Last weekend I went with fellow Bookie and awesome friend Amy to the Muckfest in Wisconsin. This is an annual mud run to raise money for MS… my 3rd time doing this one, her second. We brought with us two rookies…. Jennifer and Jody who did MARVELOUS!
For this weeks Saturday Snapshot I thought I would bring you some of our pictures from that muddy event.
Check out other Saturday Snapshots from West Metro Mommy Reads. You never know what people are taking pictures of 🙂
Twelve year old Devin is ill prepared for what to do when his Grandpa suddenly passes away. They lived on a farm, one of the precious few left in the dystopian type world of despair, drought, and destruction. When Devin leaves the farm to go and find help in the direction that his Grandpa had always told him to go in the case of needing help, he instead finds wild kids of his own age without the skills or the care that he was nurtured in.
When Devin and a new friend Kit, hear about the Gabriel H. Penn Home for Childhood, a place that is said to be filled with others their age, lots of food and great accommodations, they hurry on to find this place that sounds too good to be true. As the old adage says…. if something sounds too good to be true…
it probably is.
I was impressed with this Middle Grade (MG) style audio book. The One Safe Place gives a modern and possibly creepier feel to the old Hansel and Gretel story… and as I write this I think this is more like a dystopian version of that story – obviously with a modern twist that helps it hold its own.
I enjoyed this audio of a strange world of survival at any cost. I also like that instead of the usual YA (16-20) characters that are often found in this type of read, they targeted it to a younger group who I think will really enjoy the feel of the book aimed at the MG readers. Nicely played Tania Unsworth.
Mark Turetsky was the narrator for this book and I think that may be my only unfortunate take away is that the narration felt as though someone was reading to me. I personally like to fall inside an audio book, forgetting about the narration and immersing in the world the author has created. The fact that I found myself thinking of the narration while listening to this book shows that did not happen. Narration was pleasant, do not get me wrong, and I know that it is certainly a skill that I do not have, but that is my take away.
Middle Grade listeners and readers will enjoy this perfect level of age appropriate creepy.
I
am
ridiculous.
Where did I ever get the idea that life would slow down once I decided to work from home? What a total nut bar am I! Here I am this morning breaking my own rules of calling people before 8 am because I need to.
The Library sale is this week and my crew that was lined up to pull books this Saturday is now unavailable to do so. I just found this out late yesterday afternoon. I have been emailing and making phone calls to come up with the plan “B” which I think is solved but just need confirmation. EGADS.
I have today and through the weekend to really work on the touches on my book if I am going to be able to be ready to submit by August 13th. The jury is still out on that one…but I am trying and plan to do my best to lock myself in the house the next few days to get er’ done.
Monday we put together the Wine and Words baskets here in my home and I have a meeting to plan the room layout.
Tuesday and Wednesday is book sale set up and Thursday Friday Saturday is the book sale.
The following week is Wine and Words – I need to prep the chalkboard doors. I have signs to make. There is much yet to do but the sponsors are in place, the brochure will be ready and the teams are all set for the event so event day will be smooth.
ONCE August is over, I think things will return to a simmer of normalcy and if I have anything to say about it… maybe even a little quieter than normal. It just seems that everything was suddenly loaded in to August.
Sigh. Bear with me. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. I am sure of it. 🙂
Tell me something crazy going on in your life.. it will make me smile. CRAZY loves company.
Talk about your hot messes.
When the Pirriwee Public Schools Annual Trivia Night ends, no one who was there will ever be the same. People are hurt. Some have broken bones… and one parent is dead.
Second marriage Madelaine Mackenzie is 40 years old. She has the clothes, the style, and the attitude. By all appearances she can hold her own but deep down inside she hurts when her teenage daughter prefers her remarried fathers company to Mackenzie’s.
Celeste is by anyone’s description; beautiful. She is the type of woman that most of us would not want to stand too close to for fear of being compared and found wanting. She has two adorable twin boys and what seems to be the perfect marriage to Perry… but behind closed doors it is becoming more and more apparent that things are not as perfect as one would think.
Jane is the fairly new in town single mom to the sweet boy Ziggy. She is working hard to fit in with the other women, but holds tight to keeping the secret of Ziggy’s father a closed conversation.
As the police start their investigation of the happenings at the Trivia Night that Madelaine, Celeste and Jane all attended, they find out a lot more than they had initially anticipated. What started out looking like an accident… may have been cold blooded murder.
SQQQQUUUEEEEE! Let’s just get that out of the way now. This book is totally SSSQQQUUUEEEE worthy! I LOVED it. I have listened to all of Liane Moriarty’s books on audio and get a thrill every time. Narrator Caroline Lee (who also narrated The Husband’s Secret) is PERFECT for this style of book. Her distinct voices between the characters and her amazing animated ways made this a true delight to listen to and I did not want to stop!
Fantastic story line, wonderful three dimensional characters and all mixed in with an important topic made this listen a huge WIN. Do not miss out on this one – in book or audio it is sure to be fantastic! I wish Author Liane Moriarty could write faster, I am already jonesing for her next book. 🙂
Emily Beam is in a Boarding School for girls in Massachusetts. It is probably due to the fact that her once boyfriend Paul came into the school with a stolen gun and threatened Emily and then took his own life. It is probably due to the pregnancy.
Now Emily, left with the guilt of ending the relationship and the anger for feeling guilty. She is not quick to make friends with her dark personality but soon finds that a couple of the girls just won’t shake off so easy. While Emily is not sharing her tragic story with anyone, it slowly comes out in her writing and her poetry. As Emily seeks for solace in the once home of Emily Dickinson that is open for tours just down the street from the boarding school… together it seems the two Emily’s – one in flesh and one in spirit heal together in this strange and uncertain world.
I chose this book initially for two reasons. One, I love that Emily Dickinson is part of the story and that they put the home that she wrote in close to where Emily Beam stays. Two, I adore this cover… a cover like this – could go many directions but I see a closed off, angry and uncertain girl who at the same time is trying hard to look like she is holding it all together.
I can not say I loved this book. The topics are heavy from teen pregnancy, to suicide, to abortion. I listened to this book on audio and at a little under 6 hours, it just felt too heavy for my liking. Emily was not a character I felt for, most of the characters fell flat, to the point that other than the main character and the boyfriend Paul, I could not name another character int he book right now if I needed to.
This book may be a better fit for young adults, but I question if even they too would find it heavy and not of the quality and engagement of much on today’s YA reads. The book had potential but never quite found it.
Narration by Erin Spenser was very good.
Hey there! Welcome to It’s Monday, What Are You Reading!
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. Fair warning… this meme tends to add to your reading list! 😉
CRAZY busy week…. which is funny… I did not anticipate it being that busy. Last weekend my son and I worked on setting up my home office – I put the finishing touches on it today:
Then I spent the week between Library commitments, Wine and Words planning, and working on the book. On Friday I left for Wisconsin with friends to do the Mud Run on Saturday for MS, and then headed to Crosslake Minnesota where I stayed overnight Saturday to Sunday for the AIDS bike Ride Fundraiser which I am on the board of. *whew*
Sunday afternoon I worked a bit on the book, cleaned up my house, and prepped for a meeting I have tomorrow with the Friends Of The Brainerd Library. Here is what I managed to post this past week:
I have a few books yet to write reviews for and I think a couple more Brown Bag Authors. For this week the plan is:
Penobscot Indian Molly Ayer is close to “aging out” out of the foster care system. A community-service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping Molly out of juvie and worse….
As she helps Vivian sort through her possessions and memories, Molly learns that she and Vivian aren’t as different as they seem to be. A young Irish immigrant orphaned in New York City, Vivian was put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance. Molly discovers that she has the power to help Vivian find answers to mysteries that have haunted her for her entire life – answers that will ultimately free them both.
Not only is this our book club read for this month but the author will be speaking in town here on the day of our book club meeting so we are all going out to dinner and then to see the author speak. Yippy!
Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?).Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.Listening to this currently and really enjoying it!
Lauren Elliott has waited years for her long-term boyfriend, Todd, to propose, yet he seems more focused on his career than their relationship. When Lauren learns that her younger sister is pregnant before she herself even has an engagement ring, she feels overjoyed yet disheartened. Knowing she can’t put her future on hold, Lauren prepares to make a bold choice—one that leads her to a man she never dreamed she’d meet.
Newly married to her second husband, Max, Bethanne Scranton is blissfully in love. But with Max’s job in California and Bethanne’s in Seattle, their long-distance marriage is becoming difficult to maintain. To complicate matters, Bethanne’s cunning ex will do anything to win her back.
Lydia Goetz, too, is wonderfully happy with her husband, Brad, though lately she worries about the future of A Good Yarn. As she considers how to bring in business, she discovers that someone has beaten her to the punch. Baskets of yarn are mysteriously popping up all over town, with instructions to knit a scarf for charity and bring it into Lydia’s store. Never before has her shop received so much attention, but who hatched this brilliant plan?
Started this one in the car and really am getting into it!
Still finishing up California (I know… I know….)
So what are you reading this first week of August? What did you finish up July with? Please share your Its Monday What Are You Reading using the link below where it says click here. I am curious about what your choices are as head into Fall!
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I am home. Wiped out. Tired. Lots to do. Home.
Friday I drove with my friend Amy to a hotel in the cities to meet up with Jennifer and Jody, the other two girls that we were doing the mud run in Wisconsin with on Saturday morning. It was a lot of fun and I will have pics up later of the mud run – we use old school disposable camera’s because.. well it’s mud. And lots of water we jump in, swim in… and well, more mud.
Then… after the Mud Run we drove to Shakopee Minnesota to drop Amy off with friends for Canterbury Downs (horse races!) and I hurried home to shower, change, pack, and head to Crosslake Minnesota for day two of the Camp Benedict AIDS bike ride. I did not ride as I had missed day one and did not want to have my car and bike and have to figure out how to get the car back home, 40 miles away. I did go to cheer on the riders and spend time with friends. I was tired but it was good to catch up with everyone and I seen them off this morning as they started their ride.
So now I am home and need to get in my office and get some work done. I have work to do on the book and I need as much time as possible in the office this week to make the deadline coming up. Here are the books that came in the house the past two weeks:
I was out of town last weekend so did not put a post up – but lots of goodies have come in the door!
A full house here but books make me smile 🙂 Hope the rest of your Sunday is wonderful!
You may recognize her from being the best friend in the movie 13 Going On 30. She was also a friend in 27 Dresses. She had a supporting role in What Women Want, Carrie, Playing For Keeps, The Descendants, The Wedding Planner. She has had tv show appearances such as Modern Family, ER, House MD, My Name Is Earl, CSI Miami, Two and a Half Men, and more… so much more.
Judy Greer is always in the role of best friend, co-worker, the neighbor… the walk on part. While you may recognize her from something… Judy Greer laughs at the fact that she is often unable to place, and often, identified incorrectly.
From fun moments (or… not so fun moments) at the Oscars, wardrobe malfunctions, a famous actor giving her father a Harley Davidson, behind the scenes and more.
Many of the movies that Judy Greer has been in I have seen. While I recognize her and enjoy the parts that she plays, I admittedly, could not have told you her name.
Until now.
Judy Greer’s memoir, I Don’t Know Where You Know Me From, is like sitting with a friend you have not seen in a while and catching up on what is going on in their life. It is light and funny. I listened to this one on audio, narrated by Judy herself, which was fun, and really added to the “sitting and catching up with a friend” feeling. The audio is fairly short, but for this it works… much like hanging out with that friend – you do not want them to ramble on and on about themselves to the point that you do not want to see them for a while. 😉 That does not happen here. Judy leaves you with just enough that you are still friends once her book is over and you look forward to whatever you will see her in next, so you can say – “That, is Judy Greer. She is funny and versatile, you need to read her book.”
Friday! And…. August. WHA???? Where is the summer going? I guess my first clue should have been that our County Fair opened this week. I am not a county fair fan ever since the boys were old enough to go on their own with their friends I bowed out of that hot sticky mess. 😉 However, my cousin has a daughter who performs on a horse there, and several friends win awards for their breads, and jams, and vegetables and fruits…. in that sense, it is very Gilmore Girls.
Back to August.
August is actually a FULL month. This afternoon I leave for Wisconsin with my friend for the Mud Run for MS in the morning. And then I come back, clean up tomorrow afternoon and go directly to Crosslake where the first day of the Camp Benedict Bike ride will be taking place. I am on the board for Camp and will be late due to this ride being the same weekend as the mud run. I will stay overnight and help cheer the riders in for day two on Sunday – unsure if I am going to be support team or ride day two…
Then after this weekend August explodes into the church annual picnic baptism, the Fall Book Sale for the Library, a possible Zombie run (oh how I want to but it is soooo far away!), Wine and Words, a cabin weekend with my son, and then our Annual cabin trip with friends for Labor Day weekend.
That….
is August.
It’s good… it’s full…. and drips into September but I will hold off on those details. 🙂
I imagine my reading will possibly be light this month due to the schedule, however I hope to participate in the Austen In August event. Jane Austen is one of those authors I want to spend time with. I think I am supposed to, like we are somehow kindred spirits. Her birth date December 16th, is the birth of my oldest son/first child. The date of her death, July 18th, is my Anniversary. Mmmmm hmmmmm…. I need to read Jane. 🙂 I am thinking perhaps Emma. I think I have that one on my Classic shelf.
Have you read Austen? What have you read? What did you think?
Thirty-three year old Shea Rigsby lives and breathes football in Walker Texas, and had been a super fan all of her life. She grew up in this very town alongside her best friend Lucy Carr, whose father was the Head Coach for the Walker Team, and whose mother Connie was good friends with Shea’s mom.
When tragedy hits the Carr family, Shea finds her world turning upside down. She starts to wonder about the feelings she is having for a man…. a man who just happens to be the father of her best friend.
I have read and enjoyed author Emily Giffin’s fun style of writing in the past. Her characters are usually light and fun, and you know what fun you are in for with her books.
The one and Only is a different style for Emily Giffin. At least, I should say, from what I have read of her books. The One and Only dealt with a topic that I personally struggled with, and no, I don’t mean football. 😉
I had a hard time connecting with the book and the characters. As a protagonist, I never connected with Shea, there was not much to her beyond football. I don’t mind football books, but I never felt a connection to Shea or any of the characters for that matter.
The book is a fair read and I did finish it as I was curious about how it all would end. I listened to it on audio. The narrator, Sophia Willingham was a great voice for the story and I enjoyed her narration.
Book Journey 