Book Journey

Morning Meanderings… Weekend Time Suck Vortex

Published on February 23, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)4 Comments

What a great low-key weekend. The winter storm on Thursday and Friday cancelled my plans and kept me inside, and the aftermath of slick roads and warnings kept me from going to the cities yesterday for a run with my friends today, I have completed some tiny tasks and enjoyed a nice quiet weekend. Quite a different feel then the past few weeks of activity.

I have spent time listening to audio while cooking and cleaning, and even some time reading. I updated the Wine and Words website and announced our author line up. I rented a movie for my husband and I that scared me (The conjuring). I napped. I talked with friends on the phone and ran a bit on the treadmill. I finished watching the second season of New Girl and I will miss them. I have barely left the house and that is ok.

Today I have also decided to lay low. The week will take off soon enough with dinner plans tomorrow night with friends, a library board meeting mid-week, and board planning for camp next Friday. March will bring a possible Polar Plunge, a ST Patrick’s Day Run, a girls weekend in Detroit Minnesota, the spring library sale, and a glow in the dark run.

I guess today is a good day to relax. 😀 Books, reviews, treadmill, and cooking are on the agenda. Here are the the books that came in my home this week:

Unveiling The Wine and Words 2014 Line Up

Published on February 22, 2014February 22, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)39 Comments

Ok this is probably stretching Saturday Snapshot a bit… but I am excited so PLEASE allow me this stretch just this one – puh-lease? *batting my eyes*

Wine and Words is the literary event myself, my co-chair Gail and an amazing team from the Friends Of The Brainerd Public Library debuted last year. We created an event around free wine and amazing authors just to see what would happen and it was amazing. (Wow! Can I say the word amazing any more times)? 😛

My concern this year was could we do it again? We have no budget so we ask our authors to come out of the love for libraries, a chance to talk to a group of book lovers, and an opportunity to sign books. I value people’s time, so we worked hard making sure it was a great experience for them as well, putting welcome baskets in their beautiful hotel rooms with fresh flowers, a Minnesota magazine, chocolates and a thank you card.

After plugging away on the author line for about 5 weeks, we have our authors! I am super excited to show you who they are:

Benjamin Percy is a Minnesota author who’s book Red Moon is now being filmed to become a TV series!

Minnesota Author, Nicole Lee Helget’s new book Stillwater is creating quite a stir! I can not wait to read it.

Catherine McKenzie is from Canada. Her first three books have won many awards and her new one, Hidden, will be coming out yet this spring.

Randy Susan Meyers lives in Boston Massachusetts. Her first two books have created quite the buzz (both are on my shelves!) and her third book, Accidents Of Marriage (due out in September) , will make an early debut at Wine and Words!

Barbara Claypole White lives and gardens in North Carolina. Her books also grace my shelves. The In-Between Hour is newly released and won a 2014 Okra award.

and back by popular demand…. our emcee, Lorna Landvik:

Lorna Landvik is a known comedian and author. Her books include Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons.

There it is! That’s our group! I am so excited. Tickets will go on sale in the next couple of weeks. We had some pretty amazing authors say they could not do this year but to give them a try for next year. Authors that excite me so much I will not even share who they are because I may jinx (does that still happen???) it. 😀 Now I switch into silent auction mode, looking for items for the auction.

If you have some time, check out the Wine and Words website, freshly updated. There are pictures from last years event as well as our authors and team. Also, be sure and check out other Saturday Snapshot posts! They are a fun way to see what is happening around our world 😀

Morning Meanderings… CANCELLED

Published on February 21, 2014February 21, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)33 Comments

Ha! As I read the title of this post I have to laugh. Or wince maybe… I am not cancelling Morning Meanderings although by the looks of Brainerd right now, I could…. I could cancel everything…. hope, joy… they are just a LARGE shovel of snow away.

GAH.

😯

We were hit yesterday afternoon with yet another snow storm. My Bunco fun was cancelled… today schools again are closed… I think this is the 5th or 6th time that schools have been closed this season due to either extreme cold or extreme snow. I don’t remember there ever being a year like this before. POO.

1ca — **The front porch this morning. GAH. The wind really blew it into a nice heap for me.**

**My driveway – is in there somewhere….**

I am supposed to be all the way across town and looking at camp applications at noon today. I am still debating if I am going to make the trek or once again have to postpone. We had this same meeting set up for this past Monday but once again the snow came in and caused poor driving conditions.

Have I mentioned lately that I am SOOOOOO over winter?

Today may just be a stay in, do a little reading, a little house work, website work for Wine and Words, and yes yes… the treadmill.

What is everyone else doing with their Friday?

Movie Review: Monument Men

Published on February 20, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)23 Comments

Last weekend for Valentine’s Day Al (hubby) and I went to the movie Monuments Men. While normally anything has to do with war would be a thumbs down for me, the great movie trailer and the all-star cast had me curious. It also helped that I had recently read about the Monuments Men while readingThe Roses Underneath by C.. Yetmen). I am ashamed to say, prior to that reading, I didn’t know such a group existed.

Monuments Men is about the very real group of Men that were tasked during WWII to go into war-torn areas and save the most important pieces of art and culture of our time. As said in the movie,

If you destroy their achievements, their history, it’s like they never existed.

If you are thinking Monuments Men was a cushy job (in reality or in the movie) think again. These men put their lives at risk right alone side others who fought in the war. Lives were lost and art was saved…. all in all a brilliant enlightening movie.

Now… Monuments Men is not getting the best rating. Said to be an “aw shucks buddy” type comedy, directed and acted in by George Clooney, it is falling into some poo ratings. My husband while liking the story of the Monuments Men, was not as impressed with the movie as I was. Honestly, I may be an easy sell… teach me something new and I want to know more. Now I want to read the book, Monuments Men by Robert Edsel.

I hope you will give this movie a try.

BUNCO NIGHT!!!! What???? Help…..

Published on February 20, 2014February 20, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)5 Comments

Good morning … flowers and I don’t know… books I guess, for everyone. It is Thursday! My last work day of the week and tonight I play Bunco!

😯

My friend Laura apparently has this dark unknown side to her life that I was unaware of and she is on a Bunco league. (Visions of The Pink Ladies from Grease come to mind… yes, women that are THAT cool)

I didn’t even know there were Bunco Leagues. Probably more importantly… I have not played Bunco in years… and that was once… at church.

I love games so I am super excited to fill in as a sub tonight. Just this morning I looked through the basics of the game to refresh me… good grief…. WhAt? It sounds like it is fast-moving, you switch seats and partners a lot and well…

we will see.

Any Bunco players out there that give me any advice? Do not crack under the pressure…. It’s only a game and maybe leave the Pink Ladies jacket at home? 😀

Morning Meandering…. It was painful… but it is finished :)

Published on February 19, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)23 Comments

Good morning. 😀 After my heavier topic on censorship yesterday, I need something lighter. Well, ha ha maybe lighter is not the correct word in this case… after all this topic is 350 pounds of OUCH.

On Friday I went into our local sports shop and purchased a really nice running treadmill at a pretty significant deal with in store sales and I had an additional 20% off coupon. I was super excited to get moving on this one. Literally. 😛

With Valentines Day and then a busy Saturday as well I did not get a chance to work on it until Sunday late afternoon. The first step was I had to put wheels on the lower frame so I lifted the one side up, attached a wheel, went to lower it back to the ground and dropped the heavy metal track (probably at least 300 of the 350 pounds) on my left foot.

Does anyone else ever notice it is always on my left????

I took this picture right away and posted it on Facebook.

On Monday – I took these pictures:

It didn’t hurt a whole lot but my friends urged me to go have it looked at. On Monday afternoon I did go to Urgent Care where they x rayed my foot and found it severely bruised… but not broken. YAY!

Last night.. I finished assembling the treadmill.

I have not taken a stroll on it yet but I plan to after work tonight. My foot is still a little tender so we will see how it goes. I have a run I really want to do this weekend and I need to see where I am at with this . 😀

Yes yes… it is ironic to drop a treadmill on your foot… but if anyone is going to do it, it would be me. 😛

When Paper Hits The Road ( a moment of heartbreak)

Published on February 18, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)59 Comments

My heart lays heavy.

Recently I was asked if I would be interested in being a part of a new group of readers in the area that would preview books to see that they are appropriate for middle grade and teenage children. I liked the thought of that, I have done some of this proofing for friends in the past. As the information unfolded I discovered that this group would work at having books that they decided were deemed unsatisfactory for young eyes to be removed from the schools.

😯

Visions of book burning swam before my eyes. This is when I realized there is a difference between book lovers, lovers of the written word – and readers.

There was a particular book that was already being sought out for removal I was told. A book filled with inappropriate language. I started to think what YA book could have caused such a stir… was it Hunger Games, Twilight, certainly we have moved beyond Harry Potter by now….

and then I was told the book’s title,

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.

At this point my heart fell. Steinbeck. A Classic. Banned Books. Censorship.

I called a friend, a fellow book lover and someone I know who takes great care with what she has her children read (ages 7 – 14) to ask her thoughts on this and she was shocked. She said what I needed to hear at that moment, that it is up to us as parents of our younger children to help them choose books and to help them understand when a book may not be a fit for them due to language, sexual content… or EVEN why a book was written that way – perhaps it was the time period…. The answer is not to take the books away…

the answer is not censorship.

Of course, Of Mice and Men is not new to this battle. Published in 1937, this book is one of the most challenged books of the 21st century due to the vulgarity,offensive, and racist language within its pages. And while I am not a fan of the language – the story does cover such topics as friendship and bullying – BULLYING. A topic that is huge today.

Please chime in on this one. I would love to know your thoughts.

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

Published on February 18, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)20 Comments

Kitchen Confidential, narrated by the author and well-known chef Anthony Bourdain is a “Don’t eat at a well-known restaurant in New York before you read this” type of book. Anthony, in his typical dead pan style takes you through the ups and downs of his world of when you should and when you should not order seafood, why brunches and buffets are the dirty under belly of the food world, as well as good and bad relationships that go on beyond closed doors – or pointedly the kitchen. Kitchen Confidential will take you through Anthony’s rocky start in the world of white aprons and funny hats. Through sex, drugs, and filet Mignon – the secrets of presentation and “how do I get my potatoes and chicken to stack tall like a restaurants, are all inside, if you dare to listen.

I have listened to and enjoyed Anthony Bourdain before in Medium Raw, another of his books on the adventures and pleasures of food. Kitchen Confidential is, in my opinion, rawer than Medium Raw. Anthony is more vulgar, or I suppose, honest in the relationships of the cooking world. Let’s just say that in Kitchen Confidential Anthony readily admits that what he is sharing in this book could possibly get him fired…. if he is just being his sarcastic self, I do not know, but Kitchen Confidential is not for the faint of heart.

Be sure before you enter into this read that you are committed to really wanting to know what is happening behind the kitchen wall. Kitchen Confidential would easily receive a “R” rating if this were a TV show for language, drunks, sex and drugs. Practices that you would probably rather not know about, but perhaps have often wondered (what do they really do with that bread plate that you did not eat?) are revealed. Yet it is not all stomach turning and checking another restaurant off your must try list. Anthony also shares tips for your own cooking skills – sharing with the reader how not to be caught up in the chef knives industry and expense when really you only need one knife that is not a budget breaker and can do just about everything the bank breaking expensive sets do.

While I will admit that there are times Anthony Bourdain steps over the line of TMI a time or two or fourteen… I still enjoy listening to his stories. Beyond the world of food and chefs, Anthony is also an incredible story-teller and if you can handle the truth (which some of we probably suspected) it is a dish worth trying.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on February 16, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)50 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!

It was a pretty fair week I think – a little audio, a little reading.. here is what I posted this week:

This Part Was True by Deborah McKinlay (fantastic read!)

I Am Abraham by Jerome Charyn (incredible book!)

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes – Bookies thoughts

Every Day by David Levithan (audio review)

Locking My Keys In The Car (non bookish….)

Masters Of DOOM by David Kushner (Narrated by my audio crush… ; ) )

As for what I will be listening to and reading this week:

For My Ears:

West Hall, Vermont, has always been a town of strange disappearances and old legends. The most mysterious is that of Sara Harrison Shea, who, in 1908, was found dead in the field behind her house just months after the tragic death of her daughter, Gertie. Now, in present day, 19-year-old Ruthie lives in Sara’s farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and her younger sister, Fawn. Alice has always insisted that they live off the grid, a decision that suddenly proves perilous when Ruthie wakes up one morning to find that Alice has vanished without a trace. Searching for clues, she is startled to find a copy of Sara Harrison Shea’s diary hidden beneath the floorboards of her mother’s bedroom. As Ruthie gets sucked deeper into the mystery of Sara’s fate, she discovers that she’s not the only person who’s desperately looking for someone that they’ve lost. But she may be the only one who can stop history from repeating itself.

Kind of excited about this one!

For my Eyes:

Brooke has been happily married to her college sweetheart for fifteen years. Even after the C-section, the dog poop, the stomach viruses and the coffee breath, Scott always winks at her in just the right moments. That is why, for her beloved, romantic, successful husband’s fortieth birthday, she is giving him pictures. Of herself. Naked.

Newlywed Samantha learns of her husband’s cheating heart when she finds the goods on his computer.

High-powered career woman Katherine works with heartbreaker Phillip, the man who hurt her early on in her career.

Brooke, Samantha, and Katherine don’t know each other, but their stories are about to intertwine in ways no one could have imagined.

And all three are about to discover the power of friendship to conquer adversity, the satisfaction of unexpected delights, the incredible difference one human being can have on other lives–and that they have all they could ask for, as long as they have each other.

I’ve started this one and I am liking the quick pace.

I didn’t even start one of the books I said I was going to read last week so I am going to leave it at this. 😀 I would love to see what you are reading…. (seriously, I need more audio suggestions!) Please add your “What Are You Reading” where it says click here.

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For those of you that read mainly middle grade and children’s books, be sure to also link to the younger version of It’s Monday by using the link below!