Wondrous Words Wednesday {4-29-09}

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading. Feel free to join in the fun.

My words for this week come from two different books. The first comes from page 377 of Follow Me by Joanna Scott. The rest come from The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe; they come from the ARC version and therefore the sentences may differ from the published version which is due to be released Friday May 22. Read my list of new words after the jump!

1) ameliorate- "Well, here she was, too late to ameliorate her brother's contempt for her."
verb -- to make (something) better

2) maleficium- "Interestingly, research into the kinds of maleficium ... which witches were usually accused of reveals how narrow the colonial world really was for average people."
(could not find a definition for this one...)

3) antediluvian- "Grace had mentioned that the house was old, but she had never suggested how old: it was practically antediluvian, handmade cy craftsman using the same techniques carried over from late medieval England."
adjective -- Extremely old and antiquated.

4) obfuscations- "She was taken aback; Liz, as always, had a way of clearing aside her obfuscations to articulate what Connie herself was not able to say."
as a verb -- To make so confused or opaque as to be difficult to perceive or understand

5) Sisyphean "The library had begun a campaign to place the most delicate volumes on microfilm, locking the original objects away from the oily fingers of prying students, but the task was Sisyphean."
adjective -- 1. Greek Mythology Of or relating to Sisyphus. 2. Endlessly laborious or futile

Wondrous Words Wednesday is hosted by Bermudaonion. Here is the link to today's post. "What new words have you discovered lately?"

It's Tuesday, Where Are You? | Teaser Tuesdays {4-28-09}

I'm a grad student bouncing between Marblehead, Salem and Boston, MA. Trying to find a book from the 17th century, but strange things keep happening and my advisor at Harvard is acting not himself.

• 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 comes from THE PHYSICK BOOK OF DELIVERANCE DANE by Katherine Howe. They are from the ARC version and may differ from the final published version which is being released Friday May 22. These sentences come from page 288.

She assumed Chilton had gone back to the history building but could not be sure. The threat that he had uttered when he left her in the library now hovered in her mind, ominous yet imprecise.

For more travels visit raidergirl's blog an adventure in reading. For more teasing visit MizB's blog Should Be Reading.

PreOrder/Buy THE PHYSICK BOOK OF DELIVERANCE DANE @ a bookstore near you!

PreOrder/Buy THE PHYSICK BOOK OF DELIVERANCE DANE @Amazon

Musing Mondays {4-20-09}

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about 2009 favorites…

Coming towards the end of April, we’re a third of the way through the way through the year. What’s the favorite book you’ve read so far in 2009? What about your least favorite? (question courtesy of MizB)

I've finished 15 books so far this year (going to have to step it up if I want to make 100!) and my least favorite was definitely Emily Post: Daughter of the Gilded Age, Mistress of American Manners by Laura Claridge; this book was a struggle to get through.

My favorite was King's Fool by Margaret Campbell Barnes; definitely a pleasure to read this one.

Visit Just One More Page for more Musing Mondays posts.

Review of: A Day with My Dad at the Beach

Author: Lance Waite
ISBN: 9781601310163
Pages: 32
Published by: Parents Publishing Group, LLC (June, 2008)
Genre(s): Children's
Grade: B-
Challenge(s): 100+ Reading Challenge - Read 'n Review '09 - Spring Reading Thing 2009


Matt and Reaghan have read this book together a couple of times, but not for lack of love for the book! They both enjoy it (and time spent together). It's one of those wonderful hardcover books whose cover matches the dust jacket (which always seem to get torn or lost).

The story part of it is very sweet and heartwarming. Dad makes a special effort to be home when his daughter comes home from school to take her to the beach, then the boardwalk for dinner and rides. The story of their day spent together is told from the daughter's point-of-view. The illustrations are very interesting. They remind me of a collage.

The beach is the perfect place to have fun with your kids. "A Day with My Dad at the Beach" is full of adventures and fantastic illustrations that evoke memories of an exciting day at the beach that a father and daughter will never forget. The story will touch the hearts of parents and inspire them to engage in similar activities with their children within a larger day of interpersonal experiences. It encourages children to vividly imagine the fun things they can do with their parents on an outing. Set on a sunny beach after a long day of school and work, the father and daughter escape to the outside world and enjoy a fun, relaxing day of swimming and exploration.

This is the second book by author, and father, Lance Waite. The first is A Day with My Dad and described as "A father and daughter spend a day together, hiking in the hills around there town. With no distractions, a bond can be built between them that can last a lifetime."

Lance wrote his books to encourage fathers to be more involved with their daughters and to show his girls that even an ordinary day can be exciting when you share it with someone special. Both of Lance Waite's books are illustrated by Manuela Pentangelo.

Buy A DAY AT THE BEACH WITH MY DAD @ a bookstore near you!

Wondrous Words Wednesday {4-15-09 }

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading. Feel free to join in the fun.

My words for this week come from pages 31 and 50 of Behold, Here's Poison by Georgette Heyer.

1) gaff- "''Particularly if it comes out that uncle, in his well-known playful way, threatened to blow the gaff if Fielding didn't lay-off you.'"

verb (used with object) -- British Slang to cheat; fleece.

2) fatuous- "'Your cousins have been trying to silence me for years, but you have done it with one utterly fatuous remark.'"

adjective -- foolish or inane, esp. in an unconscious, complacent manner; silly.

Wondrous Words Wednesday is hosted by Bermudaonion. Here is the link to today's post. "What new words have you discovered lately?"

Teaser Tuesdays {4-14-09}

I'm somewhere in the countryside of England. I'm at the home of Gregory Matthews. He is unmarried, but his house is not empty. His unmarried sister Harriet, his widowed sister-in-law Zoe and her 2 (grown) children also live in the house, called The Poplars. After Mr. Matthews is found dead by Beecher, the butler, chaos ensues.

• 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 comes from BEHOLD, HERE'S POISON by Georgette Heyer. These sentences come from page 39.

In consequence to the gloom reigning over the library and the dining-room the family had been forced to sit in the drawing-room, a large and cheerless apartment at the back of the house, elegantly but uncomfortably furnished in the style of Louis XV. Mrs Lupton was discussing with her sister what had best be done with Gregory Matthews' clothing, and Janet, a pale, earnest-looking young woman of five-and-twenty, was trying to be bright and intelligent over her cousin Guy's sketch of the overmantel for the house in Dorking.

For more travels visit raidergirl's blog an adventure in reading. For more teasing visit MizB's blog Should Be Reading.

Buy BEHOLD, HERE'S POISON @ a bookstore near you!



Kylee's Journal by Kylee J Pierce is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Booking Through Thursday {4-9-09}

For something different, I’m borrowing a question from … here! One of the very first questions ever at Booking Through Thursday. Back from 2005 when Laura owned the blog but, because it was so new, it didn’t get as many responses as it does now … so, why not revisit?

Here’s the question:

Some people read one book at a time. Some people have a number of them on the go at any given time, perhaps a reading in bed book, a breakfast table book, a bathroom book, and so on, which leads me to…

1. Are you currently reading more than one book?
2. If so, how many books are you currently reading?
3. Is this normal for you?
4. Where do you keep your current reads?

1. At the moment I am not reading more than one book.
2. n/a
3. It depends on what my main read is at any given time. For example if I'm reading something scary (I love Stephen King!) I will generally only read it during the day and read something else at night. =)
4. I tend to carry them with me around the house and in my bag when we're going out somewhere (Matt's parents, mine)
   

Don't forget to check out more BTT Number answers!

Giveaway Winners - THE CRIMES OF PARIS

I used random.org's Random Sequence Generator to select the winners for THE CRIMES OF PARIS giveaway. There were 21 comments so I put "1" as the smallest value and "21" as the largest value; I then chose the first five numbers as the winners. I am displaying the first seven numbers so that you can see the first two alternates; I have copied all of the numbers for myself so that I can go down the list in case I don't hear back from the winners.

• 18 - Angela C
  
• 10 - Paris-Insider
  
• 7 - bridget3420
  
• 11 - scottsgal
  
• 2 - Bookfool

First two alternates

• 1 - BethF
  
• 9 - Christina

I'm off to notify the winners and I hope to hear from them soon!

Wondrous Words Wednesday {4-8-09}

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading. Feel free to join in the fun.

My words for this week come from pages 65 - 295 of The Unfinished Clue by Georgette Heyer. There are lots of them this time.

1) delphically- "'Let him come poking his bad-tempered nose into my kitchen, that's all, Mr Finch!' she said delphically"

delphic (the lowercase version; NOT Delphic) adjective -- oracular; obscure; ambiguous

2) sepulchral- "Your name was spoken in a sepulcgral voice, and out you went, feeling a little sick at the pit of your stomach."

an adjective -- of, pertaining to, or serving as a tomb

3) laconic- "Dinah sighed, wishing that he would be a little less laconic."

an adjective -- using few words; expressing much in few words; concise

4) catarrh- "He was a worried-looking man of about fifty, with a quick, fussy way of talking, and what appeared to be a chronic catarrh."

noun -- inflammation of a mucous membrane, esp. of the respiratory tract, accompanied by excessive secretions (yum!)

5) evinced- "Lola, unlike Camilla, evinced not the slightest desire to leave the Grange."

verb -- to show clearly; make evident or manifest; prove

6) matutinal- "She even forebore to complain any more of the matutinal habits of cocks [roosters], though she did once announce that once she was married to Geoffrey the matter would have to be arranged."

adjective -- pertaining to or occurring in the morning; early in the day

7) pecuniary- "'Did Miss deSilva, then, break the engagment for pecuniary reasons?'"

adjective -- of or pertaining to money

8) expatiate- "His tone implied that he was prepared to expatiate on the subject, but the telephone suddenly buzzed at his elbow, and he was obliged to answer it."

verb -- to enlarge in discourse or writing; be copious in description or discussion

Wondrous Words Wednesday is hosted by Bermudaonion. Here is the link to today's post. "What new words have you discovered lately?"

Review of: Alanna

Author: Tamora Pierce
ISBN: 9780689878558
Pages: 240
Published by: Simon Pulse (January, 2005 - first published 1983)
Genre(s): Young Adult, Fantasy
Grade: B-
Challenge(s): 100+ Reading Challenge - Read 'n Review '09 - Spring Reading Thing 2009 - 2009 Young Adult Book Challenge


Alanna: The First Adventure is the first book in a 4 book series by Tamora Pierce. I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on the rest of them. Alanna goes from 10 to 13 years old in Alanna: The First Adventure. I bonded to her almost immediately. She's really committed to her plan of getting training in being a knight and then telling them all that she is a woman. I feel like I NEED to find out how/if she accomplishes this.

Call it fate, call it intuition, or just call it common sense, but somehow young Alanna knows she isn't meant to become some proper lady cloistered in a convent. Instead, she wants to be a great warrior maiden--a female knight. But in the land of Tortall, women aren't allowed to train as warriors. So Alanna finds a way to switch places with her twin, Thom, and take his place as a knight in training at the palace of King Roald. Disguising herself as a boy, Alanna begins her training as a page in the royal court. Soon, she is garnering the admiration of all around her, including the crown prince, with her strong work ethic and her thirst for knowledge. But all the while, she is haunted by the recurring vision of a black stone city that emanates evil... somehow she knows it is her fate to purge that place of its wickedness. But how will she find it? And can she fulfill her destiny while keeping her gender a secret?

Buy ALANNA @ a bookstore near you!

Buy ALANNA @ Amazon

Monday Musings {4-6-09}

As a follow up to last week's question, Joseph asked how you keep track of your tbr list. Do you have a paper list or on your computer? Do you take it with you when you go shopping? How do you decide what gets added to it?

My TBR list is all of the books that I currently have. I either have not read them yet or want to re-read them. I keep track of these on my Goodreads profile.

I also have a Wishlist. I add books to my Wishlist that I read reviews for (or blurbs about) that sound interesting to me. I keep track of this list in a few places. I have a list on Kaboodle and Amazon. I also keep track on GoodReads, but that list isn't as up-to-date as my Kaboodle list.

Visit Rebecca @ Just One More Page for more Musing Mondays posts.

Review of: Baron Thinks Dogs are People Too!

Author: Laurie Dean
Illustrator: KevinCollier
ISBN: 9781601310354
Pages: 24
Published by: Big Tent Books (November 2008)
Genre(s): Children's
Grade: A
Challenge(s): 100+ Reading Challenge - Read 'n Review '09



My 3 year old, Reaghan, was hooked from the cover! Bold colors, a dog, what more could a preschooler ask for? The illustrations inside the book are just as exciting and vibrant as the cover.

Reaghan has asked to 'read' Baron at least 4 times a week for the last month; not just once either, we have to read it 3 or 4 times before she's ready to move onto another book or activity. She laughs, pouts, cheers. I love the first page of the book: "Baron was a young dog who loved people. Squished between two people, like jam in a sandwich was Baron's favorite place to sleep." That's one of Reaghan's favorite places to be, too!

Baron is an excited, young puppy who like to run, jump and get dirty. After a dangerous situation, Baron is sent to doggie school to learn manners and the proper way to behave. Once he's home though he still has one problem, no best friend. I'll leave you in suspense as to whether or not he gets a best friend by the end of the book.

From the author's site:
Baron Thinks Dogs Are People Too! is an illustrated children's story about a family dog who wants nothing more than to have a best friend. When Baron's frisky antics get him sent to obedience school, he learns how to behave himself. Read along to find out if he can find a best friend with his new good behavior!

Purchase BARON THINKS... @ Big Tent Books (publisher).

(Full disclosure: Author Laurie Dean 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 last paragraph.)

Kylee's Spring Reading Thing 2009

Katrina over at Callapidder Days is hosting Spring Reading Thing 2009. This challenge runs from March 20 - June 20. Here, from her site, are the rules. (You can also find a FAQ about SRT2009.)

To participate, here’s what you need to do:

• Create a list of some books you’d like to read or finish this spring.
• Feel free to set some additional reading goals (such as reading to your kids two hours per week, getting through your pile of magazines, etc.). This is completely optional.
• Write a blog post including the list of books you want to read and any additional goals you’ve set, and get ready to post it on your blog on March 20th.
• Visit this blog on March 20th to sign up. I’ll have a Mr. Linky set up that morning, so you can submit a link to your personal Spring Reading Thing post, and it will be added to the master list.
• Read! Work on your goals throughout Spring 2009.
• Report your results. Write another blog post in June to let everyone know how you did.
• Have fun! Visit other participants to see what they’re reading. Write reviews if you’re so inclined. But most of all, enjoy your spring reading.

As of this moment there are 155 books on my To-Read shelf on GoodReads. Yes, they are ALL in our apartment. Let's see how many I can take off that list, shall we?

Books I will finish reading

• The Crimes of Paris - I'm actually really enjoying this book. I am adding it to the list because it happens to be my current read.
• The Wizard of Oz - I'm reading this with Reaghan. She's only 3, I'm not sure how much of it she gets, but we both enjoy the time spent snuggling with a book. =)

Review books that I will read

• Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World
• A Song in Stone
• What Is Your Self-Worth?: A Woman's Guide to Validation
• Behold, Here's Poison
• The Unfinished Clue
• Lost Ate My Life: The Inside Story of a Fandom Like No Other
• The School of Essential Ingredients
• The Survivors Club: The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life
• Shanghai Girls: A Novel
• The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
• Girls in Trucks
  
• Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace

Books that I'd like to read

• 1st to Die
• The Known World: A Novel
• The Majesty of the Law: Reflections of a Supreme Court Justice
• The House of Mirth (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)
• Cannery Row
• Alanna: The First Adventure (Song of the Lioness, Book 1)

Additional reading goal

• Read to/with Reaghan for a minimum of 15 minutes each day.

That's my list. Links all go to GoodReads and should be viewable even if you don't have an account with them. I will be writing an update post for all of my challenges each month (starting in May).

March 23 -- UPDATE: I read Alanna over the weekend! Once I post my review, I'll link to it.
March 31 -- UPDATE: I've finished The Crimes of Paris (review and giveaway post will be up April 1 -- UPDATE: I've added two books to the Review Books list.
April 3 -- UPDATE: I've added 2 more review books to the list.

Friday Fill-Ins {4-2-09}

And...here we go!

1. Angel or not, I will not stand for certain things.

2. _____ any way you want me.

3. As my mother used to say, you're full of prunes.

4. I want to nap after I'm done working out or doing something strenuous.

5. Even in the most crowded of rooms I can find my kids and hubs.

6.  Christmas is a day fraught with peril.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to kids, daddy and I all having dinner together, tomorrow my plans include grocery shopping and Sunday, I want to do lots of reading!

Friday Fill-Ins is hosted here.

Read Together 2009

Jennifer @ Snapshot is hosting Read Together 2009 which lasts from April 1 - 30 2009. Jennifer says:
It's open to all ages, but I'd really love to see more people commit to reading to their older children. I'd also like to see goals that stretch you in some way.

For example --

• If you already read for 10 minutes each night to your preschooler, stretch it 20, or commit to reading to him at breakfast time as well.
• If (like me) your 10-year-old child always has her nose stuck in a book, but you've stopped sharing any books, find a definite time when you can read a book together.
• Perhaps you can stretch genres or age limits. If you are stuck in a rut, read something a bit more challenging. If you only read picture books to your preschooler or early elementary aged student, take the opportunity to step it up with a fun chapter book.
• If you always read to your children individually, perhaps your challenge will be to find a book that will appeal to everyone that you can read together as a family.

Reaghan (my 3yo) and I don't have a set schedule for reading, yet. With the start of this challenge I am going to change that. I'm hoping to bring Daddy and big sister (15yo) in on it too.

The only goal I am going to set for myself is to read to Reaghan for at least 15 minutes everyday. This goal is also part of my Spring Reading Thing 2009 challenge. As for my 15yo, she loves her baby sister (she waited long enough for one) and they spend time together watching movies and playing Candyland already. I'm sure it won't take much encouragement to get Sarah-Ellen to read with her sister once or twice a week. Daddy works a lot, but I'm sure he'll make the time to read with Reaghan (especially if I get Reaghan to ask him, lol).

Sarah-Ellen and I have already made a date to read To Kill a Mockingbird together this summer.

Wondrous Words Wednesday {4-1-09}

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading. Feel free to join in the fun.

My words for this week come from The Unfinished Clue by Georgette Heyer.

1 ) averring - "With the exception of an incident in his youth, there had been no other woman in his life; he knew beyond need of averring it that there would never be another."

aver is a verb meaning: to assert or affirm with confidence; declare in a positive or peremptory manner.

2) puling - "Just like this damned puling generation, always grumbling at fate; no guts to 'em; he'd like to have a few of 'em in his old regiment."

puling is an adjective meaning: whining; whimpering

Wondrous Words Wednesday is hosted by Bermudaonion. Here is the link to today's post. "What new words have you discovered lately?"

Review of: The Crimes of Paris

Author: Dorothy Hoobler and Thomas Hoobler
ISBN: 9780316017909
Pages: 368
Published by: Little, Brown and Company (April, 2009)
Genre(s): Non-Fiction, Art History
Grade: A-
Challenge(s): 100+ Reading Challenge - Read 'n Review '09 - 2009 Pub Challenge - Spring Reading Thing 2009 - Well-Seasoned Reader Challenge


Let me start off by saying this: Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler have written a lot of books. Seriously, check out this list.

If you read my Tuesday posts then you have been teased not once, but twice. And I'll let you know now, the reason that the man (or men) were hiding in the storage closet in the Louvre was to steal the Mona Lisa. According to the authors, there were many small rooms and hidden alcoves like this in the 700 year old building; museum officials don't even know just how many there are.

One of the earlier suspects of the theft was Pablo Picasso, yes THAT Picasso. Nineteen year old Pablo Ruiz had arrived in Paris in 1900 to see (and exhibit a painting) at the Paris Exposition Universelle. Though he left Paris after this, he would return as Pablo Picasso (his mother's family name).

There are many other crimes discussed and dissected in THE CRIMES OF PARIS; burglaries, bank robberies, murders, even the first use of a getaway car (one of the bank robberies). There is explanations of the system known as bertillonage, which was widely used in France before the discovery that fingerprints were a much better system of identification.

I do not normally read non-fiction (with the exception of biographies and memoirs), but over-ruled my initial instinct about THE CRIMES OF PARIS and requested a copy. I'm really glad I did. There were times while reading THE CRIMES OF PARIS that I actually forgot that I was reading a non-fiction book. There writing is easy to understand and the authors do not bog you down with long, dry explanations.

I'm definitely going to keep this ARC and reread it at a later time; it's that good! I'm also going to check my library for some of their other books, specifically THE IRISH AMERICAN FAMILY ALBUM and THE GERMAN AMERICAN FAMILY ALBUM.

Buy THE CRIMES OF PARIS @ a bookstore near you!

Buy THE CRIMES OF PARIS on Amazon.

Five (5) lucky blog readers will get a copy courtesy of Valerie Russo! Just leave a comment here. If you do not have an e-mail link to your profile, please leave one in your comment. I will close this post to comments on the morning of Wednesday April 8th. I will use random.org to select the winners. Per publisher's rules this giveaway is open to residents of the US and Canada only. No PO Boxes.

GOOD LUCK!