Book Journey

Kick Off To Our Banned Book Week Celebration!

Published on September 15, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)23 Comments

This week (yes, a week early 😀 ) myself and some fab book bloggers/ reviewers are going to write post and talk about Banned Books. I hope you will peek over here each morning where I will link the posts to banned books. Some of these posts throughout this week will be offering giveaways, and I will be offering the Banned Book Mug to one lucky commenter here throughout the week (each comment here this week will give you another entry) and another Banned Book Mug to one one of the participants who writes a post (not too late to sign up).

Here is what the mug looks like…. feel free to “ooooh and ahhhhhhh”

Today’s hot topics come from:

Matthew at The Absurb Word Nerd wrote a post called Getting The Banned Back Together.

I read Matthews post this morning and it is brilliant. Awesome really. It should be banned because I probably like it too much and probably smiled and nodded too much therefore causing me to spend too much time on it. 😛 But read it. Really it is brilliant!

There is supposed to be a second post up but I do not see it posted yet so I will link it later if it is posted. 😀

This afternoon, I will be opening up a book that is not banned, but is about banning and censorship:

Ella Minnow Pea is a girl living happily on the fictional island of Nollop off the coast of South Carolina. Nollop was named after Nevin Nollop, author of the immortal pangram,* “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” Now Ella finds herself acting to save her friends, family, and fellow citizens from the encroaching totalitarianism of the island’s Council, which has banned the use of certain letters of the alphabet as they fall from a memorial statue of Nevin Nollop. As the letters progressively drop from the statue they also disappear from the novel. The result is both a hilarious and moving story of one girl’s fight for freedom of expression, as well as a linguistic tour de force sure to delight word lovers everywhere.

*pangram: a sentence or phrase that includes all the letters of the alphabet

I heard about this book two years ago while in New York for BEA and found two copies of it last year at a book sale where I promptly snatched them both up. I have not read it yet, but think the idea behind it is brilliant.

What are you reading this week in preparation for banned book week OR what have you read that surprises you that is on the banned book list?

Morning Meanderings… A Little Time In A Police Car

Published on September 14, 2013September 14, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)27 Comments

Good morning all! Happy Saturday! I hope you have been enjoying your fall ( yeah I said it…. Fall) week. My week has been fairly mellow and I have enjoyed reading and finally was able to load Itunes on my new laptop and working Audible to work with it so I can get back on my overload of audio I enjoy. I started listening to The Returned yesterday… and wow… I am enjoying it.

Last weekend my friend Amy and I were on our way to a bike ride in St Paul when we stopped in a small town for gas. There was a car show nearby and an old-time police car was also at this gas station. Of course, opportunity presented itself and we asked if we could get in the car and we granted that permission and the owner took a picture for us as well.

So there is my contribution to Saturday Snapshot this week. 😀 Stop by and check out other Saturday Snapshots at Metro Mommy.

Also, if you have not seen my post on Banned Book Week, it is coming September 22 – 28. I am hosting Banned Book Week here as I have done the past three years but will be hosting it a week early as I will be in the wilderness the week of Banned Book Week this year, my first canoe and portage trip that will be seven days long, staying in a tent and no cell phone or internet access. 😯 So that said, Banned Book Week here, will start tomorrow. Sign up here to join in, or be sure to watch for all the fun posts and giveaways that I will link here 😀

Have a super Saturday! I am reading, cleaning, prepping banned book week, and later going out with friends for my hubbys birthday. What will you be doing with your Saturday?

Join In! Reading To Beat The Banned! Banned Book Week

Published on September 9, 2013September 9, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)17 Comments

One of my favorite weeks to get behind each year is Banned Book Week. I love discussing banned books because many people have no idea what consists of a banned or challenged book.

The American Library Association promotes the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinions even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular, and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those viewpoints to all who wish to read them. The following is a list of frequently asked questions on banned and challenged books:

What is the difference between a challenge or banning?

A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. Due to the commitment of librarians, teachers, parents, students and other concerned citizens, most challenges are unsuccessful and most materials are retained in the school curriculum or library collection.

~ALA website

I have never said that every banned book is one I want to read – but I do like my freedom to choose. Some of the more interesting (to me) banned books would be pretty much all of your classics:

To Kill A Mockingbird: It was banned because it had the “N” word in it 48 times out of 281 pages. It was banned because of its racist implications toward the government. Many people denied being racist, so this novel was the key to helping racism getting acknowledged. Also book reviewers said the information was wrong and that the court system she had written about was wrong, they believed the court system was fair.

The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn: It has always centered around the language of the book, although the “offending” language has changed in time. Originally, some people objected such “crude” words as “sweat.” They claim that perspiration was much less offensive and should have been used instead. Also, in 1902, the Brooklyn Public Library found offense with the novel because of the statement that “Huck not only itched but he scratched.”

Fahrenheit 451: banned for the book being about the burning (or banning) of books. No kidding.

The list goes on and on from Little Red Riding Hood, to Harry Potter, to Lord Of The Rings, To Charlotte’s Web, to Captain Underpants, to Hunger Games, to The Bible. If you are interested check out the list here to get a real feel for the books that have been banned or challenged over the years.

As in the past years, I will be hosting a Banned Book Event here at Book Journey and I would be thrilled if you would join me by writing a post during the week about a banned book you have read, about censorship…. This year will have a twist to it. I am going to be on a 7 day canoe and portage trip during banned book week and will be out of all computer and cell phone range. I hate to not do banned book week because I think it is an important week to share in the books we love that are challenged and banned each year – SO…. I am planning to run the Banned Book event a week early from September 15 through September 21. If you are interested in participating please fill out the short form below by this Saturday September 14th and I will be in contact with you to confirm your date. If you do not have a blog and wish to participate you can write a guest post and send it to me to be posted here. I hope we can once again make this a fun and educational Banned Book Week! If you need some ideas, here is a list of some of the banned/challenged books.

As a little bonus – I have two Banned Book Mugs I will be giving away – one to a blogger who writes a post and one to one of the comments on the posts during the week. I encourage you as well, if you can to have a giveaway on your blog.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on September 8, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)32 Comments

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. While I am no longer offering up the giveaway incentive, I do hope you will still see the value of visiting other participants and seeing what they are reading- be warned though… this meme tends to add to your reading lists

Well if you are a regular tot his meme you know I totally missed last weeks post and that is rare. I was out of town, out of internet range and once home… flat out too tired to post. 😀

I actually posted this week a couple of times, here is what is new this week:

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger (Another one to check out!)

The White Princess by Philippa Gregory (audio baby and it was FANTASTIC!)

Why Do We Choose The Books We Do?

As for this week I am reading and listening to:

Don’t Sweat. Don’t Laugh. Don’t draw attention to yourself. And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.

Gene is different from everyone else around him. He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood. Gene is a human, and he knows the rules. Keep the truth a secret. It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood.

When he’s chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him. He’s thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible—and into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever—but is it worth the cost of his humanity?

In the present day, as the man-made apocalypse unfolds, three strangers navigate the chaos. Lila, a doctor and an expectant mother, is so shattered by the spread of violence and infection that she continues to plan for her child’s arrival even as society dissolves around her. Kittridge, known to the world as “Last Stand in Denver,” has been forced to flee his stronghold and is now on the road, dodging the infected, armed but alone and well aware that a tank of gas will get him only so far. April is a teenager fighting to guide her little brother safely through a landscape of death and ruin. These three will learn that they have not been fully abandoned—and that in connection lies hope, even on the darkest of nights.

One hundred years in the future, Amy and the others fight on for humankind’s salvation . . . unaware that the rules have changed. The enemy has evolved, and a dark new order has arisen with a vision of the future infinitely more horrifying than man’s extinction. If the Twelve are to fall, one of those united to vanquish them will have to pay the ultimate price.

“Jacob was time out of sync, time more perfect than it had been. He was life the way it was supposed to be all those years ago. That’s what all the Returned were.”

Harold and Lucille Hargrave’s lives have been both joyful and sorrowful in the decades since their only son, Jacob, died tragically at his eighth birthday party in 1966. In their old age they’ve settled comfortably into life without him, their wounds tempered through the grace of time…. Until one day Jacob mysteriously appears on their doorstep—flesh and blood, their sweet, precocious child, still eight years old.

All over the world people’s loved ones are returning from beyond. No one knows how or why this is happening, whether it’s a miracle or a sign of the end. Not even Harold and Lucille can agree on whether the boy is real or a wondrous imitation, but one thing they know for sure: he’s their son. As chaos erupts around the globe, the newly reunited Hargrave family finds itself at the center of a community on the brink of collapse, forced to navigate a mysterious new reality and a conflict that threatens to unravel the very meaning of what it is to be human.

It feels good to be getting back into some sort of groove again. So what are you reading? Add your link below.

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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!

Why Do We Choose The Books We Do?

Published on September 8, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)23 Comments

Three weeks ago was our Brainerd Library sale. Normally I post much quicker on my treasures, but it was a busy time and honestly, I had not even opened the bags until I went to take these pictures today. Prior to opening the bags – I could not have named more than 5 of the books I had in them. I knew I had some old Nancy Drew, but that was about it. Opening them reminded me all over again why I chose to bring them home.

I choose books for many reasons. I choose because of covers and titles. When I go the library sale I can not resist a lovely eye-catching huge hard cover read for 50 cents ( you will see a few of those here). I like picking up books that I LOVED for someone else to enjoy. I look for authors I have enjoyed, and I pick up books that I have listened to on audio and really enjoyed, like Joshilyn Jackson’s A Grown Up Kind Of Pretty and HIllary Mantell’s Wolf Hall.

I look for books I have really wanted to read like The Year Of Living Biblically and Mansfield Park.

Or I have been told that they are AMAZING like Blind Your Ponies .

And all together they compile the books that were in the bags. 😀

How do you choose the books you read?

Morning Meanderings… What I Did With My Summer

Published on September 7, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)21 Comments

Remember back in school when you would start the new year and the teacher would have you write what you did with your summer? Just me? Well… we did that here in Minnesota. As I sit here this morning annoyingly coffee free (I forgot to pick some up at the store yesterday),I thought it would be fun as I was mostly absent, to share in pictures what I was doing this summer.

So… here we go:

20130622_204523 — **I spent several weekends on the North Shore at our cabin with friends biking, hiking,watching movies, playing board games and just hanging out together.**

On The Fourth of July we son and I along with a couple of his friends learned that one of our restaurants in town used to be considered “haunted”. The lady working there let us go down underneath he restaurant into old tunnels where the “supposed” paranormal activity was once taking place.

z40 — **My Book Club the Bookies that their annual Queen event. Congrats to our new Queen Angie!**

**Ironman bike ride with Amy. 50 miles**

R1-07003-0029a — **My son and I did the “Go Commando” obstacle course in the cities. His first which was a lot of fun.**

R1-07003-0011 — **This was the finish of that course.**

**1st Ever Brainerd Lakes Jam Concert. FUN!**

**We had the House Party for Big Girl Panties on my back deck. A lot of fun!**

**Two day 150 mile bike ride for Camp Benedict**

001 — **I went with my cousin and his wife and kids to the first Vikings pre game this year.**

**I went into Wisconsin with Rhonda and we completed the Muckruchus for MS – this was my second year doing this muddy obstacle course.**

**I helped plan and execute Brainerd first ever Wine and Words author event in August. Our goal this first year was 100 people. We had 177. AWESOME time!**

**Our authors were amazing! Sandra Brannan, William Kent Krueger, Lorna Landvik, Wendy Webb, and Sarah Pekkanen**

1ca — **Labor Day weekend we were at the North Shore again and got to try our hand at Archery!**

This is my contribution to Saturday Snapshot hosted my Metro Mommy. Stop in over there as well and see what others are posting about this weekend 😀

The White Princess by Phillipa Gregory

Published on September 5, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)14 Comments

Philippa Gregory weaves a fiction tale so fine through factual history that is at times hard to see where one begins and the other ends. Fantastic reading! ~Sheila

When Henry’s battle ends with a crown to a kingdom that he is not handed, but instead takes from the battle ground as his own , he know that his only hope is to marry the Princess Elizabeth of York to bind the Tudors and the Yorks after nearly two decades.

Elizabeth is both beautiful and strong-minded and in love with a man who was slain during this war. Henry in turn shows Elizabeth no love or affection but instead parades her around as his prize possession and handles her roughly and against er will behind closed doors.

Ahhhh…. the lives of the Tudors and the Yorks.

In the hearts of those in England they hope and pray for someone to come along and return the power of the kingdom to the York’s. When a young man come sup against the kingdom the battle begins as Henry fights to protect his stolen kingdom and Elizabeth watches with interest and fear as this man who claims to be her long-lost brother comes to return the power to York and Elizabeth now has to choose between a man she is coming to love and the boy who could save them all.

Why did I want to read this book? Ever since The Boleyn Girl I have adores Phillipa Gregory’s writing. Her writing flows with passion and facts and fills the holes that time has created giving us “what if” to think about.

The White Princess was just as fulfilling as I had hoped when I chose to listen tot his one on audio. Narrator Bianca Amato is a fantastic choice for Gregory’s books as her accent is perfect for the narration and I found myself trying to roll words off my own tongue as she did.

“Whot?” (What)

I tried a few at work but my rendition is nowhere near perfect as Bianca’s. Audio book lovers, you will thank me when I tell you try this one in audio.

Phillipa Gregory is not known as the “Queen Of Royal Fiction” without cause. Her books are interesting and bring you right to the time of flowing gowns, castles filled with servants and royalty, and a longing to be a part of the court. Every time I read her books I find myself fully engaged in whatever part of the story she is sharing at that moment.

The White Queen is breath-taking. We meet Elizabeth in earlier Cousin War books, but this is the storyline where she takes her place as Queen on a throne that is both welcoming and torturous. With her mother by her side, when she is not forced to go elsewhere, Elizabeth tries to be the Queen in every sense of the word, holding her head high and not let others see the pain behind her eyes, behind closed doors, and nowhere to ever escape.

In a reading slump or looking for your next “WOW!”, open up any one of Phillipa Gregory’s books. You do not have to read The Cousin’s War books in order, each one pops you right there and you will have no problem finding your place in the crowd of Gregory fans.

Morning Meanderings in 5 minutes or less

Published on September 4, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)10 Comments

I need to jump in the shower.

I also want to get back into blogging like I used to. With abandonment to all the rules… like ummmm…. showering. Yet I suppose personal hygiene is important thus the 5 minute post. 😀 And I want time to stop at Caribou coffee on my way in…. but I need to move on here.

Did you see I posted a book review yesterday? Yes me!!! I posted about Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger. Kind of proud of that, it was like a break through and there is plenty more to do so please hang with me people…. they are coming. 😀

Since I am being random this morning (always fun) I thought I would share with you my friend and fellow Bookies large profile picture on Facebook (the one that runs along the top of the page):

Is that not the cutest? And if you look closely you can see she is reading These Girls by Sarah Pekkanen! I think all our large pics on facebook should be us reading. I would have to think about mine 😀

Anyhoo – that shower is calling me so I am off. Have an awesome Wednesday.

What are you doing that is fun and exciting today?

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

Published on September 3, 2013September 3, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)26 Comments

“That was it. That was all of it. A grace so ordinary there was no reason at all to remember it. Yet I have never across the forty years since it was spoken forgotten a single word.”

William Kent Krueger

Like a soft whisper you barely hear, Ordinary Grace brings your senses to full attention – you are on alert for what will happen next and in the end, you were not even close to the truth but wow – what a fantastic journey!

Sheila DeChantal

New Bremen, Minnesota 1961. The Twins were a new team, ice cold frosty mugged root beer was the coveted drink of choice, and Hot Stuff comic books were the way to spend that change that was waiting in your jeans pocket. For thirteen year old Frank it started out as a summer of possibilities, but this summer had other plans, plans no one could have foreseen. The summer of 1961 in New Bremen Minnesota turned out to be the summer of death.

Frank, now 40, looks back at this summer of 61 with a sense of peace and awe at the grace of it all. In 1961 he lived with his Methodist Minister father of several churches in the area, his mother who never planned on being a ministers wife but that is what she was and while she liked to smoke cigarettes and hold her own identity she did her best as part of the choir at the churches, an older sister with talent that had her heading right towards the awaiting gates of Julliard and a tag along always under foot younger brother who while bothersome, was wise at the most perfect times. At the brink of manhood, Franks thirteenth year was one that changed his way of thinking for life.

Death comes in many forms: Accident. Nature. Suicide. Murder. Thirteen year old Frank is about to experience all of the above.

William Kent Krueger the end of August 2013 at Wine and Words in Baxter Minnesota signing away.
What a great down to earth guy! Meet him if you get the opportunity.

Why did I want to read this book? William Kent Krueger is a Minnesota legend. He is that author who is writing books that generate followers of his writing yet I had never read him. I have over the past several years picked up his books here and there, tales of Minnesota’s North Shore and while I planned on reading him…. I just never got to it. Thanks to Wine and Words and Kent’s generous offer to be a part of our debut year, I knew I had to (and wanted to!) read him and Ordinary Grace was told to be a different kind of tale for Krueger. With all that said – I was in. 🙂

Ordinary Grace is the kind of book you do not want to put down. It flows with a pace you would expect for 1961, a small town pace that reminds you of summer heat and the days before the media outpouring at every way you turn and the days of course where you could pick up a soda with a straw at the local drug store and make it last for hours.

As I melted into the pages of Frank’s life and his family I had no trouble at all seeing through thirteen year old Frank’s eyes. William Kent Krueger drew a perfect picture of the life and times of Frank and his family, and I fell right into Bremen as though I were a resident.

Drawn in completely Ordinary Grace has the town characters who are indeed “characters”. Gus (to name one)is the buddy each of us has in our life that likes to love life a little bit on the edge, not always a rule follower which keeps things interesting when you are with them and usually has a heart of gold and would do anything for you. And Gus is only one of the great people you will meet within the pages.

In the end, Ordinary Grace took my breath away. I cruised through the final pages as in rapid succession the missing pieces of the summer of 61 were dropped into place. I closed the final page with a sense of bewilderment in the crazy and amazing grace of a young boy who in a summers worth of days grew to know more than he had ever wanted or thought he needed, yet molded him into the man he was to become.

I can not wait to dig into William Kent Krueger’s books again. Tamarack County awaits for me.

Morning Meanderings… Missed What Are You Reading Post

Published on September 3, 2013 by Sheila (Book Journey)21 Comments

Good morning! Stop the rumors! I am still here – just living it up on the last big weekend of summer! I missed the Monday post entirely! 😛

We were at our cabin for the weekend with friends and had a BLAST! We (Al and I) left Thursday afternoon, and pour friends arrived later that night. We spent the weekend at Splitrock lighthouse, toured a brewery (small one), archery at the Temperance State Park, and drove to Soudan MN to tour the Soudan Mines – which are well worth the time if you are ever in the area.

Al and I arrived back home yesterday afternoon and I had a meal to make for a friend, and we had friends come over last night as well to catch up with each other. 😀 It was a fun fun four days.

I have missed blogging and have oodles of reviews to catch up on and hope to get them rolling out this week and starting this afternoon. I cant wait to catch up with all of you as well. Missed you fellow online book lovers! 😀

Here are a few pics of our weekend: