Morning Meanderings… Library Sale Finds!!! (You know there will be giveaways!)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)37 Comments

Good morning everyone!  Happy Friday!  Yesterday I mentioned I was on my way to the library sale in the wee hours of the morning because I just think it is fun to get their early and start the line… well guess what?  At 6:30 am (sale opens at 9 am), I was not first.  Nope.  😛  Epic fail on my part, I stopped for coffee on my way in and a lady beat me by 5 minutes…. LOL

It was still a great time… I love that the regulars know me by name and I enjoy talking books with the people who are around me. Our sale is 50 cents a book – paperback or hardcover, 50 cents for a movie or audio book (my heart…. be still!) and they have a few newer titles they ask a little more for – between 1 and 3 dollars.

So…. I left with this:

I spent $23.00’s.  I am thrilled with my haul!  

I meant to put up a review yesterday afternoon of our Bookies review (and food!) to go with the book The Crying Tree but time once again got away from me.  Instead, I spent my time setting up a Meal Train for a friend of ours who has been going through some tough health issues.  If you have not checked out this site, please do so.  I just learned about it myself and Meal train is super cool and easy to set up meals deliveries for a new parents, someone going through an illness, new home, or death in the family.  AND – it is free.  😀

Today I work at the Library Sale – all day.  They were short on help this year so I had told them they could have me all day.  I start at 8.  I may be there until 8 pm tonight. That’s ok… I am kind of excited (in a dorkish bookish way) to help people with their books.  😀  Laptop is going with me in the event there is an afternoon lull and I can sit and write up the review.  I hope this weekend to actually get around to seeing some blogs… I miss checking out what everyone has going on… life has just been…. FULL.

Happy Friday everyone.  Any fun weekend plans?

Saving Sammy: Curing The Boy Who Caught OCD by Beth Alison Maloney

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)4 Comments

 

Imagine… you are a newly single mom with three sons.  All your boys are wonderful and your son Sammy who just completed 5th grade has been told by his teacher that he scores higher in math skills then she has ever seen. 

Then that summer before 6th grade right after a move into a new home, Sammy starts some strange behavior.  He refuses to use the bathroom in the house and wants to only go outside to do his bathroom “business”, he also refuses to touch door knobs, and picks up things like silverware and phones with a kleenex over his hand.  Sammy slithers against walls, climbs over invisible obstacles, eats and walks with his eyes shut, hops to and from the car, has outbursts for no reason, refuses to bathe, and overall seems to be slipping into madness.

At first Beth Maloney, Sam’s mother, feels it is stress related due to her recent divorce from the boys father as well as the newness and/or strangeness of the new home.  But Sammy continues to get worse, unable to visit friends, go to school when it starts, or be left unattended.  Beth feels she is going crazy, missing work and visiting dr after dr as they diagnose Sammy with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) PANDA’s and even tourettes.  Later, Sammy gets to the point where he is unable to climb stairs and needs 20 – 40 minutes to get in or out of a vehicle.

This book is the true story of Beth’s undieing strength to find out what was wrong with her son, traveling to many doctor, trying many different options for cures, refusing to let go until her boy was brought back to who he once was. 

 

Why did I want to read this book?  I enjoy books about triumph over all odds and this subject matter interests me.  My own son in 4th grade was told by his teacher that he had ADD.  Being a young mom and having no resources to assist me, I agreed to put our son on the ADD medicine.  I remember that school year being a battle as the pills had to be taken at noon but they had to remain in the main office.  My son would continuously forget to go at noon to take his pill and then the office would refuse to give it to him because he did not come at the right time even though forgetfulness is a side affect of ADD.  *sigh*  Once summer came, I took our son off the medicine because it gave him headaches and told him we would see if a teacher said anything in the fall when he started middle school.  No one ever said that he had ADD again.

 

I did not mean to listen to this audio book now.  Ok, that sounds harsh, but in fact it is a cool thing.  What I mean is last week while mowing the lawn my last audio book ended.  The only book I had on my IPOD that I had not listened to yet was this one.  I felt I was not in the mood for a non fiction read but felt I could listen to it until I was done mowing for the day.  I instantly found myself engaged in the story line.  I did not know behavior could change so quickly and I gave Beth a lot of credit for handling it as well as she did.  (She admits to coming near to snapping a couple times but really – who wouldnt?)

Sammy’s story is truly incredible.  The narrator, Tavia Gilbert did a nice job of reading from Beth’s perspective.  She read with such intensity and passion that I had to check to make sure Beth was not reading this herself! 

I would think that anyone who has a child who has been diagnosed with OCD could relate well to this book – to Beth’s celebration of the small triumphs and the sheer downfall when habits returned after feeling it may be over. 

 

Goodreads Review

Morning Meanderings…. An Excellent Night With The Bookies and a book that made my mouth fall open!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)12 Comments

Good morning!  Its Wednesday!  Wednesday means many things to me… it is the middle of the work week for one…  it is also the day before our fall book sale.  Yes, you got that, there is another Brainerd book sale and I will be there bright and early hours before it opens doing what I do… socializing with fellow bookish people about books….  BLISS!

As a Friend Of The Library, they asked me this year to help work the sale, which I will do on Friday, however explained to them I could not work the day before because for set up because I am loving the waiting in line too much.  😛 

Last night was the Bookies meeting at my house and our 11 year Anniversary.  We started in August of 2001.  I am still shocked.  I never knew I would be still reviewing and chatting books with this AWESOME group, but I am…. and I love it.  Our book was The Crying Tree by Naseem Rahka, a book I finished on Monday evening and it left my mouth hanging open in parts that made me love the book even more.  Because?  It shocked me.  It surprised the heck out of me and some in my book club seen it coming, but others like me… did not. 

Our discussion was wonderful.  We had twenty questions… I had to narrow them down because we talked each question out 5 to 10 minutes.  It was a wonderful and deep discussion about family dynamics, kids in the 80’s compared to kids today, forgiveness, or more accurately – the willingness – or even the ability to forgive.

Any hoo…. I will put that review up tomorrow (Thursday).  Later I am hoping to put up the review of Saving Sammy, Curing The Boy Who Caught OCD.  It really was a fascinating true story that I can not wait to share with you.

Ok… off to work so they do not hang me by my toes….. “Sheila, why are you late today?”  Well….

I was blogging again.:  😉

Have a super day everyone!!!!  Have you read anything lately that made your mouth drop open?  I want to know about these books!

 

Anastasia’s Secret by Susanne Dunlap (YA review by Camryn)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)4 Comments

 

 

Anastasia’s Secret

I am personally fascinated by the Romanova’s and wonder if

I may enjoy this one more than Camryn as I love Historical Fiction!

~Sheila

 

Anastasia’s Secret is a book written by Susanne Dunlap. Anastasia Romanova is the daughter of the very last Russian tsar during the first World War. Anastasia’s family is used to a quiet existence, with occasional outings outside the palace. But when the revolution that builds up to World War one begins, her quiet, sheltered life with her family is torn apart. Her sisters, Olga, Tatiana, and Maria, her brother Alexei, her mother Alexandra and father Nicholas are all forced to move from palace to palace, under heavy guard, to stay out of harm’s way. Anastasia is always with her best friend, the boy she loves, Sasha. Sasha is a sympathetic young guard she met when she was just twelve years old. Their bond is strong, and he helps her in every way he can without drawing attention to himself. But, as the uprisings happen more and more often, will Anastasia’s family make it through the war? Or will they become yet more casualties?

A family surrounded by mystery….

 

I thought this book was….okay. It was slow moving, and at parts a little dull. I did like the way the author really portrayed Anastasia’s pain throughout the book; I felt like I understood her. The ending is really sad, and abrupt. But, you can’t change history. I read the epilogue, and I advise you to read it as well. It gives you a little more detail about what happened to Anastasia and her family. I would recommend this to anyone who like historical fiction.

Camryn is 13 years old, and enjoys reading YA books of the fantasy and romance genre. A few of her favorite books are “Hourglass” by Myra McEntire, “The Other Countess” by Eve Edwards, “Hush, Hush” by Becca Fitzpatrick, “The Immortals” series, the “Marked” series and the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” series.  When she’s not reading she enjoys watching Gilmore Girls or going to book sales for more books to add to her ever-growing collection.

Morning Meanderings…. Inching My Way Back

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)11 Comments

 

Good Morning!  Anyone else starting to feel the signs of fall outside?  Our mornings here in central Minnesota have certainly been cooler.  Current temp in 50 degrees.  On one hand, I am not ready…  I have been loving summer big time and out and enjoying as much as I can of it.  On the other hand… I do miss books and reading.

Finally this past weekend I was able to pick up a book and finish it.  Then last night, I finished The Crying Tree by Naseem Rahka and wow oh wow oh wow oh wow.   Our book club review tonight should be something awesome… and I still dont know what I am cooking for it…. 😯

This coming Thursday is out fall Library sale and I am so excited about that, but was hoping my shelves would be up in the book room so I would have an idea of what I would like to add… just found out yesterday it may not be until next week that they get on to the shelves, possible the week after.  BUMMER.

SO how about you, does your reading change with the seasons?  What is your big reading season? 

 

Its Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)39 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.

 

Mardel from Rabid Reader!!!

Congratulations!  Please email me your book choice out of the Reading Cafe at journeythroughbooks@gmail.com. 

Last week was busy (no surprise there…) and fun. I had something going on every night except Tuesday but Thursdays double booking on dinner with one group and a movie with another made up for my little Tuesday break.  😛  I left on Friday for Wisconsin (Dress, WI.) for the Muckruckus on Saturday which was a blast but kicked my butt (literally)…  it was a 10K through mud and I certainly was not ready for it… but will be next year.  😛 

So here is what I posted this past week:

The Confession by John Grisham ( a fiction read that I kept feeling it must be non fiction it read so true!)

The Goodbye Summer by Patricia Gaffney

Hope Springs (My thoughts on the movie)

Here’s The Story by Maureen McCormick (the true story behind Marcie from the Brady Bunch)

Pictures from last weekends 173 mile bike ride!

Yes CHEF by Marcus Samuelsson (food memoir at its best – do not miss this great read!)

 

Not too bad a week and I think now my reading will start to pick up.  This is the first Sunday I have been home in a long time and it was nice to actually read, nap, and I emptied the book room (no small task!) for the new shelves coming this week.  SSSQQQUUUEEE!!!!
Here is what I plan to be reading this week:

The summer before entering sixth grade, Sammy, a bright and charming boy who lived on the coast of Maine, suddenly began to exhibit disturbing behavior. He walked and ate with his eyes shut, refused to bathe, burst into fits of rage, slithered against walls, and used his limbs instead of his hands to touch light switches, doorknobs, and faucets.

Sammy’s mother, Beth, already coping with the overwhelming responsibility of raising three sons alone, watched helplessly as her middle child descended into madness. Sammy was soon diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and later with Tourette syndrome. Unwilling to accept the doctors’ prognoses for lifelong mental illness and repeated hospitalizations, Beth fought to uncover what was causing this decline. Racing against time as Sammy slipped further from reality, Beth’s quest took her to the center of the medical community’s raging debate about whether mental illness can be caused by infection. With the battle lines firmly drawn, Beth searched until she found two cutting-edge doctors who answered that question with a definitive yes. Together, they cured Sammy. Five years later, he remains symptom free.

This was the only new audio I had downloaded on my IPOD this week when I was mowing the lawn.  When I started listening to it I became so intrigued I couldn’t stop listening!

 

 

 

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton’s type is girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact. On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun – but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl.

Yes, it is time for another John Green…..  I miss him 😛

 

 

 

Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.” As her family lay dying, little Libby fled their tiny farmhouse into the freezing January snow. She lost some fingers and toes, but she survived–and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, Ben sits in prison, and troubled Libby lives off the dregs of a trust created by well-wishers who’ve long forgotten her.

The Kill Club is a macabre secret society obsessed with notorious crimes. When they locate Libby and pump her for details–proof they hope may free Ben–Libby hatches a plan to profit off her tragic history. For a fee, she’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club . . . and maybe she’ll admit her testimony wasn’t so solid after all.

As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the narrative flashes back to January 2, 1985. The events of that day are relayed through the eyes of Libby’s doomed family members–including Ben, a loner whose rage over his shiftless father and their failing farm have driven him into a disturbing friendship with the new girl in town. Piece by piece, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started–on the run from a killer.

I just recently read Gillian Flynn with Gone Girl which was so fantastic.  My friend Heidi reminded me that she had given me a copy of Dark Places by her and that I should read it.  This will be my pleasure red this week after I finish the book club read for Tuesdays meeting.

 

That should be good for this week.  What have you been reading  What do you plan to read? Please share your Its Monday What Are You Reading by linking below.  Oh and don’t forget to chat us up on Twitter by using the hashtag #IMWAYR

 

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and those of you who read mainly children’s through YA reads – please also link your post here:

Yes, CHEF by Marcus Samuelsson

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)30 Comments

Born in Ethiopia, Samuelsson was three years old when his mother walked him and his sister 75 miles to be treated for Tuberculosis.  Once they arrived at the capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Adapa, Marcus’ mom died on the disease, but Marcus and his sister were treated and recovered.  Now orphans, they were both adopted by a middle class family that lived in Sweden.

And this is where Marcus started to learn about food.  His new Grandmother Mormor took Marcus under her wing and showed him how to cook and to use everything.  She made everything herself and taught Marcus that nothing went to waste.  Fresh baked bread was served the first day with lunch and dinner, on the second day it was good for toast, and then after that it was good for croutons and breading for battered fish.

As a teen Marcus first applied to work at a McDonald’s but was turned down for employment due to his color.  (How funny to think that now one of the most famous chefs in the world was once denied to flip burgers and shake salt in fries…)

As years went on Marcus worked in restaurant after restaurant learning the kitchen as well as the back of his hand.  He loved to try new things together and soon Head Chefs were looking to his for new menu ideas and new flavors.  Eventually Marcus was given opportunities to travel back to Ethiopia to learn the flavors of his home land.

When he was Head Chef at Aquavit he earned a coveted three star rating for his cooking in the New York Times that sent him forward in huge strides, including being on several Top Chef TV shows, and cooking for the White House.

Marcus’s story is not all up hill, there are times of career crisis, emotional happenings, law suits, and eventually he is led to opening his current Restaurant the Red Rooster in Harlem. 

Marcus first hand lets the reader know the price of ambition, the cost of wanting perfection, the battle to be respected by his peers, and ultimately his road to finding the restaurant of his dreams.

Fish Tostadas

Why did I want to read this book?  I first seen this book in a Shelf Awareness email.  Oddly, although I do not have the patience to cook, I love reading about those who do and succeed.  Marcus’ story from Ethiopia as a lost boy to the Big Apple as a household name was one I wanted to know more about.

Yes Chef delivered everything I hoped it would.  Marcus tells his story in an honest and humble tone from beginning to end.  My copy of this book is covered in little post it arrows where I marked how he prepared truffles (you add them to the sauce at the very end so as not to cook all the flavor out), and his Spanish breakfast (ripe tomatoes peeled and then crushed on toast adding a grind or two of black pepper), and how to make a lobster lasagna.  When curing duck breasts Marcus would soak then in a large pan of salted water with a plate weighing them down for 6 hours.

Mouth watering yet?

And in between pages of mixing seasonings and different flavors is Marcus’ story.  Growing up and moving out… restaurant experiences that are detailed from where he got it right, and from when he should have been fired and by grace he was not.  And then into Marcus’ life as the one doing the firing and trying to find kitchen held that understood the demands of a kitchen, one employee even telling him,

“You can ask me to be on time, iron my shirt, shave or not to wear sneakers, but you can’t ask them all of me… it’s too much.”

~Page 309 Yes CHEF

 

Yes Chef was interesting and a fun book to read that I will refer to again and again.  Marcus is a true story of battling against the odds, fighting prejudices and coming out on top.  His tips on food throughout the book are things I want to try, things I would have never considered, but when I read Yes CHEF, I felt inspired.

Highly recommended to lovers of memoirs, cooking related books and success stories… I loved this book.

 

Marcus’ fried chicken served at Red Rooster

marinate chicken in coconut milk (I would use chicken breasts not whole chicken, but that’s me)

cure in lemon

steam it and bone it

fry in day old oil

serve with greens, sweet potato fries, buttermilk dressing and hot sauce and pickled watermelon rind

 

This review is part of Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads

 

Purchased from Amazon

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

Morning Meanderings…. Late,but posting anyway

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)45 Comments

Good morning!  I am currently in Wisconsin getting ready for the Muckruckus which we will do at 11:30 this morning.  Funny enough, where we went to eat last night had a poster on the wall advertising a book sale in Hammond Wisconsin so……. we are going to stop by there before we go to the Muckruckus…. yup, that is how we roll. 😀

 

Ok… the above paragraph is no longer true.  I STARTED to write this post YESTERDAY morning in Wisconsin and it was taking SO long to upload pictures I could walk away from my computer, have some coffee and come back and still wait.  😯  With two other girls waiting for me so we could get moving… I had to give up… however, since I did have something I wanted to say for Alyce’s Saturday Snapshots, I still am posting…. as well as ending with a little Sunday Salon.

 

For this mornings Saturday Snapshot, hosted by Alyce from AT Home With Books, I wanted to post some pics from last weekends (August 4 and 5) Camp Benedict Bike ride…. I biked 104 miles day one (My first 100 (Century) in a day)… and I biked 75 the next day.  It was wonderful weather and wonderful people to hang out with!

The Riders!
Left: Sheila, Me, Belinda

LUNCH TIME – day one!
After day one… riding 104 miles (the most miles I have EVER rode in one day)… we thought this would be a funny picture 😉
The shirt I wore day two….
At the end of day two, Me, Connie, Belinda, and Sheila

Two gorgeous riding days, 173 miles combined…. I wish this ride was more than once a year!  LOVE this ride.  LOVE the people who ride it. 

Ok, now for the Sunday Salon…
Yesterday, as I mentioned above, I was in Wisconsin for the Mudruckus (which,I am pretty sore from but that is a different story….)  We drove there on Friday and went out to dinner Friday evening.  AT the restaurant we ate at they advertised a book sale in Hammond Wisconsin on Saturday… about 24 miles away from where we were staying… AND in the opposite direction from where we needed to go.

Did I mention the two girls I was with are both from my book club?

SO yup, we traveled the 24 miles in the wrong direction for our event early Saturday morning so we could check out there book sale.  While not an overly impressive one (mainly older titles), they were still 50 cents a book and I walked out with these treasures:

Turns out they were 12 for $3.00 (top two are movies, and the right side one is audio. )  I paid $4.00 for the stack.

Later this week, I am getting new books shelves in the book room.  It will be a huge project to empty that room out, but I think the ending results will be wonderful and give me a home for all my books as well as help me get organized.  When all is said and done I am pretty sure I will have a nice pile to donate to the library.  I will be documenting the “before, during, and after as well.

Today, I will be laying low.  After a slide into mud yesterday during the Mudruckus I landed so hard on a rock it took my breath away and I am still hurting.  I think I am just bruised with a capital “B”.  At least I am able to sit a little more comfortably today.  😛

Here’s The Story by Maureen McCormick

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)20 Comments

Maureen McCormick was the eldest daughter on the hit TV show, the Brady Bunch (aired 1969 – 1974).  Most of us know her as Marcia Brady, or as the famous line goes, “Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!”  Maureen, a pretty blond, comes from the generation of “teen idols” and all the girls her age wanted to be her and the boys wanted to be her boyfriend. 

But all was not as it would seem on the hit show.  Maureen’s home life was hard, at best.  Her mother hid many insecurities that later would transfer to Maureen, her father once the man who took classes on how to be a better father to Maureen’s mentally handicapped brother, later puts him in a home.  Her brother Kevin, is a mess of emotional highs and lows, involved in drugs and alcohol abuse….

Maureen McCormick reveals in this tell all that was also not the sweet girl she portrayed on TV, all innocent and naive, instead Maureen dabbled with cocaine addiction, troubled relationships, depression and more.

Here is the story.

Why did I want to read this book?  While Maureen McCormick’s role as Marcia Brady was a little before my time, (I was more the Little House On The Prairie tv era) I knew enough about her through Brady Bunch reruns and later movies to know who she was.  I had watched the Celebrity Fit Club that aired a while back where she admitted battling with depression and subsequently weight gain and was interested in her story then.  And really… who wouldn’t want the inside scoop on the Brady who had a little fling with her on tv brother, Greg?  😛

Here’s The Story was a memoir I wanted to read, but in reality I was not prepared for.  I had no idea the level of pain and issues that Maureen faced at a young age.  I think often we watch people on TV and we forget that they are real people outside of their performance and they have real lives and real battles just like the rest of us.  While many people envied the on tv persona of Marcia Brady, no one would have envied the child hood of Maureen McCormick.

I have to admit, at times, this audiobook made me angry.  Maureen’s decisions at time are so bad that I wanted to shake her.  I also took a little issue with her referring to her handicapped brother as ‘retarded’ which seems like such a cruel word.  I know that is not a fair assessment, and I apologize for that.  I have not walked in her shoes and on the flip of that, kudos, really, for her willingness to share such personal truths. 

Overall, I did enjoy learning about Maureen’s life behind the mask of Marcia.  She admits it took a long time to shake off Marcia, she was like the alter ego, always mocking Maureen into believing she was not good enough.  I thought that she would talk more about her time on Celebrity Fit Club, which if you seen that season, Maureen was on with Dustin Diamond (the guy who played Screech in Saved By The Bell) and he was a real jerk.  For me, it was a show I loved to hate because of his awfulness.  Maureen however touches on this period of her life only briefly towards the end of her book. 

The heart of this book is really the time Maureen spent on TV as a Brady, the years afterwards trying to find work as she met up with poor relationship after poor relationship, her battle with drugs, eventually becoming a Christian, and finding her way to happy and healthy. 

An interesting listen, narrated by the author.