Category: Book Stuff

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)106 Comments

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.


Last weeks winner (using Random.Org) was:

Michelle from The True Book Addict

Congratulations!  Please choose an item out of the PRIZE BOX (new items added!) and email me your choice with your mailing address as well!   journeythroughbooks@gmail.com


Another whirlwind of a week.  I completed a second bike tour, have book club in two days already and can not believe BEA (Book Expo America) is in two weeks and I will be going to New York for the first time ever!!!  *Squee with excitement!

Everything seems to be happening so fast and as I sit here making this post I admit… I am a bit overwhelmed.


Here is what took place here in the last seven days


Caught by Harlan Coben (review of this one on audio and I think I may have goofed and should have read the book!)


Life In Spite Of Me by Kristen Jane Anderson – 2 copies to give away!


A Distant Melody by Sarah Sundin (Review)


I have a wee bit of Gilmore Girls attack…

Dead End Gene Pool by Wendy Burden ( a look into the lives of the Vanberbilt’s as told by a granddaughter)


The Arrival by Shaun Tan ( my first graphic read and I highly – HIGHLY recommend!)


The Girl She Used To Be by David Cristofano (Review will be posted after our Tuesday book club)


Would you believe everything I said I was finishing last week I am still working on?


Kite Runner on audio…. I thought I would finish it easy with my trip to the cities and back and I did listen to it all the way but am on cd 8 of 11……


House Rules I am listening to while cleaning house and while I get ready in the am and thought for sure I would be done… but even listening to it today for hours, it is not complete.


Columbine by Dave Cullen – I was going to finish this my night in the hotel before the bike ride and forgot to bring it!

But… they are almost complete so I do have a few things on brew for this week…

A little Minnesota mystery is in store this week and I am excited to dig into John’s book!

The next book out of the library sale treasure box.  This one will be read and then passed on to its new owner, Jackie (Ever Expanding Library)!  Looks spooky doesn’t it?

And finally – I am making my way to book three in the Michael Sullivan series and will then give my review of these amazing books as well as chat with author Michael Sullivan with what is to come.

So that’s the plan – I am excited to see what you are reading as well so please be sure to use the Linky and connect your Monday What Are You Reading post!  😀



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In My Mailbox

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)40 Comments

Another week, another mailbox.  This is where I record the books that came into my home this week.  They are books that came for review, from the library, and purchased.  Thanks to Kristi at Story Siren for hosting this weekly meme.

I had a light mailbox this week.


For review I received:

Yes I received this book for review last week and then this week two more came.  This means – GIVEAWAY!!!

A new one for review!

Library Loot

I have already completed this one.  So interesting to read about why people think books should be banned.  Review will be up later this week.

Last week I received Tom’s new book, The Secret Speech.  I wanted to read this one first as it was recommended by a friend last year.

Purchased

If you follow this blog on a regular basis you are probably aware that this time of year I participate n quite a few bike tours.  This morning I participated in a very cold one for MS in Maplewood Minnesota…. my treat to myself on the drive home was a stop at my Mother Ship – Barnes and Noble.

I haven’t read Mary Jane Clark in years.  Today I seen this lovely book an B & N for 6.99.

This was also at B & N on the bargain tables.  A beautiful journal that I am going to use for my book club notes.  I just love to write!  😀


Thats my mailbox!  What did you get in yours this week?

Morning Meanderings

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)32 Comments


Good morning all.  This morning Coffee Cup and I are in Maplewood Minnesota and I am up and about as prepared as I am going to be for the MS bike ride this morning.

Current temperature:  36 degrees (weather man says it feels like 27 degrees)

Chance of rain this morning with 15 to 20 MPH winds.

Percentage of  craziness I am feeling right now:  about 92% and rising.

I drove up to Maplewood last night and once I arrived I realized the book I was planning on finishing last night (Columbine) is still sitting on my kitchen counter at home.  Right where I put it when I was packing the car to go.  I never am without a book so last night was odd and I finally just went to sleep.

Current time is 6:52 am and the ride starts at 7:30.  I had better take off and see if I can find my team.  I am seriously going to need other crazy people to motivate me to ride today.  At this point I am planning on doing the 30 unless there is a real gung-ho group that encourages me to do the 60.  I think the weather is going to knock me on my butt on this one.

Anyway – I will post an update tonight when I post my In My Mailbox post…. after I am back in Brainerd…. home… and safe…. and WARM.  🙂

Have a great day everyone.  If you are planning on doing anything crazy (even tackling cleaning out a closet works), let me know so I can feel as though I am in good company.  🙂

Winner of My Next Read

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)16 Comments


Thank you to everyone who participated in my Choose The book I Read Next post.  This has turned out to be a great way to read the books I purchased at the library sale and then to pass the book on to one of you.  This is the second time I have listed the book sale books.  Ryan at Wordsmithonia won the first time around and picked Titanic 2012 which turned out to be a wonderful read!

Now…. using random.org, a new winner had been chosen:

Jackie!!!

Jackie’s comment was:  Phew! What a list…  I narrowed it down to about 10 in my head, lol. I think after your review of The Bride Collector that The Boneman’s Daughter would be a good pick :-)


So There it is.  Boneman’s Daughter comes out of the box and will be read as soon as I get a chance to and then sent to Jackie.  Once I have this book complete I will post the books again and we will go for round three!

Thanks everyone who participated and congratulations Jackie!  Please email me your shipping address  (journeythroughbooks@gmail.com) and I will prepare the envelope for the book to be shipped!  😀

Morning Meanderings

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)34 Comments


Good morning.  I had a terrible crummy day yesterday.  I had a large project due for an important meeting taking place at 6 pm and it just did not come together as quickly as I had hoped.  I get off work at 3 and was watching the sun come out in the afternoon and I was excited to get in an afternoon bike ride.  Missing all of Tuesday had put me behind and I thought I could still do it in time, but life happens, the internet went down, the printer quit working, it was a busy office day and at 6 pm, I was still finishing up the project.

At 6 pm, we also had dinner plans across town with friends.  Needless to say – we were late.  We got there at 6:40.  I would describe myself as haggard.

Ever notice how time with friends can heal anything?  Within 15 minutes I feel myself relaxing, we are laughing, catching up and although I feel like I am 50 years older and so tired I could lay my head at the restaurant table, I had a fantastic time.

So….  today I am watching the weather… it is supposed to snow today and tonight I am supposed to be heading to Maplewood Minnesota for tomorrows bike ride.  I am trying to be optimistic.  😀

Todays forcast:

Today

Rain in the morning…then rain or snow in the afternoon. Snow accumulation around an inch. Highs 40 to 45. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph.

Tonight:  Cloudy. Snow likely in the evening…then a chance of snow after midnight. Snow accumulation of 2 to 3 inches. Total snow accumulation 3 to 4 inches. Lows 30 to 35. with winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 70 percent.

But tomorrow – here and Maplewood is supposed to be partly sunny and 50’s.  I would prefer full sun and 65… but you know…

I am off to the gym now, need to work off the rest of yesterdays stress and get on with my day.  In a few hours I will post the books choice someone chose for me on the Choose The Book I Read next post.  It’s not to late to put in your two cents if you havent already 🙂


Dead End Gene Pool by Wendy Burden

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)31 Comments

Book Journey Traveled to: New York!!!

If in the area, be sure to check out Creekside Books and Coffee

288 pages

Cover Story:  Is an A+.  The cover is relevant to the book and gives you a hint of what you are about to be in for.


For generations the Burdens were one of the wealthiest
families in New York, thanks to the inherited fortune of
Cornelius “The Commodore” Vanderbilt. By 1955, the
year of Wendy’s birth, the Burdens had become a clan
of overfunded, quirky and brainy, steadfastly chauvinistic,
and ultimately doomed bluebloods on the verge of financial
and moral decline-and were rarely seen not holding a drink.
In Dead End Gene Pool, Wendy invites readers to meet her
tragically flawed family, including an uncle with a fondness for
Hitler, a grandfather who believes you can never have enough
household staff, and a remarkably flatulent grandmother.

º         º          º         º

Author Wendy Burden's Grandparents going to a costume party

Dipping a toe into the shallow end of this book, I entered slowly, having no background information to the Vanderbilt’s or the Burdens.  The water is warm…

Cornelius Vanderbilt died in 1877 leaving behind a fortune of 167 million dollars.  All of this was left to his only son, William who after doubling this astronomical amount of money, died 8 years later.  This book, written by Wendy Burden ( the great- great -great grand daughter of Cornelious) is about growing up with a family surrounded by great wealth, and great dysfunction.

Wendy’s father had committed suicide when she was 6, and her mother who could not be burdened with children left the three children in the care of a nanny, while she traveled everywhere looking for the perfect tan.

Wendy Burden writes this memoir with a witty and humorous pen.  I get a little sense of Jeanette Walls memoir of Glass Castles, but this is not as horrifying.   An interesting look into a family that battles drugs and alcohol issues, a lifestyle that few of us would know – but after reading Wendy’s book and eye-popping realities of at times what I can only describe as “gag inducing”, it is remarkable that Wendy came out the other side as well as she did.


About The Author

Wendy Burden is a confirmed
New Yorker who, to her constant
surprise, lives in Portland, Oregon.
She is the great-great-great-great
granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt,
which qualifies her to comment freely on
the downward spiral of blue blood families.
She has worked as an illustrator, a zookeeper,
and a taxidermist; and as an art director for
a pornographic magazine from which she was
fired for being too tasteful. She was also the
owner and chef of a small French restaurant,
Chez Wendy. She has yet to attend mortuary
school, but is planning on it.

This is a review copy from TLC Book Tours

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)26 Comments


Good morning Meandering readers!  Hope you day is off to a good start!  Yesterday I was at lunch with a group of fellow office staff and my boss said I was the Queen of conversation links.  Meaning, I can take a piece of conversation and run with it in a different direction.  Could be the multi tasker in me…. could be the coffee…  it is the way I am wired.

Words always have triggered other thoughts for me… either movie quotes, past conversations, or pictures just come to mind. I switch gears quickly – much like my fictional hero, Lorelai from Gilmore Girls.



Hope your day is super fab awesome!  I am still battling poor weather conditions here and even heard there was a chance for snow over the weekend.  Are you kidding me????  SNOW in May?  GAH!

That makes me a little annoyed. 😉

How is your week going?

Life In Spite Of Me by Kristen Jane Anderson – Giveaway!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)55 Comments

I am so excited to be a part of this upcoming blog tour that will take place between May 17 – 21st.  In the mean time, I have two new copies of this beautiful book to offer to me readers!  I will announce to winners using random.org, when I post my review between those dates so enter now 😀

◊

Kristen Anderson thought she had the picture perfect life until strokes of gray dimmed her outlook on life. Once a happy child, Kristen’s world darkened after 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 depression that didn’t seem to have a bottom.

One January night, the seventeen-year-old made a decision: 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.

Amazingly, Kristen survived her suicide attempt… but the 33 freight cars that ran over her severed her legs. Now she not only had to deal with depression; she also had to face the physical pain and life without legs.

But Kristen’s story didn’t end there. After her darkest days Kristen discovered a real purpose for living. Now, in her compelling book Life, In Spite of Me, Kristen shares her journey from despair to hope.

Includes letters from Kristen that share messages she wishes someone would have told her—when she was depressed and struggling with loss, shame from sexual abuse, and suicidal thoughts.

◊

On May 11, 2010, watch Life, In Spite of Me author, Kristen Jane Anderson, interview on Life Today, hosted by James and Betty Robison. During the interview, Kristen will discuss her failed suicide attempt, the injuries that resulted and the hope she found through faith.

To find a station in your area, click here.


How To Enter this Giveaway

Leave a comment here letting me know what is it about this book that makes you want to read it.

Want more chances to win?  BONUS!!!

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 between May 17 – 23, whenever I post my review of this book.  USA and Canada entrants only please.

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)28 Comments


Hmmmm….. the best laid plans.

I am up super early this morning as I have super pinky sweared my friend Jennifer that I would take the 5:45 am Group Power class with her at the YMCA.  For those of you who have been on the super pinky swear club…. you know that is serious stuff.  🙂

When I agreed to do this on Monday afternoon I was fully awake and energized and of course it sounded like a good idea then… now..

not so much.

Well, the point was that if I took my class this morning instead of the 4:15 time I usually do, then if the weather was decent – I may actually have time to get in a bike ride in the later afternoon.  That is the method behind my madness.


So why am I grumbling about best laid plans?  Yesterday I had big dreams of putting up an afternoon review and then giveaway winners in the evening.  That is not how it went at all.  Instead I did not get my review post ready… had a super busy day at work… ran a couple of errands and caught up with my friend Wendy for rollerblading at 4, home by 5:15 pm… making super, played a game of cribbage with Al, cleaned up after supper, watched Biggest Loser (which I LOVE), answered some emails, worked on my blog book journey map…. and well…. around midnight had to say that’s all folks.

Perhaps today will have a better outlook.  One can only hope 🙂

As for bookish happenings… I am crying my way through Columbine, laughing and enthralled in the audio of House Rules, and deeply involved in the CD’s of Kite Runner.

I am having a lot of fun with the map though and still have a way to go to catching it up for 2010!

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)27 Comments


I am filled with giddiness….

a. Having a reeling, lightheaded sensation; dizzy.
b. Causing or capable of causing dizziness: a giddy climb to the topmast.
2. Frivolous and lighthearted; flighty.
intr. & tr.v. gid·died, gid·dy·ing, gid·dies

To become or make giddy.

In this case, it would be definition 2.  I am looking outside – not directly for fear it is an illusion….. but I seriously am seeing a cloudless day… and I think, I am almost (almost) positive that is the sun.

The weather since Friday has been less than delightful.  Mainly heavy dark clouds, rain sporadically throughout the days and night.  And cold.  Did I mention it was cold?  Hovering around 40 – 50 degrees.

Today looks…. rollerblading worthy.  Or bike worthy…. but I am probably going to go with rollerblading as my Durango needs to have the brakes looked at and that is my “bike hauling” machine.  I need the Durango ready to go by Friday as that is when I need to drive tot he cities for my next bike ride, a mini version of the MS 150 I am doing in June.  This one is the MS 60, a 30 or 60 mile route, and I am soooooo hopeful the weather is good so I can do the planned 60 miles.

Yesterday I took my first indoor cycling class at the gym.  I loathe stationary bikes.  I always feel like I am going to fall off of them….  I did a 30 minute class of intense biking that  make me sweat (and really, I do not under normal circumstances sweat).  There is no comparison to road biking and stationary bikes.  I can honestly say the stationary bike is more of a workout.  And that is why I will haul myself to the class again with a plastered smile on my face.

Anyway, I am all hyped up on coffee and apparently rambling and need to get ready for work.  I hope to have a review up this afternoon…  I really need to so I can keep up on my reviews.  🙂