#2 Hunger Games
Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Scholastic
Genre: Young Adult
Pages: 391
Challenges: Off the shelf, Strong Heroine, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Author's Website
My rating: 4/5
I'm not going to do a normal review for this book because a lot of you have already read the book or if you plan to you do want to be spoiled. In fact, I'm not going to give any details about the book at all! No spoilers to be found here.
I noticed a co-worker reading The Hunger Games earlier this month and commented on it. So of course we started talking about it and the movie. Of course I then couldn't resist the urge to finally read the 2nd in the series. I actually started this one on Friday afternoon and finished it Sunday afternoon. Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. In fact, I finished my bookshelves and was all set to unpack all my books and organize them and instead I read this book.
I thought it was a good follow-up to the first one. I still love Katniss. My husband said he felt this was the best and worst in the series. The best because he thought the writing was good but the worst because he thought the author just pulled from the first book instead of coming up with a different story..I guess he felt she was cheating a bit. I didn't feel that way at all. I don't know if I thought this one was the best, but I loved it. I was engrossed from page one.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter (if you celebrate). If not, I hope you had a wonderful Sunday. :)
My family does celebrate Easter and I have a couple of pictures from the day to share with you. (clicking on the picture will give you a bigger image)
This year these two got snorkeling equipment from the Easter Bunny. Now they can't wait to come play in my pool.
My Mom told this little guy that I refused to let her take my picture but if he sat on my lap I would.
Husband started playing with the boys not too long ago and now whenever we see them they can't wait to play with him. They don't like to take turns either.
#1 Fire and Ice
Copyright: 1996
Publisher: Bantam
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 807
Challenges: New Author, 1st in a Series, Buy 1 Book and Read it
Author's Website
My rating: 4/5
This is a fantasy book, the first in a series. It's a huge fantasy book. It's over 800 pages of itty bitty script. This fantasy book took me 3 weeks to read. Yes, 3 weeks. You know what though? It was worth it.
I actually meant to read this book last year. When that didn't happen I told myself I would read it by March. March rolled around and I still didn't have a copy of it. I finally found a copy, every time I was at the bookstore and looked for it they were out. I was just in time too since the HBO series based on this book started a couple weeks ago. I actually watched the first episode before I finished the book because I couldn't wait for it.
It would be hard to do a really good description of this book, I often find this is true for fantasy books. There are so many characters and there's so much going on. This book is interesting in that you get the story from several different points of view. You end up getting different parts of the story but it works well in that you can piece together what is going on. Basically you have one king and several lords. Some of those lords, well, maybe just one, want to kill the king. Insert Eddard Stark of Winterfell. He becomes the kings Hand and gets in the way. His family gets in the way. Then his family tries to get some justice by capturing somebody in a powerful family and all hell, er, war breaks loose. In the meantime you get the story of a girl who would have been a princess if your father hadn't been killed and the current king named ruler. She is married off to a group of people who seem barbaric compared to how she is used to living. Then she becomes pregnant. This causes concern for the current king because the heir could go after the throne. See..lots of things going on that all seem connected in some way.
This book started out slow for me, but I think that's pretty typical when it comes to fantasy books. It's always a little slow learning the characters and the location, getting used to the names and their world. Once I got further into the book and got comfortable with everyone I started to love it. I was engrossed in the story and wanted to read more of it and wanted to know what was going on.
I have to admit that by week 3 I was tired of reading the book. I just wanted to be done. I do not do well with chunksters, I might love the story but if it takes this long I just want to move on. So I say this..but want you to know that while I was wanting to be finished, I was still enjoying the book and still wanted to read it. It's a bit of a catch-22.
I think fantasy lovers will enjoy this book. It's possible that non-fantasy lovers would too. If you aren't sure, try watching the series. So far the series follows the book pretty darn well. Even though I just finished the book, so it's fresh in my mind, I find that I'm enjoying the series a lot and I look forward to watching more. Sure, there are some differences, but not a lot. They are hitting all the important things so far and it's following the book pretty closely.
#1 In The Garden trilogy
Copyright: 2008
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Genre: Fiction
Pages: audio
Challenges: 1st in a Series, Audio Book
Author's Website
My rating: 3.5/5
Simple Description:
The story opens with Stella being a happily married woman with two kids. That is, until her husband is killed in a plane crash. With no family where she's at she decides to move back to the south where her father and step mom live. This way they can be closer to the boys. She is able to land a job as a nursery manager for Roz Harper. One of the stipulations is that she lives at the Harper Mansion for 6 months.
While living there she comes into close contact with the resident ghost, the Harper Bride. She butts heads with the landscape designer, Logan, but not for long. She loves her job, enjoys working with Roz. In fact, she enjoys her work with the nursery itself. But things start to get more complicated with Logan and she's not sure that's a good thing.
Haley, a distant relative of Roz's, shows up at the door with no job and pregnant. She's hoping Roz can give her a job so she can support herself and the baby until things get better.
My Thoughts:
I haven't read many Nora Roberts books yet, but this is my favorite so far! I just loved the characters and the southern setting. Stella is so organized that sometimes it can cause problems for her, yet as somebody who likes to be organized (although I'm lacking when compared to her) I liked this about her. Logan is so easy going and just let's things happen as they happen and I liked that about him.
I thought the three main women in the story were great. Roz, Stella, and Haley were all different yet they were all very strong female roles. I loved how they all got along and worked together too.
There are two more books in the trilogy, I haven't bothered reading what they are about but I can't wait to get to them. A friend suggested that another mutual friend and I would like this trilogy and boy was she right.
Audio Review:
Susie Breck is the narrator for Blue Dahlia and she does a really good job. She changes her voice, even for the kids, and adds what I think is the prefect amount of emotion into it. I hope she narrator all three of the books in this trilogy since I'll be listening to the other two on audio as well.
On April 10th, 2011 I participated in my first ever half marathon. For those who aren't aware, a half marathon is 13.1 miles and a full marathon would then be 26.2 miles.
Start of the race..I'm in a pink tank top with black shorts
Yes, I'm a long time runner but I've never ran this kind of distance before. I was happy with my 3 mile runs. Then last year I decided that wasn't enough and moved up to 4 miles for my weekday runs and 5-6 for the weekend runs. Then I decided I might want to do a half marathon.
So the 10th was the day. I was confident going into the race. I had run 12 miles two weekends before that and it felt great..I was tired and my legs were weak ( I did some major hills) but I knew I could have run 13. I set a goal of 2 hours but told myself that the real goal was finishing the race, the time would just be a bonus. Then the day of the race is here. And we have unseasonably high temps. When the race started at 7am it was already 73 degrees out. By 9am it was so hot they closed the marathon course where the half and the marathon runners split. Any marathon runners who came to that point after 9am were forced to continue on the half course and call it a day. Let me tell you, I felt the heat. I don't run well in the heat and humidity that we get in St. Louis and it showed. I showed up confident and determined to have a great race, and my race sucked. My first 6 miles were great and then it went downhill.
Right after mile 6
I felt really good the first couple of miles. I had been having issues with my heal again (the one with the stress fracture) and had been worried about it. It hurt right from the start but on mile two I felt a sharp pain and then nothing. I must have eased out whatever was causing it to hurt because it felt awesome after that. Then on mile 4 I started to feel the heat. I was getting hot. I told myself to slow down. Mile 5 I'm beginning to have doubts that I could finish the race. Mile 6 I wanted to walk but knew my Mom, she drove me, was planning to be on the course somewhere in mile 7 so I couldn't walk, I didn't want her to see me. Miles 7 through 8 were all uphill. I was feeling horrible. Mentally I wasn't doing very good. I was also over-hydrating because of the heat and in desperate need of a bathroom. I finally started walking after mile 8. I just couldn't do it! I felt miserable, I was hot and my legs were tired.
I started playing games with myself...if I walk to the next light..I have to run to the light after that. If I walk for .3 miles then I have to run for .3 miles. The more I had to stop and walk, the worse I got mentally. I would work back into a run but would find myself tripping on the pavement, a sure sign that my legs were fatigued, so I would walk again.
it's kinda hard to see me..I'm waving at my Mom at the finish
Finally, I hit the 12 mile marker and I was determined to run the last 1.1 miles to the finish. I did it too. I felt bad but I pushed through it and I did it.
I can't tell you how many times I wanted to quite. I can't tell you how many times I called myself a failure for having to walk part of the course. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to sit down and cry. I had worked for this. I had trained for this. Why couldn't I do it? Yes, I was having a one woman pity party.
After the race was over I kept it together long enough to get home and then broke down crying in the bathroom as I was getting ready for a shower. I felt so bad, mentally and physically, that I crawled into bed after the shower were I dozed and just laid there for a couple of hours. I only got out of bed when I did because Husband came in and laid with me and after a couple minutes suggested we go get ice cream. Does he know me or what? He offered to take me to my favorite place for some cherry almond ice cream. It's made fresh in the store and it's the only place I know of to get that flavor and it's my absolute favorite. I then came home and made a cake to take to my Mom's since she was having the family over for dinner. I had planned to make a celebration cake but, as I told Husband, it turned into a "I walked but I didn't quite" cake.
Crossing the finish line..finally
I was still feeling pretty bad Monday but by Monday night I was doing much better. By Wednesday I was finishing with the pity party. I belong to a website called DailyMile (you're welcome to be my friend if you belong too!) and I posted my sob story. The support I received was amazing. I can't even begin to tell you how good it made me feel.
My friends on DM made me realize that while I had to walk, I didn't quite. I did finish the race. I completed my first ever half marathon! I couldn't do anything about the temperatures and I was smart by listening to my body and walking when I realized I was suffering. I could, and should, be proud of myself for what I completed. And you know..they were all right. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I should embrace the race. Realize that I completed it and set my sights on the next one. I know have a PR (personal record). I can tell people that I completed a half marathon and I can be proud of that.
Finish..medal around my neck.time to go home
What also helped me realize that I did the right thing was reading news articles and watching news clips on the race, as well as talking to others. I talked to a couple co-workers who also ran it and they both had to walk. They both mentioned seeing people drop out of the race. Husband talked to a co-worker of his that runs and that guy said he knew two people running the marathon. Both he would consider very strong runners, both dropped out. One dropped out at mile 6. Watching the news report I learned that over 100 people were treated for dehydration, 20 taken to hospitals. I was not one of them. I did not drop out of the race. I did not quite. I walked when I felt my body needed it and I completed it. I'm proud of what I did. It take me some time to be comfortable with this but now I embrace it.
You know, we all have good days and bad. The 10th was a very bad racing day for me. However it's not the end. I'll continue to run and I'll continue to work towards the tougher runs. We have another half in October and while I haven't signed up for it yet, I plan to. I have a PR, I need to beat it.
For those of you who might be interested in, here are my stats for the race: Finish time: 2:13:18 Overall place: 4,217/11,535 Female place: 1,863/7,086 splits according to my Garmin: 8:45, 8:27, 9:01, 8:25, 9:01, 9:29, 9:47, 10:10, 11:46, 11:35, 12:19, 11:59, 10:00
Here's a video from a local news channel that covers a part of the race. The funniest thing is that they interview the men's winner of the half and he said the heat didn't bother him but the wind did. I can tell you that every time I felt a breeze, I could usually hear several people go "ah..that feels good". haha
#19 China Bayles
Copyright: 2011
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 320
Author's Website
The China Bayles series is one of the first cozy series I ever read. Then I got caught up in cozies and started so many series, this one was put on the back burner and sadly I haven't read any of the last 5 books. In fact, you might remember that this is one of the series I'm trying to get caught up on this year (and sadly haven't read one yet). I was given the opportunity to get a copy of the new book for review on my blog and I jumped at the chance..then realized I didn't really want to read the series out of order. Then I had an idea...my Mom reads this series. I bet I could convince my Mom to review it for me! Lucky for me, she was up for it, even though she was nervous.
I kept forgetting to come up with questions..and then she told me she finished it. Ooops. So this was a fly by the seat of your pants interview! It's short, it's sweet, you get the idea.
First, here's a brief description of the book thanks to Berkley Prime Crime's website: While Pecan Springs bustles back to life in the warmth of spring, one woman’s life is tragically brought to an end. China Bayles happens upon a burning house trailer and hears a woman screaming for help. The evidence leaves no doubt that it’s arson homicide.
Jessica Nelson, an intern-reporter at the local paper, is assigned to cover the story. But she’s gotten herself too deeply involved. When Jessica disappears, China is determined to find her, before she becomes headlines herself
Without Further ado...here's my Mom's review. My questions in blue and her response is in red.
What are your over-all thoughts regarding this book? Did you like it, love it, thought it was just "eh, ok"?
I really enjoyed this one. Of course, I've liked them all. I liked the way she explained things regarding plants.
How does this one compare to the other books in the series? Is it just as good as the previous ones or did you think it was better or worse? Why?
I think this one was a little better. It's hard for me to explain, but in reading it I found it very interesting how she figures out who did it.
What did you think of the mystery itself? Did it keep you guessing or were there enough clues that you were able to figure out who did it?
I thought the mystery itself was good. Sometimes you can figure out who did it, but in this one it kept me guessing. I was thinking it was someone else all together. Also, I liked the way one chapter was about one person and what they were thinking and then the next was China trying to figure out what happened.
Ok..I know you don't normally review books, so one last question, would you recommend this book to others? Would cozy fans enjoy this series? If so, do you think they should start with the beginning of the series or could they jump right in with this one?
I definitely think other cozy fans would like this series. I prefer to start a series at the beginning so you have all the people straight in your head, but she explains the characters in each book without saying exactly what she said in the last book, so it's not boring for the reader who's read them all and a new reader knows the characters. So, yes, you can read this one without reading any of the others.
I lied, one last question. How would you rate this book on a scale of 1 to 5? Here's my rating scale if you want to go by this:
1 Star: Either a DNF or one step up
2 Stars: Ok, I had some issues with it, but didn't hate it
3 Stars: Very good, worth reading
4 Stars: Incredibly good, highly recommend
5 Stars: Awesome, one of the best of the year
I would say 4.
So there you have it! Sounds like this is a series that keeps getting better, and that's saying something since it's up to 19 books. I can't wait to dive back into the series and get to this one. My Mom mentioned that she loved the parts where the author talks about the plants. I had forgotten about that. I always loved the parts of the books where the author talked about the different herbs and talked about growing them and uses.
Thanks so much to my Mom for allowing me to interview her and post it on my blog. Aren't Mom's great?
Hello everyone! It's been awhile since I last posted and I just wanted to pop in and say hi and let you all know that all is well. I started reading A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Marti on the 3rd and I'm still reading it. I can't believe the book has taken me over 2 weeks to read it! I still have over 100 pages left too. Ugh. Don't get me wrong, I'm really enjoying it, but with long books I always get to a point where I'm just ready to be done..no matter how good it is.
I have finished an audio book, I finished it last week. I just didn't get around to writing up a review of it and now I just don't feel like it. I listened to The Awakening by Kelly Armstrong. It's the 2nd in a YA series and it was good. Sometimes the narrator got a bit annoying with her tone for a couple of the characters but at the same time I could understand why she used the tone she did. Heck..they are teenagers. I'm sure I'll continue listening to the series since I don't own the books and I've already started the series on audio.
As far as other things, not dealing with the fatigue like I was but dealing with other issues.. Nothing major, mostly I think it's just some medication I'm on that's causing my hormones to be crazy. So I find myself just annoyed at everything which means it's hard to read my favorite blogs, do my reviews, etc. When I get home from work I find that I just sit there..not really paying much attention to things. I guess this is one reason it's taking me so long to read A Game of Thrones huh? We've also been busy on the weekends doing stuff around the house that doesn't give me much free time. Plus..other things going on that I don't want to trouble you all with on this blog. I do have a Friday Smile post coming up for this week that explains some of what's been going on. Then after that I have some pictures from when I was younger that I thought I would share. Boy are you all in for a treat! Fingers crossed I'll be able to get several posts created so I don't have such a long time in between posts again. Of course...toes and fingers crossed I finish Game of Thrones soon so I can actually review a book. lol! And..before you ask..yes I did record the HBO premier of Game of Thrones. Yes I did watch the first 40 min before I decided to go to bed since I was falling asleep. And, finally, yes..I did enjoy it.
I have a new camera so my friend and I took Myla to a local park Wednesday to take pictures. He got a new dslr and let me know he was selling his current one and offered it to me. He knew I've been wanting a dslr for a long time and the price was good so I jumped at the chance. So we were both armed with new camera's and itching to use them. Myla turned out to be the perfect subject. We were the only ones in the open field and I let go of her leashing, expecting her to take of running. She didn't though, she laid down and posed.
We also walked the trails a bit and Myla was worn out. She loves her evening walk but she doesn't like to go far. I made her go pretty far. Once we got home she waited for me to let her up on the couch and then she slept the night away.
#1 Bone Island trilogy
Copyright: 2010
Publisher: Mira
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 368
Challenges: Off the Shelf, Paranormal/Fantasy Romance, 1st in a series, Audio Book
Author's Website
My rating: 3/5
Then another girl goes missing. Then a suspect goes missing. Katie and David form a relationship but there is one thing she is keeping from him, she can see ghosts. In fact, she can see the ghost of the three murder victims. Unfortunately they aren't able to tell her who killed them but she's hoping to get some clues from them so they can find the killer.
My Thoughts:
I'm a huge Heather Graham fan. I don't always read her books when they are first published but I always get excited. I love how she weaves mystery and paranormal and romance. I really liked Katie and David, individual and as a couple. They each have their faults but they are both likable characters.
The mystery aspect of the story kept me guessing.I had figured out who it was, but not by clues. Rather I tried to guess who wouldn't be an obvious choice and my guess worked.
Overall, an enjoyable read and another good story by the author. I have the other two books in the series already so I hope to get to them within the next couple of months.
Audio Review:
The audio version of this book is read by Angela Dawe. Overall I think she does a good job, I just have one complaint. When the characters are talking to each other or thinking, she lowers her voice. Which means I have trouble hearing it. I'm either stuck constantly messing with the volume or struggling to hear some parts. Suppose this might not be an issue if listening to it at home when other noise is at a minimum but driving in the car on the highway it was an issue. So..while I think Dawe did a great job, I'm not sure I'll listen to the rest of the trilogy.
#2 Rizzoli and Isles
Copyright: 2003
Publisher: Ballantine
Genre: Mystery
Pages: audio
Challenges: Off the Shelf, Strong Heroine, Mystery and Suspense, Audio Book
Author's Website
My rating: 3.5/5
Simple Description:
Jane Rizzoli is a homicide detective with the Boston PD. The past summer she caught The Surgeon and barely escaped with her life. Now it appears there is another serial killer on the loose. There seem to be too many similarities between these crime scene's and the ones the Surgeon left. However Rizzoli is the only one who see's it. That is, until the Surgeon escapes from jail.
Rizzoli knows the Surgeon will be coming after her. She is, after all, the only who escaped him and they are finding more and more clues that show he's infatuated with her.
My Thoughts:
I had read the first in the series awhile ago and even though I liked it I kept putting this series off. You all know how that is. Then the tv show came out last year and I watched it, and I liked it. I wondered if that would ruin it for me. I decided to finally read the next in the series and I'm really glad I did. While I knew the story because it was covered in the tv show, I still enjoyed it. Some things were different and since it's been awhile since the tv show it wasn't fresh in my mind.
I like Rizzoli, I think she's a great character. She has to be strong, or at least appear strong, in front of her co-workers. So you see the side of her where she doesn't want to take anybody's crap and she has something to prove. Yet, you also see the other side of her, her weak side. The side where you know she is scared.
I'll definitely be continuing with this series. I'm not sure how fast I'll get to them..but I'll get to them.
Audio Review:
I did listen to the audio version of this book. Dennis Boutsikaris is the narrator for the audio version of The Apprentice and I thought she did a really good job. I think there's a very good chance I'll listen to more of this series via audio book.
Sorry for being relax in posting my Friday Smile posts. I've either been dealing with some fatigue issues or other issues. haha!
I don't have any pictures for today but have a story for you. My husband didn't find it amusing or even understand why I was freaked out, but his comment was funny. So I'm going to share the story with you and hopefully you understand why I was freaked and I think you'll enjoy his comment.
The Story:
I was running at Castlewood State Park this past Sunday. I was running the trails and was roughly 5 miles into the run. Due to all the snow we had the day before and the fact that the ground wasn't really cold enough for it, it was incredibly muddy. Most people were smart and didn't run at the park because of this and in those 5 miles I had only seen one other person. So it was very isolated.
So what happened? I saw a pair of hiking boots on the trail. Weird, but ok. Maybe somebody was hiking and had an extra pair and they fell out of their pack. However a bit further I saw two water bottles. The caps were off, they were empty, and they were laying off the side of the trail. This was freaky. I stopped and took my headphones out and listened. I didn't hear anything. I looked around but didn't see anything. I start freaking out. Why would somebody drop this stuff or just leave it. Who would leave their shoes and water bottles? I immediately start thinking that something bad happened. I try to pick up my pace and go faster but due to the mud I couldn't really go much faster. Further down the trail I see a pair of gloves on the trail. Further down I see a vest with a thermal shirt.
When I got down to the road I ran to the ranger station and saw an ambulance but before I got there the ambulance and ranger drove off. I completed my run and on my way out the park I stopped at the ranger station.
There was a guy and two teenagers at the station talking with the Ranger. I told the ranger that I didn't know if this had anything to do with the ambulance from earlier but I passed a pair of hiking boots, water bottles, and other items on the trail. Perfect timing. The guy and teenagers were there to find the items. I don't know exactly what happened, but they said she, so I assume it was the guys wife and the kid's Mom. They mentioned that she must have gotten lost. It was lucky that I was able to point out where the items were on the map so they could find them.
I have no idea what happened to the lady, didn't feel it was my place to ask. I'm glad I was able to help though.
So that's my story. Do you understand why I was freaked out? Being all alone on the trail and finding that stuff strewn along the trail..not exactly close together either. I was freaked thinking something had happened to the lady and that a murderer or somebody was still out there and would get me next. ha!
I told my Husband this and he just looked at me and said "You read too many mysteries." Lol! I actually think that's pretty funny. As luck would have it I was reading a mystery at the time. He found it funny that I was freaked..yet continued my run (another 6 miles). I said that when I saw the ambulance but no police cars, I felt pretty positive that there wasn't a murderer on the loose.
What about you? Would you have gotten a bit freaked and thought something wasn't right? Or would you have just thought somebody got warm or something and decided to drop their stuff?
Total books completed: 9 Pages: 3053 New Authors: 1 Mystery: 7 Non-Fiction: 0 Fiction: 1 Young Adult: 1 Audio: 3 Own: 2 Bought: 1 Review: 3 Borrowed: 3 DNF: 0
First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost Fruit of All Evil by Paige Shelton Paradise Valley by Robyn Carr Beaglemania by Linda O. Johnston Devil's Food Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke A Touch of Gold by Joyce and Jim Lavene Untamed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast First Family by David Baldacci Bone Thief by Thomas O'Callaghan
