Welcome to It’s Monday! What Are You Reading! This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!
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 telling me how many you visited. **You do not have to have a blog to participate! You receive one entry for every 10 comments, just come back here and tell me how many in the comment area.
Sharon’s Garden Of Book Reviews
Congratulations! Please email me your book choice out of the recently cleaned up and LOVELY Reading Cafe at journeythroughbooks@gmail.com.
holy smokes! I bet you were wondering where I was! Just a week or so ago I was saying how since I took over this meme in February 2010, I had never missed a Monday! And then…. this… I almost missed it.
SO… if you followed my posts going into Saturday morning you know I was going to the cabin on the North Shore with our College son Justin. We left Saturday morning, and the plan was to come back this late afternoon (which we did). However – I also brought laptop along – and while I do not have internet at out cabin, we planned a couple outings that would have internet and I was going to put up an abbreviated Monday What Are You Reading as I just did not have enough time to prep it before I left.
On Sunday afternoon we landed in Ely Minnesota at a fun little cafe – WIFI accessible and I grabbed a coffee, Justin a hot cocoa and I pulled out the laptop I had just carried up and down the streets if Ely while we checked out stores, and looked for a place to land. I could not get their internet to connect. No worries I thought, we are having dinner in Schroeder Minnesota at Blue Fin, they will have internet! And they did, but I could not hook up to it. It just would not connect.
Now while this disturbed the anal OCD side of me…. it was also a life lesson. I never go unplugged and get away from it all. I take laptop anywhere and have sent posts and Monday memes from Florida, Chicago, Wisconsin, and frequently Honduras. Being forced to unplug….
was actually nice. 😀
I sat back and enjoyed 100% my time with my son.
Now home, I have put in a load of laundry, completed unpacking, did the dishes, started supper and NOW am sitting down feeling satisfied, relaxed and ready to chat with all of you and catch up on emails and comments and visits… and yeah….. 😀
So – now that you know where I was and what I was doing – here is what happened here last week:
Lets Pretend This Never Happened by Jennifer Lawrence
The Chaperone By Laura Moriarty
Viola In The Spotlight by Adriana Trigiani
An Uncommon Education by Elizabeth Percer
Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner
Over the weekend we (son and I) finished an audio book we listened to and from the cabin) and I finished a book for a tur later this week.
As for this week… here is what I have planned:
Amid the mayhem of the Civil War, Virginia plantation wife Iris Dunleavy is put on trial and convicted of madness. It is the only reasonable explanation the court can see for her willful behavior, so she is sent away to Sanibel Asylum to be restored to a good, compliant woman. Iris knows, though, that her husband is the true criminal; she is no lunatic, only guilty of disagreeing with him on notions of justice, cruelty, and property. On this remote Florida island, cut off by swamps and seas and military blockades, Iris meets a wonderful collection of residents–some seemingly sane, some wrongly convinced they are crazy, some charmingly odd, some dangerously unstable. Which of these is Ambrose Weller, the war-haunted Confederate soldier whose memories terrorize him into wild fits that can only be calmed by the color blue, but whose gentleness and dark eyes beckon to Iris. The institution calls itself modern, but Iris is skeptical of its methods, particularly the dreaded “water treatment.” She must escape, but she has found new hope and love with Ambrose. Can she take him with her? If they make it out, will the war have left anything for them to make a life from, back home?
Anne Blythe has a great life: a good job, close friends, and a potential book deal for her first novel. When it comes to finding someone to share her life with, however, she just can’t seem to get it right. When her latest relationship implodes, and her best friend announces she’s engaged, Anne impulsively calls what she thinks is a dating service—only to discover that it’s actually an exclusive, and pricey, arranged marriage service. Anne initially rejects the idea, but the more she learns about the service, the more she thinks: Why not? After all, arranged marriages are the norm for millions of women around the world; maybe it could work for her.
A few months later, Anne is traveling to a Mexican resort, where, over the course of a weekend, she meets and then marries Jack. And initially, everything seems to be working out. . . .
That brand-new physique you’ve been waiting for, the leaner, fitter, healthier body you thought you’d never had. Eat This, Not That! 2011–the latest, most up-to-date book in the best-selling weight loss franchise–is ready to start stripping extra pounds from your body today. And once you lose that weight, you’re going to keep it off. Forever.That’s because Eat This, Not That! is a tool. It’s designed to make smart food choices easier, no matter where you’re making them. Consider just a handful of real stories from real people who’ve shed 25, 50, 75 pounds–or more!–and you’ll understand why Eat This, Not That! is “The no-diet weight-loss solution”:* Michael Colombo of Staten Island, New York, shed 91 pounds in just over 8 months and conquered life-threatening sleep apnea, after picking up a copy of Eat This, Not That!. “My confidence has sky-rocketed!” he says.
* Erika Bowen of Minneapolis, Minnesota, dropped 84 pounds–without dieting. “I feel like I’ve always wanted to feel,” Bowen reports. Once she discovered the truth about her food, she learned she could lose weight and never feel hungry.
Hiking into the remote Utah canyonlands, Aron Ralston felt perfectly at home in the beauty of the natural world. Then, at 2:41 P.M., eight miles from his truck, in a deep and narrow slot canyon, an eight-hundred-pound boulder tumbled loose, pinning Aron’s right hand and wrist against the canyon wall. Through six days of hell, with scant water, food, or warm clothing, and the terrible knowledge that no one knew where he was, Aron eliminated his escape option one by one. Then a moment of stark clarity helped him to solve the riddle of the boulder–and commit one of the most extreme and desperate acts imaginable.
That’s the week… not sure what next weekend holds yet, so far I don’t think we have plans… but haven’t chatted with hubby yet since my return today as he is still at work. I am however hoping some of you still will link up this late and I hope to stop by and see what you are reading! Add your link below where it says click here.
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and those of you who read mainly children’s through YA reads – please also link your post here:
Book Journey 
I am so glad you had a great time, and realized today I am way too dependent on your meme to fill my Mondays, 🙂 Although I think we all need to learn to unplug once in awhile. I traveled to about 20 from memory and realized just a short while ago I should have traveled back to last week’s post and used that list, lol. Funny how habit is hard to break. I am sure I am not the only one that missed you. I will visit more tomorrow!!
LOL…. it was hard to not be able to post yesterday that is for sure Lori…. finally I quit trying 😀
Yay! I’m so glad to hear you were off having a good time with your son! I had read your earlier posts and figured that was the most likely situation and I’m glad that was the case. Keep on enjoying the time away!
Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on Arranged! I love Catherine’s writing!
Have a fabulous week! 🙂
I am always glad I leave a paper trail Danielle 😉 I finished Arranged this morning… cant wait to review it 🙂
Yes, I was wondering where you were, but no worries! It IS good to unplug once in a while. When we go on our 3-week road trip each summer, I stay pretty much unplugged, other than posting photos from my phone to my trip blog for friends and family. It is a nice break 🙂
Sounds like you had a nice trip with your son.
Enjoy your books this week –
Sue
I had a great time Sue, we have not hung out since January. We traveled around, watched movies, enjoyed good food and conversation. I am lucky to have such a great relationship with him 🙂
Glad you had a great time with your son, nice to get away with no distractions.
Loving your book line-up this week, I’ve just re-watched 127 Hours again, awesome movie and I’m keen to see what you think of Blue Asylum. I’ve read a couple of novels in that period, focused on sane women committed to asylums by their husbands or fathers … appalling!
Have a great week and happy reading 🙂
I did not know it was a movie until today when my son told me. I had just picked the audio up at Bares and Noble in Duluth MN. 😀
I was offline for most of the weekend, too. No internet, no cell phone coverage. And yes, it was a bit of a relief – once the anxiety wore off 😉 Glad to hear you had a great weekend with your son!
Exactly Alita – I was just going to put up a little post with the link and I couldn’t even do that…. at first I was really bummed – then I relaxed and thought – whatever 😀
I was wondering where you were! lol It’s all good, though. I’m sure you and your son had a fabulous time!
We did Kathy, we both agreed we should make it an annual getaway 😀
So glad you were off having a good time with your family. I wondered what happened, so glad to see your back too – we need you too 🙂
Thanks Tanya 🙂 Glad to be back – I am refreshed and ready to get into my week 😀
I bought Blue Asylum on my Kindle but haven’t read it yet. It sounds really good. I hope you had a fantastic time with your son. Sometimes disconnecting is just what we need 🙂 Have a great week ahead!
My boyfriend used to be married to Aron Ralston’s little sister. It’s always odd to see stuff about him. I commented on 10 blogs. Thanks!!
Wow Lauren that is wild! Thanks for commenting on the blogs 😀
I’m so glad you are well! I have had too much going on to participate in the meme lately, but when I saw that you hadn’t posted I was hoping you were okay. 🙂 I figured it probably had something to do with your trip though.
It was wierd Alyce – I could not get my laptop to work with any of the internet spots I tried…. I started to think my laptop was broke – but when I cam e home it logged on fine…. Hmmmm…. divine intervention? 😀
Welcome back. The Mackenzie’s triology is the one I am looking out for!
Mystica…what trilogy? Now am super excited and I do not know why…LOL…… I am going on line to look 😀
I figured you were still at the cabin with your son! Glad you had a great time together! I’ve got Blue Asylum on my stack.
HI Nise! Yeah we had a wonderful time and the weather was gorgeous today so it was hard for me to pack up and get on the road – spent the morning reading on the deck with the sun on me! 😀
I’m glad you had fun and that you were late posting because I was too busy this weekend to post on time as well!
LOL – it is that time of year 😀
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Blue Asylum. It sound very interesting and I was planning on getting a hold of it sometime.
It is so far different than I thought it would be… it is a thinker 🙂
I noted you were out of town so it is understandable. Glad you had such a good time and took a bread…even if forced. 🙂
Interesting books coming up. Enjoy!
Thanks Martha 😉
Yay! You’re back!!!
Also, totally want to hear about Blue Asylum. It is on my wishlist!
Thank you for having this meme. It’s my first time and I LOVED participating!
Oh nice! So glad you are joining in 😀
Glad you’re back! (I did miss you last night, *g*), Hope you had a great weekend. Your books look amazing.
Ahhh thanks for missing me Mardel…. just a little delay in posting 😀
I’ve always wanted to read 127 hours. I can’t wait to hear what you think of it!
Its a short audio Angie – 5 cd’s I will pass it your way when I am done. 🙂
Blue Asylum looks quite intriguing.. Hope you’re enjoying it – and a wonderful week filled with books!
Thanks – I am really excited about this week, I have some good reads going 🙂
LOL I was checking obsessively all day for the post 🙂 Since I am in Aust it happened while I was sleeping though 🙂
Oh no! I was just telling a friend that I post on Sundays because that is Monday fro my Australian friends! 😀 So glad you came back and found me here 😀
I’m glad you were enjoying yourself…I figured you were inadvertently “unplugged,” but I was a little worried, too; you are like clockwork! lol
Your week looks quite interesting…hope you enjoy Arranged.
It wasnt easy to break the cycle Laurel – I carried my laptop all over on Sunday looking for a place to connect 😀
(LOVED Arranged… but you know… cant say so yet, I am on tour and all….) LOL
Good for you for disconnecting. It’s something I’m trying to do more and more of myself. Sounds like you had a wonderful visit with your son (woohoo)!!
I loved Arranged, hope you enjoy it.
Thanks Mari – I did enjoy it – and yeah, I really liked Arranged too 😀
I liked Eat This Not That and a few others by that author in the same vein. I’m looking forward to Blue Asylum — loved all of Hepinstalls previous books. Have a great week SHeila
I have a couple of the older ones….. they are frightening good! 😛 I found this one in the Barnes and Noble “Last Chance” markdown bin 😀
I got around to 14 of the blogs on your linky list. I don’t normally have time to explore but I’m on vacation this week. I should be out in my flower beds, but I’m kind of enjoying just wandering around this morning!
Nice! I have a hard time reading blogs (which I love) when the weather calls to me… right now my lawn is calling to me but really…. I dont wanna 😀
I have to admit I was a little worried about you! So glad you were missing for such a great reason. It sounds like you had a nice weekend with your son. I hope you enjoy Blue Asylum. I really liked that one. I’d love for my book club to choose it for a future discussion, once it’s available more widely. We usually only choose books that are available at the library, but it would make a great discussion!
Its nice to know I am so loyal that when missing… people worry and tweet about it…LOL 😀 Ahhh….. love that!
Our book club has to choose paperbacks and fairly new titles so we can find enough copies…. for 18. 😀
I started Blue Asylum yesterday and I’m loving it so far. The main character has such depth and is in such a desperate situation, I can’t wait to get back to it.
It feels heavy to me and I think it is because I have gone lighter reads lately 😀 It is good though.
You made it back in time! I was wondering if you were going to miss a week after declaring that you never missed a week. LOL.
Eat This, Not That! is enlightening and pretty much confirms what we already know about junk food. It might keep you from the drive through window for, oh, a few weeks!
LOL! I was thinking that too Leslie… like “way to brag Sheila!” 😀
that was the weirdest thing – to have my post ready and no linky to add it to! 🙂
glad you just let it go and enjoyed what you had – time out with a fave person !!
thx for this wkly party ! showed how much we love it 😉
LOL… yeah…. I was not there. 😯
😀
I did get to hang out with one of my favorite peeps!
oops, forgot to say i’ve done my first round of visits for the contest for this wk..
not a regular opp for me, – glad to add my chat ter…
Nice – I have yet to get out there but hope to later tonight 😉
Glad you enjoyed your happy accident of being unplugged and the time with your son!