March 2013 – Page 4 – Book Journey

Morning Meanderings… Check Out These New Books (SSSQQQUUUEEEEE!!!!!)

Published on March 3, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)14 Comments

Good morning! *Big sip of COFFEE*

I would have posted a little earlier but I got into the time suck of Facebook Home Page. You know the one, where all your friends post and you can just scroll down and see what is happening in the lives of those you know…. in recap here is what I learned:

Grade schooler suspended from school for having a pop tart shaped like a gun

My friend’s daughter started her first job

Reagan (Miss Remmers Reviews) posted a picture of how much sugar is in the different beverages we drink (Hello water!)

Our friends and a co-worker are currently in Hawaii with family (*jealous!*)

A friends mom is at an Autism Walk at Ridgedale Mall today

Coffee is on at my church! 😛

A guy I graduated with just was hired by Prince! Yes, Prince the musician!

Alyce (At home with books) is packed to move and celebrating her birthday by flashlight… no idea where the matches are 😀

Trish Collins is jonesing for Girl Scout Cookies

Hunger Games asks what talent do we have to become a victor…. ummmm…

A girl I graduated with is going off… about something I have no idea really…

My friend Lori once again posted pictures about abused pets … so sad.

My friend Belinda posted about how it is ok to be who you are. YES! 😀

My friend Ryan looks like he had a fun time bowling with friends last night.

Anyhoo… you get it… Facebook is fascinating but wow can you blow a lot of time hanging out there 😀

Back on track, here are the books that came into the house this week (a lot more than last week!)

The top two books Milkweed (for Book Club) and Confessions Of A Prairie Bitch (for giggles) are purchased by me. The rest are for review and there are some exciting titles here! Can’t wait to dig in!

My Sunday will consist of church, the working out at the YMCA with my cousin, working on writing up a story about my aunt for a magazine, and later a movie with my hubby – his pick this time. It is going to be a good day. 😀

A Grown Up Kind Of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson

Published on March 2, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)8 Comments

Fifteen year old Mosey Slocumb wants to be like other girls her age. She wants to have close girl friends, she wants to date boys, and she wants to have a mom and a dad who love her to the core.

But none of this seems to be in the cards for her.

Mosey lives with her grandmother “Big” Virginia who feels that something bad happens every fifteen years. Why she had her own daughter, Mosey’s mom, Liza, when she was 15. Liza in turn had Mosey at 15 and when Liza turned 30 she has a massive stroke, that seems to carry a lot of mystery around it.

Then as if life is not mixed up enough, while a pool is being put in for Liza’s therapy a small box of infant bones is found during the dig and life takes yet another spin…

Whose bones are they and who holds the secret to that answer?

This is my third book/audio by Joshilyn Jackson. I have listened to Gods In Alabama, and Backseat Saints. All three of these audio books are narrated by the author and if you are an audio book person you are going to love her narration. If you are new to audio, these books would be wonderful starters as she is a captivating read.

A Grown Up Kind Of Pretty is a bit different from the previous two books I read. Because of Mosely’s age and occasional first person narration of the book, you could almost call this a YA read. Almost. Big is also a first person narrator of the book and Liza comes in as a third person narration, mainly recalling the past and what she wishes she could change. The result of this style of writing is impressive as you are hearing from the three generations of women with only 15 years between each of them.

I found the story line engaging but occasionally hard to keep track of the present and the past that were being discussed by the current narrator, you really had to pay attention to the perspective that the story was being told from, Mosely’s being the easiest to follow as she has a younger tone and voice.

Over all, I am once again thrilled with the creativity of Joshilyn Jackson, while this is not my favorite of hers that I have listened to, I am glad I spent time with it and look forward to reading/listening to her again.

Morning Meanderings… The BIG Painting Project

Published on March 2, 2013March 2, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)46 Comments

Squeaking in late today. I got up and hit the gym and then went and set the new March window at the Library. Then picked up a few groceries so I would not have to leave the house again today.. unless I want to… unless Al and I go to a movie… you know, something fun 😀

Last week I painted the downstairs of our house and I had said I would post the pictures today for Saturday Snapshot, so here they are:

A fun fact I found out last week, painting burns 320 calories an hour. This explains why after a day of painting we are a little stiff the next day. 😀
Check out more Saturday Snapshots at Alyce’s At Home With Books.

The Shining by Stephen King (Shine On Read-A-Long)

Published on March 1, 2013March 1, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)27 Comments

Ok, here is how this happened. I was nosing around Jill (Softdrink) Fizzy Thoughts blog last month and seen she was hosting a read-a-long for The Shining. THE SHINING! A movie I had seen forever ago but had never read the book. And if that wasn’t enough… oh yes, she offered more…. Jill offered to send these snazzy glasses to anyone who cared to join her on this journey to the Overlook Hotel (insert spooky music here).

Well… of course I was in.

For those of you who don’t know the basic story line, here it is… Sheila style:

Jack Torrance applies to be the winter custodian for the Overlook Hotel in Colorado. Jack who is trying to make amends for many things (being Jack for one) looks at this as a chance for he and his family to get a bit of a fresh start as the Overlook is quite empty during the winter months, hard to get to even by snowmobile and communication to the outside world – even by phone is not reliable.

Although Jack is warned of the dangers of being so isolated for months at a time, he jumps at the chance to take the job. He is a recovering alcoholic, a want to be play writer, and time with his wife and young son Danny might just be, in Jack’s mind anyway, the cure to all his problems.

The Overlook Hotel carries past haunts of its own, having been the scene of hideous murders. Being trapped anywhere for months on end is probably not cool, but a large spooky hotel with corridors you do not want to go down and of course that creepy room #237 is enough to drive anyone a little crazy… like Jack for instance…

As time passes Jack becomes more and more distant, pulling away from his already fragile family and in the end… well lets just say Jack… is not the nicest guy on the planet. In fact… he is a little nutters. You can blame the hotel if you want to but I think Jack was packing peanuts before he ever arrived at the Overlook.

My book thoughts. While it was fun to read the book that brought on one of Stephen Kings most famous movies, I don’t think I would have got into it the book as much had I not had already seen the movie. The Jack in the book did not come across as frightening as Jack Nichols did as Jack in the movie. (I am not a big fan of Jack Nichols acting but I must say… he do do creepy well… and yes, I know… I said do do. 😉 )

The Jack in the book to me came off as a little spineless, a little greasy. His demons owned him, obviously but he couldn’t go peacefully into the night… no, he has to take his wife and child with him.

Yes it was creepy, the topiary hedges I remember in the movie but seemed to play an even larger role here in the book, I think I even got a little chill while reading about them.

In my high school years I read a lot of King and as I moved into my twenties I left him for a lighter version by moving on to Dean Koontz, and then eventually lighter yet to Harlan Coben (who I still love and read everything he writes). While I used to devour Kings books, The Shining was not one I had read and I am glad to say that I have now.

I just read this morning on Jill’s blog that a sequel (WHAT????) is coming of the Shining called Dr. Sleep, which will have to do with Danny (the little boy in the book) all grown up. EEP. Now I am even more happy that I read this one as knowing there was a sequel coming I would have had to pick this one up first. (Unwritten Sheila rule).

If you are interested in doing a read-a-long, pop over to Fizzy Thoughts where up for March is Little Women. I already have picked this up on audio and I am in… all in. I wonder what I can do for that picture… perhaps a bonnet? 😆

Final thoughts on The Shining: It was good, not great. A fairly fast read and has peaked my interest in King again. I may need to rent the movie for the full effect.

Morning Meanderings… March! Need to pick up the pace :)

Published on March 1, 2013March 1, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)7 Comments

Whoa! Is anyone else looking at their calendar and wondering what happened to February? 😯 It just flew by right? On one hand I am thinking “YAY!!! We are close to Spring and grass and bike rides and gardens!” On the other hand I am thinking “Holy smokes. I am behind on book reviews, I have big projects coming up I need to get going on…”

😛

So yeah, if you know me you probably look at that above paragraph and think, “Yeah, that’s sounds about right for you… nothing really different from any other month, or year… ” And honestly… you would be right. 😀

Today I have a little to do list I will be working on. Normally a day off for me can be like a “free space” on a bingo card and I can let myself veg out, lay low, read, or watch a movie… while that may happen later today- it is not going to be the norm anymore. I have made myself a little check list for the day:

1. I needed to write my month 2 Challenge post for the 12K Challenge and recap for month 1. (Done!)

2. I wanted to put up this post (Done!)

3. I need to write my Shine On post for the reading of The Shining. (Done!)

4. I need to connect with the Lodge today and see if they will host our September Wine and Words Library fundraiser so I have something to share with the Friends of The Library at our meeting on Monday.

5. I have lunch with friends at 1:00.

6. I need to pop into the library and reset the Book Clubs window for March

7. Pay my cell phone bill. (Done!)

8. Do a little shopping.

9. End of month wrap up post here.

10. Get in a work out.

There is more I need to do, could do – but I am not putting it on me today. If I can get this done I am happy. 😀 Another goal for this month is to get back to my visiting other blogs. I miss it 😀

Ok – better get moving!