Saturday Snapshot- Beautiful Skies

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. (no pictures from the internet!)

The other night as my husband was leaving for work I looked over to my right and noticed the gorgeous colors in the sky as the sun was setting. I immediately pulled my phone out of my coat pocket and took this photo!! I never get tired of gorgeous skies....never!

No photo editing was done on this picture. I only added a shadow box to the outside and included my copyright and blog name on the bottom.!

The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen - Six Sentence Bookish Thoughts #71

What The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen is about:
The minute I saw the letter, I knew it was hers. There was no mistaking it: the salutation, the tiny, precise handwriting, the date, the content itself, all confirmed its ancient status and authorship… 
Samantha McDonough cannot believe her eyes--or her luck. Tucked in an uncut page of a two-hundred-year old poetry book is a letter she believes was written by Jane Austen, mentioning with regret a manuscript that "went missing at Greenbriar in Devonshire." Could there really be an undiscovered Jane Austen novel waiting to be found? Could anyone resist the temptation to go looking for it?

My very first thought after finishing this book was that I was so sad that it had to come to an end. Syrie James transported me back in time with her lovely book, The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte, and I have to say that she did it again with this story. I adored the Stanhopes and was absolutely captivated by Rebecca. I absolutely loved the way James set the plot  and how she introduces this lost manuscript of Jane's into the current time. The story never lags and at times I honestly thought I was reading Austen's words. I'm going to run upstairs right now and grab The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen off my shelf....I must read it soon!!!

Recommend? Absolutely! Each book that I've read of Syrie James has been wonderful and I swear she must somehow be related to both Austen and Bronte!!

Source: Berkley Trade via NetGalley

Six Sentence Bookish Thoughts #71
© 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.

Shadowy Horses- Six Sentence Bookish Thoughts #70

What Shadowy Horses is about:
Verity Grey abandons her comfortable job at the British Museum to seek adventure on an archaeological dig in the wilds of Scotland. But when she arrives on site, she discovers that the excavation is being led by a discredited and eccentric old man who has forsaken scientific evidence. Instead, the entire team is following the word of a local boy who claims that he saw a ghostly Roman soldier in the fields.

I will readily admit that Susanna Kearsley has me wrapped around her little finger. She writes something and I will read it. The best part is that what she writes is so incredibly wonderful, that being a Kearsley Fan Girl brings me nothing but joy!! This book was beautiful from beginning to end, the storyline was intricate, and the characters became friends.  Visiting her blog before reading one of her books is valuable because she almost always posts pictures from the sites that gave her the inspiration for her stories and she often times gives the reader a glimpse into where some of her ideas gained fruition. Kearsley has delivered yet another fantastic piece of historical fiction and I'm thrilled that I started 2013 with a stellar read!!

Recommend? Without hesitation! Read all of her books if you ever get the chance, you won't regret it!

Source: NetGalley/Sourcebooks

Six Sentence Bookish Thoughts #70
© 2013, 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.

Re-defining what makes reading fun......

I think there may be a bit of a theme this 2013 with many book bloggers deciding to stop accepting review copies, posting just a few times a week, reading more from their own shelves, and some are even completely closing shop. I have to admit that I have flirted with all of these issues at one time or another. But this past year has really helped me put into perspective what I want to do with my reading and with my blog. Like many of you, I accept a book because at the time it sounds so damn awesome that I couldn't imagine not reading it. Then it arrives along with ten more books and before you know it they're all mating like rabbits! I open the door to my book room only to find that I can't get in very far because of the stacks upon stacks of books!  And then that terrible feeling descends on me and my sunshine attitude goes to crap and I am feeling anxious. The date for the review is looming near and I'm not even close to starting that book....and the anxiety goes up another level.

I've decided to step away from accepting review books for this year. I've been very good at saying no. It isn't easy but I've been doing it. I do have three author requests that I am honoring this year and I'm fine with that..most especially Beth Hoffman's new release...I love her, so I would read her book no matter what! I may even say yes to a few TLC books and once again ,because I truly love TLC and the ladies who run it. But I will be more selective and there will never be more than one every couple of months.

What can you expect when you visit Life in The Thumb?

•  Mailbox Monday and It's Monday...What Are You Reading participation
•  First Chapter First Paragraph participation
•  Six Sentence Bookish Thoughts
•  Six Sentence Movie Thoughts
•  Saturday Snapshot participation
•  Random posts....sometimes I surprise myself with a topic.
•  Dewey RAT participation

Anxiety and reading should not go hand-in-hand. I want to enjoy the experience. I want to relish each and every book that I decide to read. I want to have fun again. I want to explore my library and actually read a few of the books that come home with me. I want to browse my own bookshelves and finally take one down that has been patiently waiting for me to discover the tale within the covers. I want to clear out some books that are languishing on my Kindle. I want to read for me.

Happy Reading Friends!
Staci

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.

January Host is : Lori's Reading Corner

All of the books that made their way into my home over the past few weeks was via my Kindle.

• Mr. Darcy's Obsession by Abigail Reynolds - couldn't resist Mr. Darcy nor the .99 book sale!
• A Winter's Tale by Trisha Ashley - loved her Christmas book that I read so I purchased this one. I'm a sucker for British Chick Lit and once again .99 sale price!!!!
• Replica by Lexi Revelian- free from amazon.com and the story sounded original!

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

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.

Read and talked about last week:

When Snow Falls- fun romance

Rapture in Death- another stellar audio book..IMHO...

Twelve Days of Christmas- adorable and made me feel as if I was in England for just a little while.

Every Secret Thing- another hit by a favorite author of mine, Susanna Kearsley!

A Fatal Grace- fantastic mystery with a great cast of characters...love this series!

Bookish Thoughts to Share this week:

Shadowy Horses 

The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen

In my Book Box: (these are my picks for the month)

Saturday Snapshot- Ice

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. (no pictures from the internet!)

frame/copyright tag added in picmonkey

The weather has certainly taken a turn for the brrr here in Michigan. I've been watching

this particular bit of ice on my bushes for over a week now and it's still holding on!

This photo was taken January 5, 2013 @ 7:35 a.m.

Wrapping up 2012 reads....

After stepping away from blogging on a schedule for the past two weeks, I'm ready to get back into the swing of things and get back to posting again. But before I can do that I have to post about the final books that I read in 2012. These will be short and sweet.....as usual!

When Snow Falls (Whiskey Creek #2) by Brenda Novak
Super short synopsis: Family secret, waiting for Mr. Right, and discovering love.
Source: NetGalley
Reason for reading it: Set during the holidays and the super-cute cover!
~This was my first Brenda Novak book and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. I liked getting to know the two main characters and found myself falling a bit in love with the "bad boy" Dylan Amos. Liked it enough to read the first book in the series, When Lightning Strikes.

Rapture in Death (In Death #4) audio version by JD Robb
Super short synopsis: Someone is controlling people's mind with virtual reality games and making them committ suicide with a smile on their face!
Source: Audible.com
Reason for reading it: I am totally addicted to this series and quite frankly, I adore Eve. I love her bad-ass attitude and how she never gives up until she has the right answer. Roarke is still as hot as ever and they are certainly getting their marriage off to a smokin' start! The narrator, Susan Ericksen, absolutely makes this so enjoyable!!

Twelve Days of Christmas by Trisha Ashley
Super short synopsis: Holly's husband died before Christmas so now she does everything in her power not to be happy nor to celebrate Christmas. But house sitting in a manor house on the Lancashire Moors during the Twelve Days of Christmas will bring changes to her life.
Source: Purchased .99 cents from amazon.com
Reason for reading it: I was still in the mood for reading fluffy chick romance and found this book that took place in England. Sounded perfect and it was! I loved this story and the characters. Made me want to book a ticket to their little village and hopefully be asked to stay!! I will be reading more from this author!

Every Secret Thing (Kate Murray #1) by Susanna Kearsley
Super short synopsis: Journalist Kate is unwittingly embroiled in a murder that happened during WWII and has to run for her life in order to bring the aging murderer to justice.
Source: Purchased from amazon.com earlier this year
Reason for reading it: I absolutely LOVE everything that Kearsley writes, so when this was available on my Kindle I bought it immediately. I loved Kate and thought the whole story was brilliant. I always enjoy how Kearsley weaves the past and the present quite seamlessly and makes the reader believe it all. I hope she continues on with this series.

A Fatal Grace (Three Pines #2) by Louise Penny
Super short synopsis: Someone electrocuted the hated CC de Poiters in the middle of a frozen lake, in front of the entire village. Yet no one saw anything.....
Source: Public Library
Reason for reading it: After reading A Still Life, I knew that I would continue on with this series and can I just say that I made the right decision? There wasn't one thing that I didn't love about this book. Chief Inspector Gamache is becoming a favorite character of mine and I love Three Pines with its eclectic cast of townspeople. Fantastic way to spend a cold winter day.....

Six Sentence Bookish Thoughts #65-69
© 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.