Month: May 2012

Morning Meanderings… Don’t Just Pin It!!!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)29 Comments

Good morning!  😀  *lifts coffee cup to mouth “ow ow ow!!!”*  *Puts coffee cup back on table “ow ow owww”* 

Yup, I went back to kick boxing last night after ten months off and I feel AWESOME.  Well and sore this morning, but in a good way.  HOnestly there is something about putting gloves on and bashing a friend that well, brings peace to the world…. 😛

Ok, I didn’t bash her… but she did ask me not to hit so hard.  😯 

I can’t explain it but it just felt good.  It made me feel strong and I love that feeling.  I am no good at this.  I dont remember the moves and the long chains of commands from the teacher with the “do this, this this, then this this this, then that and this , with a double that and end with 14 this and 6 that with a double twist of that”… yeah…. I get lost.

BUT… I will get better.  And I am determined.

 

So…. has anyone else besides me caved and joined Pinterest?  I wasn’t going to you know… I wasn’t.  I didnt need another time suck in my life and I knew from the little I had seen of it that it would be just that….. pretty shiny pictures drawing me in… craft projects I think look cool but really when would I fit that in…..  but then during The Dewey Read A Thon it was brought to my FULL attention that Pinterest and book reviews do mix.  Once I was told that when you pin your book covers to Pinterest it links back to the review (if you link it from the post), AND that people have been picking up significant visitors that way….

suddenly I was listening.

So yes, now the past few weeks I have been pinning not only books from the blog, but I also found fitness tips, recipes, things I want to look at more closely and things that I think are funny… and life has been blissful…. pin this, pin that….

and then…

Trish from Love, Laughter, and a Touch of Insanity totally calls me out on this:

Oh come on…

now I can’t only pin it, but I also have to do something with it?

GAH….

But she is right… I have pinned and pinned but I have not cooked one thing, tried one project…. so anyhoo…. I am in on this.  😀  You can click the picture above and read her whole post. 

 

In other news, yesterday I put up a read-a-long, check it out.  😀  Cami’s fitness giveaway is still going on…  and if you want to be my friend on Pinterest (or whatever it is called there…. ) I am Sheila DeChantal (and I think this is a link.)

 

 

 

The Secret Garden Read-A-Long May 1 – May 31

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)55 Comments

Recently in a post I mentioned that I was going to read The Secret Garden for the first time.  The comments that followed, shocked me…. there are a lot of you out there that have not read this book!  Suddenly I felt I was not alone on my little island of “Those Who Have Not Read The Secret Garden”…

and an idea was born.

Won’t you come and read with me?

If you are interested in doing this read a long with me it is open to those who have not read it before, and to those who feel they may be due for a re-read.

Then… on May 31st here, we are going to have a garden party! You will have a chance to link your reviews and there will be an online book discussion here, as well as giveaways…. all garden themed!

Want in?

Please grab the button above and either 1) write a post with the “woo hoo” I am going to do this read a long!  or 20 add this button to your sidebar or 3) both!

Please fill out this form if you are planning on participating:

Please link up below if you write a post regarding your participation.  I am excited to do this with you!  😀

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Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)11 Comments

I am so looking forward to this read, Camryn does a wonderful

job making me want to read it now!  😀 ~Sheila

Unraveling

Unraveling is a book by Elizabeth Norris that is about high school junior Janelle Tenner. Janelle lives with her younger brother, Jared, her dad, James, and her bipolar mother. Janelle, while leaving the beach, gets hit by a truck. She could’ve sworn she died. She felt her heart stop. Before she knows it, she is looking into the eyes of Ben Michaels, a loner from her high school that she hasn’t spoken to before. She knows that Ben somehow saved her, and she is determined to find out how.

 

Janelle, after being let out of the hospital, goes home with her dad, just to find out he has a strange case about unidentified people dying of extremely severe radiation. Janelle’s dad works for the FBI. Ever the eavesdropper on her dad’s work, Janelle decides to dive deeper into the case. Dead ends and meaningless information push her towards Ben. She needs to find out how he saved her, but instead, she finds herself growing closer and more dependent on Ben. Can she find out Ben’s secret and solve the case without falling for Ben, or will she die trying?

The Unraveling - The Australian Cover - how awesome is that?

I loved this book. It made me cry. In my opinion, any book that makes you cry for at least two minutes is a good book, but any book that makes you cry for more than five is amazing. This book was amazing. It had detail, and was impossible to put down after I started. I am looking forward to more from this author. I would recommend this book to anyone who wanted a fast-moving novel, who wanted a great read, or wanted to read a story of true. The ending kind of made me sad though, it ended kind of abruptly.  It was still amazing.

Camryn is 12 years old, soon to be thirteen and enjoys reading YA books of the fantasy and romance genre. A few of her favorite books are “Hourglass” by Myra McEntire, “The Other Countess” by Eve Edwards, “Hush, Hush” by Becca Fitzpatrick, “The Immortals” series, the “Marked” series and the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” series.  When she’s not reading she enjoys watching Gilmore Girls or going to book sales for more books to add to her ever-growing collection.

Morning Meanderings… Have You Heard Of This On-Line Book Club?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)9 Comments

Good morning and Happy Tuesday!  Today it is raining in central Minnesota.  I am anxious to get on my bike (although it may not be in the plans for today now…) and it looks like I may be going back to Kick Boxing tonight with my friend Christy after 10 months off due to my injury last June.  YES!!!  *fist pump in the air*

Today is Tuesday, and that means, it is Tuesdays With Camryn, the new YA reviewer who has graciously agreed to join me here on Tuesdays to chat about YA reads.  Today watch for her review of Unraveled by Elizabeth Norris.  Lets just say  I will be needing to read that one SOON.

Since it is looking to be a great YA day, I figured this is an excellent time to chat up the new exciting Harper Collins Teen Book Club.  They launched a few weeks ago on Facebook with this awesome logo:

Awesome yes?  YES!  The current read is INCARNATE by Jodi Meadows, but soon… the May read will be Bumped by Megan McCafferty (as seen in the yellow bar at the top of the Facebook page.  You have to check this page out!  There is a place for book discussion as well as to win some prizes!  If you are not a YA reader yourself, please pass this information on to anyone you know who is… what a smart way to interact with teen readers!

Epic Reads also have a Goodreads Group!

You have a month to join the active discussion around the month’s book, but the forums on Goodreads will live on forever, and people can look back through archives to participate for past books there!

I can’t say enough about this!  Teen readers are so important and YA is an awesome genre to really generate readers in the 11-20 age group (and yes, I know… there are many of us, including me, who also enjoy YA reads too! 😀 )

If you have been thinking about reading Bumped, this would be a wonderful way to do so and connect with others reading it too!