Teaser Tuesdays {12-30-08}

I missed Musing Mondays yesterday. When my fiance/husband (we've been engaged for 4 years and often refer to each other as husband and mrs) is on second shift or off (like yesterday) my routine gets thrown off.

• Grab your current read
• Let the book fall open to a random page
• Share with us two (2) "teaser" sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you're getting your "teaser" from ... that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!
• Please avoid SPOILERS.

She sailed to Europe in January, the solace of travel abroad meant to clear her mind of the tragic farce she'd been part of at home. But innovations in communications meant that distance no longer protected the rich: she had barely debarked when she heard that a colleague of her father's, the architect Stanford White had been killed in a lover's triangle.

These teasers come from Emily Post: Daughter of the Gilded Age, Mistress of American Manners. They are from the Uncorrected Proof and may vary from the final, published version.

For more teasing fun, visit MizB @ Should Be Reading.


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Friday Finds {12-26-08}

Here are the books that have made their way on to my Wish List since last weeks installment.

• One Red Paperclip by Kyle MacDonald - found @ she is too fond of books - it was on her FF last week - I heard about Kyle while he was on his adventure
• The Ghost Orchid by Carol Goodman - found @ GoodReads - Lisa at the Tattered Cover recommends it

Friday Finds {12-19-08}

Here are the books that have made their way on to my Wish List since last weeks installment.

• The House of Mondavi by Julia Flynn Siler - found @ Beth Fish Reads [her review]
• Never Tell a Lie by Hallie Ephron - found @ GoodReads through a GR pal who works for Tattered Cover
• The Rest of Her Life by Laura Moriarty - found @ BermudaOnion [her review]

For more Friday Finds, don't forget to visit MizB.

I've Been Tagged: Some Christmas Fun

Wendi @ Wendi's Book Corner tagged me for "Some Christmas Fun".

Some Christmas Fun

Answer these questions and then tag a person or two. Post these questions on your blog and link back to me.

This is a short quiz since we are all so busy this time of year.

1. What is your very first Christmas memory? My first vivid memory that I know for sure is from Christmas is when I was 7 and I got a snow globe from my paternal grandparents. I remember thinking I was SO cool. The globe part of it was glass and I thought I was so grown up to be given something so breakable. I still have it. I passed it my oldest (she'll be 15 in... 10 days!) when she was 10.

2. Do you have a favorite Christmas gift? Probably that same snow globe.

3. Have you ever celebrated Christmas outside of your country? no

4. What is your favorite Christmas decoration? We're not big with the decorations at our home. (read: we don't even have a tree.) But my mom keeps several ornaments and other decorations that, when we (Matt, Sarah-Ellen, Reaghan & myself) have a house, she'll give to me for our house. I think the stocking are my favorite.

5. What is your favorite Christmas tradition? Making cookies, setting them out for "Santa".

6. Have you ever had a white Christmas? We live in Connecticut, I'm sure we have, but all I can recall at the moment are dustings at most.

7. Have you ever gone Christmas caroling? not that I can remember. Mom?

8. What is your favorite Christmas movie or story? Movie: It's a Wonderful Life and those CBS movies - Story: 'Twas the Night Before Christmas

9. Do you have a Christmas link you would like to share? nope, sorry

If you would like to participate, consider yourself tagged! Follow the instructions and leave me a comment here. I'll add your link and come read your answers.

Oh, yeah! That picture is of Matt and I. I was pregnant with Reaghan at the time. Christmas 2005. She came along about 6 1/2 weeks later. 5 weeks early, exactly 1 week before my baby shower! Just thought I'd share.

Review of: The Family Bones

Author: Kimberly Raiser
ISBN: 9780615246253
Pages: 192
Genre(s): Paranormal, Thriller, Fiction
Grade: B-
Challenge(s): none

You can purchase this book from: Amazon OR an Indie Book Store



From the back of the book:

Will they stay? Will they survive? The Weavers have inherited family property in Astral, Pennsylvania, a town so small that Mrs. Weaver can find no mention of it on the Internet, save for a tiny spot on Google Earth. Hoping for a simpler, small-town existence for their young family, Steven and Tara eagerly head to Astral to see what they hope will be their dream house. As they explore their potential new home, the Weavers begin to discover secret passageways, secret rooms, and long buried family truths; some difficult truths are revealed and no longer kept in the far reaches of the closet. There are reasons for everything, and sometimes the explanations are so simple. But sometimes, simple can also be horrifying.

I think the best way to describe this book is 'spooky'. I'm not a squeamish reader, but I had to read this book during the day. I started it early this month, during the afternoon. I'm the type of person who HAS to read in bed before going to sleep. I could not read The Family Bones before going to sleep.

There are some really great elements to The Family Bones: children in danger, disappearing/reappearing tunnels, a well. Not to mention all of the mystery and suspense. It didn't take me long to get swept up in this book. From page 1 Kimberly Raiser had me with:

The well on the back of the property always scared me as a child. It was so deep, and so completely absent of any light. The neighborhood kids used to tell me horrible stories about the old man who used to live there before my grandparents did. How he used to drown cats deep in the well and how their bones would rise during the full moon to look for the old man that drowned them.

And that's just the first 4 sentences of The Family Bones! It only gets better, scarier, spookier from there. If you would also like to read this. I'll send my copy (only read once, by yours truly) to the first person (with a legit e-mail address) to comment below.

(Full disclosure: Kimberly Raiser sent me this book as a free review copy. If you have any questions/concerns about how this may have affected how I feel about the book, please go here and read the PLEASE NOTE part.)

Teaser Tuesdays {12-16-08}

• Grab your current read
• Let the book fall open to a random page
• Share with us two (2) "teaser" sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you're getting your "teaser" from ... that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!
• Please avoid SPOILERS.

"I knew about Julia's reluctance to get psychological help, but the rest was news to me, and I felt dreadful. All Margaret had shared with me was her frustration with the police."

My teaser for this week comes from Debbie Macomber's Back on Blossom Street, which has been hanging out on my shelves for much too long. You can read more about the book on the authors' site, including an excerpt.

Don't forget to visit MizB for more teasing goodness.

Musing Mondays {12-15-08}

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about reading on the go…

I always like to have a book with me at all times – call it a nerdy grown-up security blanket – and rarely do I leave the house without slipping one into my bag (even if I KNOW I’m not going to have a chance to read it). Do you take a book with you? Do you take whatever book you’re currently reading, or do you have a special on-the-go book? And do you have a preference for a these types of book (paperback, hardback; short stories; poetry etc)?

I'm pretty much the same way. I almost always (95% of the time) bring a book with me. Even if I'm sure I won't get a chance to do any reading, I bring a book; just on the extreme off chance I get 2 minutes to crack it open. Unless my current book is a large hardcover, I bring my current read. I prefer to bring Mass Market Paperbacks, but I've been known to carry around a printed out e-book.

Review of: A Different Kind of Christmas

Author: Alex Haley
ISBN: 9780385260435
Pages: 101
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
Grade: A+
Start date: 12-6-08
End date: 12-10-08
Challenge(s): Winter Holiday Reading Challenge

Alex Haley's Roots is one of the world's most beloved and important books. In A Different Kind of Christmas, the intense drama of a white Southerner and a black slave who work toward a mutual goal, Haley once again gives us a moving story of physical and moral courage, and an unforgettable tale of spiritual regeneration. Rendered with a matchless sense of time and place, a poetic humanness, and a rich, robust humor; A Different Kind of Christmas will delight and inspire reader of all ages and faith for generations to come.

So says the inside of the dust jacket. Here I am reading this for the first time, 20 years after it's first printing, a white, non-Christian. I cried when it was over. Not a lot, but it definitely affected me.

Fletcher Randall, son of the owner of "North Carolina's 4th largest plantation", is a sophomore at Princeton when we meet him. After meeting and spending some time with 3 Quaker brothers, Fletcher becomes disillusioned with what he was brought up considering 'normal'; that people can be your property. Fletcher eventually becomes involved with the Underground Railroad (UGRR). Fletcher spends part of one of his Christmas breaks helping the UGRR in a surprising way. I'm trying not to give away too much. It's a 101 pages, pick it up, read it and I think you'll find that it picks you up in return.

As you might expect, this book is receiving my Hyacinth Award.

Shared Reviews: If you've reviewed this book too, please send me an e-mail or leave a comment with the link to your review, and I will add a link to it at the bottom of my review. Please, for convenience, if you leave a comment, leave it in the review-post.

Friday Finds {12-12-08}

Here are the books that have made their way onto my Wish List this week.

• Chaplin: A Life in Film by Stephen Weissman - found @ Book Critiques
• A Song in Stone by Walter H Hunt - found @ MizB's Should be Reading's Teaser Tuesdays post
• Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosney - found @ gautami tripathy's Reading Room
• Shades of Gray: A Novel of the Civil War in Virginia by Jessica James - found @ Shana of Literarily
• The Yoga Teacher by Alexandra Gray - found @ S. Krishna's Books - review

Visit MizB's blog Should be Reading for more Friday Finds.

Review of: A Homespun Regency Christmas

Author: Carla Kelly, Emma Jensen, Sandra Heath & Amanda McCabe
ISBN: 9780451227096
Pages: 288 (327 if you include the four excerpts at the end)
Genre(s): Romance, Regency, Historical Fiction, Anthology
Grade: B
Start date: 11-24-08
End date: 12-3-08
Challenge(s): Winter Holiday Reading Challenge



A Homespun Regency Christmas is an anthology. I was hesitant to pick it up since I was burned* by the last anthology that I read. I really wanted to get in the Christmas spirit and hadn't been disappointed by a Signet Regency yet, so I bit the bullet. I STILL haven't been disappointed. =) Each story is around 70 pages. I'll review them in the order they appear in the book.

An Object of Charity by Carla Kelly - "A lonely naval hero assumes the responsibility if an orphaned brother and sister -- and discovers unexpected salvation in the young girl's giving heart." Captain Michael Lynch has lost this first mate, David Partlow, in a terrible accident at sea. Sally Partlow and her younger brother, Thomas (niece and nephew to David) have lost their father and have traveled from the Highlands of Scotland to Portsmouth, England to enter their Uncle David's care.

The Wexford Carol by Emma Jensen - "An enterprising woman throws a party to save her family home from being razed -- only to fall for the seemingly coldhearted man behind the demolition." Set in Ireland, this is the story of Elizabeth Fitzhollis, her family home and Captain Lord Rhys Edward-Jones. The premise is a bit convoluted, but it all comes together at the end. At the end there is a letter that was written before the actual story starts that explains the confusing bits.

Mistletoe and Folly by Sandra Heath - "A nobleman crosses paths with the young woman who years before broke his heart when she married a wealthier man." Another set in England. The story of Sir Richard Curzon and his past love Mrs Robert Beaumont (formerly Miss Diana Laverick). There is an element of intruige added to the mix in this story. This is the only one without a (current or former) captain of a ship. Still really interesting.

Upon a Midnight Clear by Amanda McCabe - "A moonlight encounter unexpectedly changes the lives of an emotionally scarred sea captain and the daughter of a freed slave." I'm not sure why, but this one was by far my favorite of the 4 (they are all good though). Maybe it's how much these people are so sad, so desperate for comfort. Both Antoinette Duvall and Mark Payne think they are settled and 'happy' in their lives, but really each needs something more. Something to, for lack of a better phrase, complete them.

*(see the book I read Jan6 - 9)

Booking Through Thursday {12-11-08}

1. Do you get to read as much as you WANT to read?
2. If you had (magically) more time to read–what would you read? Something educational? Classic? Comfort Reading? Escapism? Magazines?

There are days (few and far between) that I get to read more than expected, but on the whole I don't get to read as much as I want. I have a little girl who will be 3 in February and she is H-E-double hockey sticks on wheels. As evidenced by yesterday's antics. She slathered her hands in hand sanitizer and cut her bangs (All my fault though. I was wrapping presents Tuesday night and left the scissors low enough for her to reach). Then after her nap and covered herself in Balmex. Less than an hour later she got into some craft varnish (water soluble and not as thick as standard varnish) and covered her hands in it.

If I had more time to read I would want to read one book in particular (which has been hanging around for over a year) as well as some other 'educational' books. Mostly, if I had more time, I'd love to learn Spanish!

Don't forget to go HERE for more Booking Through Thursday posts.

Teaser Tuesdays {12-9-08}

• Grab your current read

• Let the book fall open to a random page
• Share with us two (2) "teaser" sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you're getting your "teaser" from ... that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!
• Please avoid SPOILERS.

I'm reading 4 books at the moment. I'm picking my teaser from The Family Bones since it is closest to me. ;)

I looked up to see how high the actual opening was. It was very very high. I could see the top, the top of the well.

Can you get a sense of why I'm only reading this one during the day? **spoo-oo-ooky** Jump on over to MizB's blog, Should be Reading for more teasing.

Review of: A Wrinkle in Time (sort of)

Author: Madeleine L'Engle
ISBN: 9780440498056
Pages: 256
Genre(s): Children's Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy Fiction
Grade: A
Start date: 11-20-08
End date: 11-24-08
Challenge(s): (Genre Challenge) Fantasy



I don't feel like I need to review A Wrinkle in Time. So many have already read it, so many will read (and reread) it. I will say that I enjoyed it more now than when I was 9 or 10 when I first read it. I have the next 3 in the series and will read them at some point. =) I will also continue to look for An Acceptable Time, which is the 5th book.

Booking Through Thursday {12-4-08}

Here is today Booking Through Thursday! My answers are in bold after the question.

1. Do you have a favorite author? I have two. Stephen King and Agatha Christie.

2. Have you read everything he or she has written? I haven't read everything by either of them. I have read a lot by Stephen King and Agatha Christie, but both are/were (respectively) very prolific.

3. Did you LIKE everything? Stephen King - yes. Agatha Christie - no. I find her Poirot novels to be a little hard to read. Poirot is my favorite Christie detective to watch though...

4. How about a least favorite author? hmm None that spring to mind.

5. An author you wanted to like, but didn’t? Milan Kundera

Delurking December

Shauna @ Shaunarumbling has declared this month "Delurking Decmeber".

Shauna says: "I'm designating this month as Delurking December! Consider giving the gift of your comments to bloggers whose blogs you read regularly or happen upon."

So keep this in mind while traveling the blogosphere and at least say hi. Let those bloggers that you read KNOW that you are reading. Even if you've just clicked through from somewhere else. =)

Funny side note: FireFox wants me to change "bloggers" to "floggers"....

Review of: The Safety of Secrets

Author: Delaune Michel
ISBN: 9780060817367
Pages: 320
Genre(s): Women's Fiction
Grade: C-
Start date: 11-14-08
End date: 11-19-08
Challenge(s): none









I really wanted to like this book. I've several reviews by others that liked it a lot. There was just something about Fiona and Patricia rubbed me the wrong way; self-centered maybe (?). I don't want to give any "for instances" and spoil the book for anyone who is going to read it. My biggest issue with the book was the lack of warning (page break or different font) when Fiona would flash to her past. It took me a few lines to whole paragraphs to realize that we had changed settings. I found this very annoying after the 3rd switch in setting.

But this is just MY opinion. As I said, there are those that really enjoyed the book. Some examples are below:

• She Is Too Fond Of Books
• A Novel Menagerie
• Shelfari member reviews

Shared Reviews: If you've reviewed this book too, please send me an e-mail or leave a comment with the link to your review, and I will add a link to it at the bottom of my review. Please, for convenience, if you leave a comment, leave it in the review-post.

Reading Wrap-Up for November

Books I finished in the month of November. Follow the links to my reviews.

Burning Water - Mercedes Lackey
Third Girl - Agatha Christie (a Poirot mystery)
Uglies - Scott Westerfeld
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
The Safety of Secrets - Delaune Michel
A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle

I still have to write reviews for the last two. Hopefully I'll remember to update this post when I write them. Prompting is welcome. =) Also, please check out this previous post of mine.

UPDATE 12-11-08: I remembered to link the reviews... finally.

I need your help

Next year I will be having a little contest. On January 1, 2009 I will be installing a widget that will track the Top Commenters. I will be giving prizes to the top 5 commenters of 2009. I'm thinking a Gift Card for 1st place (amount to be determined, but at least $25.00 US.) I'm not sure what the prizes for second through fifth should be. I'm very open to suggestions. Please leave a comment below or send me an e-mail to kylee.challenge AT gmail.com with a subject of "2009TC" that way if your e-mail is misdirected into my spam folder it will be easier to spot. J. Kaye told me where to find the widget that she uses. Thank you, J. Kaye!

Teaser Tuesdays {12-2-08}

• Grab your current read

• Let the book fall open to a random page
• Share with us two (2) "teaser" sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you're getting your "teaser" from ... that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!
• Please avoid SPOILERS.

This week's teaser sentences are from A Homespun Regency Christmas. It is an anthology of 4 stories. This teaser comes from The Wexford Carol by Emma Jensen.

As his hand closed around the doorknob, his arm brushed warmly against hers. He could feel the soft friction of wool against wool, could smell the clean, honey scent of her hair.

Yummy, huh? Jump over to MizB's Should Be Reading for more Teaser Tuesdays posts.

Musing Mondays {12-1-08}

Rebecca @ Just One More Page hosts this weekly event.

With the holiday season now upon us, how does it affect your reading? Do you have more, or less, time to read at Christmas? Do you read Christmas themed/related books?

I tend to have less time for personal reading. I tend to read more to my little one. She's almost 3 and is still likes to snuggle. I don't think I'm more likely to read 'Christmas-y' books at Christmas time, but I do tend to go back to some old favorites.

Friday Finds {11-28-08}

Here is a list of all the books that have found their way onto my Wish List this week.

• I am Moran le Fay by Nancy Springer - found @ Nymeth's blog: things mean a lot

Short list this week. I didn't read all the blog posts I normally do. They're in my Read It Later though!

Mizb @ Should Be Reading hosts this weekly event.

Hyacinth Awards - Retroactive

Here is a list of the books that I am (retroactively) giving the Hyacinth Award to. They are in no particular order. To read more about my Hyacinth Award click here. I've also linked to the reviews.

• Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
• The Wednesday Sisters by Med Waite Clayton
• Dancing Above the Waves by Susan Wallerstein
• What Your Mother Never Told You by Richard M Dudum
• The Prometheus Project: Trapped and Captured by Douglas E Richards
• Little Miss Smarty-Pants by Suzanne Kopoulos
• Jaclyn's Ghost by Dorlana Vann
• Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
• A Widow for One Year by John Irving
• Hearts Never Lie by Patricia Pickett
• Vampire Apocalypse: World Torn Asunder by Derek Gunn
  

Remember to keep a look-out for these awards in the future. =)

Announcement! part 2

And one more announcement!

• I'd like to let you know about a new award. I've created the Hyacinth Award. I'll be using this to identify my bestest favorites. =) I got the idea from bethany's Happy Chicken Award. I toyed around with this idea when I had my old blog, but never got around to actually 'creating' one. So keep your eyes open for this award on future reviews. At some point this week I will be going through the reviews on my old blog and grace some of those with the Hyacinth Award.

Friday Finds {11-21-08}

mizb hosts this weekly event. Here are my latest Friday Finds.

• Sweetsmoke by David Fuller - found @ USA Today
• The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss - found @ USA Today (the same as above) - excerpt
• Odd Mom Out by Jane Porter - found @ Books by TJBaff
• The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner - found @ S. Krishna's Books
• The Rose Labyrinth by Titania Hardie - found in this Simon & Schuster Newsletter - excerpt
• The Tenth Case by Joseph Teller - found @ she is too fond of books - just my kind of mystery/thriller
• The Shiksa Syndrome by Laurie Graff - found @ USA Today Book Round-up
• Songs for the Missing by Stewart O'Nan - found @ Heather's blog Book Addiction
  

10 on Tuesday on Wednesday

This post on Florinda's blog, The 3R's inspired me. Here is my list of small things that I greatly appreciate. (the only 'order' here is the order that they popped into my head)

1. Gil Simmons, Sonia Baghdady, Desiree Fontaine and Darren Kramer - they are the morning team on my local ABC station during the week. They get me laughing most mornings which is good for the circulation. =)
2. The Connecticut Technical High School System - I won't mention which of the 19 schools she goes to, but my oldest is a student in one of them and is not only getting a good education, she will also be getting great training in her dream profession. Her dream is to someday move to Tokyo and design video games!
3. The Twinings and Stash people. Their Irish Breakfast and Chai (respectively) keep me awake and warm.
   
4. I'm thankful for trees. Without trees, we would not have all of the lovely books to read. We wouldn't have there cool, refreshing shade.
5. Dove Chocolate - most specifically the dark.
6. Training pants - we are attempting to potty train our little one and I remember doing it 12 years ago with my (almost) 15 year old in the pre-training pant days.
7. Michael Bublé -There are some days when I simply cannot make it without taking 3 1/2 minutes to listen to Everything. On the really bad days I need 7 minutes to listen to it twice.
8. Jason Mraz - Many of his songs are just so bouncy. If I ever get to see either of them live... *sigh*
9. Literacy. I cannot imagine my life without the ability and opportunity to read and write.
10. Everyone who reads here, whether a subscriber or a sometime visitor, and especially those of you who take the time to comment!

I stole the last two from Florinda, but they are just as true for me as they are for her.

Now, for your listening/viewing pleasure are the videos (courtesy of YouTube) for Everything by Michael Bublé and I'm Yours by Jason Mraz!

Teaser Tuesdays {11-18-08}

• Grab your current read
• Let the book fall open to a random page
• Share with us two (2) "teaser" sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you're getting your "teaser" from ... that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!
• Please avoid SPOILERS.

This week's teasers are from The Safety of Secrets by Delaune Michel.

A plastic bag with a bottle of shampoo for my mother that could only be bought at the beauty parlor was hanging from the handlebars of my bike and kept slapping my left leg everytime I pedaled. I suddenly wished that a lifetime of that bottle hitting my leg could be my punishment for getting this haircut instead of what I was going to fate when I got home.

mizb @ Should Be Reading hosts this weekly event. Visit this link to see other teasers for this week.

Musing Mondays {11-17-08}

mizb hosts this event every week.

WHAT ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW?

WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING, and WHAT DID YOU THINK OF IT?

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WILL READ NEXT?

WILL YOU READ ANY HOLIDAY-THEMED BOOKS SOON?

• Right now I am reading The Safety of Secrets and desperately hoping that it gets better. I am almost 1/2 through it. -- I am also reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to my 2 1/2 year old. On Friday night I read the first chapter to her before she went to sleep. I have been reading it to her a chapter at a time before naps and bedtime.
  
• I recently finished The Bell Jar. I wish I hadn't put off reading it for so long. - my review
• I'm pretty sure that I'll be reading A Wrinkle in Time next.
• I joined a challenge to read holiday books, but I just haven't gotten into holiday mode enough to read any. Maybe reading one will get me there? Any suggestions?
  

Review of: The Bell Jar

Author: Sylvia Plath
ISBN: 0060930187
Pages: 244
Genre(s): women's fiction, realistic fiction, coming of age, autobiographical fiction
Grade: A
Start Date: 11-11-08
End Date: 11-15-08
Challenge(s): genre - realistic


I put off reading The Bell Jar for over a year. I hadn't read it in high school and I thought that it was going to be filled with words and concepts that were over my head. I was wrong!

I will be looking at the SparkNotes and GradeSaver sites to delve deeper into the most (to me) obscure refferences and such, but I did get something out of reading The Bell Jar. One major thing that hit me towards the end of The Bell Jar is that women were considered 'mentally ill' if they were lesbians. The novel is semi-autobiographical.

There were times that I just felt so bad for Esther. There were other times that I just wanted to slap some sense into her. Overall though, I just got sucked in to Esther's world. I kept hoping that the narrative wasn't going to turn out to be similar to The Lovely Bones.

Extra tid-bits

• Is a movie
  
• The movie is being remade

Shared Reviews: If you've reviewed this book too, please send me an e-mail or leave a comment with the link to your review, and I will add a link to it at the bottom of my review. Please, for convenience, if you leave a comment, leave it in the review-post.

2009 - 100+ Reading Challenge

I wasn't going to join this challenge becasue I didn't think I could read so many books in one year. I've decided that it's okay to 'fail' the challenge. I want to give it a shot; the worst that can happen is I won't read 100 books. No one is going to hunt me down if I come up short. =)

Go here for full rules. All books count for this challenge. Challenge runs from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009. I will update this post as books are finished. I will link the titles to the reviews as they are written.

1. Emily Post: Daughter of the Gilded Age, Mistress of American Manners by Laura Claridge
   
2. The Smart One by Ellen Meister [reviewed for IJustFinished]
3. Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
4. Specials by Scott Westerfeld
5. A Day at the Beach with My Dad by Lance Waite
6. King's Fool by Margaret Campbell Barnes (ARC of re-release; review will post on Saturday March 28th)
7. Baron Thinks Dogs Are People Too! by Laurie Dean
8. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
9. Alanna (Song of the Lioness, Book 1) by Tamora Pierce
10. The Crimes of Paris by Dorothy Hoobler and Thomas Hoobler
11. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank L Baum
12. The Unfinished Clue by Georgette Heyer
13. Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch
14. Wild Cherry Makes a Wish by Pippa le Quesne
15. Behold, Here's Poison by Georgette Heyer
    
16. Follow Me by Joanna Scott
17. Jasmine's Starry Night by Kay Woodward
18. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
19. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
20. Kushiel's Justice by Jacqueline Carey
21. Strange Angels by Lili St Crow
22. Poppy's Perfect Home by Cicely Mary Barker
    
23. Naamah's Kiss by Jacqueline Carey
24. Mating Rituals of the North American WASP by Lauren Lipton
25. LOST Ate My Life by Jon "DocArzt" Lachonis and Amy "hijinx" Johnston
26. Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey
27. Kushiel's Mercy by Jacqueline Carey
28. Shimmer by Eric Barnes
    
29. Testimony: A Novel by Anita Shreve
30. I Love Chocolate by Davide Cali
31. Bradley McGogg, the Very Fine Frog by Tim Beiser
32. Four Wives by Wendy Walker
33. Blood Orange Brewing (A Tea Shop Mystery #7) by Laura Childs
34. Lord Peter : The Complete Lord Peter Wimsey Stories by Dorothy Sayers
35. Magyk (Septimus Heap #1) by Angie Sage
36. Flyte (Septimus Heap #2) by Angie Sage
37. The Berry Best Friends' Picnic by Jackie Glassman
38. Strawberry Shortcake's Filly Friends by Megan E. Bryant
39. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
    
40. A Lion Among Men (The Wicked Years, Book 3) by Gregory Maguire
41. The Painter from Shanghai by Jennifer Epstein
42. Enter Three Witches by Caroline B. Cooney
43. The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
44. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
45. Goddess of Yesterday by Caroline B. Cooney
46. Burning Up by Caroline B. Cooney
47. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
48. The Treasures of Venice by Loucinda McGary
49. The Awakening and The Struggle (The Vampire Diaries, #1-2) by LJ Smith
50. The Greatest Knight: The Unsung Story of the Queen's Champion by Elizabeth Chadwick
51. The Tudor Rose: A Novel of Elizabeth of York by Margaret Campbell Barnes
52. Tell Me Something True by Leila Cobo
53. DW's Lost Blankie by Marc Brown
54. Arthur's Birthday Surprise by Marc Brown
55. Arthur's Computer Disaster by Marc Brown
56. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
57. Clifford's Halloween by Norman Bridwell
58. The Very Noisy Night by Diana Hendry
    
59. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling (audio)
60. Bundle of Trouble by Diana Orgain
61. What Alvin Wanted by Holly Keller
62. Pumpkin Moon by Tim Preston
63. Safari Animals by Paul Hess
64. Smart Dog by Ralph Leemis
65. And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson
66. The Penderwick's by Jeanne Birdsall
67. Looking for Alaska by John Green
68. Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
69. Cleopatra's Daughter by Michele Moran
70. My Screwdriver by Lyn Sandow
71. Maisy Goes to the Museum by Lucy Cousins
72. Arthur Writes a Story by Marc Brown
73. The Berry Big Storm by Meagan E Bryant
74. Please Say Please by Margery Cuyler
75. Row Row Row Your Boat by Penny Dann
    
76. My Drill by Lyn Sandow
77. The Sound of Sleighbells by Cindy Woodsmall
78. The Red Pony by John Steinbeck
    

There are 4 missing books. I'll have to go through my lists to figure out which are missing. =(

Last Updated: November 20, 2009

Bookworm Award

Beth F @ Beth Fish Reads has given me this: Bookworm Award

Thanks so much Beth!

Here’s how it goes.

Open the closest book to you, not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment, to page 56.

Write out the fifth sentence, as well as two to five sentences following there.

Pass this on to five blogging friends.

The book closest to me is The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath since it's my current read and I have a habit of taking my current read with me all over the apartment (and when I leave the apartment, too).

page 56:
And he looked so proud of having thought of this that I just stared at his blond hair and his blue eyes and his white teeth - he had very long, strong white teeth - and said, "I guess so."
It was only in the middle of New York a whole year later that I finally though of an answer to that remark.
I spent a lot of time having imaginary conversations with Buddy Willard. He was a couple of years older than I was and very scientific, so he could always prove things. When I was with him I had to work to keep my head above water.

There are some fairly long sentences in this book.

I'll tag the following (I hope I don't tag someone for this that has been tagged for it already):
Florida @ The 3R's
Alyce @ At Home With Books
misscz @ Babbling Book Reviews
Jan @ Jottings from Jan
avisannschild @ she reads and reads

Here's my inner Dewey, what's yours?

Thank you to Marg for posting hers. This was fun. It give you 3 to choose from (if you give them your birth date). This is the one that I thought MOST suited me.

Kylee's Dewey Decimal Section:

015 Bibliographies of works from specific places

Kylee's birthday: 3/9/1976 = 39+1976 = 2015


Class:
000 Computer Science, Information & General Works


Contains:
Encyclopedias, magazines, journals and books with quotations.



What it says about you:
You are very informative and up to date. You're working on living in the here and now, not the past. You go through a lot of changes. When you make a decision you can be very sure of yourself, maybe even stubborn, but your friends appreciate your honesty and resolve.

Find your Dewey Decimal Section at Spacefem.com

Yes, I know I could have removed my birth date from the coding, but I chose not to.

Friday Finds {11-14-08}

mizb is the host site for this weekly event. Here are my Friday Finds in the past week:

• 33 Things Every Girl Should Know About Women's History by Tonya Holden - found on Average Girl Reads (one of her Friday Finds for 11-7-08) - excerpt
  
• Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell - found through the "Coming Soon" section on Random House's website - excerpt
  
• The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir - found through Oct/Nov 2008 issue of Random House's Newsletter - I've read Philippa Gregory's The Virgin's Lover and didn't quite care for it. I can't pinpoint the reason. I'd love to give someone else's version of Elizabeth I's story a try. - excerpt
  
• Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner - found @ Alyce's At Home with Books (one of her Friday Finds from 11-7-08) - this sounds hilarious; I know it's for kids but I will be calling myself "Skippito Friskito" for days if not weeks!
• The House on Tradd Street by Karen White - found @ Savvy Verse & Wit - part ghost story, part romance, part mystery; three of my favorite genres rolled into one book.
• The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett - found @ Stuff as Dreams are Made on
• Die Before I Wake by Laurie Breton - found @ Lori's Reading Corner - sounds like a great mystery
• My Lady of Cleves by Margaret Campbell Barnes - found @ S. Krishna's books

The Lady Elizabeth has also been reviewed by BethF.

New book for teens

From School Library Journal: Extra Helping

In Gay America: Struggle for Equality (Abrams/Amulet, 2008)—the first comprehensive history on this subject for teens—Linas Alsenas chronicles how gay men and women have lived, worked, and loved for the past 125 years. Using archival images, illustrations, and full-color photos, Alsenas, a U.S. citizen who lives in Sweden with his partner, takes us from Colonial times to the present debate over gay marriage.

Click the link at the top to read an interview regarding this book.

It's funny that this should be in the issue of SLJ:EH that arrived in my inbox this afternoon. Yesterday my 14yo daughter (I'll call her SV) told me that one of her friends at school was very excited by the ruling allowing same-sex couples to marry here in Connecticut. I jokingly asked her if her friend was gay (assuming the girl was happy because she was being raised by a same-sex couple and wanted her parents to be 'married'; not uncommon in a city this size). Well it turns out that her friend IS gay. And open about it at 14! How great is that? I'm proud of my daughter for not shunning her friend (I guess I've done some things right) and I'm so proud of my daughter's school that this girl can be open about her preferance without fear of repercussions.

Teaser Tuesdays {11-11-08}

• Grab your current read
• Let the book fall open to a random page
• Share with us two (2) "teaser" sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you're getting your "teaser" from ... that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!
• Please avoid SPOILERS.

Since I have just started this book, I am posting the FIRST two sentences. That make a pretty good teaser. =)

It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York. I'm stupid about executions. -from The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Review of: Uglies

Author: Scott Westerfeld
ISBN: 9780689865381
Pages: 425
Genre(s): fantasy, sci-fi, YA
Grade: B+
Start date: 11-7-08
End date: 11-10-08
Challenge(s): (1) genre - sci-fi



I originally became aware of this series (Uglies, Pretties, Specials & Extras) because of my daughter. She was 12 at the time and a little young for the books, I thought. Now that I have finally read the start of the series, I think that belief was unfounded. When I hear that a book is categorized as Young Adult I automatically think 14+.

SV, my 14 (almost 15) year old read the first three in the series this past summer. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Tally, Shay David, Croy and all the rest. Their world is our world... 300 or so years later. The "ruins" are our cities - crumbled, burned, destroyed. There is a definite message to us, now, in Uglies. We need to stop living like "What I do doesn't matter to anyone but me".

As far as the "operation" that everyone has when they turn 16 (everyone except those that have conviction enough to runaway) that scares me. There is already a belief in this country that it's okay to give your children plastic surgery for a high school graduation gift or even a 16th birthday present. I won't go on about how wrong I think this is.

There is a total cliffhanger ending to Uglies. I am finding it hard to NOT pick up Pretties which is now sitting in my bookcase since I thieved it from my 14 year old daughter's bookcase. =)

Shared Reviews: If you've reviewed this book too, please send me an e-mail or leave a comment with the link to your review, and I will add a link to it at the bottom of my review. Please, for convenience, if you leave a comment, leave it in the review-post.

Musing Mondays {11-10-08}

This week mizb asks:

If you keep your books, where do you keep them? And, if you give them away, who do you give them to? Do you participate in Bookcrossing, BookMooch, PaperbackSwap, or the like? Do you give your old books to family & friends, or donate them? Are any of your books in storage due to not having enough space for them all? Or, are you one of the lucky ones who has their own “library”? Feel free to share pictures, if you have them!

For the most part I keep my books in the bedroom. I have a bookcase in there (thank you, Matt) that is pretty full. I also have a plastic tote that has my PaperBackSwap books in it. I also swap books with my mom and my sil Jenn.



I have the same dream/fantasy as mizb. I'd love to have a room just FULL of books. Three walls of books; the 4th wall would be French Doors out onto a slate tiled balcony. *sigh*

From Kylee's 2009 Blog