I am only putting up one picture today for the honest truth that I have had such busy days that I have had no time. Today we were up at 5:30 am and to the Javits Center by 8:30 am. I sat in on a panel and afterward, Regan, Maltaise, and I went to a YA gathering of authors. It was a lot of fun and not a lot of people were around this morning so we really had a chance to chat with these wonderful women.
In the afternoon, Reagan and I walked to Central Park and sat in the park and read. It was fantastic! A beautifully warm day and a great way to unwind. I finished reading Opposite Of Me in Central Park. I loved the book – but more on that later. 🙂
When we got back to our room we had time to change and then we walked the 30+ blocks to the YA discussion tonight and book signing. That was really fun and we met a lot of fellow bloggers. Afterward 12 of us went to dinner together and it was a blast. It was really fun to hang out and meet some fun people.
Back to our room after 10 pm and that explains my tiredness.
This morning Reagan and I are heading to the Javits Center at 5 am(ish) to get in line for author ticket signing. I know…. a bit crazy (as I am thinking how tired I am) but well.. when in New York 🙂
Later today I have the tea with Adriana Trigiani and that will be exciting! Then I get back to the Javits center around 4:30 and we will go back to the hotel and get ready for the Blogger Get together at 7 pm. I think I may need to nap in there somewhere. 🙂
So that’s what is happening here in New York. Again, I have many more pictures and I will do a recap when I get back with lots detail….
Why does my life have to be so painful?
What’s wrong with me?
It’s not going to get better.
It could all be over soon, and then I won’t hurt anymore.
Kristen Anderson thought she had the picture-perfect life until strokes of gray dimmed her outlook: three friends and her grandmother died within two years. Still reeling from these losses, she was raped by a friend she thought she could trust. She soon spiraled into a seemingly bottomless depression.
One January night, the seventeen-year-old decided she no longer wanted to deal with the emotional pain that smothered her. She lay down on a set of cold railroad tracks and waited for a freight train to send her to heaven…and peace.
But Kristen’s story doesn’t end there.
In “Life, In Spite of Me” this remarkably joyful young woman shares the miracle of her survival, the agonizing aftermath of her failed suicide attempt, and the hope that has completely transformed her life, giving her a powerful purpose for living.
Her gripping story of finding joy against all odds provides a vivid and unforgettable reminder that life is a gift to be treasured.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Kristen’s story was one that is horrifying, sad, hopeful, and triumphant, all rolled into one package. From the early pages her sorrow and depression envelope you. Close family losses and a devastating experience with what she thought was a friendship leaves her reeling – and what teenager wouldn’t be?
33 freight cars sever her legs during a suicide attempt, at a time she didn’t want anything more than to just die and feel nothing…. God stepped in. She didn’t lose her life as planned – but instead gained something that is sure to help others. An inspiring story that I would encourage anyone who has doubts about what their future holds, or why they are here on this earth and this (fill in the blank ________________) situation.
Hi everyone. I am having a blast in New York. As promised here is a little picture “highlight reel” of what we have done so far. There will be a full BEA recap when I get home, but for now… here is a sampler:
Me in Strand book store - 18 miles of book shelves "Heaven in a box"
Reagan and I went to Strand Book store on Monday afternoon to check out this book. Literally wall to wall books.
Strand Book Store
… and floor to ceiling.
Then we went to the Teen Author Carnival (SO MUCH FUN!) and…..
Me and Laren Oliver (author of Before I Fall)
Squeeeee!!!! She was so amazing! I can not wait to read and review her book.
Simone Elkeles (author of Perfect Chemistry)
Squueee!!! She is so down to earth and fun!
Sarah Ockler (author of Twenty Boy Summer)
Super Squeeee!!! Sarah was so awesome and I bought her book and I got is signed 😀
Violet Haberdasher (author of Knightley Academy)
Violet was just fun to listen to her talk….. picture a younger JK Rowling. She is very “Londony” and I fell in love with the idea of her book while listening to her passion about telling the story. I now have a signed copy. SQUEEE!!!!
And finally just a fun moment at the carnival….
Amy from My Friend Amy, Me, and Natasha from Maw Books
I met Amy and Natasha in person, two bloggers I truly admire.
So…. today – we are at BEA in the morning and tonight at 6 pm – Class of 2010 Debut authors event. So excited about that one too. Really I am just like a kid in a candy store.
Hope your day is super wonderful! I will be back with a review in the afternoon. 🙂
What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.
I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! As part of this weekly meme I love to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme. I offer a weekly contest for those who visit 10 or more of the Monday Meme participants and leave a comment. You receive one entry for every 10 comments, just come back here and tell me how many in the comment area.
Congratulations! Please choose an item out of the PRIZE BOX and email me your choice with your mailing address as well! journeythroughbooks@gmail.com
This week went by so fast! On the bright side I did finish up a few reads I had going and have a couple more on the brink of being finished too!
Normally this is where I would recap post by post what went on here last week, but I am not going to do that tonight. Instead, as I am putting this post together from my hotel room in New York, I am going to recap my first day here:
Reagan (Miss Remmers Reviews) and I arrived in New York at 10:45 am after catching our 6 am flight out of Minneapolis (up at 3 am….. GROGGY)
Upon arriving at our hotel we discovered we could not check in until around 3 pm, they allowed up to leave our luggage and we took the streets.
First lesson: If you need to use a restroom – do not wait until the last minute. We went into three different Star Bucks that all has a suspiciously familiar sign – “Sorry Temporarily out of order.”. Yes three different Star Bucks! We tried a market place, Right Aid, two Subways, Walgreens…. they were either out of order or they said they did not have one. By this time – we are having a code orange level restroom emergency. Finally, FINALLY – we hound a Star busks that had a working restroom.
Second Lesson: When cruising by foot down the streets of New York, occasionally look up and see what street you are on. You know… just once in a while. After walking for many blocks we found Central Park which was AMAZING. After exploring it a bit, we could not find the road we had came down to get to the park and wound up walking 40 blocks out of our way. No exaggeration. Cardio for the day? Check.
Aha moment. New York hotels are not like Minnesota hotels. I was so excited for this hotel room and once inside and seeing the tiny lobby I became a bit nervous. The small elevator added to my level of anxiety and once to our floor and seeing the narrow hallways, I was nervous to put my key into the door…… yep. One double room – tiny. Space in New York is a premium.
After a nap and a bit of reading I felt myself again and we walked around Times Square taking in the sights (watch for pictures popping up all week on the Morning Meanderings posts!)
Joining us at 8:30 this evening was Esme from Chocolates and Croissants who will be a roomy for the week. We all went out to dinner at Ruby Tuesday – and had amazing salads, YUM!
Now we are all having a Norman Rockwell meets Jane Austen moment as we are all in our room jammy blogging.
What’s The Special Brew Of The Week?
So glad you asked! I am only going to list a couple going on here this week because – well, I am at BEA and who knows how much reading (or lack there of) I will get done! However – there will be reviews each day. I have many to catch up on.
Hello from the Minneapolis airport. I am sitting here at 5 am with fellow blogger buddy Reagan from Miss Remmers Reviews. (And yes…. she is as cool in person!) 🙂
We fly out at 6 am…. goin’ to Milwaukee, then on to New York. Super excited and SUPER tired.
Before I log off here this morning I have to share this funny cartoon I found on-line a couple of days ago. Maybe it is just my humor (or wierd sense of…) but I thought this was funny:
What I want to do with these posts and take time to share with you a blog I enjoy. Maybe its just me but I love to hear peoples background stories. I think my own journey from random reader to crazy blogger (and yes – I am speaking for myself) is interesting, so I believe that others have stories too.
And… I want to hear them. And… I want to share them.
At this time I am not sure if this idea I am floating today will hold air or not. The plan, if all goes well is to do this occasionally. Interview a fellow blogger and encourage my readers to go and check them out because I think they are pretty cool. I enjoy looking at blogs – style, layout, the whole works… and I am excited to have the debut of this feature come forward today with a new blogger buddy to me,
There are so many things I like about Bobbie’s blog. One of the first things that caught my eye was the awesome layout. It’s a clean, classy, blog layout. And as I started to frequent her blog I noticed that she signs off every post with “Til we read again”… and I love how she ties this back to her blog name. Oh and have you seen the header? It’s fantastic:
So – enough of me…. let me introduce you to Bobbie.
Left to right: Alianna, Bobbie, and Dakotah
OK Bobbie, you know the theme around here. How do you take your coffee?
Bobbie: Cream and one sugar please.
Bobbie, do you remember how we first met?
Bobbie: I met you during Dewey’s 24 Hour Read A Thon. You contacted me about doing a mini challenge. I remember I was so excited because you were one of my favorite blogger’s. After that we just kept in contact. 🙂
When did you start reading, if you can recall, and what were those books in your earliest memories?
Bobbie: I was about 8. I started reading The Little House Books. Before that I wasn’t interested in reading. Our school was having a Little House tea. If you read all the books and could answer questions about them you got an invite to the tea. I did get to go to the tea but reading the books was the better prize. After that you couldn’t get a book out of my hands.
How did you discover book blogging and what made you start doing it yourself?
Bobbie:I actually had a book blog last year but I let it go because I was always so busy. I am the type of person that I am always doing something for someone else so my mom challenged me to do one thing for myself. I was still keeping up with book blogs I had found through my old blog so I decided to give it one more shot. I completely re-did my blog and made goals for myself. It is kinda funny that a challenge from my Mom turned out to be such a rewarding experience.
When did you first start blogging?
Bobbie: I started blogging about 3 years ago. All the blogs I have had was geared to my hobby of making digital scrap kits. I offered kits for free and also let my readers know what I had new in stores.
I have never done digital scrap booking, but have always wanted to try it. What were your early struggles with blogging?
Bobbie: I think that all my blogs have had one major struggle for me. Followers. Even with my scrapping blogs I never had more than 40 to 50 followers. It doesn’t help that I am very shy and have a hard time going around to other blogs and commenting. Posting was easy for me because I would just put up freebies or store ads. With my book blog the followers have come easier but now I have a hard time with posts but I am getting better. The book blogging community is one of the best:)
How did you learn to correct these things?
Bobbie: Well I never did with the Scrap Blogs. However, that is mainly because when you do those types of blogs most people are there to download the freebies. However, I knew with the book blog that a following was crucial to me. I put myself out there and found that even though I am shy I had something to say and I have made so many bloggy friends in the process.
I agree, the book blogging community is filled with wonderful and helpful people. Can you share any bloggers that really helped you along the way?
Bobbie: Yes! Kay from Pudgy Penguin Perusals. The way I met Kaye was very funny. She was an award free blog and leave it to me to give her an award. I didn’t have my contact info on my blog at the time so she had to track me down to tell me. After I got over the initial embarrassment I found a great bloggy friend)
Bobbie: Meeting new people and being able to talk about books. I love going to the blogs and seeing what everyone else is reading. I love adding a new book to my TBR list. My other favorite part is it gives me a purpose. It gives me a reason to do something for myself. I make sure to post at least 3 times a week even if things are busy or if I haven’t read that week. There is always something to say or a meme to do.
What advice would you give a new blogger?
Bobbie: This is not an assignment nor is it your life’s work. Also, don’t give up if you don’t get followers right away. Give yourself a year at least. Post at least 3 times a week so your followers have something new to read when they come back. Surround yourself with other book blogger’s. If you have questions ask. I have yet to meet a book blogger that got mad because I asked them a question:) Join book blog communities to meet other book blogger’s. Some of my favorites are:
Bobbie: I am an eclectic reader and like a lot of stuff, lol. I guess my favorites would be:
The Harry Potter Series ( I have read it 4 times, lol)
The Twilight Series
Anything by Stephen King but my favorite book by him is The Stand
The In Death Series by J.D. Robb
Time to spill the beans…. share something about yourself that is a little known fact.
Bobbie: I am a closet foodie. I have to try every new restaurant that comes to our new area and I review them under an assumed name. I love the Food Network almost as much as I love books.
Thank you Bobbie for coming and hanging out with us today! Readers – I encourage you to stop by and welcome Bobbie at Til We Read Again and while you are there – snoop around her blog!
So what is happening at the DeChantal household this morning?
Packing. Working out. Laundry. Cooking. Cleaning. Call to Grandpa. And maybe a bit of mowing too if the weather holds out for me. 🙂
I leave tonight at 5 pm for Minneapolis where I will meet up with Reagan from Miss Remmers Reviews. We are staying overnight there to catch our 6 am flight to New York. I may need to pause a moment to read that last sentence….
………………………………………………………….
Wow. Three books are making the journey with me. Yes, that is conservative of me. 😉
Annie Freeman’s Fabulous Traveling Funeral by Kris Radish. This is our book club read for June and it sounds like the perfect plane/hotel read. (click on picture if you want to read more about the book)
The Threadbare Heart by Jennie Nash arrived in the mail yesterday. I have heard good things about this one! (If you want to know more about the book click on the picture)
The Opposite of Me by Sarah Pekkanen. I won this authors NYC package giveaway and while I have seen the book around I have not read it yet. As I am meeting Sarah in New York, I want to have read this. I think it looks like a story line I really will enjoy!(Click on pic for more details on this book)
So that’s what is in my carry on. I still am prepping reviews and a tour for next week that will continue to go on as planned. I will also have Lap Top with me so I hope to give you morning updates of what is happening at BEA.
What are your weekend plans and what book is going with you?
I am embarrassingly behind on drawing winners for the giveaways I have going. There doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day. All week long my goal was to post winners to the giveaways so I could be current going into BEA, and night after night I drop exhausted into a chair around 9 pm and think, well…too late to do it tonight.
Well… tonight, I am home from running early, just spoke to hubby and he will not be home until around 8 pm…. and it is time…. to post the giveaways and winners 🙂
Note: As the names are announced I have emailed these winners. They in turn, must email me their shipping information so I may pass it on to the publishers who in most cases, mail you the books. I have to wait until all winners have responded before I can email the info to the publishers so please respond in a timely manner. If I have not heard from a winner within72 hours I will choose another winner.
All winners are drawn by using Random.org
“Ready? Ok!!! We’ve got winners yes we do – we’ve got winners so woo hoo hoo!”
I have three winners for Scott Turow’s book: Presumed Innocent:
Gram
Elisha
JHS
I have three audio books of Vampire Hunter (Audio) to give to:
Cathie (oh and for the record, you were really mean to win Cathie because the random selection chose tou three times in a row!)
Library Pat
Terri Dell
Three of The Art of Choosing (Audio):
Jodi
Mad Woman Doing Cartwheels
Felicia
Three of Green Like God:
Kadybug
Maid Marawyn
Library Pat
Three of Eat The Cookies, Buy The Shoes by Joyce Meyer:
Julie H
Beth C
Jill
Three copies of The Cradle:
Marilu
Mad Woman Doing Cartwheels
Terri Dell
Three of The Slip Of The Knife:
Sheila
Ellie
Margaret
Three of This One Is Mine:
Reagan
Penny
Colleen Turner
Three of God Never Blinks:
Karen K
Ruth
Julie H
Three of Admission:
Patty
Cindi
Karin
One copy of Here Burns My Candle:
Wendy
Thats all the giveaways and woo hoo I am now current!!! Please watch the Giveaway link for current giveways always happening here 🙂
Oh wow – I can’t wait to share some news with you! Go refill your coffee cups this may take a couple of minutes to get out of my between the “Squeee’s” and the cartwheels…. and possible another squeee….
Ok. Ready? Let me set the scene for you….
I am in my office yesterday afternoon. We are doing a total office inventory so by mid afternoon my eyes are bugging out of my head. I click on my personal G Mail link to see if anything new and exciting is going on in the world and I see this email titled: You Are Going TO NYC For Free!!!
I figured it was some sort of scam advertising but clicked to open the email anyway. (Oh come on, you would have opened it too!) Turns out it is from author Sarah Pekkanen (Opposite Of Me) and I won her blogger giveaway for NYC! I still can’t believe it so I find her website, and start reading the details. I remember signing up for this much like if you are at a grocery store and they are doing a giveaway for a freezer full of food… you don’t think you will win, but you fill out the form anyway.
So by now (and remember I am still in my office), I am trying not to scream, I read through her email again and she asks me to either email her back or to call her for details. I start the email – telling her I am so excited, then decide I want to call her too, think I send the email but forget to hit send and dial….
She answers.
I tell her who I am and we have this wonderful conversation where I am excited and bouncing and I think she may be too. She tells me how they used random.org (I LOVE Random.Org!!!) and explains the package to me. Since I have paid for most of what she is offering already, all I had to do was email her my flight info and hotel and she is going to give me a check to reimburse me.
I can’t even tell you how high I am flying off the ground right now! The last couple of days I have been trying to plan how to do BEA and not spend a lot of money. I was making little deals with myself like “well, if I take from savings I can put it back in with next months check….” and then knowing full well that wont happen as youngest son is getting an apartment when he goes back to college in the fall and he and I are going to look next month to start to furnish that apartment and I want to help where I can..
This is such a gift!
Be sure to look at Sarah’s website – it gives a lot of details of what the package consists of.
So bouncy girl, I mean I, am working out this morning, using a spa gift card this afternoon that my hubby gave me for Christmas for a manicure and pedicure – (I usually do not bother with a manicure because I am always doing stuff that would ruin it, but decided to use the Gift Card for BEA).
I have books to mail today. Contests to end that I have been trying to get to all week. Start to pack. Date night with hubby. And – in a few hours I have a post where I want to introduce you to a blogger that if you have not already met, you should.
Have a super fantastic day! If you are going to BEA I would love to meet you so connect with me on Twitter (bookjourney) or email me at journeythroughbooks@gmail.com.
In the year since his wife, Hannah, passed away, Dr. Michael Everett has been inconsolable. Unable to carry on living any semblance of a normal life without her, Michael has avoided contact with friends and family and filled his empty days with work. So he’s shocked when his brother-in-law, Ritchie, hands him a letter Hannah had written before she died; apparently she’d instructed Ritchie to deliver it to Michael on the first anniversary of her death.
In it she reminds him of her love and makes one final request: she asks Michael to marry again and become the father he was meant to be. Knowing his reaction, Hannah gives him a gentle push by suggesting three women—each of whom, she says, would make an excellent wife and companion.
Cover Story:The cover is ideal for the story – the white picket fence and an open gate really speak of what the book has in store.
I am a jumble of genres am I not? Recently having read a true crime, a dark mystery, a non fiction, a children’s book, and now I sit this book down on my coffee table with content.
Debbie Macomber came on my radar many years ago with her Cedar Cove Series that was a wonderful series of books centered around a town called Cedar Cove. Each book title was an address and the story line came from the opinion of who lived at that address. The first one was called 16 Lighthouse Road. I thought it was a brilliant series!
Flash forward to 2010 and here I cross paths with Debbie Macomber again. As this book opens we are immediately brought into the story. Debbie Macomber does not mess around – it is the anniversary date of Hannah’s death and Michael, her devoted husband, is still grieving and buried among the “what ifs”.
When Hannah’s brother delivers the letter to Michael from Hannah, as you can expect there is not only shock but anger. Hannah has not only boldly told Michael to move up, but also make suggestions of who may make a good wife for him. (I kind of liked that part, sounded like something I would do!)
What follows is Michael’s journey as he meets with each of these women and learns a little more about his wife and learns it is ok to let go in the process. The characters are delightful and colorful, Macomber always did impress me with the way she could put the scenes of the book clearly in my mind.
This book is a cozy (envision hot cocoa by a camp fire kind of night) and comforting read. The book is wonderful for sipping on an ice tea in the sunshine, as from my experience with this author, the book was a feel good to the last page kind of read and I closed the final page with a sense of well-being.
I received my copy for review from Big Honcho Media
Did I mention there was a giveaway?
Hannah’s List
BOOK RELEASE + GIVEAWAY
Prizing for your website:
**One (1) Grand Prize winner from your site receives:
Enjoy additional titles by Debbie Macomber with a $25 VISA gift card
Copy of Hannah’s List
Two (2) additional winners will receive a copy of the book!
So what to do to get in on this deal
As this book opens, Michael is at a Seattle Mariners baseball game. Leave a comment here if you could go and see any sport – any where – where would it be? (This must be answered to be entered in this giveaway)
Want more chances to win?
For two extra chances to win, become a subscriber (or be a current subscriber) of this blog (do this in the upper right side bar) and let me know in a separate comment here
Blog about this giveaway and let me know in a separate comment and receive two more entries
Twitter about this giveaway or link tot his giveaway on Facebook and let me know here for another entry
This giveaway will end on June 3 and publisher says:
This book giveaway is open to participants with a United States mailing address only (international readers can enter if they have a friend in the States who can accept their prizes by mail.)
Book Journey 