Category: Book Stuff

Still here.  It is funny to think that when I started Book Journey I was writing almost every day if not every day.  Those of you who have been with me during those years can probably remember those times.  Then I went to almost twice a day when I started the Morning Meanderings… and then usually a bookish conversation same day.  I used to visit a minimum of 20 blogs a day and comment.

I remember Justin once had a college project where he was asked to visit 20 blogs and comment and he thought it was so painful and asked me how I could do it day after day….  I found it at that time to be easy… it was fun to check in on topics you enjoy and connecting with fellow blogger with the same interests.

I am so thankful for those days.

Through the years.. things have changed.  Some book reviewer/bloggers that I really enjoyed reading, hung it up.  Many, including myself, slowed down.

And that brings me to my post today.

Looking at my last post here in March – it is safe to say I did not just slow down… I all but stopped.  My life over the past few years has changed as many of you know, and more recently – taking on a full time Marketing job, being active in the community and in adventures has slowed my reading time and even more so slowed my discussing of books and blogging.

But I miss it.

Over this past weekend I worked diligently on an idea that has been buzzing around my brain for awhile now.  I created a new website.  I want to write.  I miss writing… I am just a little more diverse now than Book Journey was created for.  I am reading, however I am also biking, planning and attending events, trying to get my life right in many ways, and still grieving in ways I sometimes want to talk about and share.

I created the website I Guess I Am Doing This and I am sooooooo hopeful that you will join me there – reading and following and commenting when you can.  I would like that very much.  I think it has a little something for everyone… and yes, I am still talking books 🙂

Book Journey will remain here as I have no intention of giving up on this site.  It has so much history within its pages… so much of me and how I have grown as a writer and a review since those early days… and maybe someday this will be the fit again.

Anyhoo.  Come and fly with me.  I would love it.

Thank you to everyone who sent in your first book pics of the year.  This is absolutely one of my favorite posts to put up each year and the fact that it is the first post each year….  even better.

The following are the pictures that came in from around the world of what people have chosen as their first book of the year.  For me… it was a huge deal trying to pick what I wanted to read and when I found it… I was thrilled and will be listening to it this morning on audio while I drive to the first run of the year.  (Hint in the pics below I am wearing a penguin hat)

Below everyone’s pics I have listed the areas in which these pictures came in from and under that the books that were chosen.  If you missed out, and still want to send your picture and first book in – please email me today at journeythroughbooks@gmail.com including where you live and I will add these pictures tomorrow.

Thank you again to everyone and Happy New Year.

Pics are from:  Alabama, Arkansas, Australia, Bermuda, California, Canada, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, New Zealand, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Scotland, Tennessee, Texas, UK, Virginia, Washington DC, Wisconsin and Wyoming

First Books:

Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

Just Between Us by Rebecca Drake

Left Neglected by Lisa Genova

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

Fitness Junkie by Lucy Sykes

Into The Water by Paula Hawkins

The Hearts Invisible Furries by John Boyne

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Mrs. Fletcher by Tom Perrotta

The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett

The Sandcastle by Iris Murdock

Breaking Free by Rachel Jeffs

A Distant Heart by Sonali Dev

The Wake Up by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson

Ginger Snapped by Gail Oust

Wonder by RJ Palacio

The Promise Between Us by Barbara Claypole White

Copy Cat by Alex Lake

Jack Reacher The Midnight Line by Lee Child

Sourdough by Robin Sloan

Every Breath You Take by Mary Higgins Clark

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Little French Bistro by Nina George

Still Me by Jojo Moyes

Bear Town by Fredrich Backman

The Power by Naomi Alderman

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

Tremontaine by Ellen Kushner

The Papers of Tony Veitch by William McIivanney

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

Curse on the Land by Faith Hunter

Degrees of Love by Lisa Slabach

Killers Of The Flower Moon by David Grann

The Leavers by Lisa Ko

My Antonia by Willa Cather

A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms by George RR Martin

Freya by Matthew Lawrence

The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore by Kim Fu

The Chalk Man by CJ Tudor

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks

American War by Omar El Akkad

Palo Duro by Max Knight

American Indians American Presidents

Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck

The Reminders by Val Emmich

The African Trilogy by Chinua Achebe

Year One by Nora Roberts

Reset Reset Reset by Ellen Pao

The Mayflower Bride by Kimberly Woodhouse

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly

Crown of Stars by Sophie Jaff

180 Seconds by Jessica Park

Jacqueline Willoughby by Schuyler Randall

The World To Come by Dara Horn

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Those who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante

All The Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

White Bodies by Jane Robins

Tell Me More by Kelly Corrigan

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

I liked My Life by Abby Fabiaschi

Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda

Origin by Dan Brown

Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage by Hugh Brewster

Faithful by Alice Hoffman

The Listener by Robert McCammom

What If God Wrote Your To Do List by Jay Payleitner

The One Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith

In the Moment by Karen Kingsbury

Fifth year.  I LOVE First book so much.  This tradition for me goes further back than the 5 years I have opened up to the reading world here on Book Journey.  I am THRILLED to be doing it again and thank you to those who have messaged me to ask.

The answer is…

Of course we are doing it.

Here is what First Book is.  The first book of the New Year should be:

A.  A coveted book that you have wanted to read but have just not found the time.

B.  A delicious favorite… one you have read before, but crave to read again.

C.  Really whatever you want it to – it is after all YOUR First Book Of the year.

Make it AWESOME.

Then, once you have picked what it will be, email me a picture of you with the book.  This adds to the excitement of the First Book.  On January 1st I will post all the pics in a collage format of all of you around the world that are doing First Book.  Here is some (yes some…  so many participate it is incredible!)  of what came in last year:

Fill out this form – its easy and gives you all the info you need.  I hope you will join in.  Even now I look at these pics from last year and think, ooh…  I need to read that.  🙂  Cant wait to pick mine….cant wait to see what you choose!

It is Christmas morning.  I am sitting here in a very quiet house and I am reflecting on the past year… the past two years…  and how different things are now.

Christmas 2014 was our last Christmas as a full family.  Christmas Eve Justin would be in town and hanging out with me all day while we prepped or today.  No doubt he was wrapping gifts (he could wrap anything!) and seeing friends while he was in town.  In the evening we would have watched Harry Potter movies (I know we did!) and eat junk food, staying up way too late as always.

Christmas day would have brought me making an egg bake and orange cinnamon rolls, the house would smell delicious.  Brad would come over around 10 am and we would eat and then open gifts together.  Hang out for the afternoon playing board games, laughing, and just being together.  I can so clearly see that last Christmas together.

Which brings me to today.

I have a little tree set up on the kitchen table.  This is a step  Last year I did not put up a tree at all.  I wrapped a few gifts last night… also new.  I did not wrap gifts last year.

A few days ago I came across a message I had wrote on Facebook a year ago.  I spoke on how difficult it was to be out in the community because you just never knew what was going to happen.  I referred to it then as land mines…. what people said, what they did, or even the sad look they gave me created an eruption of overpowering emotion in me….  land mines.  And I avoided that situation at all cost.  In fact throughout last winter, I became so worried about the land mines I did my best to never go out into public situations where I might step into one.

I mean why put myself through that?

What caught me most about this year ago message….  was it made me think about those same situations now.  Yes, they still happen.  I still run into people who have not seen me in a while and there is still the question I usually can now answer “how are you?”, and yes still the sad looks especially this time of year, and yes the long hugs which are amazing and break me all at the same time.

However….

and this is where I was surprised…

the world landmine no longer applies.

These situations that a year ago flooded my mind with the need to escape to get away from all these people that know my loss, know my struggle….  now are more of a speed bump then an all out land mine exploding my world again and again.

Please understand me.  I actually LOVE that people still acknowledge my son and acknowledge the incredible loss that it is.  Because – it is.  And I do not want him forgotten or the reality ignored.  Yes… it hurt every day.  However, YES -acknowledge him.  Share your memories of him…  yes tell me that his eyes were like mine because mine are like my moms and that means SO MUCH.  And yes, be real around me.  Honestly – it does still suck.  It hurts like crazy and I just do what I can to be strong and live out even this as well as I can.

Often (like the Ugly Sweater party) I put myself in situations that I know are going to rip me up….  it is hard to be around all of Justin’s friends or be at events that I know he would be as well.  Yet – I have to be a part of that.  To be close to them and their hurt, is a powerful speed bump worth every hard minute of it.  I have no choice…. I have to go.  I have to be with them whenever I can.  They carry keys to my son.  I want to try all the keys and learn all I can.

One young girl at the party came up to me at the end of the night.  She said, “You don’t know me, but you used to work with my mom.  I read what you write on Facebook and I have to tell you that I love you.”.

This.  This.  This.

Tears flow while I type this, but I had to share  – the POWER of this.  The power of knowing what I say, being 100% real and raw, can speak to others.  Wow.

Soon…. Brad and I will go to a movie.  Later, I get to watch him open gifts.  We will eat together as a family….  which is sooooooooo bitter sweet.   Yet I know and I know and I know…. Justin is smiling on us.  He knows how incredibly hard it is for me to do it – but I do.  For all of us.

My message to you (you knew I had one!) is make the absolute most out of today.  See your Christmas through new eyes.  Whoever you are lucky enough (yes lucky enough) to be with today.  Make it magic.  Love unconditionally.  Let old hurts fade away.  YOU get to decide what you do with today and how it all plays out.  You never know what next year will be like so do not take for granted what you have today.

Merry Christmas my friends.  ♥

LOL.  I do really like this picture of me.  It has just the right dopey relaxed look that I seem to have trouble finding these days.

I also felt this picture was good introduction to today’s post.  LONG over due post by the way…..how does that even happen?  I plan for the post, I picture what the post will include – and then suddenly the day is gone and I have not posted squat.

Not like you would want to see squat.  But you get the picture.

Last week Beth Fish Reads, Florinda, and I were chatting it up on Twitter.  We had completed the Monday share your morning coffee thing and I LOVED it and thought we should do it every Monday.  They liked the idea and somehow that lead into what if it was an open invite and any bloggers could join in – like having coffee together around the world?

That is what I am presenting today.  Anyone who wants to have coffee “together” to start off our week send me a picture of you and your morning coffee, breakfast, energy drink, whatever (but it needs to be a morning theme) to journeythroughbooks@gmail.com by 9 am central time on Monday(s) and I will add you to the Breakfast with the Bloggers post .  Join me… or I will drink me coffee alone and that is just sad.

In other news….. yeah I have had a week and all that activity in the world zaps me these days.  I have pretty much stayed home wince Wednesday and I love it.  I do need to get back on those BEA books though…. so much to share 😉