Book Journey

Retrieving My Readers

Published on November 25, 2013November 25, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)78 Comments

Many moons ago (ok, 4+ years…) I started this little book review site called Book Journey. It was a lot of fun to get going and every reader comment was so exciting to see in my email. In those beginning years I was able to not only comment back to very comment given me, but if they were fellow bloggers I went and visited their blog as well. This really was the start to my readership and my daily visitor stats grew.

It really was a lot of fun to book chat every day with those I came to “know” through this blog. I would learn their name, and remember things they posted so I could comment about their dog, something going on in their life, or a particular book we both enjoyed. It was like a whole group of friends out there in the world that I may or may not ever meet face to face and this was pretty cool.

The “It’s Monday What Are You Reading” meme opened blogesphere doors for me with new visitors and I made sure that when they stopped in, this blog was something they would want to come back to. I kept my sidebars current and my reviews frequent. I posted about bookish topics, I proposed questions about e readers, publishing trends, and one of my person favorites… what to do when authors attack. I engaged my readers in conversations with me and with each other.

As time went on, I even wrote for a few Book Reviewer events on the topic of bringing in readers and keeping them. I answered questions and wrote posts about blog traffic. Each day I came home from work and would quickly check my email to see who had commented on my review or my meandering, and I would respond. I set a goal to visit 20 blogs a day and maintained it…

and then one day…

I didn’t.

(ok not really the picture above but that pic is fun….)

Life became…. busy. Between work, writing, working out, reading, and everything else I crammed into a day… for the past 9 months… this blog has been fairly quiet with about one or two posts a week. I stopped responding to comments. I found no time to go and visit other book blogs. I rarely requested a book for review or accepted a review offer. The Monday What Are You Reading post became a”had to” instead of something I wanted to do; and yes, for a while I was wondering if I had lost my love for blogging.

I am not sure what, but something made me hold on. I enjoyed and still enjoy my online friends. I knew I was not ready to give that up. I wanted to hang on to see if after the busy time of summer and fall if I would be able to retrieve some of this bloggers life I love…

and I am glad I did.

Over the past few weeks I have started updating some of my page links here. I started writing the reviews that have backed up in my mind like a massive car pile up on a highway. I started making time to visit the blogs I enjoy reading and hope they did not die of shock when they seen a comment from me. For the first time in probably over a year, I visited all the blogs that linked to this weeks Monday What Are You Reading, something I used to love to do – and loved doing it again.

What I guess I am trying to say is, I am back. 😀 I know I do not have to go to the extreme in which I once blogged… but I truly am getting that desire to write posts again. For the first time in a while when something funny or odd happens to me I think, that would be a great Morning Meandering post. (It has been a while since I have thought in “posts”).

I am glad it is not over for me as I love this life of reviewing and chatting up books – one of my FAVORITE all time topics. This post was mainly to let you know that readers, I hope you are still around and I hope you pop in once in awhile and say hi and chat books with me. My promise to you is:

1. I will always write honest book reviews (you get my real thoughts here 😀 )

2. I will occasionally be snarky, but never mean.

3. I will share with you the craziness of the life of a want to be writer, half marathon training, book loving, adventure seeking, constantly on the go, audio book addicted, frequently fails but gets back up again, rescue dog adopting, gets up too early and stays up too late girl.

Welcome to Book Journey. Hope to see you around the blogs. 😛

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on November 24, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)48 Comments

Happy Monday everyone (or Sunday evening here for me – but I post this early to catch out friends in the world who are already having Sunday 😀 )

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!

Check me out! I was an active blogger this week! It is true! I read, I listened to audio…. and wrote posts. Here is what I put out there this week:

A little paint project with audio on the side…

Catching Fire Movie Review (I liked this one even more than the Hunger Games movie!)

The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty (oh wow oh wow!!!)

It has been a good week. I had a low key weekend and wrote up some of the reviews I keep saying I am going to write and then…. do not. I also have been flying through some really good audio and it feels so good to be back in my audio groove. Here is what I am reading and listening to this week:

Lovable child star by age ten, international teen idol by fifteen, and to this day a perennial pop-culture staple, Corey Feldman has not only spent the entirety of his life in the spotlight, he’s become just as famous for his off-screen exploits as for his roles in such classic films as Gremlins, The Goonies, and Stand by Me. He’s been linked to a slew of Hollywood starlets (including Drew Barrymore, Vanessa Marcil, and adult entertainer Ginger Lynn), shared a highly publicized friendship with Michael Jackson, and with his frequent costar Corey Haim enjoyed immeasurable success as one half of the wildly popular duo “The Two Coreys,” spawning seven films, a 1-900 number, and “Coreymania” in the process. What child of the eighties didn’t have a Corey Feldman poster hanging in her bedroom, or a pile of Tiger Beats stashed in his closet?

Now, in this brave and moving memoir, Corey is revealing the truth about what his life was like behind the scenes: His is a past that included physical, drug, and sexual abuse, a dysfunctional family from which he was emancipated at age fifteen, three high-profile arrests for drug possession, a nine-month stint in rehab, and a long, slow crawl back to the top of the box office.

While Corey has managed to overcome the traps that ensnared so many other entertainers of his generation—he’s still acting, is a touring musician, and is a proud father to his son, Zen—many of those closest to him haven’t been so lucky. In the span of one year, he mourned the passing of seven friends and family members, including Corey Haim and Michael Jackson. In the wake of those tragedies, he’s spoken publicly about the dark side of fame, lobbied for legislation affording greater protections for children in the entertainment industry, and lifted the lid off of what he calls Hollywood’s biggest secret.

I just started listening to this one. I grew up on the Corey Feldman (and the late Corey Haim) movies…. Dream A Little Dream, Gremlins, Goonies, Stand By Me…. his story is one of tragic grace.

Shandi Pierce is juggling finishing college, raising her delightful three-year-old genius son Nathan, aka Natty Bumppo, and keeping the peace between her eternally warring, long-divorced parents. She’s got enough complications without getting caught in the middle of a stick-up and falling in love with William Ashe, who willingly steps between the robber and her son.

Shandi doesn’t know that her blond god Thor has his own complications. When he looked down the barrel of that gun he believed it was destiny: It’s been one year to the day since a tragic act of physics shattered his world. But William doesn’t define destiny the way others do. A brilliant geneticist who believes in facts and numbers, destiny to him is about choice. Now, he and Shandi are about to meet their so-called destinies head on, making choices that will reveal unexpected truths about love, life, and the world they think they know.

A typical fun southern Jackson read… I am a little over half way through this one.

Summer blockbusters and independent sleepers; masterworks of Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, and Martin Scorsese; the timeless comedy of the Marx Brothers and Buster Keaton; animated classics from Walt Disney and Pixar; the finest foreign films ever made. This 2014 edition covers the modern era, from 1965 to the present, while including all the great older films you can’t afford to miss—and those you can—from box-office smashes to cult classics to forgotten gems to forgettable bombs, listed alphabetically, and complete with all the essential information you could ask for.

I am always looking for great movies so this guide is right up my alley!

Nestled in Puget Sound, Whidbey Island is a gem of the Pacific Northwest; accessible only by ferry and the soaring Deception Pass Bridge, it is known for its artistic communities and stunning natural beauty. Life there is low-key, insular, and the island’s year-round residents tend to know one another’s business. But when the blooddrenched body of Russel Douglas was discovered the day after Christmas in his SUV in a hidden driveway near Whidbey’s most exclusive mansions, the whole island was shocked. A single bullet between his eyes was the cause of death, but no one could imagine who among them could plot such a devious, cold-blooded crime. At first, police suspected suicide, tragically common at the height of the holiday season. But when they found no gun in or near the SUV, Russel’s manner of death became homicide. Like a cast of characters from a classic mystery novel, a host of Whidbey residents fell under suspicion.

Brenna Douglas was Russel’s estranged and soon-to-be-ex wife, who allowed him to come home for a Christmas visit with their children. The couple owned the popular Just B’s salon. Brenna’s good friend Peggy Sue Thomas worked there, and Brenna complained often to her that Russel was physically and emotionally abusive. Peggy Sue’s own life has been one of extremes. Married three times, hers is a rags-to-riches-and-back-again tale in which she’s played many roles: aircraft mechanic, basketball coach, the “drop-dead gorgeous” beauty queen as a former Ms. Washington, Las Vegas limousine driver, million-dollar horse breeder, wealthy divorcée. But in 2003, her love affair with married guitarist Jim Huden led the two Whidbey Island natives to pursue their ultimate dreams of wealth and privilege—even at the expense of human life.

I have a confession… I enjoy (probably not the right word…) Ann Rule’s true crime books. I have not read one in a long time and I have never tried one on audio. EXCITED!

Bloodmark and Lady Catherine, The Earl, and the Real Downton Abbey are up to be read. I am excited about both and have a cabin weekend coming up and one gets to go with! Which will be? Which would you take along?

So that’s the week! Thanksgiving is pretty quiet for us as our family is quite small and we just stay home. This year will be exciting as both my boys will be home for the first time in 4 years now that Brad is out of the Navy!!! I am looking forward to hanging out with them. 😀

I would love to see what you are reading this holiday week and weekend! Please add your What Are You Reading post to the place below where it says “click here”

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

The Husbands Secret by Liane Moriarty

Published on November 24, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)30 Comments

Cecilia Fitzpatrick has a reputation to protect. The other women in her town after all look up to her. She organizes many of the school functions, is always around to help where needed, and you did not even know you needed Tupperware until you attend one of Cecelia’s parties… and then you don’t know how you lived without it. She has three wonderful daughters and a handsome husband. What more could she want? Then while looking around the attic she finds a letter from her husband sealed and saying to only open in the event of his death. And suddenly everything Cecelia thought was right in her life is turned upside down.

Tess O’Leary loves her job and the fact that she is able to work beside her husband Will, and her cousin and best friend Felicity. Then Felicity, who was always a bit heavy loves a significant amount of weight and along with Will, approaches Tess about their love for one another. Stunned, Tess packs up her son Liam and goes to live with her mother in Sydney.

Rachel Crowley is a school secretary. She loves being around children even though she lost her own daughter over 25 years ago to a murder that was never solved. When new evidence turns up, Rachel has to decide if she can wait for the police to take action or will the anger and pain of all these years cause her to do the unthinkable.

These three women’s lives will intertwine in ways they do not see coming. Through friendships and connections, the Husband’s Secret is not to be missed.

I listened to this book on audio and once it started, I had a hard time shutting it off! Caroline Lee was an amazing narrator, she made the book come alive with each of the voices of the full cast of characters. In an almost fun and snarky tone, I fell in live with this book through the narration. It was just a lot of fun to listen to!

The Husband’s Secret was delightful, fast paced, and while dealing with serious subjects, it never came off as heavy. I have heard the book is great, but audio listeners know that the audio is pretty fantastic too.

Note: Because I enjoyed this book so much, I am currently downloading What Alice Forgot, by this same author.

Catching Fire – The Movie

Published on November 23, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)26 Comments

On the evening of November 21st, 2013 I was thrilled to go to the opening night showing of Catching Fire. Catching Fire is the 2nd book in the trilogy by Suzanne Collins. My review of the book is here.

Catching Fire is the continuing story line from The Hunger Games. Now Katniss and Peeta are living back in District 12, still pretending to be in love when in front of the cameras and about to go on tour of the districts as is their duty as the winners of the last Hunger Games. President Snow has a strong disliking for Katniss, feeling that her heart and her fire for what is right could bring on an uprising, he keeps a close watch on her and monitors what she can say and do when on screen and in front of the people of the districts. In the midst of this battle of Katniss and Snow, a plan is developed that all the tributes will enter the Hunger Games as a “Quarter Quell”, a twist to the 75th anniversary of The Hunger Games.

And this is when this movie really comes alive.

Katniss, played by Jennifer Lawrence shows such appropriate emotion throughout the movie that I could not help myself but feel anger when she felt anger and yes, cry when she cried. (Way to go new director Francis Lawrence!

As the tributes from all districts prepare to go back into the games, Peeta and Katniss are sure that there is no way they will allow for two victors again. Love or just deep friendship, the two struggle with how they will handle this when the time comes.

Cinna, the creator of the costumes that both Peeta and Katniss wear comes up with an amazing dress for Katniss, which if you have read the books… you know… well…. we will save that for the spoiler page 😉

All in all I found this movie to be even better than Hunger Games and that surprised me. Of the books, Hunger Games was my favorite and they went down from there. Not that I didn’t still enjoy them, just that was the order they fell in for me and so I did not expect this movie to be loved by me to the extreme that it was.

If you are a fan of the books, do not miss out on seeing this one on the big screen. I am pretty sure as soon as I can find someone to go with, I will be seeing it again.

Want to talk about the movie in a bit more detail? I have wheeled the Spoiler Button out of storage so we can do just that! If you HAVE seen the movie, join me in the spoiler room to discuss what we loved, what we didn’t, and everything in between.

Morning Meanderings…. A Little Project With Audio Appetizer

Published on November 23, 2013November 23, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)25 Comments

Good morning and happy Saturday! It is COLD here in central Minnesota and it has driven me indoors which is a bummer, but the up side is I love this time of year for house projects and snuggling up with great reads. Last weekend I had an opportunity to do both.

Our entryway to our home was a color that I no longer loved. For a small space it was to dark and the two doors in that area that I had painted were chipped and scruffy looking. In usual “let’s get ‘er done” fashion, I went to the paint store in the morning, had my paint picked out within minutes and that afternoon went to work. I am pretty thrilled with the results so for this weeks Saturday Snapshot, here is my entryway make over:

Yes, I am thrilled with the look. It fresh, clean and makes the area look bigger. As for the audio accompaniment, that would be The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty which I am loving right from the beginning. This one is a treat on audio – love the narration!

Pop on in to Saturday Snapshot and see what others are taking pictures of this week. 😀

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on November 17, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)41 Comments

It’s been a pretty good week. It was busy, I had a sick day, but all in all… I got some reading in which always makes me happy 😀

This past week I posted:

City Of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare (ooh I am loving the Mortal Instrument series!)

My Review Of The Tassimo Coffee Pot

I still have reviews to post! As for what I am reading now…

Cecilia Fitzpatrick lives to be perfect: a perfect marriage, three perfect daughters, and a perfectly organized life. Then she finds a letter from her husband, John-Paul, to be opened only in the event of his death. She opens it anyway, and everything she believed is thrown into doubt. Meanwhile, Tess O’Leary’s husband, Will, and her cousin and best friend, Felicity, confess they’ve fallen in love, so Tess takes her young son, Liam, and goes to Sydney to live with her mother. There she meets up with an old boyfriend, Connor Whitby, while enrolling Liam in St. Angela’s Primary School, where Cecilia is the star mother. Rachel Crowley, the school secretary, believes that Connor, St. Angela’s PE teacher, is the man who, nearly three decades before, got away with murdering her daughter—a daughter for whom she is still grieving.

I started this one on audio today while I was painting the entryway and wow I really am getting into it.

Manuel Perrine doesn’t fear anyone or anything. A charismatic and ruthless leader, Perrine slaughters rivals as effortlessly as he wears his trademark white linen suit. Detective Michael Bennett once managed to put Perrine behind bars, the only official in the US ever to accomplish that. But now Perrine is out, and he has sworn to find and kill Bennett and everyone dear to him.

Detective Bennett, along with his ten adopted children, their nanny, and his grandfather, are hidden safely on a rural California farm, with guards courtesy of the FBI’s witness protection program. Perrine begins to embark on an escalating series of assassinations across the country, killings whose brazenness and audacity bring into question the possibility of safety and law in the US. The FBI has no choice but to ask Detective Bennett to risk it all in Perrine’s war on America.

My guilty pleasure series – you may not enjoy Patterson but I bet you would like this series. Fantastic on audio!

The Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She’s training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And—most importantly of all—she can finally call Jace her boyfriend.

But nothing comes without a price.

Someone is murdering Shadowhunters, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second, bloody war. Clary’s best friend, Simon, can’t help her—his mother just found out that he’s a vampire, and now he’s homeless. When Jace begins to pull away from her without explaining why, Clary is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: she herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.

Loving this series!

Thats my week! I am excited to see what you are reading and think I have time this week to check out your posts. Be sure to add your What Are You Reading post to the link below where it says click here.

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

Morning Meanderings… Join Me For Coffee!

Published on November 16, 2013November 16, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)16 Comments

Happy Saturday! I have a pretty nice wide open weekend here that I am pretty excited about. Lots of little mini projects I am considering: I have books to put away in the book room, a desk to set up in the office, paint to pick out for the front room and upstairs living room, reviews to write…

Recently I was picked to host a House Party for the Tassimo Coffee Pot. If you are not familiar with House Party, check it out. These are parties on products anywhere from books, to movies, to food, to beverages, to games, to projects. You sign up for the ones you are interested in and if you are chosen to host you are to invite at least 10 people over to share in the product with you. They can be a lot of fun and you are sent whatever you need to put on the party. In the past I have had two parties around books and one on a movie, this was my first branching out.

I wanted to host this party because I knew I would never buy a $165 coffee pot, which is what this model of the Tassimo is. Hosts received not only the coffee pot, but an assortment of coffee pods to use at the party. I was thrilled when I was selected.

I did have the party and it was a lot of fun. At first, I found the coffee pot to be a lot of work to figure out. I did not even get that the coffee pods that came with creamer was a pod you put in the machine after the coffee part to heat and foam the creamer and then the machine added it to your cup. It was one of my guests who pointed that out to me (thanks Brenda!)

As the evening went on, I actually found the coffee pot growing on me. I liked trying the different kinds and the fact that it brewed one special cup at a time. In fact, since the party, I have not used my regular coffee pot. For todays Saturday Snapshot (give it up for West Metro Mommy Reads!) I thought I would post a couple pictures from that event.

Brenda and I were fascinated watching it brew

My overall thoughts: I like the Tassimo and yes I would recommend it. They sent in the package 40% off coupons for my guests if they wanted a Tassimo Coffee pot as well as some yummy brunch recipes. We had a great time!

Pop on over to West Metro Mommy Reads and see what other people are posting pics of this weekend. It is deer hunting season here in Minnesota, my Facebook friends are saturated in pics of family members with their deer (what an odd tradition, to pose with your deer….) LOL

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Published on November 14, 2013November 14, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)2 Comments

Book 4 (May contain (inadvertently) spoilers)

Finally things are coming together. The war is over. Clary’s mom is not only safe and home, but also preparing to marry the love of her life. Even Clary herself is in love, real love, now that it has been proven that Jace is not her brother after all. Even Simon who has become a little hotter, a little more self-assured in his new vampire physic, is attracting a few prospects of his own.

Yet nothing ever stays calm and soon Shadow Hunters are being murdered in New York. Tensions run high between the Downworlders and Shadow Hunters as each wonders now that Valentine is gone, who could possibly be behind these killings? Is it followers of Valentine? And then there is Jace, finally he and Clary have what they both had dreamed of and yet he seems to be pulling away. Clary is so confused – he claims to love her so much it hurts but then why it is every time they get close he pulls away. Far away.

As Clary and Jace deal with what is happening between them, Simon is trying hard to avoid what all vampires seem to cave in to… and his thirst just grows stronger and more uncontrollable every day. When a baby shows up at the hospital with claws for hands and black pits for eyes, something bigger than their own problems seems to be taking form….

Holy smokes! I read this one in its entirety while on vacation in Florida. Read that sentence again. I read this book while on a three-day Florida vacation packed with things to do and places to see. That is how awesome this book is. I read it in the morning while at the hotel breakfast and again at night when I was so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open. And I read a big chunk of it on the plane. I could not put it down …

and when it ended…

I could not wait to get my hands on the next one.

As Jace and Clary have now made it to boyfriend and girlfriend – what we had all (ok – me) been hoping for comes to reality only to seem to be ripped away as soon as it happens. While this may be a familiar scene in books of this genre – be sure that Cassandra Clare has put a spin on things to make it unique and page turning all at once. And with Simon’s battle of who and what he is you got to feel for him, I mean… a guys got to eat right?

Another solid delivery, Cassandra Clare takes us to yet another level of her world that is breathtaking and fast paced. How I long to add Shadow Hunter to my bucket list of things to do…..

A+ read.

Morning Meanderings…. Caution Required When Listening to Patterson’s Audio Books

Published on November 14, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)8 Comments

Mmmmm…. good morning! I am enjoying a delicious cup of coffee from my new coffee pot the Tassimo, thanks to House Party. It took a bit to get the hang of it but now… I may be addicted.

SO feel free to nickname me absentee blogger, that’s the way I feel lately. I am seriously hoping to get my mojo back and my hope lies in the winter months when life tends to slow down a bit for me and I hate the cold and wet and snow so I tend to spend more time indoors doing bloggy type things.

You may know I have a weakness for Patterson’s audio books (go ahead, insert your own groan here). Particularly the Michael Bennett series… the one about the cop with the ten adopted kids… I know a bot crazy but I love the story line. When recently offered the latest in this series for review that was a hard YES! One of the things I love about these adios and they are excellent at sound effects.. not cheesy ones… but good ones and set up for the right time. Gun shots, etc… A few years back when I started listening to these books while driving I had a time when a gunshot was on the audio and I seriously thought I was being shot at.

In central Minnesota…. can you imagine? 😯

SO now I am listening to this new one and I am at the grocery store pulling out of my parking spot when the audio makes a crashing noise. My heart stops… I am sure I just hit something….

Egads…. GOOD audio!

I am looking forward to a fairly mellow weekend. There is a 5k opportunity this weekend that I am not signed up for but kind of considering… maybe maybe not…. but books are definitely on the upcoming weekend agenda.

Questions to ponder… do you like audio (Laurel…. be kind! 😉 ) AND do you like sound effects in your audio? Also… what are your plans this weekend. I had an idea for a fun meme to start off the new year with that I am kind of excited about implementing… stay tuned… I will post about it in a few weeks 😀

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on November 10, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)20 Comments

Last week I was in Florida for a fun weekend with my college son. Thank you to Vicki at I’d Rather Be At The Beach for hosting while I was away. 😀

Since I came back Monday evening last week, I was able to put up a couple posts…

A little bit of the Florida recap

City Of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

A chance to feel like I was on on e of those “Picker” shows….

City Of Glass By Cassandra Clare

You may see a pattern in my reading… I am devouring the Mortal Instrument books! As for what else I am reading/listening to…

Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.

One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.

Grace Stanton’s life as a rising media star and beloved lifestyle blogger takes a surprising turn when she catches her husband cheating and torpedoes his pricey sports car straight into the family swimming pool. Grace suddenly finds herself locked out of her palatial home, checking account, and even the blog she has worked so hard to develop in her signature style. Moving in with her widowed mother, who owns and lives above a rundown beach bar called The Sandbox, is less than ideal. So is attending court-mandated weekly “divorce recovery” therapy sessions with three other women and one man for whom betrayal seems to be the only commonality. When their “divorce coach” starts to act suspiciously, they decide to start having their own Wednesday “Ladies’ Night” sessions at The Sandbox, and the unanticipated bonds that develop lead the members of the group to try and find closure in ways they never imagined. Can Grace figure out a new way home and discover how strong she needs to be to get there?

In David Vann’s searing novel Goat Mountain, an 11-year-old boy at his family’s annual deer hunt is eager to make his first kill. His father discovers a poacher on the land, a 640-acre ranch in Northern California, and shows him to the boy through the scope of his rifle. With this simple gesture, tragedy erupts, shattering lives irrevocably.

In prose devastating and beautiful in its precision, David Vann creates a haunting and provocative novel that explores our most primal urges and beliefs, the bonds of blood and religion that define and secure us, and the consequences of our actions—what we owe for what we’ve done.

Thats what is happening here. What are you listening to? Please add your Monday What Are You Reading post where it says click here. 😀

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