Morning Meanderings… Things In My Mind And Now On The Blog

Published on April 26, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)24 Comments

Good morning! 😀 Hope Thursday finds everybody well! We are so close to the weekend that I can smell it! 😀 It is looking to be shaping up to another gorgeous day here in Minnesota and I am wishing I had time to play in it, but alas, no… I will have to wait until tomorrow.

I currently feel like I have a lot of irons in the fire (I know… odd saying, but there it is).

This morning I am basking in the quiet lull before my day takes off… but my mind is still tossing through to do’s like playing cards… (I don’t know what is with the metaphor’s, just smile and nod…. ) 😛

Today I took the day off from work to help Connie with her first dinner and silent auction combo for Camp Benedict. We will be setting up the place this afternoon, I will be helping her set up the auction, and prepare whatever she needs…. I am at her disposal. The actual event starts at 5 pm tonight with a social hour and then movies on to a dinner, and program. I believe it ends between 8:30 and 9 pm.

My to do’s building in my head are related and also not to this event:

get nails done if there is time

put an address on that package in the car that I forgot to label (after I open it to see what it is and who I was sending it too *sigh*

I have a little more prep work for a class that starts Sunday – do I go in to work tomorrow for a bit, if so when?

I want new cards for BEA this year, what does that look like? Can I incorporate my new header?

I must register today for the Iron Man bike ride before Amy has my head on a platter.

What if I did actually stick to My Fitness Pal every day?

I need to (want to) ride bike this weekend… I hope the weather cooperate so I can do the ride around Mile Lacs Lake on Sunday with the team

I need to write that review today, this morning.

DO I take a change of clothes with me tonight, and change later or do I just wear what I am going to wear for the day?

WHY did I eat that really yummy MAGNUM ice cream bar last night?

What should I get Al for supper so he has something in house with me gone tonight?

DO I have enough audio in the car for the ride to and from the event tonight.

Should I take a book with me in case we are done with set up early… (and also, DUH – of course I will take a book!) and then, uhhhh…. which one?

Anyhoo…. thats my head.

I am really excited for today and so thankful I am finally feeling better after two days of headaches, I think maybe sinuses? I look forward to having a great time for a great cause. 😀

The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan

Published on April 25, 2012April 26, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)17 Comments

22 year-old Grace Winters never dreamed her life would turn out so well. Newly married to the rich and handsome Henry Winters, she is now on a big beautiful ocean liner crossing the Atlantic on her way to meet his family and on her way to a new and better life.

When a mysterious explosion causes the ship to sink, Grace is placed in a lifeboat secured by her husband along with 39 other people. She can only believe that Henry certainly found a way off the boat as well and they will meet again once they are safely back on dry land, wherever that may be.

For three weeks they are adrift, and a lot can happen when you are in a small boat that long with no privacy. Slowly as every once of dignity is stripped away, the little food and water they have is gone, one must look for other ways to survive.

A little over two years after the Titanic, comes The Lifeboat.

Sound a little familiar? Perhaps. I will admit, on this the 100th anniversary since the Titanic sunk I was intrigued by a book that took on a similar story line, around the same time frame as Titanic. While Titanic was in 1912, this is 1914.

The story line starts after they are rescued. In the first opening lines you learn that Grace is now in New York, she has just survived this major trauma, and she is on trial for murder.

Interesting plot line? You bet!

I listened to this on audio, and enjoyed the retelling by Grace as she looked back over what had happened the weeks before, from the time she was placed into the lifeboat alongside an assortment of men and women of various backgrounds, status, and age, including one man, Mr. Hardie, who is the only member of the ship’s crew.

What ensues over the three weeks is what I can only describe as the slow breaking down of the human mind. Three weeks is a long time to be in any kind of boat let alone a life boat designed for 40 people and as time goes on everyone involved would agree… 40 people was way too many.

So what does happen in three weeks? That I can not tell you. I can tell you that Grace’s narration is sometimes vague, sometimes left me feeling that there were more holes in her story than in the ship… this could be credited to either poor character development, or the brilliance of an author who has decided that over developing characters in this situation would have come across as false.

I will let you be the judge of that.

Would I recommend The Lifeboat? Fans (ugh.. that seems like a harsh word) of Titanic like tales I believe will walk away with something positive out of this book, but don’t expect to be blown away. While a good story, I personally was looking for something more.

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

Want to see some other thoughts on this one?

Jenn’s Bookshelves

Rhapsody In Books

Book Monkey

A Musing Reviews

I purchased The Lifeboat from audible.com

Morning Meanderings… What Is Keeping Me Up At Night

Published on April 25, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)20 Comments

Good morning! 😀 I feel like I should just splash the coffee directly on to my face and go on from there 😀

The last two days have been run from one thing to the next and today looks like it could be more of the same…College son came home yesterday for one day and has to go back to Mankato today and his car broke down last night. Not sure what is going on there yet, but it may involve me driving him the 3 hours+ back to Mankato today after work, and of course for you math whizzes out there, 3+ hours back to Brainerd. 😀

Hello audio books!

One of my favorite things to do in the evening after the house is quiet and my work for the day is done is to either read, or catch up on the blogs I love, and lately even a little bit of Twitter. A couple of nights ago I was swept into a Twitter conversation late that I will not go into, but lets just say it had me clicking through posts one to another like a kid all hopped up on sugar. I kept reading posts and comments and one post led to another and my gosh…. eventually I had to step away from the computer because it was after midnight and I had accomplished nothing but a little heart ache.

And then last night… after all was quiet in the house and my work was done….

I did it again. 😯

I feel like their should be a support group for people like me, or at least a hotline.

Sorry I am being vague here… but really, enough has already been said.

Today looks to be a gorgeous day here in Brainerd. Of course, because my day is busy.. the outdoors will taunt me with sun and smells of spring. Can anyone else smell spring? It is the light scent of lilacs in the air, a flash back of crisp sheets on the line, and visions of summers past.

Birth Marked by Caragh M D Brien

Published on April 24, 2012April 24, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)22 Comments

Note from Sheila: I think, unless I have a blog tour, I am going to make Tuesdays, “Tuesdays with Camryn”. I introduced her last week, Camryn is a daughter of a good friend who ♥LOVES♥ to read and has taken on a roll of coming over, reading many of my YA books and then emailing me reviews. Camryn can give you a great YA perspective on these books, where her reviews make me want to drop everything (like with this one!) and read it next.

One more note – this is not the cover of the book I have, however… I wish it was… I much prefer this cover I found on-line for the paperback.

~Sheila

Birth Marked is a story written by Caragh M. O’Brien. The main character, Gaia Stone, has lived with her parents, Jasper and Bonnie Stone for her whole life. Gaia is a midwife, and very recently started helping mothers by herself. In her society, the first three babies born (for each midwife) each month, were to be taken to the Enclave, to be sold to the residents who lived inside. This is called the baby quota. For Gaia, this is a horrible part of what she does. After her first birth, she comes home to find that her parents have been taken by the Enclave, because they thought they could be traitors, by supposedly encouraging residents of their Sector, Sector Three, to rebel against the baby quota. After almost a month of waiting, Gaia decides to go in after her parents. She starts her treacherous task of breaching the Enclave Wall, the one keeping the “outsiders” from fraternizing with those who lived inside the wall. After successfully getting inside the wall, Gaia learns that both of her parents are in prison, but she does not know where. As she heads deeper into town, near the center, or the Bastion, she sees two people, a man, and a pregnant woman, being escorted to their hanging. When the mother is hanged, Gaia is frantic, trying to save the baby, who was probably about ready to be born. Masquerading herself as family, she accompanies the woman’s corpse, where she is able to save the child. But, consequently, she is unaware that this is illegal, and lands herself a potentially permanent spot in prison. Will she see her parents? Will she make it out alive? Or will she remain in prison until she meets her end?

Birth Marked was much better than I thought it was going to be. It reminds me of the Hunger Games, i.e. the “capital” or Enclave, was elitist, and the baby quota was a big sacrifice, just like each District had to send tributes. But enough of the Hunger Games. This book was amazing. I have my fingers crossed for a sequel, but I should survive without one. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the Hunger Games (here I go again) or who wants a great book that isn’t a long read but still has good detail.

Update: It has been brought to my attention that for those HUNGRY for more after Birthmarked, Barnes and Noble has a “between” book called Tortured, which falls after Birthmarked, but before book II, Prized. Even better news? This baby is free for the Nook!

Camryn is 12 years old, soon to be thirteen 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… World Book Night Recap

Published on April 24, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)17 Comments

Good morning! *YAWN*

Monday was one of those crazy days I seem to find myself floundering in occasionally. It was just BUSY. I worked until 11:45 am yesterday, was at the gym and working out at 12:15, at 1:30 ran to the bank, the library, the post office, another bank, grocery store, and scraped in at 3 pm to meet up and help sort the IHN bedding and toys for when we serve the homeless. Right from there I went home at 4:30, started supper, made some phone calls about a meeting at my house tonight, sent out a couple emails, (barely looked at the blog), had a group meeting at 6:30 pm, came home from that at 8:20 pm, walked into my house talking with Connie about the banquet this Thursday that I am helping her with and my role – and at 9:00 pm hung up the phone just as my hubby was on his way to bed.

*SIGH*

I really hate being that busy.

The good thing about yesterday though… probably the best thing – was it was World Book Night, the first one ever in the United States and I was thrilled and honored to be a part of it.

As you can see from my above day, time was of the essence. My original plan to hang outside the high school at 3:00 pm was not going to cut it with the commitments I had. SO…. instead… I think an even better plan emerged…

I GAVE as I went about my day….

My first book was given to a guy I work with… I left it on his desk in the morning. He had seen the movie, not a big reader….

My second book was on my way to the gym I stopped at a gas station to grab a banana. One of the workers was outside, her job was to let everyone know the curbs had been freshly painted. I went in, got the banana, on the way out I asked her if she was a reader, she said not a whole lot, and then I offered her a book. I explained World Book Night and she lit up, got excited and said “Bless you!” Which I thought was funny…. because after all, it is Hunger Games. 😛

My biggest brain child of the day was actually at the YMCA. I prepped many books before I went in. I blog about two things mainly, books and fitness. I wondered if that was an unusual combination… are people who work out necessarily readers? I dropped off two copies to the receptionists who were really excited once I explained. I took a pile into my Group Power class and talked to the teachers asking if I could have a moment of the classes time to explain. They also were thrilled and before my workout, I was able to give out many books.

**The stage where the instructors teach - and Hunger Games Books**

**My work out area- books and working out, thats my thing... 🙂**

After that I gave a book to the lady ringing up my groceries, two on my way to help to with IHN, two more in the evening. The only “no” I heard was at the bank, and that lady asked me if I had “Fifty Shades Of Grey”. No…. I did not.

I had a BLAST with World Book Night! The only other person I knew doing it in my area was Angie, By Book Or By Crook. I text her on my way home last night and she said she had so much fun! She wished she would have had more books.

If you participated in any way with World Book Night, I hope you link your posts up to my World Book Night Link. I am hoping to capture all our stories in one place and then I am going to make it a Page so people can look at it throughout the year…. as we anticipate next year. 😀

I have another busy day – work, and I need to take 5,000 flyers around to all the schools in the area. AT 3 I am meeting college son for a late dinner/early supper (SSSQQQUUEEE!!!!), I have not seen him since January! Then I have a meeting at our house tonight so home to prep for that.

Later peeps!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on April 22, 2012April 22, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)62 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.

This past weeks winner:

Melissa from Must Read Faster

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

Oh and you all will be AMAZED to know that all book winnings are in the mail – I am CURRENT! WOOT!

SO how about this last week? I had an awesome no commitment week and all my evening were free which should have been amazing but the weather was awful…. no biking, no blading, in fact one day I think I went to bed at 7:30 pm….

and of course this weekend was the awesome Dewey Read A Thon which while I did not finish a whole lot, I made a ton of progress. I have a couple more reviews to write and well… here is what was on the BLOG:

World Book Night – participants or anyone writing a post about this, please link up here. 😀

Hereafter by Tara Hudson (my friends daughter has been reading some YA books for me and reviewing, this is her first review… she is awesome – please go and show her some comment love!

The Sweetness At The bottom Of The Pie by Alan Bradley (many people LOVE this, I found… I did not)

Book Appetit (I challenges readers to make a menu and plan a party around their current read and the results were fantastic! Looking for some fun ideas to host a party around a book, check out these thoughts by the READERS!)

Recap Of The Readathon and why it made me cry

The Eyre Report #4 (yes FINALLY I give an update on the reading of Jane Eyre)

I also finished The Lifeboat (audio) and Whole Latte Life, reviews to come this week.

As for this week, I am still catching up on books so I am going to stay light on that – but again, adding more audio:

“Dead girl walking,” the boys say in the halls.
“Tell us your secret,” the girls whisper, one toilet to another.
I am that girl.
I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through.
I am the bones they want, wired on a porcelain frame.

Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. But what comes after size zero and size double-zero? When Cassie succumbs to the demons within, Lia feels she is being haunted by her friend’s restless spirit.

I have been wanting to read this for awhile now! Seeing it on the World Book Night list reminded me I had yet to do so.

When Nell Channing arrives on charming Three Sisters Island, she believes that she’s finally found refuge from her abusive husband – and from the terrifying life she fled so desperately eight months ago . . . But even in this quiet, peaceful place, Nell never feels entirely at ease. Careful to conceal her true identity, she takes a job as a cook at the local bookstore café – and begins to explore her feelings for the island sheriff, Zack Todd. But there is a part of herself she can never reveal to him – for she must continue to guard her secrets if she wants to keep the past at bay. One careless word, one misplaced confidence, and the new life she’s so carefully created could shatter completely. Just as Nell starts to wonder if she’ll ever be able to break free of her fear, she realizes that the island suffers from a terrible curse – one that can only be broken by the descendants of the Three Sisters, the witches who settled the island back in 1692. And now, with the help of two other strong, gifted women – and the nightmares of the past haunting her every step – she must find the power to save her home, her love . . . and herself . . .

Blame this one on the mini challenge that asked us to list the books we love to re-read. Since I never seem to have time to re-read, listing my favorites was painful… and listing this series and realizing I had no time to read these books again, I suddenly brightened when I realized my IPOD was in want of an audio download and I had nothing that peaked my interest.

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. In the Calvinos, Dean Koontz brings to life a family that might be your own, in a war for their survival against an adversary more malevolent than any he has yet created, with their own home the battleground.

If you know me well, you know that Koontz and I go way back. He used to be one of my favorite authors. I am excited to spend some time with him again. 😀

And like I said I have several books I have listed in past weeks that I want to work on before I start putting up more. SO what will you be reading this week? What did you read this last week? I am excited to see what books made their way into your hearts! Please link up below!

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World Book Night April 23rd: Pictures and Post Links wanted

Published on April 22, 2012April 28, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)36 Comments

This is a sticky post for those participating in The World Book Night events either by sighting or handing out books on Monday April 23rd. Please read my post here, and if you are participating, please link your World Book Night Posts here so we can see the books being given out around the world! 😀

PS… if you are a World Book Night Giver, please in the comments let me know where in the world you are giving out books.

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The Eyre Report #4

Published on April 22, 2012April 22, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)21 Comments

Warning: In the off chance that I am not the last person on the planet earth that has not read this book, know that I am sharing fully what I have read and this post is filled with spoilers to any one who has not read Jane Eyre.

Yes Jim from the Planet Zork – this means you. Quit reading and beam up the book.

When last I left Jane Eyre it was March 9th. Yes, I have been absent from my days with Jane, and while you may think “yup, once again she has given up on the book!” you would be mistaken… instead time crunch, book commitments… I just did not get to it. 😯

Now thanks to the readathon, I have read enough to get Jane and I back on the err…. same page, and here is what I have to say about that. Shoot, why don’t we see what Jane has to say about that as well…. I’ll start… because it is my blog:

Sheila’s thoughts:

Now, in the book Jane has found out that Mrs. Reed has taken ill and she requests of Mr. Rochester to allow her leave (her words, not mine) for two weeks so she may go and see her. A back and forth bidding of sorts goes on between them, regarding her time away and the money given to Jane to go as Mr. Rochester fears that Jane will go and not return.

When Jane does go – Mrs. Reed is much the bitty she was before, even though she tries to make things sort of right between herself and Jane her loathe is too deep and she (SPOILER!) dies still feeling that Jane is this creature of awfulness.

Even though Jane had agreed to only be gone a week, a month passes before she returns to Thornfield. Now returned, she lives in fear of the time that will soon come and Rochester takes on the snooty Imgram as his wife and Jane feels at the time she will be shown the door and has no idea what will be next for her. However, Mr. Rochester seems in a joyful mood and does not mention the upcoming wedding to anyone and when questioned when this will take place he simply does not give an inkling either way.

Then, when Rochester does say he is getting married he asks Jane to spend some time with him as he admits he is fond of her and suspects as the quote says above that he will hurt upon her leave, but feels she will feel nothing… which as we all know – is not true.

And then … well, things get a bit intense between Rochester and Jane and a proposal is made where one should not have been given (my opinion) as Rochester has already played that card and has a bride waiting. And yeah, for all you romance lovers, this would probably be where you insert the “oohs and ahs” as even I have to admit liked the thought of Jane and EDWARD getting together and all things working out.

And so as I end this section of my reading with page 289, Jane has just had a series of nightmares the previous night that she shares with EDWARD (Rochester), while two are spooky and unsettling, the third is a vision of a woman who rips Jane’s wedding veil in half and in the morning, indeed the veil is torn.

Honestly… it is a little hard to stop the reading there as we are on the cusp of the wedding, and apparently there is someone against it… you may know – but remember this is my first time reading this book. My only guess in Ingram… P.O’d about Edward marrying Jane instead of her. Where Jane I feel would marry for love, Ingram I feel wants to marry well and wealthy.

Jane’s thoughts:

Whilest I do admit wholeheartedly that yay, it is thine truth that I have had my eyes on Mr. Rochester (calling him Edward still makes me blush the color the color of the blooming roses along the roadside), I must also be true in stating that his mind sometimes concerns me. At one point he calls my eyes the color of radiant hazels when it is all well-known that my eyes have always been the green of a pool filled with frogs…. and while-st my temper rises, I struggle between the respect of being his governess, and the possible brow beating he deserves once he calls me wife.

As for the vision of my night-time, I believe in my deepest core that the woman was real… not an apparition created in thy mind, nay, this was of flesh and blood… although in my honesty… the flesh was paperish and thy blood looked thin.

What shall become of me? Will my love for E-, errr… Rochester be enough for my plain heart? Will I become the ruler of all things Thornfield?

Morning Meandering… When The Read A Thon Makes You Cry

Published on April 22, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)50 Comments

Good morning!

The question on your mind is…. did I make it to the finish line of the Readathon. No, I did not. I had started at 5 am yesterday morning and missed about three hours throughout the day due to other commitments and then shut down at around 1:20 am when Jane Eyre became a blurry mass.

Oh, that wasnt your question? Was it did I read as much as I had hoped to? No, I did not. I never do. I always start out with BIG intentions, going to go for the 5 or so books I have lying around and finish them up and yeah…. I get caught up in the social part of the Readathon which I LOVE and I cant help it, but I still feel I did pretty darn good.

Still not your question? Oh I bet you want to know if mt tummy is upset with all the junk I ate yesterday while reading and listening to audio…. the nachos I had for lunch, the Lindor chocolates throughout the day, and of course the vegie pizza I had ordered in last night, no actually I feel pretty good considering I am on 5 hours of sleep and have to help out at church in 45 minutes from 8 until noon.

Oh! Now I get it! You want to know why the Readthon made me cry. Well, that is actually a cool thing. Yesterday I was reading for a charity I support locally, Camp Benedict. Camp Benedict is a camp for people infected by AIDS and for people affected by AIDS. There is a story of why it touches me so, and it is actually linked at the top of this blog in the page bar. Anyway this is my third time reading for the camp and I always commit to giving, and then last fall one other person donated to my cause which was so sweet.

Well, this year, yesterday morning my account had $40 in it, money I had put in. Throughout the readathon people gave and as of last night when I checked my online account for the camp, it was at $370.00! I could not believe it! 6 other people had given besides myself and only two of them I know personally. Seriously you guys, you melted my heart… and of course made me want to read more. ♥

As for myself and how I did, I listened to 5/12 hours of audio throughout the day. I was donating $1.00 per every ten minutes of audio for a total of $33.00. Throughout the day I read 198 pages, which I was donating 10 cents a page for a total of $19.80 (lets not split hairs, I will round that up to $20.00. So from me, $53.00 is being added to my account for my charity this morning. 😀

In other fun news – I held a bonus “because I feel like having fun” giveaway last night for the die-hard readathoners that were still going on hour 19.

That winner of the coffee, the chocolate, and the book is:

Laurel #19 (yeah, I laughed when I seen that!)

Thank you to the Dewey Readathon Team, not only do I love that this honors a wonderful blogger I never had the pleasure of knowing but wish I did, but it takes a ton of work to pull it off and this group did an awesome job!

In other news, here is what came in from Mr Mailman this week:

Mmmm hmmmm, a nice week! The two audio in the front right I bought at Barnes and Noble when I went to pick up my books for World Book Night (SSSQQQUUUEEE!!!!)

Finally, today looks a bit dreary so I think when I get home this afternoon I am going to finish the 24 hours of reading I set out to do. I fell short by about 4 hours. I would like to finish it for Camp Benedict, and for me.

Have a great Sunday all! I have the World Book Night link going up later today and who knows what else, maybe that long overdue update to Jane Eyre. 😀

What are you doing with your Sunday?

Dewey Read A Thon Bonus Giveaway Package

Published on April 21, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)19 Comments

Ok ya’ all… if you have been read a thoning today, then you know we have recently passed hour 15 and fast approaching hour 16. I am in this “I should be reading” mode, but instead I am fluttering around mini challenges, commenting… I need a pick me up – I need to FOCUS.

So… that all said, I want to offer a bonus giveaway here for those who are still trucking , still working the read a thon – you are troopers – and if you know me I think you need….

COFFEE and CHOCOLATE… and you probably dont need a book, but I have an extra of a great book so I am throwing in a BOOK too. 😀