It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)75 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:

Joy from Joy’s Book Blog

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

The winner each week gets pick out of the Reading Cafe, which I am excited to say has been totally cleaned out this week, organized and lovely so pop in and check it out.  I hope to be much more pro-active on keeping this updated and adding books weekly to the choices to be used for giveaways.  😀

On a separate note – I have went through all emails this week and should be 100% caught up on mailing out to my book winners.  If you have been a winner and not received your book(s) from me by the end of this week please be sure to email me at the email given above and I will look into it promptly.

Here is what happened on Book Journey this past week:

The Girl Who Was On Fire by Your Favorite Authors (what a fun read!)

Love In A Nutshell by Janet Evanovich (audio review)

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff (A FANTASTIC book discussion with my book club!)

2108 Eyes Open by K L Glanville with a signed copy for giveaway!

My Sunday Salon reminds you of the Dewey Read A Thon next weekend and links to sign up!

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens (Oh my word people!  You have to read or listen to this one SOON!)

210 MILLION books in the world how do you choose just one?  (Book discussion!)

So another good week!  I think that is two in a row! 

Now for this week I am not adding any books to my plate BECAUSE I have a few I want to finish this week that have been on past weeks lists but I never made it to them.  So instead of adding more, and with the Dewey Read A Thom coming on the 21st, I have decided to work this week on finishing up those books.

I am however adding audio books as I have finished two over the weekend and a third will finish this week…. so here is whats up in audio:

 

 

"The lifeboat", "Charlotte Rogan"

Grace Winter, 22, is both a newlywed and a widow. She is also on trial for her life.

In the summer of 1914, the elegant ocean liner carrying her and her husband Henry across the Atlantic suffers a mysterious explosion. Setting aside his own safety, Henry secures Grace a place in a lifeboat, which the survivors quickly realize is over capacity. For any to live, some must die.

As the castaways battle the elements, and each other, Grace recollects the unorthodox way she and Henry met, and the new life of privilege she thought she’d found. Will she pay any price to keep it?

The Lifeboat is a page-turning novel of hard choices and survival, narrated by a woman as unforgettable and complex as the events she describes.

I think it is my Titanic mood that brought this one on.  I seen it on a couple blogs this past week and it really interested me.

 

 

Internationally acclaimed crime writer Jo Nesbø’s antihero police investigator, Harry Hole, is back: in a bone-chilling thriller that will take Hole to the brink of insanity.

Oslo in November. The first snow of the season has fallen. A boy named Jonas wakes in the night to find his mother gone. Out his window, in the cold moonlight, he sees the snowman that inexplicably appeared in the yard earlier in the day. Around its neck is his mother’s pink scarf.

Hole suspects a link between a menacing letter he’s received and the disappearance of Jonas’s mother—and of perhaps a dozen other women, all of whom went missing on the day of a first snowfall. As his investigation deepens, something else emerges: he is becoming a pawn in an increasingly terrifying game whose rules are devised—and constantly revised—by the killer.

Fiercely suspenseful, its characters brilliantly realized, its atmosphere permeated with evil, The Snowman is the electrifying work of one of the best crime writers of our time.

OOH right?  Ok Nesbo, I have heard the positive rumblings… lets see what you got!

 

There will be a third audio starting but honestly… I dont have a third audio in the house.  Yup, after Home Front ends in the car I have no more CD audios and am going to need one fast!  Suggestions?  😉

So that is the plan….what is yours?  Be sure to link up below where it says “click here” and add your own What Are You Reading post so we can come by and see what you are reading!

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

210 MILLION Books In The World… How Do You Choose “1”?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)58 Comments

The number of books in the world is certainly debatable.  According to Google, at one point they figured it be around 210 million.  A report they did in April of 2011 says that count is closer to 130 million.

After sorting for duplicates, meaning that Google does not want to count the same book in two different places twice, there are a stunning 210 million entries to be counted from library and other databases around the world. You have to marvel slightly at that number, even before they cut it some more.

210 million is a big number, but it is not exactly correct. Google then sorts out microfilm, videos, maps, and anything else with an ISBN that has come through its listing process. After all of that final threshing, the number of books, as least as well as Google can count them, is 129,864,880.

No matter how you look at it, the number is GINORMOUS.  (Yeah…. really really BIG).

"Lets just say there are a whole lot of books out there!"

 

 

So….. looking at that number and then looking at me, or you for that matter, and our average reading of hmmm…. give or take two or three books MAYBE a week.   Maybe 100 to 150 a year?

Then I looked at how many books are published a day.  Some reports said world-wide up to 2,000 books a day are published.  US alone is publishing between 350 – 800 books a day.

People….. no way are we ever going to catch up.  😯

Sooooooo….my point today is…. how do I (and how do you) choose that next book to read.  As book bloggers, many of us are offered books to review consistently from publishers and authors, and believe me… some of these – many of these offers are great sounding reads.  AND if you are not a book blogger but a lover of books (first of all you are AWESOME!), you as a consumer who buys a book here and there…..

how do you, how do any of us choose?

This is what I want to discuss.  Share how you pick that next book.  For myself, I am a little embarrassed to admit that in my reading room right now there are hundreds of books that are currently unread.  I pick them up at sales, they are my personal library, and yes, there are many that are review books as well.  Yet… when I go in there.  I get to pick “1”.

What drives you to choose a book to read?  Is it popularity?  A topic?  A feeling?  Do you buck the trends and go your own way and read something completely off the charts (perhaps something called The History Of The Paperclip?) 

I want to dish!  Talk to me 😀

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)29 Comments

Imagine… you are a single, attractive, woman in your early 30’s, you are a Realtor and you do ok for yourself.  At this time in your life your biggest concerns are selling a house, practicing patience with your quirky mother, and being on time for dinner with your boyfriend.

You are spending a gorgeous Saturday afternoon stuck at an Open House showing that is extremely slow.  As you are packing up your things and calling it a day a van pulls into the driveway.  A well dressed man gets out of the vehicle and you can tell he is really interested in seeing the house.  Maybe this day wont be such a loss after all.  As you take him through the house and start into the back yard you feel something blunt and cold press against the middle of your back.

A gun.

Suddenly you find yourself in a cabin, God only knows where.  Your abductor, soon to be known as “The Freak” in your mind, certainly never said out loud, has thought of everything and you have no escape.  You are put on a strict schedule of when you can eat, and when you can use the bathroom.  Any changes to this resulted in being hit or having to drink out of the toilet.  And honestly, this was not even the worst part.  There were the scheduled baths…

Certainly someone will find you.  Certainly it is only a matter of time.  Yet days turn into weeks, and weeks into months. And survival is your only thought.

The book, Still Missing, is the story I described above.  This is a thriller told about Annie O’Sullivan and her abduction, eventually her escape.  Much of the book is Annie talking to her Therapist, reliving the past and sharing the present.  Annie still lives in fear of sounds in the dark, strangers, and being alone.  Of course, its hard to be with people when you have trust issues. 

I have read books where the flash backs and present time chapters do not work.  They are confusing.  This is not one of those books.  I listened to this on audio and the book flowed smoothly.  I never felt lost in the story, instead I found myself right from the start thinking “this is good, this is really really good.”

I have become a little gun-shy of thrillers as I find they are either gory or over the top unbelievable.  Again, author Chevy Stevens knocked that chip off my shoulder.  Well told, very believable (maybe a little too believable!) and kept me listening.  I wanted to know, HAD TO KNOW what was going to happen.

Extremely well done I give high marks to a very talented author who blew me away with the story line and kept me guessing all the way through. 

I cant wait to read Chevy Stevens again!  Make sure you do as well!

Need more convincing?  Check out these great reviews:

Alison’s Book Marks

Presenting Lenore

Life With Books

Devourer Of Books

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

Purchased from audible.com and an excellent selection!

Morning Meanderings… Sunday Salon

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)34 Comments

Good morning and Happy Sunday!  😀

It is back to dreary rainy weather here which… is getting old and I hope it clears up this week as I have a pretty much “no commitment week”

I know right??? 

That never happens for me.  I usually have a study group on Mondays, and we are not meeting this week.  Tuesdays are usually something I have to do, but not this time, Wednesdays I work with students and they are going to a Rally this week and my services will not be needed, Thursday free, Friday free, Saturday is the Dewey Read a Thon..

Whoa… what?

Yes.  The 24 hour Dewey Read A Thon is Saturday April 21st and  I plan to participate and it is not to late for you to sign up as well.  Seriously… get on that.  😀  I love this read-a-thon, it’s about the only one I do, and I read for charity, which I will share more about later this week.  Oh and there are always fun mini challenges where you can win books or bookish items like gift certificates.  I will be hosting one here you will not want to miss out on – it is going to be on so fun! 😛

At some point this next week I also need to road trip to go pick up my books for World Book Night.  Are you participating in World Book Night?  If so what books are you handing out on April 23rd?  I will have 20 copies of The Hunger Games at my finger tips!  AND at some point soon I have an idea to go along with this that I must also get posted this week. 😀

Hmmmm…. what else?  I received one book this week in the mail:

The second book to Wolf Hall.  Which admittedly, I have yet to read.  NOW I really need to get on it as this one sounds good!

And finally, today marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, a topic that always touches me.  I have some artifacts in my home surrounding the Titanic that I am pulling our for a post later.  And today I will spend some time reading Titanic related reads, in memory of the day. 

Have a great day, I am off to church and then back home here to write-up a couple posts and get some reading done this afternoon.  I may go to the Titanic movie today if I find someone to go with.  Pretty sure my hubby will not sit through that 3 hour movie again.  😀  Oh, and one more thing – I added a giveaway to my post that went up yesterday for 2108 Eyes Open.

2108 Eyes Open by K.L. Glanville w/ GIVEAWAY!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)12 Comments

It’s 2018. Jewel (or Charmskinned as fondly called by her dad) has just turned 16. 16! That means she can finally access the autopilot on her Aerokopa (think of the Jetsons cartoon and how they traveled). Life is opening new doors right and left!

But really what good is being 16 and being able to explore the countryside when you do not have a date to your BFF’s party of the century? Well, except for that one boy, Loyal who’s cute and all but he is also a HOLDOUT… and that is a can of grief Jewel is not ready to open. And of course there is the whole hush hush business of the Trollers docked at the quay , believed to be spies working with the Aliens, but Jewel’s dad is a big shot in the Government and he is on top of all of that. It’s best to avoid that area, and it would be all out treason to make friends with one of these Trollers, even if he was a really cute teenage one, who seems to be really nice and brings you gifts….

That would be the wrong thing for Jewel to do right?  Right?

I am not a big sci fi “fan girl”, yet when asked if I would take a closer look at this new book by K.L. Glanville, something caught me. It might have been the fun synopsis of a young girl about to get in a heap of potential trouble. And really if I followed my own rule of things “I will not enjoy” then I never would have experienced Hunger Games, Pandemonium, The Knife Of Never Letting Go,” so seriously… what do I know?

What I liked about 2108 is that this is what I would call a great young YA read. By young YA I mean although it is written about teenagers, and there is a mention of champagne towards the end of the book, it is a clean read, almost upper MG. (I hope I am making sense)

The people of the book are categorized:

Naturals: People like Jewel and her dad. They live as nature intended, no alterations to their DNA or bodies. Most live in New Zealand which is the only area where no Bionics or Aliens live, which is a big bonus!

Aliens: Those who invaded the globe. Untrustworthy.

Bionics: People who are in cahoots with the Aliens. Some of them even have their DNA altered to mix with the Aliens DNA.

Holdouts: People who still believe in the old ways, they have two parent families and usually a number of children (how crazy is that?)

Jewel’s character was interesting and I felt well developed. I felt the futuristic feel of this book was not over the top. It was fun, and I got into the story line, wondering what would happen next.

Fair waring: This book does leave you with unanswered questions and I see on Amazon it is marketed as Volume 1, on the bright side, that means there is more to come of this interesting and fun story!

I am connecting this review to Julie at Booking Mama’s Kid Connections.  A meme I wish I took part in more often!

I was just notified by the publishing company that I can give away one SIGNED copy of this book with 5 books marks to one lucky commenter!  Simply leave a comment on this post between April 14 – April 18th, and on the morning of the 19th I will announce the winner.  😀

 

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book:

Luminations Media Group, Inc.
“2108: Eyes Open” New Young Adult Book Release!

Morning Meanderings… Spring and a new family member!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)50 Comments

Good morning.  Yesterday was a dreary wet day, gloomy and overcast, cold and windy.  A perfect day to read and write.  Today…. looks to be a little different.

I was on the deck at 6:30 am this morning and the air was not unpleasant.  I am thinking it is going to be a gorgeous day which in my Saturday world means:  bike rides, fresh air, and probably a little more reading as weekends that are not over booked are rare and will get rarer as the weeks go on… bike rides, cabin weekends, and events will soon fill up my luxurious low-key Saturdays.

This morning for Saturday Snapshots (*waves at Alyce*) I thought I would show you some pictures of my world from the back deck this morning.

Let me set the scene…. this is Brainerd Minnesota.  Currently the temp is 42 degrees.  (Yesterday it didn’t even touch 42 degrees).

Taken from the back deck... the yard swing.

 

My reading swing on the deck. Still a little early in the year for me to be in it but once that sun warms up - I will be there!

 

The back yard.

 

The tree in the deck. When we expanded the deck in 1997, I told Al the tree had to stay. So... the deck was built around the tree.
And that little guy in the pic... that is Sam.

 

Earlier this week, I posted a pic of this "maybe ours" dog. A girl in my book club had found him about a week ago and brought him to Book Club on Tuesday. We decided on Thursday morning that he could stay. We are calling him Sam.

 

Stop over to Alyce’s At Home With Books to find more pictures posted for Saturday Snapshots.

 

Tonight we are going to dinner with friends.  That will be nice.  As for this morning and afternoon I am going to spend a little time writing a review, read a little and hopefully a bike ride. 

What are your weekend plans? 

 

Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones But Words Will Never Hurt Me?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)27 Comments

Remember that child hood sing-song saying”Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” 

What a load of crap.

😯

This week as I was listening to Home Front by Kristin Hannah, a story of a military woman with a rocky marriage who is called away to fight in Afghanistan.  Shortly before her deployment while in yet another heated argument with her husband over his time management skills and being there for their children he says these words,

“I can’t do this anymore.  I just don’t love you.”

The woman is shocked.  It is just an argument.  The book describes that she collapses and reaches out for the counter as the words sink into her very soul.  It is like the bottom just fell out of her life.

And they say words don’t hurt.  🙄

It was about that moment when that old saying about sticks and stones hit me.  I flashed back to a grade school version of me in a playground with friends while a boy taunted us over one thing or another.  I can recall my little voice singing out the sticks and stones thing and tossing my braids over my shoulder and off I went with my posse.

BUT…

The truth is there is a lot of power to words.  As writers, they are must have tools.  As readers we want the words to make us feel… feel pain, hurt, betrayal, love, fear adoration, sorrow, triumph, anger….

the list really goes on and on. 

In fact as I ramble on here and apparently am building up steam on this topic, words that make us feel are what we crave in a book.  We WANT to feel, even… if it is painful. 

And really – what a rush a good book is when it does make us feel.  From the very comforts of our own home we get the privilege of experiencing all this emotion through the books we choose to read.. through the words the writer gives out minds to play around with.

Who among us has not experienced emotion through reading?  Have you laughed or cried while in a book?  Have you turned a page in anger over what you have just read, or turned it slowly and fearfully… afraid what you will read next?

Honestly – I love it when a book makes me feel big emotions one way or another.  When I read a review, I want to know how the book made the reader feel. 

How about you?  Do you like your books to bring out emotions?  Do you agree or disagree that words have power?  On and off the pages?  Would love to dissect this topic with you!

Morning Meanderings: Are You Pre-Ordering This? (And WINNER!)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)34 Comments

Good morning!  Happy Friday The 13th!  😯  I know right?  I feel like I need to rent a spooky movie or something! 

Today is my day off and it looks gloomy out there.  The weather may sabotage my bike ride plan for the day… but that may mean that I will be inside reading instead which… makes me smile. 

When asked the question… uh, Sheila… if you were sent to live on a deserted island for five years and you could only take along with you 5 books, what would those books be?  While I would no doubt sweat this decision… I can guarantee you there would be at least one Harry Potter book in this mix. 

SO…. that said…

yesterday Shelf Awareness revealed that J K Rowling (master mind of all that is Harry Potter) is releasing a new book called The Casual Vacancy.  This books sounds as though it will have none of the magic that bought Harry a permanent residence in my heart, however… it is JK Rowling, and that makes me interested.

Publisher Little, Brown called the novel a “blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising” tale of what happens in the English village of Pagford after parish council member Barry Fairweather dies unexpectedly. “Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty facade is a town at war.”

according to Little Brown Publishing

I quickly popped on-line and pre-ordered this book that is due to release in late September.  While currently  the hard cover is sitting at a hefty $21, I believe it will go down in price before release. 

My question is, do you pre-order books from favorite authors?  Would you pre-order this one?

 

**I also need to announce the winner of the gift card for the Easter Egg Hunt that took place during the Monday What Are You Reading meme!  Thank you to all who participated! I was really pleasantly surprised of how many of you went egg hunting. I had a lot of emails saying that you really enjoyed doing this… enough so, that I will probably do it again in the future. 😀

The criteria was that you had to 1) find 3 of the 4 hidden eggs and email me where they were AND 2) you had to comment on each of these blog posts that had the Easter Egg in order to qualify. (a couple of you forgot that part!).  That said, using random.org, the winner of the $25 Amazon Gift Card is:

Lindsey from Literary Lindsey

Congratulations Lindsey!!!   The gift card will be in your e mail yet this morning, please let me know here that you have received it. 😀

Also…. thank you to my wonderful Egg Hosts:  Mari from Bookworm With A View, Lori from Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book, Kathy from Inside Of A Dog, and Reagan from Miss Remmer’s Reviews.  You all ROCK in my book! 😛

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff (A Bookies Review)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)33 Comments

It is 1875, and Ann Eliza Young has recently separated from her powerful husband, Brigham Young, prophet and leader of the Mormon Church. Expelled and an outcast, Ann Eliza embarks on a crusade to end polygamy in the United States. A rich account of her family’s polygamous history is revealed, including how both she and her mother became plural wives. Yet soon after Ann Eliza’s story begins, a second exquisite narrative unfolds–a tale of murder involving a polygamist family in present-day Utah. Jordan Scott, a young man who was thrown out of his fundamentalist sect years earlier, must reenter the world that cast him aside in order to discover the truth behind his father’s death. And as Ann Eliza’s narrative intertwines with that of Jordan’s search, readers are pulled deeper into the mysteries of love, family, and faith.

Temple Garments, referred to as "secret underwear" in the book, were work under all clothing at all times. Even when you went to bed.
Members of Joseph F. Smith's family, including his sons and daughters, as well as their spouses and children, circa 1900.

I thought I knew what Polygamy was.  I knew there were those who believe in plural wives.  I haven’t watched it, but know there is a tv series right now called Sister Wives, about a man and his four wives.

Really I had no idea.

There’s something I really love about Historical Fiction.  I love the facts I find within the pages.  The 19th Wife is a fictional story, however woven through the chapters is a true story, the story of Ann Eliza Young the all too real woman who was married to Brigham Young and made the bold move to separate herself from what everyone in her circle believed.  From the very first pages I was hooked into something new, and different, and felt like I had walked into a world I knew little of.

A large part of this book is told through Jordan’s perspective.  Jordan is one of the “lost boys.”  As you come to find out, the lost boys are what is referred to when a boy in his early teens usually is excommunicated from the home and dumped out into the world to fend for themselves. 

Why?

The crude explanation is, this leaves more women to go around.  With the births being almost equally divided into boys and girls, and men are expected to have at least three wives… the numbers just do not add up. 

Although Jordan’s life has not been easy (there are some horrifying early years stories of what he did to survive), he is now at peace with where he is at in life and who he has become.  Or… so he thinks.

When Jordan’s mother is jailed and possibly going to be executed for a crime he does not believe she committed, Jordan sets his own judgements aside, and walks back into the life he never thought he would return to, to try to figure out what really happened.

The result is a twisting, informative, and all so close walk into the lives of those surrounded by what they believe to be God’s truth.  I personally, found it fascinating, like walking on the edge of something dangerous that I did not understand, but knowing I was safe as all was locked in the pages of the book.

I personally think this makes for an incredible discussion for a book group.  There are discussion group questions in the back of the book and out group made it through about 4 of them.  Our conversation flowed without the guidance of questions, facts and fiction mixed in our voices, from those who were appalled and did not enjoy the book (very few), to those of us who found it interesting and fascinating (the majority). 

Honestly, as we reviewed it, I felt this is what a book discussion is meant to be… we were bursting to discuss this book. 

As for the food:

"book lovers never sleep alone"
Had to use these napkins!

I missed some of the food pics.  There was also a delicious looking fruit salad. 

In the end, out of the eighteen women who sat down and reviewed this book, the average rating (scale of 1-5), the book rated a strong 4.  We felt it was very discussion worthy, informative and really… I could go on and on with this review … but yeah…. it has to end sometime.  😀

I think people who enjoy historical fiction will enjoy this book. 

Looking for some other thoughts on it?  here are some awesome book bloggers and their thoughts on The 19th Wife:

Becky’s Book Reviews

Caribou’s Mom

Devourer Of Books

Reviews By Lola

 

LoVe In A Nutshell by Janet Evanovich

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)8 Comments

Kate Appleton’s life had hit the skids.  Suddenly jobless, husbandless, and really feeling kind of low, she decided that the only she wants to be right now is at her parents summerhouse, The Nutshell in Keenes’ Harbor Michigan.  Unfortunately, much like her life, The Nutshell has seen better days as well and Kate finds herself needing cash in supply if she is about to renovate this house into her dream, a bed and breakfast.

Enter Matt Culhane, owner of a local brewery but having some major issues with someone sabotaging his company.  When Matt meets Kate, he likes her spunk and hires her to be an undercover spy on his employees.  If Kate can figure out who is out to get him, he will pay her a $20,000 bonus.  Kate quickly accepts this “dangled carrot” and tries to wiggle her way into the trusts of the brewery employees.

Only… there are a few problems.  Kate despises beer and has an odd reaction if she drinks it.  None of the employees seem to trust her.  Oh, and she is falling for her boss. 

Janet Evanovich and I have not crossed paths for years.  Recently when I was in my local library I wandered over to a display they put up of new arrivals.  I like to see what audio has come in and there this was.   Evanovich writing something new after the recent release of the movie from her book One For The Money…. I admit I was curious.

While a fun listen (nice job narrator Lorelie King!) it was what I have come to expect of Janet Evanovich, cooky characters, a romance in the making, a small plot that unrolls throughout the book.  Kate is nowhere near as doopy (my word) as Stephanie Plum, and I did like that.  Where Plum is surrounded by family, Kate only has her potato chip addicted dog, a brief cameo of her mother and a briefer of her father, and a hostile ex husband. 

It was a good listen and I think Evanovich fans will enjoy this one as much as they have enjoyed her other books.

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

I borrowed this from my local library