Book Journey

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on July 6, 2014July 6, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)40 Comments

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!

Another week and now July…. wha? Hold the phone… JULY????? Where is my lovely summer going so fast?

I had a fairly good week, seems like I am listening to audio and reading but between work and helping in the bee yard (more to come about that) I am wiped out hen I get home and writing reviews just seems like too much work. I am currently 5 reviews behind. EEP!

Here is what I was able to post this week:

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedwick (short stories that all tie together in a mystical place)

How To Become A Narrator by Narrator Robert Fass (the last of the narrator interviews and giveaway!)

Preparing for the Queen Event (and a few shots of the Bookies Queen events of the past few years)

The Young World by Weitz (YOWZA!!! This one is going places! LOVED IT!)

Essentialism – The Disciplined Pursuit Of Less by Greg McKeown (this one beat me up…)

The Dinner by Herman Koch (deliciously dangerous….)

This week is a busy one with a Friends Of The Library Meeting, an author event, and a children’s book sale on Thursday and Friday. The weekend should be a little quieter and I hope to be enjoying…

For My Ears

Once again Dorothea Benton Frank takes us deep into the heart of her magical South Carolina Lowcountry on a tumultuous journey filled with longings, disappointments, and, finally, a road toward happiness that is hard earned. There we meet three generations of women buried in secrets. The Lowcountry has endured its share of war and bloodshed like the rest of the South, but this storm season we watch Maisie, Liz, and Ashley deal with challenges that demand they face the truth about themselves.

Started listening to this one today while mowing… LOVE Robin Miles narration of these southern books… AMAZING LISTENING!

The year is 2113. In Jenna Strong’s world, ACID—the most brutal controlling police force in history—rule supreme. No throwaway comment or whispered dissent goes unnoticed—or unpunished. And it was ACID agents who locked Jenna away for life, for a horrendous crime she struggles to remember. But Jenna’s violent prison time has taught her how to survive by any means necessary. When a mysterious rebel group breaks her out, she must use her strength, speed, and skill to stay one step ahead of ACID and try to uncover the truth about what really happened on that terrible night two years ago. They’ve taken her life, her freedom, and her memories away from her. How can she reclaim anything when she doesn’t know who to trust?

For My Eyes

Same things as last week 😉

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The Dinner by Herman Koch

Published on July 6, 2014July 6, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)29 Comments

The Dinner is a deliciously disturbing read that tells the length that some of us will go to protect our children. ~ Sheila

It is a lovely summers eve in Amsterdam and Paul and Claire Lohman are meeting Paul’s brother and his wife for dinner. Paul’s brother, Serge is well on his way to being Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Paul finds his brother to be full of himself and cringes at the thought of spending dinner at a restaurant where everyone will be watching them and treating them like royalty.

But there are bigger things to discuss at dinner.

Each of the two couples have a 15-year-old son and through appetizers to dessert it will become clear that the two boys have been involved in a horrific act involving the death of a homeless woman. Some of the guests at this table know all about it… others are just starting to figure out what happened. Through forced politeness and forks full of delicious food, this family tries to unite on what the right thing to do is…

and are they willing to do it.

I have been wanting to read this book for a while now – since I first heard about it. First of all it is a foodie type book and I do love my foodie books. It is also very intriguing that the entire book is set around this one dinner. Told through flash backs and present time, from pleasant chit-chat around the subject of politics, menu choices, family and then…

We need to talk about our children.

I really enjoyed this book on audio. Narrators Sam Garrett and Clive Mantle were appropriately chilling in their telling of this story that is fed to the reader/listener forkful by forkful. I am glad I listened to it on audio, I feel it gave the story line a higher level of understanding and I especially enjoyed having the story unfold from Paul’s perspective.

Witty and a bit dangerous ( a little bit of a Jo Nesbo tamed down feel)… I did enjoy The Dinner.

Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 8 hours and 55 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: AudioGO
Audible.com Release Date: February 13, 2013

This is probably a stretch but I really want to connect this review to Weekend Cooking over at Beth Fish Reads. 😀 It wasn’t really cooking… but it was foodie and it was listened to over the weekend 😀

Morning Meanderings… Looking Forward to a BOOKISH Week

Published on July 6, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)29 Comments

Good morning Happy Sunday of the 4th of July Weekend! Yesterday was a gorgeous day here in Central Minnesota… light breeze, lots of warm sun and I spent most of the day inside working on the year-end book for book club this week, and house stuff thinking that today I would go out and mow and catch the outdoor stuff. Alas, since 3:00 am it has been thunder storming making it probably an indoor day. *sigh* I should have reversed the projects. 😉

In bookish news, here is what came in the house this week:

Alex the Ant Goes to the Beach by Eric Wayne Dickey

Invisible by James Patterson and Dave Ellis (audiobook)

The Farm by Tom Rob Smith (audiobook)

Shunning Sarah by Julie Kramer (picked up at the Brown Bag author event)

Defector by Susanne Winnacker

The Meta Rise by J.V. Kade

The End Of Absence by Michael Harris

Delivering Death by Julie Kramer (picked up at the Brown Bag author event)

CALIFORNIA by Eden Lepucki

Lots of goodies!

This week I have a crazy book week.

Monday – Friends Meeting in the morning, Brown Bag Author at noon

Tuesday – Bookies Book Club annual Queen event

Thursday – set up and start of Children’s Book Sale

Friday – 2nd day of Children’s Book Sale

Around that I work, will be helping out with the bees, and possibly going to the cabin this next weekend.

Ahhh Summer.

What do you have going on this week? Any bookish events?

Morning Meanderings.. Parades In Small Towns

Published on July 5, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)31 Comments

Good morning! How did everyone survive the 4th of July? We had a fun time with friends but wow… it wiped me out. 😀

As I mentioned yesterday morning, we were going to a parade about 30 miles from here in a town called Hillman Minnesota – population 38. Apparently, I was told, they do an amazing job, and me, not the biggest fan of parades but all about adventure….

was curious. 🙂

For todays Saturday Snapshot, here are pictures from the Hillman Minnesota parade:

Hillman Minnesota, Book JOurney — On our way there we seen this little delight on the road… truly happy 4th celebrators on their way to Hillman!

Hillman Minnesota, parade, Book Journey — My friend’s daughter having a little face painting done before the parade start

The parade was about an hour-long. There was a lot of old cars, souped up trucks, of course – people running for offices – Sheriff, etc…, lots of candy for the kids, and just a good time over all.

Afterwards we went to a friend’s home for hanging out, grilling, and catching up. There were about 14 of us. Al (hubby) and I came home around 6:30 pm, I sat down with a book and promptly fell asleep by 7:30 pm. *embarrassing*

It was a great way to spend the 4th.

Please stop and see other Saturday Snapshots here.

What did you do with your 4th of July?

Essentialism – The Disciplined Pursuit Of Less by Greg McKeown

Published on July 4, 2014July 4, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)4 Comments

Do you ever feel stretched too thin, flitting from one project to the next, feeling over extended and really enjoying nothing because you are already thinking of your next “to do”?

Do you ever feel overworked and underutilized?

Do your days tend to get hijacked by someone else’s agenda?

Do you say yes to fill a need or because you feel you should only to stress and regret it later?

Greg McKeown shares in this enlightening book that you can say no to things – you can do less, feel better about it, and produce a better outcome. It is about regaining control of our own choices where to spend our time and energies instead of giving others permission to do it for us.

Essentialism isn’t one more thing – it’s a different way of doing everything.

First up – I loathe self-help books. I think, probably more accurately I loathe the category “self-help”. It implies (IMO) that we are unable to help ourselves… it makes me personally feel weak-minded. And not to say that there is anything wrong with these books – I just do not like how they are categorized.

This is NOT a self-help book.

This book is a way of tweaking how you do life, and more specifically what you say yes to, and evaluating why you say yes.

Family obligation

you feel if you don’t do it, who will?

There is a need and no one else is offering

It’s not a big commitment

I do all of his… ALL THE TIME. I have turned into a yes person, and it is not all bad – by saying yes to things I have really experienced some awesome things. I do have to admit though I have also taken on too much, been bitter about my commitments, missed out on things I wanted to do because I said yes to something else…. you get the picture.

I wanted to listen to this audio because I find the whole concept interesting. Our world we live in is full of choices and commitments and opportunities… oh my! I can not even imagine how many choices I make in a day.

What Greg is saying in his book, that saying no does not have to be a bad thing. If saying yes to something at work is going to overextend you, make you stay late, put pressure on your other projects – then politely decline. While it may cause irritation in the beginning from those who are used to you saying yes, in the long wrong it will gain your respect.

(for the record I am that person who will say yes, stay late to get it done, be upset with myself because now I have made myself late to whatever was next…. vicious circle!)

I enjoyed listening to this audio. Greg McKeown narrates this himself (great accent!) I did pick up some things from it that I can apply and hope to. I like to learn, and by listening to this audio I did pick up on some tips I can apply to my own life and know that you should say yes…

to the right things 🙂

Publisher: Crown Business

Release date: April 15, 2014

Do you sometimes feel overworked and underutilized?
Do you feel motion sickness instead of momentum?
Does your day sometimes get hijacked by someone else’s agenda?
Have you ever said “yes” simply to please and then resented it?

If you answered yes to any of these, the way out is the Way of the Essentialist.

The Way of the Essentialist involves doing less, but better, so you can make the highest possible contribution.

The Way of the Essentialist isn’t about getting more done in less time. It’s not about getting less done. It’s about getting only the right things done. It’s about challenging the core assumption of ‘we can have it all’ and ‘I have to do everything’ and replacing it with the pursuit of ‘the right thing, in the right way, at the right time’. It’s about regaining control of our own choices about where to spend our time and energies instead of giving others implicit permission to choose for us.

In Essentialism, Greg McKeown draws on experience and insight from working with the leaders of the most innovative companies in the world to show how to achieve the disciplined pursuit of less.

– See more at: http://gregmckeown.com/essentialism-the-disciplined-pursuit-of-less/#sthash.QpirtZky.dpuf

Have you ever found yourself stretched too thin?
Do you sometimes feel overworked and underutilized?
Do you feel motion sickness instead of momentum?
Does your day sometimes get hijacked by someone else’s agenda?
Have you ever said “yes” simply to please and then resented it?

If you answered yes to any of these, the way out is the Way of the Essentialist.

The Way of the Essentialist involves doing less, but better, so you can make the highest possible contribution.

In Essentialism, Greg McKeown draws on experience and insight from working with the leaders of the most innovative companies in the world to show how to achieve the disciplined pursuit of less.

– See more at: http://gregmckeown.com/essentialism-the-disciplined-pursuit-of-less/#sthash.QpirtZky.dpuf

Happy 4th of July! Population: 38 (EEP!)

Published on July 4, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)10 Comments

Good morning! Happy 4th of July to all of us who like to celebrate this day with sitting in the sun, parades, good food, good friends, hanging on the lake – whatever you do 🙂

Today we will be heading out on the motorcycle on our way to Hillman Minnesota. According to our friends, they put on an awesome parade. I just went on-line to see if I could find a picture of Hillman and seen this:

Oh my gosh… that’s HILARIOUS! According to the 2010 census, 15 households and 12 families the city has a total of 0.55 miles.

Well… what a parade this will be! Guess I will be home within the hour… lol

Ok, just kidding, apparently neighboring towns make this the place to be… I will be in contact if this is true 🙂

Anyhoo – enjoy your day however you do the 4th! 😀 In fact, if you will, share with me what you do on the 4th… you know… I may need a new plan in the future. 😉

The Young World by Chris Weitz – AWESOMELY GUSH WORTHY!

Published on July 3, 2014July 3, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)7 Comments

Expect big things from this amazing book… I don’t think this is the last we will hear from Chris Weitz ~Sheila

It has been two very long years since the mysterious virus had wiped out all children and adults leaving only the teens to try to survive in this new unsteady world. In New York as the teenagers have battled for food and space it seems as though it has turned into a city of tribes; each protecting their own.

Jefferson and Donna are part of the Washington Square Tribe. Jefferson the leader by default, and Donna the teenage in-house “doctor”, are finding it harder and harder to come by supplies and food to keep their group going. It is no secret that a tribe without the proper supplies is a weak tribe, and a weak tribe may as well be a dead tribe.

When a member of the group nicknamed “Brainbox” for his skills at coming up with ideas to create electricity and more believes he may have an idea of what has caused virus and may be able to reverse what has happened to the world if he could just look at a book that is in the library way across town, Jefferson, Donna, and another tribe-mate Peter, all join in the cause. Something has to be done before they too die…

but what dangers lie out beyond the sanctuary of their area? And what truths are trying to be protected at any cost?

Welcome to New York, a city ruled by teens.

After a mysterious Sickness wipes out the rest of the population, the young survivors assemble into tightly run tribes. Jefferson, the reluctant leader of the Washington Square tribe, and Donna, the girl he’s secretly in love with, have carved out a precarious existence among the chaos. But when another tribe member discovers a clue that may hold the cure to the Sickness, five teens set out on a life-altering road trip to save humankind.

The tribe exchanges gunfire with enemy gangs, escapes cults and militias, braves the wilds of the subway and Central Park…and discovers truths they could never have imagined.

– See more at: http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/chris-weitz/the-young-world/9780316226295/#desc

I first picked up a glimpse of this book at the Book Expo in May. I seen it in the women’s bathroom.

he Young World, Chris Weitz, Book Journey — Nicely played Little Brown… Nicely played.

This (above) was the advertising in the women’s bathroom at the expo. I seen it.. and went to the Little Brown booth immediately (I did not pass go, did not collect $200) and requested an advanced copy of it.

I am so glad I did.

This book is not released until July 29th and normally I would not review a book this far ahead of release date…

but…

I want to get you as EXCITED about this one as I am. I want YOU to be aware of what is coming that is super awesome sauce so you can put it on your radar and know that if you enjoy YA Dystopian fiction with the more than likely potential of being a movie as well, then hang on… you are in for a treat.

I LOVED the layout of The Young World. Set in New York in the futuristic pit of a world. The protagonists are diverse and engaging. I enjoyed the concept of the different tribes made up of teens. Each had their own skill sets that they embraced – some were for good…. some – not so much.

The Young World is a great ride and do not pass on this first book of The Young World Trilogy (don’t groan – the book is fast paced and engaging and you will not want to wait!)

Fun Fact:

Chris Weitz is the director of Twilight: New Moon, About a Boy, The Golden Compass, Antz and American Pie. His most recent film is A Better Life, which was nominated for an Academy Award. THE YOUNG WORLD is his first novel. – See more at: http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/authors/chris-weitz-teen/#about

Chris Weitz is the director of twilight, New Moon, About A Boy, The Golden Compass, ANTZ, and American Pie. His most recent film is A Better Life, which has been nominated for an Academy Award. The Young World is his first novel.

So now that I have GUSHED all over this review… here is a list compliments of Hachette Book Group – as to where you can plan to purchase this book:

Where to buy!

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Imprint: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Release Date: July 29, 2014

– See more at: http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/chris-weitz/the-young-world/9780316226295/#details

Welcome to New York, a city ruled by teens.

The tribe exchanges gunfire with enemy gangs, escapes cults and militias, braves the wilds of the subway and Central Park…and discovers truths they could never have imagined.

– See more at: http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/chris-weitz/the-young-world/9780316226295/#desc

Morning Meanderings… Preparing To Meet The Queen!

Published on July 2, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)17 Comments

July.

I know right? As of today we are 6 days out from our annual Queen Event for book club. 6 DAYS!!!

If you are familiar with our book club “happenings” every July since… (hmmm…. I should know this) well, for many years, we dress up in formal wear and have a coronation for Bookies Queen of the year. It comes from the book Same Sweet Girls by Cassandra King. (Yes,worth the read!)

2013 Bookies Queen Event, Book Journey, Sheila DeChantal — Bookies Queen Event 2013

We usually grill, talk books, eat lots of tasty foods… and have a LOT OF FUN! The competition is all in fun. And the girls really get into their speeches…

Brendas dress — Brenda’s dress last year was partially made of book. MADE OF BOOK! Genius!

and I think I mentioned delicious food…

2011 - OW! — 2011 was also the year that I had sprung my wrist and broke my finger while riding in a 150 mile bike ride. But… the event must go on…. bling included 😉

Alright… now I am getting into this… maybe I will save more for Saturday snapshot. And I must prepare my speech…. I think I have an idea…

Book club people – do you do things above and beyond the books? IE. potlucks, dinners out, movies, road trips? I would love to know 🙂

How To Become A Narrator by Narrator Robert Fass (included in the June Audio Month Giveaway)

Published on July 1, 2014July 1, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)13 Comments

Yes, yes… I know it is July. If you read my morning post you will know that I inadvertently missed posting one of our awesome narrators responses for the June Audio Book Month features. Robert Fass was also one of the narrators that was at the Narrator Luncheon in New York in May. I had the pleasure of meeting him, but did not have enough time to really chat much with him. Now, Robert has graced Book Journey with his thoughts on Narrating – a question that seemed to pop up frequently throughout the comments last month. How does one become a narrator? Please welcome, Robert Fass.

I’m Robert Fass, and I started narrating professionally in 2005, though it took a number of years before I started making a living at it.

I have completed around 80 titles at this point, across just about every genre, including:

THE UNWINDING by George Packer (2013 National Book Award winner for nonfiction)
DOUBLE DOWN: GAME CHANGE 2012 by Mark Halperin & John Heilemann
SNOW WHITE MUST DIE by Nele Neuhaus (bestselling German crime thriller)
SAY HER NAME by Francisco Goldman (fictionalized memoir – listed in AudioFile Magazine’s Top Ten
Audiobooks of 2011, Earphones award winner)
IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY by Ned Vizzini (YA)
THE LIEBERMANN PAPERS series of historical mysteries by Frank Tallis
EMPIRE OF LIBERTY by Gordon S. Wood (Audie winner for history, 2011)

I am one of only two narrators approved by the authors’ estate to narrate the Ellery Queen mysteries (I’ve narrated 10 so far), plus works by John Steinbeck, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Joyce Carol Oates, Carlos Fuentes, Jeffery Deaver and more. Along the way, I’ve had 7 Audie nominations and won twice.

I have been a professional actor for over 30 years – a longtime member of the performers’ unions, trained in the classics, studied for many years with the great Uta Hagen – and I have always loved the spoken word. My mother was a librarian and my dad was a volunteer narrator for the blind for over 25 years. When my dad passed away in 1997, I began volunteering in his honor at a local radio reading service for the visually impaired here in NYC. I lucked out the first week I showed up: one of the readers for THE NEW YORKER magazine was out and I was asked to step in. It became permanent and I spent nearly every Wednesday for the next 11 years reading the best fiction, journalism, criticism, and poetry around to a national audience. It was the best training ground anyone could wish for.

My mother was a librarian and my dad was a volunteer narrator for the blind for over 25 years.

Around 2005, a fellow volunteer offered me her invitation to a seminar given by the Audio Publishers Association (APA). They were at that time seeking to bring more theatrically trained performers into the narrator community. I went and was given the opportunity to record a sample and send it to the senior producer at Brilliance Audio, which is a large producer in the mid west (now owned by Amazon). His response was that while I didn’t have the richest voice in the world, he thought I was a very good reader and might expect to find a small amount of work in this field. That was enough encouragement for me to create a professional demo CD – and I sent it to every single producer and publisher in the APA member directory. A handful of producers were impressed enough with it that they wanted to give me an opportunity to narrate for them. I was lucky to get to narrate works by some major authors right out of the gate, my first couple of titles got reviews (positive ones) and I started to make fans within the producing community. That put me firmly on the path and I chose to pursue it from there.

So… You Want To Become A narrator…

1. Know that narrating audiobooks is a craft. If you’re serious about it and you aren’t a trained actor, start taking classes in acting and vocal production.

2. Don’t think you can be a narrator simply because people tell you that you have a nice voice.

3. Get good before you cut a demo.

4. Join SAG-AFTRA so that if you are fortunate enough to find work in this field, you can begin receiving pension and health benefits.

5. Be prepared to spend long periods of time alone working your ass off in a little box. And loving it.

6. Unless you are in one of the major markets, you will very likely need to invest in a home studio which – even if you do it on the cheap – ain’t cheap.

7. Be aware that any narrator starting out today also has to be an engineer and a director, because it’s just you in the booth doing everything.

8. Know that you rarely have a choice in the material you are offered.

9. Be patient and tenacious.

10. There are many versions of this next basic piece of advice, but if you think you would like to be an audiobook narrator, the first thing you should do is to take a book off the shelf at random, open it to a random page, take it into the closet and read the entire page aloud. Then go back to the top of the page and read it again. Then do it two or three more times. If that’s your idea of a good time, you might think about taking a first step into narration. There is a more comprehensive version of this point in a video by narrator/instructor Sean Allen Pratt.

Amazing Narrator Happening… oh yes…. IT HAPPENED

An illustration of the need to be patient when starting out: when I sent my original demo around, a very senior, highly respected producer responded with tremendous enthusiasm. “You’re on my A-list! You can obviously do everything! I can’t wait to work with you!” She was quite sincere about it. But at least a year went by before a project came along that she felt was a good fit for me to audition. It was going to be a big deal, a new series that was hoping to be the next Harry Potter. We worked in the studio for a long time together, but in the end I didn’t get it. And I didn’t hear from her again for months. But one day, I got a call from her out of the blue. Unbeknownst to me, she had been circulating an excerpt from that audition as a voice sample for consideration in various projects, and it turned out that Ray Bradbury had selected me to narrate what turned out to be the last book published in his lifetime, FAREWELL, SUMMER (which was the sequel, 50 years in the making, to his beloved classic DANDELION WINE). That was the second book I ever narrated.

This is the final audio book month post. For every post you comment on in June (and this one on July 1st) that has this audio book symbol:

I will put you into a drawing for a $25 book certificate for each comment (Barnes and Noble or Amazon – your choice). Winner will be drawn this week!

Morning Meanderings… First Half Of The Year Update and Audio Month Extention!

Published on July 1, 2014July 1, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)7 Comments

Good morning and WOW… July!

That came WAY too fast! I felt so awesome going into the new year and now I feel behind… in reality, bookish wise I am right on target and ahead of last year. Here are my stats so far for 2014:

Books read do far this year: 24 (with 3 to review yet)

Audio Books listened to this year: 33 ( with 2 left to review)

Last year at this time I was hardly reading/listening/posting anything so this is exciting to be able to spend time in the hobby area that I love!

In other news…

I missed one of the narrator interviews.

Narrator Robert Fass was one of the first of the narrators to send me his responses and somehow in the craziness we call June… I checked him off my spreadsheet as being posted and that was not accurate.

Due to this, I will be posting one more narrator chat that will go up today and will be part of the Audio Month Giveaway. It’s good stuff…. and I want to post it 🙂

Anyhoo… that’s what is up here. Working today, helping a friend out tonight… and who knows what else…

No… really… who knows? Can someone tell me?

Have a super Tuesday! What are you doing this July 1st?

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedwick (short stories that all tie together in a mystical place)

How To Become A Narrator by Narrator Robert Fass (the last of the narrator interviews and giveaway!)

Preparing for the Queen Event (and a few shots of the Bookies Queen events of the past few years)

The Young World by Weitz (YOWZA!!! This one is going places! LOVED IT!)

Essentialism – The Disciplined Pursuit Of Less by Greg McKeown (this one beat me up…)

The Dinner by Herman Koch (deliciously dangerous….)

For My Ears

For My Eyes

We need to talk about our children.

Invisible by James Patterson and Dave Ellis (audiobook)

The Farm by Tom Rob Smith (audiobook)

Shunning Sarah by Julie Kramer (picked up at the Brown Bag author event)

Delivering Death by Julie Kramer (picked up at the Brown Bag author event)

What do you have going on this week? Any bookish events?

What did you do with your 4th of July?

Fun Fact:

Book club people – do you do things above and beyond the books? IE. potlucks, dinners out, movies, road trips? I would love to know 🙂

THE UNWINDING by George Packer (2013 National Book Award winner for nonfiction)

DOUBLE DOWN: GAME CHANGE 2012 by Mark Halperin & John Heilemann

SNOW WHITE MUST DIE by Nele Neuhaus (bestselling German crime thriller)

SAY HER NAME by Francisco Goldman (fictionalized memoir – listed in AudioFile Magazine’s Top Ten

Audiobooks of 2011, Earphones award winner)

IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY by Ned Vizzini (YA)

THE LIEBERMANN PAPERS series of historical mysteries by Frank Tallis

EMPIRE OF LIBERTY by Gordon S. Wood (Audie winner for history, 2011)

My mother was a librarian and my dad was a volunteer narrator for the blind for over 25 years.

So… You Want To Become A narrator…

Amazing Narrator Happening… oh yes…. IT HAPPENED

Have a super Tuesday! What are you doing this July 1st?