The Recipe Club by Andrea Israel & Nancy Garfinkel

Copyright:2009
Publisher: Polhemus Press
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 358
New-to-me Author: yes
Author's Website



Simple Description:
This is a tale of friendship had, friendship lost, and, well, repeat. It's told in the format of letters and then emails. Mixed in are recipes that sounds yummy.

The story starts when Valerie and Lilly are adults and have been estranged for awhile. Then it goes back in time to the early 1960's when they were young girls. Through their emails you learn about their friendship, how each had their own demons at home and took different paths in life. Valerie is incredibly smart. Her father is an inventor, or at least he tries, but her mother suffers from psychological issues and doesn't leave the house. Lilly doesn't care much for school. Her mom is an actor and a free bird. Her father is a psychologist. Lilly's father actually studies Valerie's Mom and treats her and also becomes Valerie's tutor. This ends up causing major issues between the girls. Lilly goes on to doing the normal thing you expect from somebody growing up in the 60's and 70's (according to tv/movies anyway). She gets into the drugs, sex, and protest scene and stays there. Valerie kinda goes around all of that and actually goes to college, which Lilly's dad pays for.

Soon things become strained for the two girls and it isn't until 2000 that the reconnect, have another falling out, and then finally reconnect again.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:

I thought this was a great book. I found it interesting to get the story from both sides. It was interesting to see how to girls who were so close when they were younger took such different paths in life and where the ended up. I love the letter/email format too..I think it makes for a quick read.

I definitely recommend this book to others, I think a lot will enjoy this story of friendship.

Thanks to Caitlin at FSB for providing this book for review.

204 Rosewood Lane by Debbie Macomber

Copyright: 2002
Publisher: Mira
Genre: Fiction/Romance
Pages: Audio
Challenges: none
Author's Website



Simple Description:
This is the second book in the Cedar Cove series.

Grace's husband disappeared in the last book and in this one she is dealing with that. She ends up filing for divorce since it's been so long since anybody has heard from him and somebody believes they saw him get in a taxi with another woman. She also has an admiror, Cliff Harding. While he is giving her time to get over the divorce, he is also making it known that he likes her and wants to date her.

Olivia and Jack are still a couple however things keep getting in the way of their relationship. First Jack's son has troubles with his girlfriend and moves in and Jack also thinks Stan wants Olivia back.

I think Zach and Rosemary Cox are a new couple. They have two kids, Rosemary is a stay at home Mom who is active in a lot of non-profit companies and school activities. Their marriage is in trouble because Zach wants a wife who stays home and cleans house and cooks all day. Rosemary enjoys doing all the charity work.

There are also lots of pregnancies in this one! And more people to read about and become friends with than I mentioned.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I really enjoyed this one. I think I like the Blossom Street series better, if I have to be honest, but I still really enjoy this one too. It's been awhile since I read the first one and so I didn't remember everything that happened but I wasn't lost for long. I know there are more in the series and the author definitely leaves things open for several of the characters so you have something to look forward to with the next book.

While I do own this book, I did listen to the audio version at the library. I can't say the reader is my favorite but she did a good job. I didn't find myself wondering or losing focus.

This book is part of my collection and was either bought or given to me.
This audio book was rented from my local library.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Copyright: 2005
Publisher: Hyperion
Genre: YA
Pages: 375
New-to-me Author: Yes
Author's Website



Simple Description:
Percy Jackson is at yet another boarding school and is almost at the point of being kicked out of yet another boarding school. He's been diagnosed with adhd and dyslexia. Nothing seems to go right in his life. He loves his Mom and wants to be with her but can't stand her new husband, Smelly Gabe.

While on a school field trip the math teacher tries to kill him and he is able to kill her with a pen that turned into a sward. The pen was thrown to him by his Latin Teacher. However as soon as it's done, everyone acts like nothing happened and there never was a math teacher named Mrs. Dobbs.

Things go from bad to worse when Percy goes home for the summer, knowing he's been kicked out of another boarding school. However his Mom has a surprise for him, they are going to the beach for vacation, without his step-dad. However the first night there they end up being chased by an evil monster that Percy kills after it kills his Mom. Then he finds himself in a summer camp for half-bloods. It appears that Percy's father is a god, you know, one of those that lives on Mount Olympus. Percy learns that WWIII is about the happen because the God's are upset with each other and it's up to him to stop it.

Percy sets out on a quest with a Satyr named Grover, another half-blood named Annabell, and the pen/sword. The goal is to retrieve the stolen item from Zeus and Percy's personal quest is to save his Mother, who he believes is still alive but trapped in the Underworld with Hades.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I absolutely loved this story! I remember reading all about the Greek Gods in 7th grade. We had to learn all the names and what they were God of. I remember looking forward to the contests in class where we would go up against our class mates to see who knew it better. While I'm a lot older know and dont' remember most of that anymore, it was still a lot of fun to read this book and recognize the names and recognize the Gods and what they did. This is such a fun spin on mythology, it's something I think a lot of kids would enjoy. I really wish this book was around when I was learning it in school, I can only hope that if my teacher is still teaching, she encourages the kids to read this for extra credit or possible as an assignment.

I can't wait to read more in this series. Oh yes..this is Book one in the series. I also can't wait for the movie to be released in February. The movie is actually what prompted me to read the book. I've owned the book for awhile now, but kept putting it off. Then I saw a trailer to the movie and it looked so darn good. I knew I had to read the book first. Just from watching the trailer, I can tell there are differences, but the movie still looks good.

This book is part of my collection and was either bought or given to me.

Merry Christmas from my house to yours

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I hope all of you have a great holiday and can spend it with friends and family. I hope you all get a book (or two!) and some quite time to read.

Most people put a star or an angle on top of their Christmas tree. Not us, we couldn't do something silly like follow the crowd when it comes to a tree top ornament. Nope..we have the sacred...Christmas Penguin! Lol! We love it. I have no idea why somebody came up with the idea of making a penguin Christmas tree topper but we just love it. I think it really shows our personalities.

Here are our stockings, yes there is stuff in them already which is why the red/white stripped one looks funny. My stocking is on the left, it has snowflakes on it since I love snowflakes. My husbands is in the middle. Our dog Myla even has her own, it's on the right.

It took us forever to find stockings like this. We looked every year. It was our first Christmas in our first house, probably about 6 or 7 years ago. My husband wanted the old fashioned knit kind. We looked high and low and finally found them at a store called Restoration Hardware.

2009 Challenge Wrap up

This is my best challenge year so far. I had so much fun completing in the different challenges and am very happy with the results.

I joined 15 challenges that started and ended in 2009. I completed 14 of them. The only one I didn't complete, the Non-Fiction 5 Challenge, I missed by 1 book. I have read 5 non-fiction books, I just didn't do it in the time frame needed for the challenge.

I might not have read all the books I had originally planned on for the challenges but I'm ok with that. I still completed the challenges based on the hosts's rules and that's what matters.

I completed the following challenges:

20 in 2009

The Pub Challenge

Christmas Reading Challenge

Love Bites

Paranormal 2009

Cozy Mystery Challenge (I hosted this one..and it will be back in 2010!)

Young Adult Challenge

War Through the Generations - WWII

TBR

Chunkster

1st in a Series

Series Challenge 3

Read-Your-Own Books challenge

9 Books for 2009

Christmas Reading Challenge - completed

I finished my last challenge for 2009! Woohoo!

The Christmas Reading Challenge is being hosted by The True Book Addict,

The goal was to read 3 Christmas books between November 27th and December 31st.

I was able to complete this challenge by reading:

The Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke

Home in Time for Christmas by Heather Graham

The Christmas Secret by Donna VanLiere

Click HERE to see reviews and posts related to this challenge

Superfoods RX: 14 foods that will change your life by Steven Pratt and Karthy Matthews

I went out of my comfort zone with this one but am glad that I did. I don't have the best eating habits, heck, they suck. I was drinking soda almost every day and eating chips and candy almost every day. While I'm not over-weight, I knew something had to be done. I had been trying to kick the soda habit for awhile, figured once I did that I would move on to something else. well..that didn't happen but I did lesson the amount of junk food I was eating. Then...I hurt my foot in August. For the last 3 years I have been working out 5-6 days a week. I was used to running 3 or more miles on my cardio days. I switched jobs and didn't have access to weights any more, so that meant I was running 5-6 days. Of course I didn't gain weight! So..I get a stress fracture in my heel and suddenly I can't run. Heck, I couldn't walk without lots of pain. As you can imagine, since I wasn't working out for several months and still eating the same, I gained some weight. This is what finally made me make the effort to eat healthy.

I had a Dr's apt a couple of months ago and mentioned to my Dr. that I wanted to eat healthier, she recommended this book. I'm so glad she did because it's really helped me. She said it wasn't a diet book...but it covers some of the super healthy foods and it helps you understand why they are healthy. That it did.

They book discusses foods like yogurt, nuts, and wheat germ. Wheat germ you say? I had never heard of it but it appears to be super good for you. I bought some about 2 weeks ago and I have been sprinkling it in my yogurt, stew, and some other items. There's no taste to it, but it can make yogurt a bit crunchy. It's really easy to add to things and if it's helping my body, I'm all for it.

I like that this book explains what is healthy, and why. I'm not a Dr...most of that stuff just goes over my head, however the book did good explaining that the foods contain X, Y, and Z, which studies show lower your risk of cancer, etc. The author also helps you add the foods to your diet. I loved that instead of saying to stop eating fast food all together, if you find yourself going that route try to get pizza since it at least has tomato sauce which is healthy.

Since starting this book I have given up soda. I last had a soda on 11/22, 1 month as of tomorrow. In the last 6 weeks I've only had two sodas (the other one was on 11/11). I swear my stomach is smaller - guess that was due to carbonation? Who knows. I could also be imagining things. I don't drink coffee. That means I am drinking a ton more water and I'm sure my body is happy with me. The longer I go without it, the easier it is to resist it when I'm out. I've been eating a ton of yogurt, usually 4-5 times a week. I eat more nuts, which are yummy. I'm also eating a lot more vegetables. I'm not a vegetable lover, rarely ate them, but now I'll eat a decent amount and even take the leftovers for lunch.

The biggest changes I have noticed are that I think my stomach as gone down, not by much and I could be imaging it, but I think it has. I feel a bit better. And the most noticeable change..I'm sleeping more. I used to go to bed around 9pm and I was up between 4am - 5am. Perfect for working out in the mornings. However I was also one to wake up constantly throughout the night. Now I'm sleeping till 6 or 6:30 most mornings and I'm not waking up a lot, I'm actually get a decent nights rest.

I'm not finished making the eating changes in my life, but I'm working on it and I've had a good start. Some days I still eat some chips and maybe some chocolate, but it's rare. I know I can eat the bad stuff once in awhile and knowing that has helped me cut back on it.

I definitely recommend this book to those who want to eat healthier. It's a great beginning and I think it will help you make the changes you want to make. I think, for me, it helped me realize how much my body needs those types of foods and the harm I was doing - even though I didn't see the harm or even gain enough weight to make me over-weight.

Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke

Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Kensington
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 256
Challenges: Christmas Reading Challenge

Author's Website



Simple Description:
Oh yes, it happened again. Hannah has happened across another dead body. Some girls get all the bad luck. This time she is with Norman though, so her Mother can't be too upset. Larry runs and owns the Crazy Elf Christmas tree lot. He has several investors and some are thinking that Larry isn't being completely honest with them. Hannah gets caught up in this because she is providing cookies for his cookie shop and he gives them blank receipts, not a good business plan. She learns this while in a business class at a local college with her Mom. To make the story more interesting we have Carrie, Norman's Mom, sneaking around and acting suspicious. Norman and Mike get Hannah a Christmas tree, but of course Moishe can't stay away from it.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I can't help it, I love these books. It doesn't bother me that there isn't really a murder investigation until half way through the book. I just love being back in Hannah's town and learning about everyone again. There are more and more hints of Hannah choosing a man and I like where it's headed - I just want her to get there. I guess that would be my only complaint, I would like to see Mike out of the picture - he might be hot but he can be such a jerk. haha! If you love cozy mysteries, or know somebody who does, you need to check out this series. Start from the beginning through..the books do build on one another. Oh..and these books do include lots of cookie and dessert recipes - I've been several and they have been yummy.

This book is part of my collection and was either bought or given to me.

Ornaments - Winners announced!

Sorry for the delay in announcing the winners for my ornament giveaway - I had to work at my holiday job Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Boy am I tired (but love the extra money - I already bought myself a Wii haha).

Ok..without further ado...the winners of the snowflake ornaments are: (drum roll going in the background)

Kathy R.

Audrey B.

Congratulations ladies! I won't be able to mail them until this coming weekend, so look for them sometime after the 1st of the year.

Win a handmade ornament from yours truly!

**sticky post - this will remain at the top until 12/18/09 - see below for new posts**

In the spirit of Christmas, I'm giving away a handmade ornament to two lucky readers!

Contest rules:

The contest is open from Dec. 7th 2009 - Dec. 18th, 2009 (midnight)

Due to shipping costs, only those with a US mailing address can apply.

You can only enter the contest once.

Check out my etsy shop to see the snowflake quilling ornaments that I have for sale, note the listing title, enter that on the form so I know which one you want.

Lastly..fill out the form.

That's it!

click on the link below to access the form, all fields must be filled in. As usual, I ask for your mailing address in advance, this way I can announce the winners and then mail the item as soon as I'm able to.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEZjUnVXUjNYMHh1Sjc5YXJLSUFQVVE6MA

Buy One Book and Read It 2010 - challenge

I know..I thought I was done with the challenges as well. I saw this button and thought it was way too cute and it needed to show itself on my blog, so I had to join.

No really, honestly, I buy the majority of the books I read. Therefore this challenge shouldn't be too hard, except, you actually have to read those books by the end of the year. Ooh..this might be a hard challenge.

This challenge is being hosted by My Friend Amy. The challenge post is HERE.

There are three different levels, I'm going with the highest which is to buy 12 books and read them by Dec. 31st, 2010.

Friday Smile

Doesn't this little guy look adorable with those glasses?! This picture was taken at my Mom's annual Christmas party. This nephew is rather shy so I don't get to hold him very much. At one point during the party I was sitting in a chair and he was playing on the floor in front of me. There were several kids there, all wanting to play with the same toy. Every once in awhile I would lean down and help him with the toy. Imagine my surprise when he turned around and gave me part of what he was playing with, then another piece. Then he gave me the biggest part of the toy. I thought he was just tired of playing with it. But no..he climbed into my lap to play. I felt rather cool and special, until I realized he did that so he could play with the toy by himself and the other kids couldn't use it. Oh well...at least I can pretend he wanted to spend time with me. haha!

Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich

Genre: Mystery
Pages: audio
Challenges: Stephanie Plum Challenge
Author's Website



Simple Description:
This is another of the "between" books featuring Diesel. Stephanie runs into Grandma and Grandma is carrying around a duffel bag, but she won't tell Stephanie what is in it. The next day Grandma is missing. Diesel shows up in apartment and it seems the man he is looking for is the same one that tried to get the duffel bag from Grandma the day before. Stephanie finds herself in Atlanta City where she finds Grandma but the loses Grandma when she is kidnapped by the Trenton crime boss.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
While I found myself laughing at times, I still think I would prefer if the author didn't write the "between" books. I just don't get the point..other than more money in her pocket I guess. But for the reader? What's the point? Over all it was an enjoyable book and I'm sure Stephanie lovers will enjoy it.

This audio book was rented from my local library.

9 books for 2009 Challenge Completed

For awhile there I thought I wasn't going to be able to finish this one, but I was able to sneak in the very last book. I loved this challenge because it was actually challenge for me. There were 9 different categories and it was a lot of fun, although hard at times, to find a book to fit the different catagories.

This challenge had a dedicated blog, which can be found HERE.

To see which books I read for this challenge, click HERE.

The Devil's Arithmetic

Genre: young adult
Pages: 176
Challenges: 9 books for 2009
New-to-me Author: yes
Author's Website



Simple Description:
Hannah is unhappy that she has to go to her Grandma and Aunt's house for Seder. Her Grandma is rather weird, he yells at the tv when watching what looks like WWII footage. She would much rather hang out with her friend Rosemary who is having fun celebrating Easter. Hannah is asked to open the door for the prophet Elijah and when she does she finds herself transported to the 1940's. She is a young Jewish girl and on the day of her brother's wedding the entire town is shipped off to a concentration camp. There she meets another girl named Rivka. Rivka helps her learn how to survive in the death camp. Hannah learns first hand what it was like for her ancestors.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I thought this was an excellent book. It definitely shows how important it is to remember what has happened in the past so that something like that doesn't happen in the future (although..with Darfur...I guess it kinda is but that's a whole different conversation). I loved the ending to this book. I think it would be a great read for kids (heck..and adults). Definitely one that I recommend to others.

This book is part of my collection and was either bought or given to me.

Win the new Letterpress

Are any of you crafty people like myself? Loving all the new stuff coming out for scrapbooking, card making, and other crafts?

Have you seen the new Letterpress? It looks sooo cool. I've seen it in action and I just know I'll figure out a way to get it sometime in the future.

I wanted to pass along a way to win it, in case you were interested or know somebody who is.

It's being given away on the Lifestyle Crafts blog. So check it out here.

(I admit...by posting a link to the contest on my blog I earn an extra entry for myself to win it..but I really really want it.)

Read your own books challenge - completed

The Read Your Own Books challenge was hosted by Miz B. The idea was to set a goal for the amount of books you would read that you already own. I picked 26. Since I own or buy the majority of my books I thought I would make the challenge harder by picking 26 titles to read. Well..I did complete the challenge (a long time ago) but didn't exactly read all 26 that I had picked. I did, however, read a whopping 18 from the list!

I'm officially marking this challenge as completed, since I know I won't read any more from the list this month.

Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke

Copyright: 2006
Publisher: Scholastic
Genre: YA - fantasy
Pages: Audio
Challenges: Read-your-own-books
Author's Website



Simple Description:
Firedrake is a dragon living in Scotland. One day one of the rats tells the dragons that the humans will be filling their valley with water to make a lake. The Dragons have nowhere else to go except, there are stories about a place call The Rim of Heaven. No human goes there and the dragons are safe, it's where the dragons used to live. Firedrake is the only dragon that sets out to find this place. Sorrel, his Brownie friend, goes with him. Along the way they pick up Ben, an orphaned human. They have many adventures along the way, it seems danger is everywhere they go. In fact, they are hunted by the golden dragon, the dragon who eats other dragons.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:

I loved this story. I loved how the dragon, the brownie, and the human work together to find the destination. I loved the different magical, and non-magical, creatures they come across and the different adventures they have. I definitely think kids will enjoy this story.

I actually own the book but ended up listening to the audio version. As far as the audio version goes, I can rave about it enough. Brandon Fraser reads the book and he is excellent. He changes his voice for the different characters and he somehow makes the book come alive, it was like listening to a movie.



This audio book was rented from my local library.

Home in Time for Christmas by Heather Graham

Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Mira
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 336
Challenges: Christmas reading challenge
Author's Website



Simple Description:
Jake Mallory is about to be executed. It's the Revolutionary war and he is on the American side, it's almost Christmas but the British want to make an example out of him. Suddenly he see's his adopted sister and then rose petals...and then he is almost hit by a car.

Mallory is driving to her parents house, it's current day, when she see's a person just appear in front of her car. She tries to avoid the person but skids on ice and hits him. When she gets out to help him, she thinks he works for one of the many historical tour companies, why else would he be in period costume? However, he seems awed by everything around him and out of place.

She takes him home and tries to play it off that they are old school friends, but her brother, Mom, and eventually her Dad all catch on and believe Jake when he tells them the truth, that he is from the past. Jake needs to get home to his adopted sister and make sure she is ok, however there is the feeling of instant attraction between him and Mallory.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I enjoyed the book, Heather Graham is one of my comport authors. However, it wasn't my favorite by her and it wasn't my favorite Christmas book. There were times in the story where the bickering between Mallory and her brother annoyed me and there were times when I would get confused for a second. I think she should have used more chapters or something. However, I still really enjoyed it and recommend it to others. I love the ending, perfect ending for the Holiday season.

Thanks to ????? for providing this book for review.
This book is part of my collection and was either bought or given to me.
This audio book was rented from my local library.

Friday Smile - gang signs and smiles

Ok, sure, not the best picture, but here's why I love it. These are three of my nephews. Enough said right? No really...here's why I love it. The little boy on the right, he's only 2 months older than the little boy on the left! Look at the size difference! haha! Plus, the little boy on the right looks like he is giving you some kind of gang sign. I'm not sure exactly what it means, I'm not up on the gang sign language, but evidently his brother in the middle knows and he thinks it's rather goofy. It also seems that poor boy on the end is too short and has no idea what is going on.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Copyright: 2005
Publisher: Scholastic
Genre: Young Adult
Pages: 425
Challenges: 1st in a series
New-to-me Author: yes
Author's Website



Simple Description:
Tally is still an ugly, although she'll be 16 in a couple of months and then she'll be made into a pretty and can hang out with her best friend Peris again. One day Tally sneaks into New Pretty Town to see Peris and she is almost caught. She runs to the river to cross but see's somebody standing their keeping guard. She thinks it's a Middle Pretty who is going to get her in trouble but it's not, it's another ugly named Shay. Shay and Tally become good friends and right before they are to turn 16 Shay tells Tally that she is not going to have the operation, she is going to join a group in the Smoke who remain Ugly.

When it's Tally's turn to have her option, a group called Special Cirumstances tells her that unless she kinds the Smoke for them, she will never be a pretty. At first Tally won't do it but then she decides it's the best thing to do. Once she gets to The Smoke, however, she begins to really like it there and learns that it's not all bad being Ugly. She decides she isn't going to contact Special Cirumstances because she has decided to live in the Smoke, however one morning they show up.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I found the concept of this book rather interesting. It's set in the not so distant future and the whole concept (at least what Tally learns in school) of being made into a Pretty where everyone kinda looks the same is to keep people from fighting over the color of their skin and how they look, etc. In fact, come to find out, being Ugly is just being natural - it's what all of us are.

I found the book to be rather good, it kept my interest and it was neat to learn about why they are Pretty's and how things work in this new world. This is the first the series and I definitely plan to read the rest.

This book is part of my collection and was either bought or given to me.

100 + Reading Challenge 2010

I can complete this one right? right. positive thinking.

This challenge is hosted by J. Kaye and the challenge post can be found HERE.

The goal is to read at least 100 books in 2010.

It is asked that you have a post where you list all books that you have read towards this challenge. Since I added the tabs at the top of my blog, I'm going to cheat and ask that you just click on the tab. This tab will then bring up all books that have been read towards this challenge. This way instead of seeing just the title and author, you are taken directly to my reviews too.

Thriller and Suspense Challenge 2010

This is the first year I'll be joining this challenge. I love mysteries so hopefully I won't have any trouble completing this one.

The Thriller and Suspense Challenge is being hosted by Book Chick City, the challenge post is HERE.

The goal is to read 12 thrillers in 2010, the challenge runs the entire year (Jan - Dec). You can read any of the sub-genre's of thriller.

I'm not going to list books upfront, even though I'll create a tentative list in the word doc where I keep track of my challenges. I have mysteries set for other challenges so I'll be using them for this one as well...but not sure what I will read to complete the challenge.

Young Adult Reading Challenge 2010

I love this challenge - while I love YA I don't always read as much as I want (or buy!) so this is a great challenge for me.

J. Kaye is holding this challenge again, the challenge post can be found HERE.

There are several levels of the challenge to choose from, and I'm going to pick the lowest, which is to read 12 books. No need to list books in advance.

Audio Book Challenge 2010

This is one I know I can finish. I started a new job this past August that requires me to drive myself to work (my husband and I used to work in the same building, so he drove and I read). I also have at least a 30 min commute (longer when traffic is bad). Since August I have already listened to 12 audio books. Therefore, this is a perfect challenge for me!

The audio book Challenge is being hosted by The Royal Reviews, the dedicated post is HERE.

There are several levels to compete at, the lowest is for 3 audio books and the highest is for 20 audio books.

The challenge runs January 1st 2010 through December 2010.

I'm going for the obsessed level, which is 20 audio books.

TBR Challenge 2010

I'm excited that once again MizB is hosting this challenge. This one shouldn't be a challenge to completed, but it always is. In 2009 I had planned on challenging myself to read all 24 books, that didn't happen. However I'm going to challenge myself to do that again this year. If I read 12, great - I do complete the challenge, if I read all 24 - awesome.

There is a dedicated page for this challenge, it can be found here. Please note..the sign-up is not currently up and per the post it won't be until January 1st.

The gist of the challenge is to pick 12 books that you have had for at least 6 months as of January 1st, 2010. You can also create a list of 12 alternate books. So at the most, you should have a list of 24 books that you have had for at least 6 months on the day the challenge begins. You can not substitute books on the list, you have to stick to the list. The challenge runs January through December.

Here's my list:

Main List of 12:

The Queen’s Fool by Philippa Gregory
The House on Tradd Street by Karen White
A Vintage Murder by Michele Scott
Trickster’s Choice by Tamara Pierce
Too Pretty to Die by Susan McBride
Ghouls Just Haunt to Have Fun by Victoria Laurie
Left to Die by Lisa Jackson
Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs
Bookmarked for Death by Lorna Barret
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexi
The Witches Grave by Shirley Damsgaard
Marked by P.C. and Kristin Cast

Alternate list of 12:
Death Dealer by Heather Graham
The Rest Falls Away by Colleen Gleason
The Apprentice by Tess Gerritsen
Crime Brulee by Nancy Fairbanks
The Main Corpse by Diane Mott Davidson
Fowl Prey by Mary Daheim
A Rose from the Dead by Kate Collins
Fine Feathered Death by Linda O. Johnston
Feint of Art by Lind Hailey
A Hoe lot of Trouble by Heather Webber
Carbs and Cadavers by J. B. Stanley
A Flicker of a Doubt by Tim Myers

The Christmas Secret by Donna VanLiere

Copyright: 2009
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Genre: fiction
Pages: 304
Author's Website



Simple Description:
Christine is a single mother who just can't seem to catch a break. Her ex-husband doesn't pay child support for their two children, she seems to always be late on her rent and other bills, and work. She is told if she is late to work one more time she will be fired. So what happens? The next day when she is trying to leave a car blocks her driveway. She soon realizes that the driver is hurt...she gets the lady out of the car and provides cpr until the ambulance comes. She shows up late for work but the manager doesn't care why she is late again..she's fired. As she walks to the bus to get home she see's a small cafe and goes inside to inquire about a job. She finally catches a break..help is needed while somebody is on maternity leave. Even though Christine doesn't realize it at the time, this is the break that she has been needing.

Jason is out of work due to the economy and his company down sizing. He has gone back to the small town he grew up in to help his father in the family store for the Holiday season. Jason is not happy, he went to college and the work is below him. However, as he meets more people and as he does what his father askes of him, such as volunteering, he finds that maybe what he wanted before he came to this town isn't what matters anymore. Plus, there is a beautiful women who works at the local cafe that he is interested in.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
This is one of my favorite Christmas book authors. Every time she comes out with a new one I can't wait to read it. This book was exactly what I wanted it to be. It was a story about somebody who isn't doing so well, it's the Christmas season, and with the help of others they get back on their feet and live happily ever after. Isn't that just the perfect story for the holiday season? This is definitely a book that I recommend others read. It's a stand alone, so no need to read her others first, although I do recommend her others as well.

Thanks to Anne with AuthorsontheWeb for providing this book for review.

Series Challenge Season 4

I loved completing in this challenge last year because it gave me just the kick in the butt I needed to finish some much loved series. Therefore, we'll attempt it again (only this time I'm not going to be as ambitious with my goals).

This challenge is being hosted by Kristin at Secret Dreamworld of a Bookaholic.

Here are the rules:

1) Pick a couple series you already started and now want to finish (meaning, you'll be all up to date with the series when it ends).

2) Read at least 4 books, more are also okay, of course!

3) Crossovers with other challenges are always okay.

4) Post your review of the books on your blog or in the comment section, no matter how long. If you post the review on your blog, please post a link to the review in the comment section so that everyone else can check out your review.

5) Have fun!

My goal is to finish the following series as they currently stand (I've listed the books that I still need to read that are currently published):

Jeaniene Frost - Night Huntress series

At Graves End

Destined for an Early Grave

Patricia Briggs - Mercy Thompson series

Blood Bound

Iron Kissed

Bone Crossed

Lorna Barrett - Booktown mystery series

Bookmarked for Death

Bookplate Special

Series Challenge 3 - wrap-up post

Unfortunately I had my dates wrong and thought I had till the end of December to finish this one, but I don't, it ended the end of November.

The goal of this challenge was finish at least one series that you have started, the goal was to read at least 4 books. I was feeling ambitious at the time and decided I would try and read 21 books, completing 12 series. While that didn't exactly happen, I did manage to read 16 books and completed 7 series! Still impressived! I also still officially completed the challenge. Therefore, this challenge is marked as completed in my book.

What's in a Name? 3 Challenge

This is probably going to be the most challenge for me to finish, but that's kinda why I'm giving it a try this year. I'm intrigued by it. I'm interested to see just how well I can do with it.

This challenge is being hosted by Beth Fish Reads, She has a dedicated blog for the challenge.

The rules:

So here's how it works: Between January 1 and December 31, 2010, read one book in each of the following categories:

1. A book with a food in the title: Clockwork Orange, Grapes of Wrath, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
2. A book with a body of water in the title: A River Runs through It, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, The Lake House
3. A book with a title (queen, president) in the title: The Murder of King Tut, The Count of Monte Cristo, Lady Susan
4. A book with a plant in the title: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Wind in the Willows, The Name of the Rose
5. A book with a place name (city, country) in the title: Out of Africa; London; Between, Georgia
6. A book with a music term in the title: Song of Solomon, Ragtime, The Piano Teacher

The book titles are just suggestions, you can read whatever book you want to fit the category.

I don't have to create a list ahead of time, which is awesome. It's going to be a surprise to my readers and myself!

November Coupon Savings

For November I saved a total of $189.70. This brings the total for the year to $2161.94. I think I've impressed myself!

 

Grocery store:

11/5 - $19.10

11/12 - $10.99

11/19 - $38.70

11/25 - $1.30

Total: $70.09

 

Walgreens/Target:

11/16 - $2.60

11/29 - $5.58

Totally: $8.18

 

Books:

11/09 - $9

11/14 - $2.70

11/21 - $2.69

Total: $14.39

 

Scrapbooking/Hobbies:

11/09 - $2.79

11/21 - $4

11/22 - $25

11/30 - $13.59

Total: $42.59

 

Misc. House:

11/15 - $14

11/15 - $11.25

11/15 - $14

11/28 - $10.20

Total: $49.45

 

Rebate:

$5

Unhallowed Ground by Heather Graham

Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Mira
Genre: Mystery - romantic suspense
Pages: 362
Challenges: None
New-to-me Author: No
Author's Website

I promise - an actual review and not another challenge post! Although, I have to admit there are several more challenges I plan to sign up for, I just didn't want to flood you all with posts in one day.

Simple Description:
Sarah recently bought a historic house in St. Augustine and is having major renovations completed so she can open it as a b&b. Her plans might be put on hold for awhile though, because the carpenter found skeletons in the walls of one of her rooms. While these bones are old, there is a very real killer on the loose in their town - one that is targeting women.

Caleb Anderson was asked to investigate the disappearance of a young girl from a year ago. She was on her way to St. Augustine but nobody knows if she made it. While he is in St. Augustine he meets up with Sarah and has an instant attraction to her, and her house. It begins to look like the disappearing women are part of a much large picture, because this has happened before. This happened once during the Civil War and again much later. Caleb believes Sarah is in trouble, but will he find the killer in time to save his new love?

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:

Oh how I love Heather Graham's books. She's a comfort read for me. Sure....most of her books are similar in the way that two strangers will be attracted to each other right away - love at first site, there's a killer on the loose, there are ghosts or something paranormal, and thinks usually end well for the people in love. I say "What's wrong with that?" lol! I really do love her stories, they are fun and combine a mystery with the paranormal and a bit of romance, and perfect combination. This is one of her latest books and if you are a Heather Graham fan, I'm sure you'll love it.

Thanks to ????? for providing this book for review.
This book is part of my collection and was either bought or given to me.
This audio book was rented from my local library.

Pages Read Challenge

The Pages Read Challenge is being hosted by Kathrin at Secret Dreamworld of a Bookaholic.

Here's the challenge info:

1) Pick a number of pages you'll be attempting to read in 2010. It doesn't matter whether your goal is 10,000 or 100,000. You can always up your number as we go along, so you don't need to go all up high with your page count.

2) Write a blog post about it in which you will keep track of your page count.

3) Comment here with your goal number and a link to your blog post (if you have a blog - otherwise, just leave a comment with your name and the goal number). I'll then add you to the list of participants below.

4) The challenge starts January 1, 2010 and ends December 31, 2010. Only pages read after the new year has begun count in for the challenge.

5) As usual: Have fun!

I don't plan to use this post as a place to keep track of my page count, I already do that on the right side of my blog.

Here's why I want to participate in this challenge. I've been keeping track of book/reading stats for three years now. I have noticed that the number of pages read and the amount of books read each year has declined. I don't like that trend. I'm hoping that by participating in this challenge I'll be able to stop the decline and read like I used to.

My goal is to read 31,000 pages in 2010.

Chick Lit Challenge 2010

This is a new challenge for me. I believe I have a lot of chick lit at home that I haven't read yet, so I'm hoping this will help me read some of them. If nothing else, there are several chick lit books I've been wanting to purchase and read but haven't.

The Chick Lit Challenge is hosted at Twiga Blog. Here's the challenge sign-up post. The goal is to read 8 chick lit books next year. The challenge runs January - December. I don't have to create a list ahead of time, yeah! But..I do plan to go through my list of unread books and make a possible list.

Eldest by Christopher Paolini

Publisher: Random House
Genre: YA
Pages: Audio
Challenges: 101 Fantasy Challenge
New-to-me Author: No
Author's Website



Simple Description:
Honestly..this time around I'm just being lazy with not writing my own description. I copied this from the RandomHouse website:

Darkness falls…despair abounds…evil reigns…

Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have just saved the rebel state from destruction by the mighty forces of King Galbatorix, cruel ruler of the Empire. Now Eragon must travel to Ellesmera, land of the elves, for further training in the skills of the Dragon Rider: magic and swordsmanship. Soon he is on the journey of a lifetime, his eyes open to awe-inspring new places and people, his days filled with fresh adventure. But chaos and betrayal plague him at every turn, and nothing is what it seems. Before long, Eragon doesn’t know whom he can trust.

Meanwhile, his cousin Roran must fight a new battle–one that might put Eragon in even graver danger.

Will the king’s dark hand strangle all resistance? Eragon may not escape with even his life. . . .

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I thought the story itself was very good. I thought parts were a bit slow, mostly when he was being trained, but overall I thought it moved well. I love the characters and the different things Eragon has to deal with. I also loved that Roran has a big part in this book and has his own story going on too. Definitely a series I recommend to others.

As for the audio version - juries out on that one. For the most part I think the author did well, but some of the voices I found annoying and didn't like. I didn't like Saphira's voice but I think that is because I like how in the movie version of Eragon she had a very feminine voice and that wasn't the case for the audio version of this book. I think I'll read, not listen to, the next book in the series.

This audio book was rented from my local library however I do own a copy of the book.

War Through the Generations - Vietnam War Challenge 2010

I absolutely loved participating in the War Through the Generations challenge this year. The war we read about this year was WWII. While I am a WWII buff, I also admit to not reading as much about it as I would like. So I'm glad the challenge "forced" me to read at least 5 books. I'm signing up for the challenge again in 2010 and I'm excited that the war we are to read about is the Vietnam war. I don't believe I have read any books regarding this war although I have been wanting to for a long time.

The challenge is a bit different this year, there are different catagories to choose from and even a buddy read. I urge you to check out the blog for this challenge, War Through the Generations, for more info.

I'm going to participate in the catagory: DIP

The challenge is to read 5 books that deal with the Vietnam War, in some aspect.

I honestly have no idea what books to read for this, so if any of my readers have read any books that deal with Vietnam War and you enjoyed it, I would love it if you left a comment with the title/author so I can check it out.

Since I don't already have a list of books I know I want to read, I'm not going to create a list in advance, this is one where I'll have to select the book as I go.

Scene of the Blog - I'm a guest!

I'm very excited to be the guest blogger for Cathy's weekly event, Scene of the Blog. This is one of my favorite events because I love seeing where other bloggers create their posts I'm also a bit of a peeping Tom in that I love to see the insides of houses, so of course I'm super excited to be showing all of you where I do my posting.

Scene of the Blog is hosted at KittlingBooks. Please pay her blog a visit, I promise you'll find lots of fun things and will return again and again.

Here's a link specifically to my guest post.

Challenge Roundup – update 11

This challenge is being hosted by book-a-rama.

This post is a challenge wrap-up for the month of November.

Overall Progress?

November wasn't the greatest reading month over-all, mix into the fact that I only ready 1 book for a challenge, and well, not a good challenge month for me. I still have a lot to read, but hoping to finish them all in December. I've told myself only Christmas books and challenge books this month, that's the gift I'm giving myself. Haha!

Total challenges that I'm competing in as of November 1st:

9(this doesn't count the completed challenges from earlier in the year)

Completed Challenges in November:

Chunkster Challenge

Total completed challenges in 2009:

20 Books in 2009 - Challenge completed 02/2009

The Pub Challenge - challenge completed 05/2009

Love Bites – Challenge completed 06/2009

Paranormal Challenge – challenge completed 07/2009

Young Adult Challenge – challenge completed 07/2009

Cozy Mystery Challenge – challenge completed 08/2009

TBR challenge – challenge completed 10/2009

The War Challenge – challenge completed 10/2009

Chunkster Challenge – challenge completed 11/2009

Total Challenges that I didn't finish:

Non-Fiction 5 (May-September) – finished 3 out of 5 books

Challenges I read a qualifying book for in November:

9 books for 2009

I read 1 books (The Stranger, The Other Boleyn Girl)

At the end of November I had 8/9 completed

Chunkster Challenge

I read 1 books (The Other Boleyn Girl)

At the end of November I had 3/3 completed

Progress for challenges that I didn't read a book for in November:

Read-Your-Own Books - 17/26 completed from list, have read more than 26 of my own books

Series Challenge 3 – 168/21 completed

1st in a series challenge – 10/12 completed

Arthurian Challenge (April 2009 – March 2010) – 0/2 completed

Stephanie Plum Challenge (2009 – 12/2010) – 1/5 completed

Reliquiae Challenge (July 15th 2009 – January 15th 2010) – 0/3 completed

101 Fantasy Challenge (Oct. 10th 2009 – Oct 10th 2010) – 0/7 completed

Reads for November 2009

Total books read: 6
New Authors: 6
Mystery: 2
Non-Fiction: 0
Fiction: 3
Young Adult: 1
Audio: 2
Pages: 1299
DNF: 1

Genesis Beach by Susan Whitfield
Outlander by Diane Gabaldon
The Stranger by Albert Camus
The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory
Thanksgiving at the Inn by Tim Whitney
The Last Ember by Daniel Levin

Overall a rather poor month for me. Not really sure what was effecting my reading last month, but I hope December is so much better! Still a good month though...any month where I get to read books I enjoy is a good month.