dana was a character that I liked and sometimes wanted to throttle. I understood how uncertain she was of her own strength having relied on her ex-husband for so long to provide for her and their family. I really liked her more when she realizes that she may be divorce, she may be over forty, but she's still desirable and worth loving!
• The way the author wrote the kids in the story felt pretty authentic and I thought she got the teen angst, the adolescent fears, and the way divorce impacts the children spot on.

Even though the story ends a bit predictably, it was still a good read. I didn't like it near as much as Shelter Me, but I was satisfied.  This book would make a great beach read, easy summer reading pick, or even a book club choice as there is plenty to talk about: divorce, infidelity, eating disorders, financial problems, insecurities, and finding love again.

Bookish Thoughts #25

© 2012, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission. 

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros

Every Tuesday, Diane @ Bibliophile by the Sea

 posts the opening paragraph (maybe two) of a book

 she decided to read based on the opening paragraph (s).

 Feel free to grab the banner and play along!

My selection this week is Stillmeadow Daybook by Gladys Taber. I've been following Nan's (Letters From a Hill Farm) monthly posts about this book and the author's life. I was so inspired by them that I had to get my hands on a copy (Thank you public library!) and read it for myself!!

Foreword
I sat on the old stone steps this morning, paring potatoes. It was one of those mild sweet days in early spring, with a sense of beginnings in the damp sunny air. Whenever I lifted my eyes to look at the blue Connecticut sky, and the soft line of hills that roll away toward Litchfield, Hollyberry Red, the young Irish, thrust her velvet muzzle in the pan and neatly removed a potato. Then she flew around the yard, tossing it in the air, and catching it.

Would you continue reading this one

 based on the opening paragraph?

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

Mailbox Monday 

is a gathering place for readers to share the books that

came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. 

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

The May Host is:

Martha of Review's by Martha's Bookshelf

The Age of Miracles- TLC Tour review copy. Courtesy of TLC, the author, and Random House.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Hosted by

 Sheila @ One Person's Journey Through a World of Books

We discuss the books that we've read 

and what we're planning to read for the week.

Last Week's Bookish Thoughts:

Phantoms in the Snow- excellent YA/Middle School book.

Deep Dish (audio)- fun story but the narrator was lacking.

Books I will be talking about this week:

Deep Down True- Wednesday

Girl With the Dragon Tattoo- Thursday

Fitness Friday- bringing back this weekly feature thanks to Nan! and also to my fat behind!

In My Book Box:

Currently reading- True Sisters (I started this last week but had to put it aside because I got totally wrapped up in Fifty Shades of Grey. Yes, you read that correctly!)

The Lifeboat

The Wolf Who Loved me

Saturday Snapshot

Saturday Snapshot

is hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books.

It’s easy to participate – just post a picture

that was taken by you, a friend, or a family member and add your link on Alyce’s site.

With the weather being extremely strange this year, my Flowering Plum Bush exploded with flowers a few weeks ago. We had about a week of lovely temps and then several nights with freeze warnings. Not the greatest picture....I apologize for my lack of photography skills!!

Deep Dish (audio)- Bookish Thoughts #24

What Deep Dish is about:
Chef extraordinaire Gina Foxton doesn't expect anything to be handed to her on a platter. After years of hard work, the former runner-up Miss Teen Vidalia Onion is now the host of her own local Georgia public television show called Fresh Start, and she's dating the show's producer.
But when her show gets canceled, and she catches her boyfriend in flagrante delicto with the boss's wife, Gina realizes that she's meant for bigger and better things. The Cooking Channel is looking for its next star, and Gina is certain that she fits the bill. Trouble is, the execs also have their eye on Mr. "Kill It and Grill It" Tate Moody, the star of a hunting, fishing, and cooking show called Vittles. Tate is the ultimate man's man, with a dog named Moonpie and a penchant for flannel shirts. Little does Gina know, though, that she and Tate are soon to embark on the cook-off of their lives.

Why I wanted to listen to this one: I enjoyed a previous book by this author and thought it would be fun to have a lighthearted book to listen to while driving back and forth from work.

Source: Public Library

This will be my first NEGATIVE audio book for this year. I thought the story was fun and I think it would've played out wonderfully in print form, however the narrator's lack of inflection drove me bonkers and made me want to throw the CDs out the window! I found it extremely frustrating that she portrayed the main character with so little gumption and everything she said was flat and with no emotion. Normally I love southern accents but after listening to 12 discs of that monotone drawl, I was ready to have myself a few drinks!

Note to self: Make sure before you listen to another of Mary's books on audio that it isn't Isabel Keating reading the story.

Recommend? Read the book, skip the audio!

Bookish Thoughts #24

© 2012, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.