Morning Meanderings – Jill (Softdrink) Made Me Do It

Published on September 5, 2012September 5, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)8 Comments

Good morning! It doesn’t take me long to get back into town and then get involved in something. It started with some innocent blog visiting (or so I thought) and then WHAM! I go visit Jill at Fizzy Thoughts and read this:

I know your TBR list is huge. I know your commitments are many. I know that there are so many things on which you must take a stand, and it can be exhausting to make reading a political activity. But this is so important to me, and I really think it should be important to you, too. None of us lives in a monochromatic world, and yet the fact that terrifying hate crimes still occur makes it clear that we do not fully understand or trust each other. And maybe part of the reason is because the media we consume does not accurately reflect the diversity of our society. And books are such a massive part of the media we consume that we should demand and fight for those that do represent minorities and those that do present the world from a different perspective than the one we are used to. So please – participate. You may just discover a character or an author or a setting or a story that will completely change your life.

So of course… all of this “too much on my plate already” applies to me but now my curiosity is piqued so I follow the Bloggy trail to BookLust and learn more about this Diverse Universe Blog Tour that is important and informative and basically had me signing on the dotted line. The basic plan? Read one book written by a person of color between September 23 and 29. If you are stumped at what to pick.. lists are provided.

So after reading all that I checked out the lists and set up to be a part of the tour and my book I will be reading is:

If you want to participate sign up here. Thanks Jill for letting me know about this 😀

This morning I have hauled my sleepy self to the YMCA where I have committed to meeting my friend Trish for morning workouts. I have not been to the YMCA in months, but fall is here and its time to commit to an exercise regimen so here I am trying to get started…. out plan was to meet at 6:30 am. I am already tired just thinking about it…

The Unfinished Garden by Barbara Claypole White

Published on September 4, 2012September 4, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)27 Comments

Tilly Silverberg loves her garden.

After her husband had passed away, her garden and her thriving plant business is her sanctuary. Between that and her son Isaac, Tilly finds enough to keep her mind busy and to avoid sticking a toe out beyond her own little world. Its safe in Tilly’s world and it is enough.

James Nealy has money to spare and when he wants something… it is just a matter of tossing money at it to make it so. As an in demand software developer he has trouble quieting the activity in his mind, but he has a plan to do just that… by creating a garden. He has seen Tilly’s work and wants her to be the designer even as she doesn’t think she is the right person for the job – after all, she sells plants, she does not design gardens.

And so the story goes, a family emergency creates a new way to escape for Tilly and as she retreats with Isaac to where she grew up she finds that while on the outside things look wonderfully the same – they clearly are not. Her best friend has a secret, her mother is plotting, and an old boyfriend is available and that is a temptation Tilly does not want… but does.

And then suddenly there is the compulsive and attractive James knocking on her door, asking again about an idea he has for a garden…..

20120831_121826 — As featured in Book Page magazine

Why did I want to read this book? Well… cover love for one! This was offered to me through a TLC book tour and I thought the synopsis sounded fun.

AND The Unfinished Garden was fun… an adventure really. Barbara Claypole White’s characters jump off the page. I was reading this book this past week and while at first it seemed a bit jumbled (those first pages…) do not be discouraged! Suddenly the book was flowing nicely along and I really found myself enjoying Tilly and her strength. While James is not normally the type of character I would find myself drawn to (the impulsiveness, the guilt he carries) I dd find myself waver a bit… it was not a love, but I was able to like him.

The book provided a nice story line that kept me engaged and interested. I am not a fan of romance reads, but this one never felt heavy in that department and I am thankful for that. This book to me was a story about second chances and finding the strength to let go… and in ways that are both sweet and surprising, I think you will find that both Tilly and James are characters with flaws that are endearing because they reflect some of the same flaws we can find in ourselves.

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

Thank you to TLC book tours for allowing me to spend some time in the garden.

Morning Meanderings… Back to the daily grind and kick off to September

Published on September 4, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)11 Comments

Good morning! After 5 glorious days up North at our cabin, I am now home again, rested, and ready to jump into September. This month is another busy one, work wise and life wise, every weekend has something. You think after this summer I would be used to that kind of activity.

Recapping the past week, I went to the cabin on Wednesday afternoon. It is about a 3 1/2 hour drive from here. I went with two of our three dogs, Bailey and Sam the small ones went with me, Mater had to go to a kennel, too big and too puppy yet to go and hang out with people. Our friends Chad and Amy and their girls came on Thursday evening, my hubby Al, and out friends Dan and Key came on Friday afternoon.

When I was alone, I read and watched a couple movies, even did some writing.

There are quite a few awesome things coming up in September including my read a long of Bel Canto which we will be discussing and doing give aways for next Tuesday, and I will be putting together sign ups this week for participants for this years Banned Books Week which will start at the end of September going through the first part of October, and the Bloggiesta will also be at the end of September.

So while fall is not my favorite season (mainly because I know what follows…..) there are some great events happening in the book world, and in activities that will keep me going. 😀

How was everyones weekend? Did you do anything fun? Any fun plans for the week?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on September 2, 2012September 2, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)24 Comments

Welcome to It’s Monday! What Are You Reading! This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

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. I offer a weekly contest for those who visit 10 or more of the Monday Meme participants and leave a comment telling me how many you visited. **You do not have to have a blog to participate! You receive one entry for every 10 comments, just come back here and tell me how many in the comment area.

**I will choose last weeks winner when I get back in to town tomorrow afternoon 🙂

So…. I hope everyone’s Labor Day weekend was wonderful. I have spent mine with wonderful friends and my hubby at our cabin up North. We have had great food, conversation, laughter, exploring, and a campfire, and a birthday celebration. While through out this morning and afternoon they have all trickled back home, I am staying through tonight, enjoying a little R and R and reflecting back on a wonderful summer. I will post more about this on Tuesday.

AND since I am currently sitting at a picnic table in Silver Bay Minnesota writing this post as I do not have internet service at the cabin I am going to keep this brief as I need to get in to the store I came into town for before it closes. 😀

As far as reading has gone, it has been a great weekend fr that. I have read three books (I was here two days before company came so have had some GOOD book time, I plan to read another book yet tonight and by the time I finish driving home tomorrow I will have an audio book in as well. Since I am not near my books I am not really sure what I am reading this week, but I will be reading. 😀 I do miss this good reading time that I was able to experience this weekend.

Please add your Its Monday What ARe You Reading tot he link below and check out what others have read this past week and are planning to read this week. I should get some time to visit when I return home tomorrow. When posting what you have been reading on Facebook, please add the hashtag: #IMWAYR

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Share with me… what book/audio has been with you this weekend?

The Infinity Ring by James Dashner (with giveaway!!!)

Published on August 30, 2012August 30, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)18 Comments

Dak Smyth leads a pretty boring, he actually prefers to spend most of his time in the past, digging through history books and spouting out facts much to his parents embarrassment and his classmates delight to ridicule him. His best friend Sera Frosts however gets him… in fact, if someone to ask Dak, he would tell you that she is an even bigger nerd than he is.

When Sera finds the final piece to Dak’s parents secret attempt at creating a time machine called the Infinity Ring, Daks life gets a whole lot more interesting. After all, how much cooler is it to go back and experience history first hand then read about it hundreds of years later? When Dak and Sera go back in time with Dak’s parents things go terribly wrong… for one thing, when they return Dak and Sera are alone, somehow Dak’s parents are lost in time. And when Dak and Sera are taken away by people who want and need what the Infinity Ring can do… things go from bad to worse.

Now Dak and Sera, and a Historian named Riq are on a mission to go back in time and not only fix what is called a “break” in time, but hopefully find Dak’s parents along the way. First stop… Spain, 1492…. and a meeting with Christopher Columbus!

Why did I want to read this book? I met James Dashner in New York this past June and thought he was hilarious. I enjoyed his quick whit and while I have two of his books on my shelves, I have yet to read them. When he showed us a sample of what was coming up with Infinity Ring and the on line game that goes with it.. I ( a recovering gamer myself…) was sold.

Infinity Ring is a middle grade style read. In the beginning it gave me memories of Narnia, kids traveling to another world, in this case, another time. Yet Infinity Ring is going to speak to todays young teens. The book is fun and moves quickly and holds your attention. Within the book the main characters (all in their teens) solve word and picture puzzles to know what they are supposed to do. I found this highly engaging as I love puzzles and wanted to figure out the clues right along with them!

While the 8-14 year old will enjoy this book, parents can be thrilled that they are getting in a little history as well. Dashner as sprinkled this story with historical facts about the places they visit. When the book is done, the front flap of the book has a secret panel that the reader is to open only after they have finished the book. I can not tell you what is behind the flap… I can tell you that it is super cool. 😀

And finally, I think what is also going to excite the readers is the online game that goes with the book(s) where you can go and work the puzzles out yourself and solve the breaks, just like the characters do in the book!

Not only did I really enjoy the multi dimensions of the book, I love the fact that this will be a series of books that will be written by different authors and continue the story. The book was fairly short but I think that is a good length for the age of the reader and it will leave them wanting more.

Recommended! Can’t wait to read more of Dashner!

**Note I received an ARC of this book while in New York and I am offering that book up for giveaway at this time. Leave a comment here letting me know if you were to go back in time, where would you like to go and why? What historical event would you like to witness? I will choose a winner on Tuesday, Sept. 4

Amazon Rating

I received my ARC of this book from Scholastic and I

bought my copy from Amazon

Morning Meanderings… Scraping in a North Shore Post

Published on August 30, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)8 Comments

Greetings from the North Shore. More pointedly for those of you who know I do not have internet at the cabin *shudder*, greeting from the Finland Library.

I arrived yesterday afternoon at the cabin after traveling the 3 1/2 hours in the jeep filled with my luggage, groceries, a new board game, two lawn chairs, a blanket, towels, books for the book shelf, movies, and two dogs… Bailey and Sam. Yes…. this was a very FULL vehicle. 😛

So what does a person do at a cabin before everyone else gets there? Well… first unpack, store food, and put the books on the shelf. Then I walked the yard for firewood for our campfires this weekend. I watched a movie, read a book and started another one. I talked to the neighbor, walked the dogs and think I was in bed by 10. Late tonight the first of our friends who are staying with us this weekend will arrive. More will come tomorrow afternoon. I am so excited! 😀

I drove the 6 miles into town today to pick up eggs, milk, and a few things for our dinners over the next few days. I stopped at the library to check emails, write a review and hang out in civilization for a bit before I head back for the day. 😀 Today I will do a little cleaning, a little reading, and maybe watch another movie. I cant remember the last time I was able to just sit down and read an entire book or watch an entire movie. 😀

The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner

Published on August 29, 2012August 29, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)15 Comments

Ruth Saunders is 23 and the writer and creator of The Next Best Thing tv show. When the phone call comes in that the studio is interested in picking up her show (insert SSSQQQUUUEEEEE’s here), she hauls herself and her 70-year-old grandmother cross-country to start production.

Dreams of making it big are not always as they seem as Ruth soon finds the demands of finding actors who fit her vision for the show is not as glamorous as one would think… the actors are opinionated and hard to keep track of, executives are trying to change what made the show what Ruth envisioned, her Grandma has up and decided she is getting married (MARRIED???) and well… of course there is that one hot and unreachable guy…

Seriously… why didn’t Ruth just take up a safer career path, like ski diving?

1aabb — Click to see this bigger at its original site

Why did I want to read this book? I have followed Jennifer Weiner’s books in a sort of offhand way. It seems that while I do not necessarily seek them out, they do find their way into my hands or into my book club. She is the author of In Her Shoes (enjoyed that one!) and Good In Bed (have not read it) I also seen Jennifer in New York this year, she was one of the speakers.

The Next Best Thing is an ok read. It seems I have read several books this year that deal with mid twenties women and their grandmothers. I think that is interesting… and wonder why that seems to be a theme. Is writing about a young woman tamed down by pairing her close to her grandmother? I am not saying the idea is a bad one… just curious that several books like that have found their way to me. 😀

While The Next Best Thing is funny, quirky and enjoyable, that is about where I would leave it. There was no big “OH! NO WAY!” moment, just a few… speed bumps along the way. I enjoyed the narration and the storyline to the end, there are some great laughs and as I can imagine, a little insight as what it must really be like to work with actors on a set… things I did not think about like how they need to maintain a certain weight, stay sober, not make drastic changes to their bodies… The grandma of course is funny and wise and Ruth’s rock.

A good easy summer read.

Morning Meanderings… A Camping I Will Go!

Published on August 29, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)12 Comments

Good morning! Anyone else have or having a whirlwind summer? I think this is the busiest summer I have had…. maybe ever! 😀 I have been bike riding for miles and miles and running and mud ruckusing (my word), I have been hanging our with friends, at the cabin, in New York, I have been to a week long camp, the state fair… and now this weekend back to our cabin up North with friends.

I am so looking forward to this.

I am actually leaving this afternoon, two days before anyone else. Mater is going to a kennel, the other two small dogs are going with me. I am almost packed, have a meeting at work this morning and then I am off…. 3+ hours to the cabin means audio all the way 😀 I am going to read, write, and watch movies.

When our friends and Al trickle in we will enjoy board games, camp fires, exploring the north shore, biking and probably more reading. I really am excited as most of my activities throughout the summer have been highly active in the DOING mode. This week I get to just BE. 😀 I will be on line off and on throughout the weekend. I have to drive to internet service but I have reviews lined up and will pop in with the meandering when I can. 😀

September doesn’t really slow down much… the first weekend I am in charge of a tailgate party for about 250-300 people, 2nd weeekend is Al’s birthday and I am meeting author Sandra Brannan for dinner in the cities on the 15th (SSQQQUUUEEE), 3rd weekend I am doing a scavenger hunt in the cities with my friend Amy, and the 4th weekend I am having a family reunion here at our house.

Hmmmmm…. I should enjoy this quiet weeekend…LOL

Have a super rest of your week!

Morning Meanderings… Please Tell Me This Happens To You Too

Published on August 28, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)35 Comments

Good Morning. Wow, it feels nice just to sit at my own kitchen table and type this. It has been a while since I wrote a morning post from this spot. 😀

So on Sunday evening when I posted the It’s Monday What Are You Reading post, I posted that I was going to listen to Dean Koontz’ What The Night Knows. I was in the mood for a little mystery and as I looked at my audio books yet to listen to that one called to me. Yesterday afternoon while digging through my book piles for a book (yes digging because I emptied the room that holds my books for the new shelves and the shelves are not here yet *sigh*) I started listening to it and the creep factor was just right….

and then…

it wasn’t.

While listening they got to a part where the detective keeps turning his ring on his finger. How odd, I thought… I have read that before where someone is turning their ring on their finger. Then I went to my laptop… to this site and types in the title. Sure enough… I had listened to this in April of this year.

W O W. 😯

I used to do that all the time many years ago, start reading something and discovering I had already read it. It is exactly what lead me to start journals of what I read which eventually lead to online journaling which was… the creation of Book Journey.

So tell me, have you done that? Started reading something only to discover you already had?

Now I have switched it up to There And Back Again by Sean Astin. Sean is the actor who played Samwise (Frodo’s very good friend) in The Lord Of The Rings. I am enjoying it. 😀

Today I work and then have some errands to run. I am heading up to the cabin in the morning. I am going a couple days earlier than the rest of the group going for a little down time and to prepare the groceries, etc. More on that… tomorrow morning.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on August 26, 2012August 26, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)89 Comments

Jennifer from The Relentless Reader!!!

Congratulations! Please email me your book choice out of the Reading Cafe at journeythroughbooks@gmail.com. **And note, once I get the new shelves in there will be a lot of additions to the giveaway shelves.

I was out of town all week and weekend and missed my morning Sunday Salon so here is a little recap of my week here. Camp was a great time… beautiful weather, new friends and old ones, an awesome week. This weekend Al (hubby, hubster…) took me to the State Fair. I was tired and wiped out from the week at camp but really who can turn down the opportunity for strange and fried foods on a stick? Al tried the breaded meatball surrounding a hard boiled egg on a stick. He said it was good… I am just going to take his word for that. 😛

Last night we stayed at the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake MN and that was an experience. Our room was amazing with a jacuzzi and a little living room area. We are at the casino buffet but unfortunately we were too full from the greasy stuff we tried at the State Fair to really enjoy the dinner.

We got back in town early afternoon and I have been relaxing and catching up on a little post writing. Here is what was posted here this past week:

Muckruckus pics that I forgot to post of the mud run!

The Crying Tree by Naseem Rahka (a Bookies book club review)

An Abundance Of Katherine’s by John Green

A Recap Of My Week At Camp Benedict

Waiting On John Green (Write John Write!!!)

Not too bad considering the week I just had! I am on the verge of finishing my audio in the car and in the CD player in the kitchen and will have some good audio time in the car this week when I head up to our cabin on Wednesday morning for the Labor Day weekend. I am heading to the cabin two days before Al and our friends to get in a little down time before I gear up again for the fun weekend! This will also mean some reading time (YAY!) so here is my plan for this week:

History is broken, and three kids must travel back in time to set it right!

When best friends Dak Smyth and Sera Froste stumble upon the secret of time travel — a hand-held device known as the Infinity Ring — they’re swept up in a centuries-long secret war for the fate of mankind. Recruited by the Hystorians, a secret society that dates back to Aristotle, the kids learn that history has gone disastrously off course.

Now it’s up to Dak, Sera, and teenage Hystorian-in-training Riq to travel back in time to fix the Great Breaks . . . and to save Dak’s missing parents while they’re at it. First stop: Spain, 1492, where a sailor named Christopher Columbus is about to be thrown overboard in a deadly mutiny!

This will be my first James Dashner. He made such an impression on me at BEA this year I am excited to read this book that will be released this week!

James Nealy is haunted by irrational fears and inescapable compulsions. A successful software developer, he’s thrown himself into a new goal—to finally conquer the noise in his mind. And he has a plan. He’ll confront his darkest fears and build something beautiful: a garden. When he meets Tilly Silverberg, he knows she holds the key…even if she doesn’t think so.

After her husband’s death, gardening became Tilly’s livelihood and her salvation. Her thriving North Carolina business and her young son, Isaac, are the excuses she needs to hide from the world. So when oddly attractive, incredibly tenacious James demands that she take him on as a client, her answer is a flat no.

When a family emergency lures Tilly back to England, she’s secretly glad. With Isaac in tow, she retreats to her childhood village, which has always stayed obligingly the same. Until now. Her best friend is keeping secrets. Her mother is plotting. Her first love is unexpectedly, temptingly available. And then James appears on her doorstep.

Away from home, James and Tilly forge an unlikely bond, tenuous at first but taking root every day. And as they work to build a garden together, something begins to blossom between them—despite all the reasons against it.

I am on tour with this one for this coming Thursday!

Callie loves theater. And while she would totally try out for her middle school’s production of Moon Over Mississippi, she’s a terrible singer. Instead she’s the set designer for the stage crew, and this year she’s determined to create a set worthy of Broadway on a middle-school budget. But how can she, when she doesn’t know much about carpentry, ticket sales are down, and the crew members are having trouble working together? Not to mention the onstage AND offstage drama that occurs once the actors are chosen, and when two cute brothers enter the picture, things get even crazier! Following the success of SMILE, Raina Telgemeier brings us another graphic novel featuring a diverse set of characters that humorously explores friendship, crushes, and all-around drama!

Another one coming out this week!

In the late summer of a long-ago year, a killer arrived in a small city. His name was Alton Turner Blackwood, and in the space of a few months he brutally murdered four families. His savage spree ended only when he himself was killed by the last survivor of the last family, a fourteen-year-old boy. Half a continent away and two decades later, someone is murdering families again, re-creating in detail Blackwood’s crimes. Homicide detective John Calvino is certain that his own family — his wife and three children — will be targets in the fourth crime, just as his parents and sisters were victims on that distant night when he was fourteen and killed their slayer. As a detective, John is a man of reason who deals in cold facts. But an extraordinary experience convinces him that sometimes death is not a one-way journey, that sometimes the dead return. Here is a ghost story like no other you have read.

I do love Dean Koontz…. have not read him in awhile!

That’s the plan for this week. How has this past week been for you? How is this coming week looking for books? I would love to see what you are reading! Please add your What Are You Reading link to the place where it says “click here” so we can come and see! 😀 Also be sure to use the hashtag #IMWAYR for your Twitter connections!