Home Is Where The Wine Is by Laurie Perry w/ Giveaway!

Published on February 3, 2010February 3, 2010 by Sheila (Book Journey)61 Comments

The first horseman of the apocalypse is undoubtedly the Internet personal ad. I am not sure why every single one of them is some variation of:

Balding, Paunchy, Twice-Divorced, Unemployed Male Seeks Independently Wealthy Supermodel for No-Strings-Attached fun. Nonsmokers only.

She’s Back, and edgier than ever. In her debut narrative, Drunk, Divorced, & Covered in Cat Hair, blogger extraordinaire Laurie Perry, aka ‘Crazy Aunt Purl,’ gave women everywhere a hilarious yet heartfelt glimpse into her misadventures as a recent divorcee with a herd of cats, a slight wine and Cheetos problem, and scores of unfinished and uneven knitting projects.

Now, in her second installment, she’s no longer drunk-dialing her ex. She is well on her way to divorce recovery and has embraced a new-found philosophy: To make the best out of the ‘extra odd bits’—both in knitting and in life. Discovering how she accomplishes this will make you laugh and cry as she navigates new territory, from dating in a weird, wired world to vacationing solo for the first time. On the cusp of the big four-O, she ventures to the most exotic, foreign locations—the gym, a therapist’s office, a self-tanning emporium— on a search for enlightenment and happiness in— where else?—downtown Los Angeles.

What a funny book! Timing is everything on this read and it is a perfect vacation style book. It is a quick read with funny antidotes and day to day life of author/blogger Laurie Perry. The book description said if you like cats and knit this book is for you! Well cats make me a bit stir crazy and I have never knit in my life….. BUT if you like funny stories on working out and falling off ellipticals, poor dating choices and the list created so as not to repeat them, the ever existing quest for a square watermelon, gardeners who kill everything they touch, and vacations that bring out the self tanner experience…then by all means – pick this book up!

The book ends with several patterns including how to make an island beach bag, a braided kitchen run – and more. That is kind of a fun idea!

Here is a link to Laurie’s blog: Crazy Aunt Purl

Biography

Laurie Perry knits and writes in Los Angeles, California, where she chronicles her daily life on her online diary, Crazy Aunt Purl (www.crazyauntpurl.com). She has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, MSN.com, Vogue Knitting, the Boston Herald, and The Palm Beach Post. Perry has written for the Los Angeles Daily News and the Winter Haven News Chief in Winter Haven, Florida. She is the author of Drunk, Divorced & Covered in Cat Hair.

Oh and one more super cool thing that I think you are all going to♥ LOVE♥... Laurie is offering me 5 books to give away here at One Persons Journey Through A World of Books! It’s true!!!

How to enter?

Bonus Entries? OK!

Be a subscriber of this blog (upper right side bar) and let me know here that you are in a separate comment and you will have two more entries (Followers of this blog that let me know will receive an additional chance)

Twitter or blog about this giveaway and let me know in a separate comment for another entry

Total entries possible: 5 Giveaway open to USA and Canada – this giveaway will close on February 18.

Good luck!

My Amazon Review

I received my review copy from TLC Book Tours

Morning Meanderings…

Published on February 3, 2010 by Sheila (Book Journey)43 Comments

Day 7 in Florida. AND – today the sun is out! Our plan is to go into Orlando and hopefully to Disney World MGM. A friend of mine sent a Flat Stanley with us from her daughter Morgan. If you do not know what Flat Stanley is, he is a paper doll that gradeschool kids all get. The kids color him and them mail him to a friend who they know is going on a trip along with a letter asking for Stanley to go with. The object is for the said people (in this case – us) to take Stanley to wherever and take pictures of him there. Then Stanley comes back and you give the pictures and Stanley back to the child.

Morgan will then get to put a pin in the large world map as to where Stanley has been and then do a show and tell story with the pictures. Morgan asked us to take Stanley to Disney World (I LOVE DISNEY WORLD!) So that is todays plan and as much as I have loved hanging out here while Al is at the auctions, this will be a fun time.

With a little luck we will be able to meet up for dinner with friends we have from Minnesota who spend their winters here.

Flat Stanley

Have a great day everyone! Yes – a book is going with me (Dreamhouse) and yes, I have a review coming up today of Home Is Where The Wine Is.

February Social Justice Challenge: Water

Published on February 2, 2010 by Sheila (Book Journey)21 Comments

Welcome to the second month of the 2010 Social Justice Challenge! This month’s focus is Water. Throughout each month we are encouraged to read or use other media sources to not only learn more about the months topic, but if you feel called , to take action steps towards making a difference.

What, if any, exposure have you personally had to a water shortage?

For me, my experience comes from my time in Honduras. These trips have been such an eye opener to me. I have never been in situations before where water was not readily available. If you could not get it directly from the tap, you surely could go to the local convenience store to pick up a cold and refreshing bottle.

Where we stay, in the town on Talanga Honduras, water is not a given. Some times you have it – some times you do not. When we go there we each receive a large bottle of water which we are told to hang on to for the trip and refill as we can. I had no idea that first time how important that bottle of water would become.

While there we seen many small streams where people gathered to not only wash themselves and livestock, but this same water was where they went to the bathroom – and gathered water for cooking and drinking. I seen it with my own eyes. What we would not even think of drinking, they did so happily.

The first time I went to Honduras our team of Americans went walking a mile or more up a hill led by a pastor. Where he took us, was to a small shack – no larger than an outhouse, where a grandmother lived with her three grandchildren. The childrens parents had both been murdered. Outside in the dirt was a small circle of stones where they would build a fire for cooking. One of the children kept looking hungrily at my water bottle. We were told never to give up our water but I had to. I handed over the bottle and all three children grabbed at it, drinking it down thirstily. I later learned that for them to get water, the grandmother had to go down this hill and carry the water up in a small bucket as that is all she could carry in her arthritic hands.

Water is such an important resource. This month as I look into resources about water, I will be looking for a way that I can make a difference.

I took this picture on February 9th, 2009 in Choluteca Honduras. I don't think this boy had ever seen a camera before. We brought with us food and water to hand out. It was 115 degrees out and it was my birthday. Doing this made it the best birthday of my life.

I, Alex Cross by James Patterson (audio)

Published on February 2, 2010February 2, 2010 by Sheila (Book Journey)26 Comments

You can’t run.

Detective Alex Cross is pulled out of a family celebration and given the awful news that a beloved relative has been found brutally murdered. Alex vows to hunt down the killer, and soon learns that she was mixed up in one of Washington’s wildest scenes. And she was not this killer’s only victim.

You can’t hide.

The hunt for her murderer leads Alex and his girlfriend, Detective Brianna Stone, to a place where every fantasy is possible, if you have the credentials to get in. Alex and Bree are soon facing down some very important, very protected, very dangerous people in levels of society where only one thing is certain–they will do anything to keep their secrets safe.

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

I have over the past 6 months become a real fan of James Pattersons’s work. Mainly through the audio books I have received for review from Hachette Audio Group. I have found his stories to be brilliantly expressed and have flown through his reads anticipating what is next.

The only experience I have had with James Patterson’s Alex Cross series was the movie Kiss The Girls which I had seen a long time ago and really enjoyed this spine tingling thriller. I jump ahead now many years to the recent audio I listened to where I once again came in contact with the great Alex Cross.

Let me say – I love Alex Cross. I love the way this character handles himself and love his deep passion for family. That said, the audio was a bit extreme for my taste. The chapters that featured the killer were gruesome and foul. The sexual content of this audio was for lack of a better word – vivid.

So why continue listening? Alex Cross. Alex’s role in this audio was fantastic as I can only be lead to believe he is in all the books that feature him and that is what makes him such a wonderful character that keep people coming back for more. If I had read the book I could have skimmed over the harsh parts but in an audio that is hard to do.

I am not sure if all the Alex Cross books are at this degree of content as I had stated above, I have not read them all. I would not judge all the Alex Cross books by this one experience and I am willing to give him a second try again – because I like Alex.

How do I rate this? It wasn’t a fit for my personal taste but it was well done. I hope that makes sense. It is hard for me to put down a book/audio that wasn’t an exact hit for the genre I enjoy, so I wont.

Have you read or listened to any of the Alex Cross books? I would love to hear some other opinions.

My Amazon Review

I received my review copy from Hachette Audio

Morning Meanderings…

Published on February 2, 2010February 2, 2010 by Sheila (Book Journey)30 Comments

Good Morning all! 🙂 Day 6 in Florida. We have had a lot of rain (even now it is raining) and the weather has been a bit cool but coming from Minnesota I am not complaining. 🙂 Al is at the auctions for the day in Orlando and I have a few things I want to do around my cousins home as he should be joining us late Thursday or early Friday morning. Other than that, the book Home Is Where The Wine Is, happens to be calling my name and that is my afternoon plan.

One bit of exciting news – on a few different occasions I have shared my favorite all time books. There are an armful of books that I just love the storyline so much I could read again and again. One such book is not a book, but three books. It is the Nora Roberts Three Sisters Trilogy that starts with the first book being Dance Upon The Air. Now before you are in shock that a few of my favorite all time books are written by Nora Roberts – this is not typical Roberts. These books I found to be different and I recommend them to everyone.

So – on to the news… In December I took part in the Bookworm Carnival where we were asked to share what we consider to be our comfort reads. This was a perfect opportunity for me to gush about The Three Sisters Trilogy. Here is what I had said:

“These three books are favorites of mine and are always a “go to” series if I need to just sink into characters that are like old friends to me. Even talking about them now makes me want to go visit them between the pages of these books.”

Yesterday I seen over at Ms. Bookish, due to my gushing about these books, she is making her way through Dance Upon The Air and has called her post, Reading My First Nora Roberts. What I love, love, LOVE, about this is that this is exactly what I enjoy about blogging. Sharing books and learning about books and then – picking up a book you never dreamed you would – and falling in love with it. It has happened to me, I hope it happens for all of you!

Here is my Blast From The Past Post about these books.

Do you have any such books? Any book that was recommended through another blog or by a friend and due to that recommendation you read the book and LOVED it?

January Comment winners and a stats update

Published on February 2, 2010February 2, 2010 by Sheila (Book Journey)15 Comments

January was a fantastic start to 2010! Reviewing last months activity I had 14,435 blog views and 1,540 comments.

Comment #218 Melissa My World

Comment #902 Lisa Lit And Life

Comment #846 Natalie Book Inn

and my top commentor for January 2010 and winner of the $20 Amazon Gift card is:

ALEXIA561

I want to thank everyone for the comments and conversations that take place here on One Persons Journey Through A World Of Books. You really make my day with your words! I appreciate each and every one of you and hope you will all continue to visit often!

Sheila

Beguiled by Deeanne Gist and J Lark Betrand

Published on February 1, 2010February 2, 2010 by Sheila (Book Journey)25 Comments

In the shadows of Charleston, someone is watching her… Rylee Monroe, a dogwalker in Charleston’s wealthiest neighborhood, never feared the streets at night. But now a thief is terrorizing the area and worse, someone seems to be targeting her.

Reporter Logan Woods is covering the break-ins with the hope of publishing them as a true-crime book. The more he digs, the more he realizes this beguiling dogwalker seems to be at the center of everything. As danger draws ever closer, Logan must choose: Chase the girl, the story, or plunge into the shadows after the villain who threatens everything?

If you’d like to read the first chapter of , go HERE

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

This was such a good story line! I really liked the main character Rylee Monroe. She immediately came across as sweet and likable. As the story quickly unfolds, Rylee finds herself as the main suspect in a string of crimes that all seem to be centered around homes where she is the dogwalker.

The book is fun and witty. The suspense twist was a nice addition to this read and it was fun to see these two authors connect with two very different writing styles and put together this read that I was quite impressed with. From my understanding, Deeanne is more the fun, quirky, witty writer and Mark writes suspense, both complimented each other nicely in this book.

I was laughing by page 20! A quick read that was perfect for a late afternoon.

Deeanne Gist, the bestselling author of A Bride Most Begrudging and The Measure of a Lady, has a background in education and journalism. Her credits include People magazine, Parents, and Parenting. With a line of parenting products called “I Did It!® Productions” and a degree from Texas A&M, she continues her writing and speaking. She and her family live in Houston, Texas.

J. Mark Bertrand has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston. After one hurricane too many, he left Houston and relocated with his wife Laurie to the plains of South Dakota.

I received my review copy of this book from Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

Fabulous February 2010! (sticky post)

Published on February 1, 2010March 1, 2010 by Sheila (Book Journey)63 Comments

I love February! All comments on regular posts will be entered into the giveaway for a free book out of my prize box USA and Canada only. I will have four random comment winners. In addition, the person who comments the most in February will receive a $20 Amazon gift card emailed to them (open to all commentors). I will add a little something extra to each winner this month too in celebration of Fabulous February!

This Giveaway will run from February 1 – February 28…. winners announced on March 1

This post will stay on top for the month of February. All new posts will be directly below.

Its Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on February 1, 2010 by Sheila (Book Journey)63 Comments

Yes I am on vacation but really – the book reading does not stop for that! 🙂 I packed several books…. ok… 11 actually, for the trip. I have a bit of down time and looking forward to just me and a book. 🙂 Thank you to J Kaye for this wonderful weekly meme that lets us share what is on our reading plate for the week!

Last week:

The Fruit Of My Lipstick by Shelley Adina

War Child by Emmanuel Jal

Becca By The Book by Laura Jensen Walker

I joined the 2010 A Buck A Book Challenge

A Black Tie Affair by Sherill Bodine (With a giveaway!)

The Mercy Seller by Brenda Ruckman Vantrease

Oh and that idea of Book Blogger Convention Maybe? Well it now is a yes! Thanks to Kim from Sophisticated Dorkiness who is going to share a room with me for the 2 days after BEA so we can both attend the convention!

So what is in store for this week?

Yes – 5 books all planning to be read this week. Can I do it? I believe I can…. Beguiled is actually up for review here today – I just have a few pages to finish. With Al at the auction on Tuesday and on Thursday that gives me almost full days of reading.

How about you – what are you reading this week? I would love to know and if you write a post be sure to link it at J Kaye’s Blog so we can all take a peek at your reads!