Morning Meanderings.. Whatever Happened to SSQQQQUUUEEEEEE???

Published on April 20, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)26 Comments

Good morning. 😀 Sipping coffee here in Minnesota at the kitchen table considered taking the 8:25 am Group Power class this morning but apparently that is not happening as I am still relaxing with COFFEE CUP surrounded by books I am dropping in the mail today, trying to clean up a few emails that require responses and thinking about my plan for tomorrows read-a-thon.

*WHEW! Take a breath*

Anyhoo, this morning I was reading Miss Remmer’s review of Monument and while she does mention the book lacks in some areas, what she did describe… the action, the synopsis, gave me that feeling I love when I feel I need to drop everything and get that book. I actually SSQQQQUUUUEEEEDDDD in the comment I left her.

That is when it hit me. Where had my SQQQQUUUEEEEE gone? I used to SSSSQQQQQQUUUUEEEEEEE all the time for books that rocked my world, for books that came in the mail, for the mailman even who graciously carried all my books to me without complaining (that I know of 😉 )! For books I won, for bike rides, for great life moments….

Really…. where did all that go?

SO….. briefly…. here are a few things on my plate that are SQQQQQUUUUUEEEEE worthy:

1. It is the weekend. SQQQQQUUUEEEEEEE!!!!

2. My friend and I are road tripping today to Barnes and Noble. SSSQQQQQUUUUEEEEEE!!!!!

3. I am fully registered for BEA, hotel, room mate, and plane… all booked…. all paid. DONE. SSQQQQQUUUEEEEE!!!!!

4. The sun is out. Today will be gorgeous. SSSQQQQQQUUUUEEEEE!!!!!

5. I organized my book giveaway shelves. SSSQQQQQQUUUUEEEEEE!!!!!!

6. I will probably have lunch today at one of my favorite restaurants. SSSQQQQQQUUUUEEEEEEE!!!!!

7. Some exciting books have come into my home this week. SSSQQQQQQQUUUUEEEEE!!!!!

8. The Dewey Read-A-Thon is tomorrow and I plan to participate FULLY. SSSQQQQQQUUUUEEEEE!!!!!

9. The new pup in the house has been here a little over a week ago and he is working out wonderfully. SSSQQUUUEEEE!!!

10. While life is always interesting. I am at peace with it. SSSQQQQQUUUEEEEE!!!!!

Ok. I feel… caught up. 😀

Tomorrow I will be reading for the Dewey Read A Thon and I will be reading for charity again. My charity as usual is Camp Benedict, which is a camp for people and family who are connected to AIDS. I will talk more about this tomorrow – but I will be reading at 10 cents a page and $1.00 for every 30 minutes of audio I listen to.

You are welcome, if you feel called to do so, to sponsor me with a one time donation or a per page donation.

World Book Night Is Coming!!! World Book Night Is Coming!!!

Published on April 19, 2012April 19, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)46 Comments

This coming Monday April 23rd is the first World Book Night in the US and I AM SO EXCITED to be a part of it! Successfully launched in the UK last year, World Books Night will take place on the 23rd in the USA, UK , and Ireland.

It will be like the books heard around the world! 😀

I am thinking most of you have heard about this but in the event that you are scratching your head and saying “What is world book night, Sheila?” I am all too happy to share with you!

World Book Night is a day when a half a million free books will be given away around the world! Those who signed up had a chance to pick from 30 wonderful titles in which if selected, you would be given 20 copies of that book to give away on World Book Night to hopefully non readers to encourage them to READ! I chose Hunger Games because I feel this is a book that speaks to a multitude of ages and with the recent movie release may be a great book to encourage non or light readers to pick it up and READ.

Additionally, April 23 is UNESCO’s World Book Day, chosen due to the anniversary of Cervantes’ death, as well as Shakespeare’s birth and death.

I will be picking up my books at Barnes and Noble this coming Friday. My friend and I will road trip our way to St Cloud, about an hour drive from here, but worth it for a trip to B & N, possibly lunch at one of my favorite lunch spots (Hello Mongo’s!) and perhaps a little shopping.

I know a lot of book bloggers all over the world are also participating in this incredible event and I would like to do two things here.

On Sunday afternoon I am going to set up a sticky post and a linky for all who participated in World Book Night to share their stories in a post. What I am saying is if you write about your world book night experience – I would love it if you would link your posts up here on Monday or Tuesday, when ever you write them so we can all check out your experience.

Secondly, I encourage you to send a picture in of your World Book Day experience to my email at journeythroughbooks@gmail.com. I would like to put together a post of the pictures that come in of you and the books and where in the world you are located. I think it would be awesome to see the books, the people handing them out… etc.

IF you are not participating in World Book Night but stumble across someone in your area who is, you can send in a picture of that as well… cool if you can get in on the pic, but if not, a picture of the books being handed out and where in the world you are would be just fine.

This post here, is just to chat with you all about World Book Night. The linky post will go up later on Sunday so on Monday, World Book Night, you can start linking up. And I hope you do as this is going to be an incredible world-wide experience that I am proud to be a part of.

Are you participating? Are there any World Book Night celebrations around

where you live?

Morning Meanderings… Pottermore… or less

Published on April 19, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)30 Comments

Good morning!

I wasnt sure I was going to post this morning… I really had nothing to say (SHOCKER!) 😯 and I have a post going us in a bit any way about World Book Night.

However I was checking out a few of my fav blogs this morning while having my COFFEE and trying (trying!) to eat half a grapefruit because I seen on a Gilmore Girls episode it is good for me. 😀

ANYWAY while doing that I seen a couple mentions that Pottermore has gone public. I was part of the Beta testing early entrants and had checked it out a few months back and found it interesting, informative… but within about four days I had done all you could do with it at that point and I left it.

Seeing Alyce this morning talk about her experience so far, and Amy as well, I popped back in to see if after all the feedback and testing what they may have changed.

From my little bit of dabbling I did not see any changes from the testing period. In fact I had ended where it stopped with book one months back and see that it still goes no further. My favorite part of Pottermore is the fun facts you get to see with J K Rowling, how she came up with names for the characters, why she chose the Dursleys house number, etc… if you want to get your Potter geek on, you can certainly do that. 😀

I will probably check it out more now that I am knowing a few people playing. To friend me I am Snitchrook100.

Off to work, maybe a bike ride… and that is my major commitments today – I am loving this week of no evening commitments. I feel refreshed, de-stressed and all out giddy. 😀

If you are on Pottermore let me know your name so I can friend you! 😀

The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie by Alan Bradley

Published on April 18, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)29 Comments

It’s the summer of 1950 and twelve-year-old Flavia de Luce is tinkering away in her chemical lab inside the once great house of Buckshaw, in a sleepy English village. The lab is an inheritance from her passed on mother and eccentric uncle. And Flavia loves it, after all she has a gifted mind for mixing chemicals and the study of poisons.

One morning Flavia left the comforts of the lab for a stroll around the acreage she calls home and after finding a dead bird on the doorstep with a postage stamp stuck on its beak,, to her surprise (and delight) she discovers a body among the cucumber patch. While the police seem to be taking their own sweet time making error after error in trying to solve the crime, Flavia decided to solve the crime herself.

Welcome to Flavia de Luce’s world.
For Flavia, life begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw. “I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn’t. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life.”

"Flavia de Luce", "Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie", Alan Bradley" — **Flavia makes an appearance is three more books...**

Finally I find myself exploring Alan Bradleys books. I knew nothing going in. I did not know that The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie was the first in a series of Flavia De Luce novels… see…. out of loop….

I went into this one on audio and my first initial thought was I thought it sounded a bit like the Bloody Jack audio books (stories of a wild and smart tom boyish young girl), and the narration of Jayne Entwistle gave it that feel, which excited me as the Bloody Jack audio are fantastic!

The story line of our young detective Flavia, is fun. She it witty. She is smart beyond her years. She has siblings that do not play strong enough parts (at least in this book) for me to even remember their names, but she being the youngest, and seemingly the smartest, has a bit of fun with them that makes their back seat roles in this read favorable and “smile worthy”.

While I found the writing rich, the narration with the strong accent delightful, I can not say I loved it. I think for starters I could not wrap my head around Flavia being twelve and working in a chemical lab and being as smart and as able to get around the way she did …

it just didn’t mesh for me – and yeah, I know I am in the minority on this one.

So my thoughts are if you enjoy well written (and well read) books that may be a bit far-fetched but certainly fun… you will want to give the Flavia de Luce mysteries a try. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is the first of the books. #2 – The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag,#3- A Red Herring Without Mustard and #4, I am Half-Sick of Shadows.

See some other reviews from bloggers that I trust:

Beth Fish Reads

Rhapsody In Books

Book Lover Book Reviews

Amy Reads

I borrowed this audio from our awesome library

Morning Meanderings…Huh? What?

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

Morning. *BIG sip of COFFEE*

How ya’ all doing?

Do you ever have those days where you wake up super early … like hmmmm…. 4:00 am and feel good? Real good because you do not feel tired but actually like you could start your day?

AND then you go back to bed because 4 am is just silly and you can top it off with an hour of sleep and then wake up at 7:00?

7:00???? And you work at 8:00!

Hate that.

Now I am having my coffee, missing my relax time of the am…. one eye on my post… one eye on the clock wondering how close I can push it until I jump in the shower… and

GAH!

Any hoo…. in bookish news On audio I am with Detective Harry searching out yet another victims home and yes, there is a snow man. Who does that??? (The Snowman by Jo Nesbo)

In other audio I am hanging out with Michael Zarkade as he juggles career and kids while Jolene has been called to active duty for a year in Iraq. As if the marriage wasn’t bumpy enough, the children feel abandoned and Michael cant quite get a grip on anything. (Home Front by Kristin Hannah)

In yet another audio (my IPOD, Milton Podricker) I am on a lifeboat and the ship has sunk taking hundreds if not thousands of lives with it. No, it was not the Titanic. There are 39 of us on the lifeboat and it is day… I don’t remember but it has been at least a week. The weather is bad and we are discussing that is the weather continues this way the water will sink the lifeboat because there are too many in it. Hard decisions, UNBELIEVABLY hard decisions are about to be made… (THe Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan)

and in books, I am on the streets of New York with Sarah Beth as she has just walked out on her life… at least for a while. She has left her best friend in a restaurant thinking she is in the bathroom, but she will soon get the note from the waiter that things are not good, have not been good for a while and this break, if that’s what it is… has to happen. (Whole Latte Life by Joanne Demaio)

Ok that’s my time… I look at the clock and find it (and me) wanting. 😀

Have a super day! I want to talk about World Book Night but that will be tomorrow!

Hereafter by Tara Hudson

Published on April 17, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)22 Comments

A review by Camryn

Can there truly be love after death?

Hereafter is a book written by Tara Hudson that is about a young ghost named Amelia. Amelia drowned when she fell (or jumped, she doesn’t remember) from High Bridge, right off High Bridge Road. Amelia is having another one of her disturbing nightmares, where she re-experiences her death in a state of unconsciousness. When she wakes up, she is floating in the river, looking at a pair of glowing lights in the water. Panicking, she swims down to the lights, where she sees a boy around her age, probably eighteen years old. His eyes are closed, and he is unconscious. Dead set to make sure he survives, she screams with all of her might, hoping by some miracle he would swim to the surface of the water and survive. He does just that, and makes it to shore. As paramedics arrive, he tells her his name is Joshua.

Amelia is visited by Joshua the next day, and she tells him she is dead. Though a bit frazzled and shocked, he continues to ask questions about her past. Amelia and Joshua grow even closer together, so much to the point where Amelia finds herself falling for him. Joshua helps Amelia remember her distant past. Another ghost, Eli, is doing his best to keep them apart. Joshua’s grandmother, who also happens to see Amelia, is not fond of her, and is planning on exorcising her as soon as possible. Will Joshua and Amelia’s bond continue? Or will they be ripped apart as fast as they met?

I personally loved the book.I did struggle somewhat with how a ghost and a human boy could be together, but overall it was an excellent read and I greatly enjoyed reading it.

I would recommend it to anyone who likes to read about supernatural/paranormal. If you enjoyed Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, you will probably enjoy Hereafter.

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… So Many Fun Happenings!

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

Good morning! Happy Tuesday! I think today is going to be a GOOD GOOD Day!

Monday morning I woke up to this:

Yup. SNOW. 😯 Let’s recap, Saturday, sunny, 72 degrees, GORGEOUS our! Sunday stormy…. Monday… snow.

On the bright side… Tuesday morning. Sunny and should be mid to high 50’s. I’ll take it. The snow is almost gone.. just a little on the deck.

There is a lot of fun things I want to tell you about this morning so hang on to your COFFEE CUP while I spill all.

Historical Tapestry is a blog that has been promoting all things Titanic for the last week. They have some really interesting posts and if you are interested in Titanic topics this is a must stop. Yesterday I did a guest post over there on Titanic memorabilia, featuring my Titanic Bears. Yes, I have Titanic Bears. Yes, you can see them over at Historical Tapestry.

If you know Jill at Fizzy Thoughts you know that she likes to change words to songs, something I used to do all the time in High School with my friend Barb, the only other girl in our home room. I still can’t sing Eye Of The Tiger with the correct words after we spoofed it….

Anyway, a couple days ago on one of her post I left her ummm…. a little challenge per se… and rumor has it (ok, she told me) that she will be changing the words to the song I gave her today over at Fizzy Thoughts. Pop over later and see what she came up with! I know I will!

I also updated Team Kickin It this morning with my weekly check in of my fitness goals and what is happening in that part of my world. Stop over cheer me on…. 😀

What does this number mean to me? Click and find out!

And finally, a couple weeks ago I had a major SQQQUUUEEEE moment when a box of YA books arrived on my door step. While I would say most of us book lovers would agree, books on the doorstep are totally back flip worthy, I wanted to be sure these treasures were reviewed in a timely manner. A friend of mine’s daughter Camryn is a big time book lover and I invited her over to look through the books and read and review any she wished, on the agreement that she would point out the super fabulous ones to me so I could make sure I read them soon too. 😀 The day before Easter she left here with five books, that evening she sent me two reviews and by Monday of last week she had finished and reviewed all five for me.

I should have recruited a long time ago… 😛

So later today, Camryn’s first review is going up for Herafter by Tara Hudson. I hope you will give her a warm welcome as I see an up and coming book blogger in this one. 😀

I work today… plan to work out after and then a wonderful evening at home…. I really like the sound of that. 🙂

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on April 15, 2012April 15, 2012 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:

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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Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

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 April 15, 2012April 15, 2012 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 April 15, 2012 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