Morning Meanderings… Where To Begin…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)72 Comments

Good morning!  😀  I can not even begin to tell you how good it felt to sleep in my own bed last night…. and now sit in my recliner looking out on a beautiful day and knowing I will soon be basking in the sun with a book enjoying a (for the most part) quiet day.

Quiet because no one knows I am in town.  Well, a few friends do, but I was supposed to come back from New York and go right into the MS 150 bike ride that I would have shuttled to yesterday afternoon after I got off the plane.  The night before I left New York I cancelled out of the ride.  I really wanted to do it but several things were at play:

1.  I was exhausted from all the events and constant “go go go” of New York

2.  I really was missing seeing Hubby, and our new pup, Sam.

3.  A little peopled out.  I had been with large amounts of people since last Sunday and I am a person who needs to unplug from the activity and step back at least once a week.  Doing the ride today and tomorrow would have put me with about 2,500 people. 

4.  I wasn’t looking forward to two more nights in a hotel.

SO here I am.  Home.  Today I am going to mow the lawn and listen to audio.  I have some wonderful choices thanks to a dinner we had the last night in New York with John from Brilliance audio (going with The Magicians, John!) .  I cant wait to dig in and I just finished one last night on my IPOD so I am ready.  😀  I am also going to write a few reviews throughout the day.  I wrote up a list yesterday and I am about 5 behind, soon to be more as this afternoon I am sitting on my deck with book.  That is the plan.  And later we have invited friends over to grill tonight and hang out and chat.  She is in my book club so it will be fun to talk BEA, and they are close friends so this will be quite laid back and I am soooooo looking forward to it. 

For this mornings Saturday Snapshot brought to you by the wonderful Alyce from At Home With Books, I thought I would give you a few random shots of New York and the Expo.  I started my recap post yesterday afternoon with BEA Recap 1, and hope to put up recap 2 later today.  I am writing a blow-by-blow of my daily experience to give you the BEA feel.  To pick up the full story on the pictures, please read my recap posts.  😀

We were in a thai restaurant (Yum Yum Two – so good!) and it started to pour. It was actually pretty to watch. As soon as the rain came, it went, and by the time we were done eating it was a beautiful day to walk.
The Javitz Center…. where all the magic happens 🙂
Oh Snap! Me and James Dashner! (More about this in the recap part 2)
Can someone identify this building for me? I was walking with Alison from Alison’s Book Marks and she said it was one of the most gorgeous buildings in New York.
Times Square!
Day 1 Registration area for BEA… about 8 am.

More to come in the next couple of days here.  🙂  Also a completely random note but today is my 3 year blogiversary – in the past two years we have had a big party here with giveaways (books, swag, gift cards) and fun stuff and I do not want to miss that so please accept my invitation to my 3 year Blogiversary Party which will take place on Friday June 15th.  😀

BEA (Book Expo America) Recap #1

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)25 Comments

Just this afternoon I have returned from the Book Expo in New York.  What a whirlwind week of books, book events, author events, blogger friends and get together.  This is truly one of the highlights of my year and I highly recommend it to anyone who is debating if they should go.  YES.  GO.  😀

Over two or three posts I am going to share with you the BEA experience I had this year so hopefully you can see it through my eyes.  One of the cool things about BEA is that each person has such a unique experience.  As people start to post about the books and events there is no doubt in my mind that I will be shocked to see a book I covet that I did not know was there.  There will be bookish get together that I did not know about as well. 

I arrived on Sunday morning flying from Minneapolis to Chicago to New York.  The first time I have ever flown alone.  (True story!)  I shuttled to my hotel, dropped off my bags and walked around the Times Square area until I connected with my room-mate for the week, Gail from Ticket To Anywhere.  Together Sunday evening we went to the Simon Schuster YA event. 

These 5 books and authors were presented at this wonderful party that has delicious horduerves and drinks being served.  Oh course I was super excited to hear from Lenore Applehans, who blogs at Presenting Lenore and has her first book coming out – Level 2!!!!  (I am so excited!!!)

 

I even did a little video but thought I was recording and I wasn’t so tried again… and only captured a bit of what she was saying:

All the authors and their books sounded wonderful and as each person spoke I would nudge Gail and say “Oh I want to read that book!”  At the end of the night we were presented with a swag bag with a copy of each book!!!  SQQQUUUEEE!!!!!

Dont these books look wonderful?  You might think I am being bias by featuring only Lenore and that is a little true – but it is also due to the fact that I was finishing up some work business on the phone on Sunday evening and I had to keep popping out of the event so the only one I was able to hear talk in their entirety was Lenore. 

I am going to write more soon…. I wanted to write more tonight but honestly… I have been up since 3:30 am to catch my flights and I am a bit wiped out.  More tomorrow…. promise 😀

Morning Meanderings… The Missing Blogger

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)27 Comments

Good morning!  Oh wow… I did not mean to be absent from the blogesphere while in New York.  I can’t explain how this year is different from last years other than I think I was wiped out before I came to New York and feel like I have never really caught up.  AND every day since stepping a toe off the place in New York I have RAN from event to event…

Which I promise upon my return home I will give details and pictures… I am just a little fried right now and as I type my roommate Gail from Ticket To Anywhere is saying “Are you actually writing a blog post?”

Which I am….

a little one. 😀

So today is the last day of BEA and I have had a blast, met up with friends, met some fun authors and event got lost in New York for about an hour (sorry Alison!)… more on all that later –

What I did want to share is if you remember last year Reagan from Miss Remmers Reviews and I took over the info booth…. well, Reagan did not attend this year….

however, I thought it would be fun…

to do it again:

So there I am … alive and caffeinated in New York.  Thank you for hanging in there with me, we will return to our regularly scheduled blogging whatevers upon my return home. 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)25 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 am currently in New York and will choose last weeks winner when I return and announce that winner with next Mondays winner as well 😀

As I stated above, I am currently running around New York being extremely bookish… yes, more so than usual.  SO this will be the mini version of the Monday meme….

I brought with me to read Look Again by Lisa Scottoline which is our book club read for June and Long Gone by Alafair Burke for a book tour.

Add your Monday what are you reading to the link below… other participants love to come around and see the different books and audio that everyone is reading… I know I always add to  my wish list!  😀

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Morning Meanderings…. BEA – You can participate from home!!!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)10 Comments

Good morning!  It’s really really early by the time you are reading this I should be flying to New York, my flight left Minneapolis at 5:45 am.  Book Expo Of America… here I come!

Today I wanted to share with you something a little different than I normally do in the mornings.  While many book bloggers are currently flying from all over the world to New York…. many of you are still at home keeping the blogs fires lit.  What I want to share with you this morning, or I guess really, what I have asked Danielle from There’s A Book, to do this morning is share with you a very fun event called Armchair BEA.

Take it away Danielle!

Hi Sheila and Book Journey Readers!

What an exciting week and month in the book blogging community! Book Expo America, Armchair BEA and Audiobook Month all packed in together making more than enough bookish goodness to go around.

I’ve long been a fan of Sheila’s site and especially her enthusiasm for all she’s involved with. So, when she asked if I’d be interested in guest posting on her site about one of the biggest events happening in the book industry, Armchair BEA, I was so excited.

For those of you who might not be familiar with Armchair BEA first off let me say you absolutely should check it out! In a nutshell here are the basics of what makes up this great event:

If you’re a book blogger who can’t attend Book Expo America and the Book Blogger Convention in New York this June (June 4 – 8, 2012), you don’t have to miss all the fun – this virtual convention is the place to be! The Armchair BEA site includes news about daily blogging themes, discussions, giveaways and more!

This is the third year for Armchair BEA and it’s more exciting than ever. Armchair BEA began as six book bloggers (Tif from Tif Talks Books, Florinda

Armchair BEA won this award in 2011

from The 3 R’s Blog, Pam from Bookalicious.org, Chris from Chrisbookarama, Michelle from That’s What She Read, Emily from Emily’s Reading Room and myself) looking for a way to enjoy the week without feeling too bad that we couldn’t actually attend the event in person. To be honest, we all originally thought of calling it the “BEA Pity Party,” but decided it would be so much more fun to make it a fun event centered around the books, authors, publishers and bloggers we love. What we didn’t anticipate was the overwhelming response from the book community. With only two weeks of planning before BEA and Armchair BEA started that first year we had over one hundred participants, close to a dozen sponsors, an agenda filled with activities and even one Twitter party.

Since that first year we’ve added more organizers (Amy from My Friend Amy and Julie from My 5 Monkeys), increased the number of participants from one hundred to over five hundred the second year, added partners (Edelweiss and Book Expo Authors Studio Podcast) and included nearly ev

ery major publisher in our Sponsors listing. Last year was a whirlwind packed with behind the scenes exclusives and an additional Twitter party.

During our third year we’ve grown to include more than any of the original founders would have ever predicted. What began as a way to escape the feelings of missing everything going on in New York has become the event to participate in. This year, in one of the biggest surprises thus far, we’ve now partnered with Book Expo America. The partnership is one of the biggest steps toward bringing everyone involved with Armchair BEA closer to the event happening in New York and we couldn’t be more excited.

No doubt Armchair BEA has become something each of us organizers looks forward to ea

ch and every year. I hope if you haven’t already decided to join in that you’ll consider it, even if you happen to be attending BEA! Armchair BEA is definitely the event of the year and we’d love to have everyone from the book blogging community participate!

 

 

 

 

So there you have it… it looks (and sounds so awesome) and I am hoping that many of you will pop over to the Armchair BEA site and applaud the hard working bloggers that are working behind the scenes, as well as a few like Danielle that are at BEA making connections to Armchair BEA. 

By 1:00 pm central time I will be popping through the New York airport trying to find luggage and a taxi to get in the vicinity of my hotel…. check in is not until 3 but I can drop my bags there and then I think I am connecting with Mari from Bookworm with a View and my roommate, Gail from Ticket To Anywhere.  Sunday 6 – 9 pm is the Simon and Schuster Open house.

I will continue to pop in as I can… I had big plans to have more posts ready before I left but my week got away from me and now I am hoping to get a few reviews up this week as well, but for sure you will hear about my day to day happenings at BEA!  😀

Morning Meanderings… The Art Of Procrastination (BEA style)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)51 Comments

Good morning.  Let’s just get to this.  I have been up since 5 am.  I am sitting here in my pajama’s… coffee cup at my right hand… next to a notebook of lists of “to do’s”.  Later this afternoon, I will drive to the cities and stay overnight to catch my flight in the wee hours of the morning tomorrow to New York for BEA.

I have not packed.  I have not really done much of anything besides organizing my agenda of events on Wednesday evening.  I have never been less prepared for this trip.  😯

My work week was busy with a capital B.  Yesterday is normally my day off but I had things to prep for while I was gone next week and I thought I would be out by noon and then get a jump on these tasks before me.  Uhhhh…. yeah…. I walked out of work at 4:55 pm, barely making it to the bank in time, in fact they locked the door behind me as I ran in. 

With my hubbies busy schedule as owner of an Excavating company, I take care of all lawn care.  Our lawn takes about 2 1/2 to 3 hours to mow and I broke a belt on it on Monday.  I got it fixed and on Thursday evening at 8:15 pm (yup… pm) I mowed the front part.  Last night after running to the bank and getting home around 5:15 pm I should have started the back and finished it.  Instead I called my hubby, found out he would not be off the job until around 9 pm, took one look at the lawn, thought about my BEA prep I still needed to do… groceries to buy…. and I called a friend and went out to a quick dinner instead.  😛

I got home around 8:30 pm, and started the back lawn until I could not see… and I will finish later today before I leave.

So today – here is what I need to do:

1. pack

2. finish laundry

3. finish lawn

4. stop at work, one quick email I need to send

5. take bike to friends house who will deliver it to Duluth for me for the MS 150 bike ride next weekend.

6. Pack my bike gear

7.  Fix the deck gate so Sam (newer dog) can not squeeze through while I am away and break my heart)

8.  Grocery shop for hubby while I am away – quick easy fixes

9.  Stop at a couple stores in town – I have a gift card

10.  Get nails done

See – really it is not so bad…. only 10 things!  😀 

Anyhoo…  I do want to post a pic or two fro Alyce’s Saturday Snapshot since I almost forgot it is Saturday…. here is my deck after last weekend hauling out of all things that scream “yes, come and hang out with me at my favorite place to hang in the warm summer time:

(Stop by and add your own pics to Saturday Snapshot as well or just check out what everyone else is up too 🙂 )

Have a super day – and dont worry about me… I actually work well under pressure and have a game plan of when and where I need to be to get it all done and leave here about 4 pm this afternoon.  From the hotel tonight I plan to prep a post or two, and I will be checking in throughout the expo as well so keep stopping by 😀

Morning Meanderings… Audio, A Trip, and Garden Party Wrap Up

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)21 Comments

Good morning!  😀  Hope you all are finding your Friday morning to already be delightful… the sun is actually out here so I am hoping for a lovely day which I need in order to finish our lawn 😀

This will be a rather sporadic post this morning.  I am usually off on Fridays but this next week while I am away is a big one for a kids camp that I usually help with, a big meeting that I normally do the set up for… BEA pushing back one week this year has put me where I am today – going into work to do some more prep work and hopefully I can be done by noon.  I have not packed yet, I want to get my nails done, prep some food for my hubby here, and pack for my bike ride that will take place right after I return from BEA – RIGHT AFTER as in that bag needs to be in my vehicle.  😀

In a completely random side ways conversation… my audio book order came in from bookcloseouts.com… Each of these was around $3.00 each:

YAY!!!  My summer listening is going to be AWESOME!!!

And finally, if you missed out on the garden party here yesterday for our read a long, Secret Garden, you missed some wonderful party conversations!  I, was late to my own party with a heavy schedule yesterday but caught up with all of you at the end and had a chance to chat with each guest so I feel it was a success.  I have not made it around to all the posts yet, but I will – later today. 😀

There were some winners from the Secret Garden read a long and using random.org while I sit my coffee this morning they are as follows:  

Winner of the Secret Garden DVD:

Ryan from Wordsmithonia!!!

 

Winner of the book, Little Lord Fauntlerot, also by Francis Hodgson Burnett:

Faith Hope and Cherry Tea from Tea Room

 

 the garden supplies:

Allie from A Literary Odyssey

 

and the $5 Amazon Gift Card goes to:

Robin from A Fondness For Reading

Winners please email me shipping info (no po boxes!) at journeythroughbooks@gmail.com.  Robin, I will email you your gift card.  😀

There is also a survey going on yesterdays post about what book I am going to offer up next for a June read-a-long, feel free to put your two cents in – I will announce that book and sign up info tomorrow morning.  See you all later – have a gorgeous day!  😀

Welcome To The Secret Garden Party!!!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)95 Comments

Welcome to the Secret Garden Party…. “SSSQQQQUUUEEE!”  Thank you to everyone who joined me on this adventure of reading The Secret Garden.  This was my first time through this book and I listened to it on audio. 

Here is how todays party will work:

For those of you who have signed on to do this read-a-long and are posting your reviews and thoughts today, the link to add your posts is below where it says click here.

Since this is a party… we have some fun giveaways – if you link your review that gives you one entry… for participating in the discussion questions you will get a second entry.


Whats up for the giveaway?

A new copy of The Secret Garden DVD

 

A new copy of Little Lord Faunterleroy (also written by Frances Hodgson Burnett)

 

Garden goodies!

 

 

Here are the questions for our discussion:

1.  When Mary loses both of her parents to the epidemic, why do you feel she expresses no grief for them but is more concerned with who will now take care of her?

2.  Mary and Colin are often described as being unpleasant and rude. Martha, in fact, says Mary is “as tyrannical as a pig” and that Colin is the “worst young newt as ever was.” Why are both of these children so ill-tempered? Whom does Burnett hold responsible for their behavior—themselves or their parents? How does this fit into one of the larger themes of the novel, that of the “fallen world of adults”?

3.  Upon Mary’s first encounter with Dickon, Burnett describes the boy in this way: “His speech was so quick and easy. It sounded as if he liked her and was not the least afraid she would not like him, though he was a common moor boy, in patched clothes and with a funny face and a rough, rusty-red head. As she came closer to him she noticed that there was a clean fresh scent of heather and grass and leaves about him, almost as if he were made of them.” What is significant about this passage? Are there any particular motifs that seem to be connected specifically to Dickon?

4.  Why do you feel Mr. Craven has avoided his son Colin so?  In the end, is Craven worthy of Colin’s forgiveness?

5.  What role does the robin play in the book?

6.  How does “Indian-ness” function in the novel?   How does class and status?

7.  Which characters are most strongly associated with the world of the manor house? Which characters are most strongly associated with the secret garden? What does this opposition suggest?

8.  Which narrative features were employed by the author to make The Secret Garden speak to children? Why do you think this novel appeals to an adult audience as well? What makes it a classic?

9.  Was the Secret Garden what you thought it would be?  What did you enjoy most about this read?  What do you think makes it a classic?


(in the comments – you may answer as many or as few as the questions you like as well as add your own questions to the discussion.)

*Note ever if you have not participated in this read a long please feel free to participate in the conversation and respond to the questions – one non read a long participant who joins in the discussion in the comments will receive a $5 Amazon gift card.

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All winners will be announced on Friday June 1st during the Morning Meanderings.

 

I would love your input on what our next party should be… please vote!

The Secrets Of Mary Bowser by Lois Leveen

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)14 Comments

Mary Bowser has been a slave all her life.  She worked for the Van Lew Family in Virginia until one day she is sent away to get an education… and her freedom.

By being educated Mary learns much.  She learns about the Civil War and gets a taste of what it is like to hold some power over what is happening around you.  Taking ownership of herself returns to Virginia to be with her father, but also finds herself posing as a slave to keep a close on eye on the dealing of President Jefferson Davies.  While information was getting out to the North, Mary was never suspected…

How much does freedom really cost?

How about this alternate cover? It creeps me out… then it draws me in…

Pre gush.  I really enjoy enjoy fictitious stories based around a non fiction character.  The fact that Mary Bower was in fact a real woman who really was a freed slave who came back into slavery to save others is fascinating.  That alone was enough to get me setting aside time on a very rainy weekend for this book.

Gush:  But Mary Bowsers story is so much more… this extremely well written book dives into this woman’s history with painstaking details… fact of fiction, in the end I felt as though I had a good feel for who Mary was and what she stood for.  We can all only hope to leave even a fraction of such a legacy. 

I admit I am not a huge fan of war related stories, however Marys part in what was happening around her made the book flow well with the war while being a large topic, was not the main story line.  Mary carries the book. 

The underground railroad has always fascinated me… such a rich history we have that is we do not take the time to dig into it, it will pass us by and we will be lesser people for never knowing, never caring.  Thank you to Mark Bowser and to Lois Leveen for writing such a vivid story I am left wanting more… in a good way.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for trusting this

treasure of a book to be placed in my care and the chance for my

fingertips to type and try to do the book justice.

Morning Meanderings… How Much Is Thay Doggy In The Window?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)35 Comments

 

Good morning!  Another overcast day… but I think the weather is supposed to break today…. *fingers crossed*  AND another day closer to BEA….. I really need to start packing…

You may recall that in April, on the 11 to be exact, my friend Kerri brought along a little friend to book club that night.  Normally I would be alarmed because this guy was REALLY REALLY hairy… and because we are a group of all girls…

however, he also had 4 legs, and was a stray dog, so he was allowed in. 

(Bailey our 13-year-old left.. Sam the “new guy” right)

The deal was that Sam could visit while Kerri looked for a home for him.  She had seen him running around for four days on the roads, all muddy and matted… no tags, no collar.  When she seen him on a hwy that fourth day she put him in her car.  She called all the local and vets and HART our local impound, no one had turned in a missing dog.

When she brought him to our house, I too made calls around….  no one was looking for him.  I took him to the vet and to the groomer.  They believe he is between one and two years old.  The way he loves to play, I think he is closer to that one year mark. 

When I would be on my laptop, Sam (as hubby named him) wasn’t too far away.

 

As time went on, Sam just fit right in. We discovered that he loves to be in windows.  We have a bench in out bedroom in front of a window and Sam loves to climb up in the windowsill and watch the back yard.  In the living room he will get up on hubby’s recliner and then on to the tall coffee table to be in that window.  I can see him when I come home – sitting in the window sill…. waiting.  He doesn’t hurt anything and it is so cute, we let him do it.  Although, I do occasionally refer to him as “cat-dog”

He really is such a good dog.  When I come home he launches himself at me like “I can not even believe you came back!”  We have a five-minute session where I get down to his level so he can jump and tell me how much I was missed.  😀  Everyone needs a friend like that!

Sam has made a wonderful companion for Bailey.  Bailey has been so sad since we lost Elmo last fall… in a way, they think we all have been.  Sam brought a little life back into our home.  😀

As for today:

WORK!  Need to get done here and head in, lots to do with me being gone next week.

Tonight – depending on weather, I would like to go to Group Power and kick boxing but if it is nice, I may ride bike instead.  Later I have to get on the lawn… but that can wait until evening.. 😀

Enjoy your Wednesday!  😀