Morning Meanderings… Whats the next six weeks looking like

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)18 Comments

Good morning!  Happy Sunday!

This morning Al (hubby) is leaving for a job in North Dakota for 6 weeks.  It’s crazy – but it’s also good. Our business we own is pretty much shut down every winter from now until March.  This is a bonus job he is doing with a friend.

As for me… well… I am pretty independent so my plan other than work and working out (more on that tomorrow morning) will be reading and writing… the writing part really being something I have neglected for a while now. 

Today I am listening to Ready Player One and so in love with this audio!  I mean really – if you have any connection to the 80’s you will LOVE this, and please do yourself justice and go for the audio.  This is the best advice I can give you…. I feel currently that this is going to be the best audio I have listened to this year… pushing past some incredible audio!

I will be around today, catching up on the four reviews that I have yet to write…. reading for the INSPY’s and I don’t know… maybe watching a little Gilmore Girls.  😀

Bookish Gifts for Your Bookish Friends

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)48 Comments

It is that time of year  again when I start thinking of Christmas and the gift giving.  I love finding the perfect gift for people.  I know I appreciate a well thought out gift and find it funny when people say to me that they would not get me a book because of course I have so many already…

those who know me well.. know a bookish item is perfect for me as that is what I love.  After all, the gift of a book to me is like the gift of adventure.

That said it got me thinking of what I would consider good bookish gifts this year and I thought I would post a list of the items that I think would be very appreciated by fellow book lovers:  (*Note that all gifts listed below are clickable pictures that will take you to where you can purchase and/or see more about the item.

 

 

 

1.  The Chaos Walking Series

Seriously the best series I read this year and totally gift worthy.  Believe me – you will want to give all three books as each book leaves you ready to jump head first into the next.  A little adventure, a little sci fi, a little YA, and a lot of dystopia… this series has a little something for everyone… and I personally found it to be even more amazing than the Hunger Games.  See my reviews of these books here, here, and here.

 

 

 

2.  The Banned Books Bracelet

I have coveted this bracelet since the first time I saw it.  What a cool and unique gift for your favorite book lover!  In both adult and teen titles. 

3.  Readers Journal

Not everyone you know who loves to read is also a book blogger.  Even some of your book blogger types (me included) still enjoy writing in a journal.  This little beauty is the pick of the crop because:

Title, Author, Date Published, Category (Fiction, Non-Fiction, etc.), Date Started, Date Finished, 0-5 Star Rating, “Inspired me to learn about these subjects”, followed by a full page for “Notes”.

Throughout the journal are places to fill in fun information:

~A 2-page spread about your “Biblio Style”, including favorite authors, favorite books, favorite places to read, favorite genres, etc.
~A page to show, basically, what kind of books are currently on your book shelves.
~A page to fill in authors that have most influenced you.
~”Reading Trees”, to track how reading one book influenced you to read another book.
~A page to make your own little award ceremony for books.
~Literary face-offs, where you check who you like the best from lists of authors and literary characters.
~A favorite quotes page.
~Two page spread concerning books being turned into movies.

Seriously?  I just ordered two of these this morning.

4.  The Steve Jobs book by Walter Isaacson

This hot little item is on my wish list and I think on many other book lovers as well.

5.  Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (ON AUDIO!)

I would never forget the audio book lovers in my life and my recommendation for this Christmas season is Ready Player One.  Narrated by Will Wheaton it is a treat for the ears!

 

 

 

6.  Awesome movies made from books

Celebrate life-long friendship this holiday season with the film adaptation of Lisa See’s best-selling novel, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Set in both 19th century and present day China, Snow Flower is the tale of two women and their descendants who share a life-long bond as sworn sisters. This touching film is from critically acclaimed director Wayne Wang (The Joy Luck Club).

This tale set in a travelling circus during the Great Depression stars the dreamy Robert Pattinson, and the loveable Reese Witherspoon, as two star-crossed lovers who must overcome many obstacles in order to be together. Not only is the film a great love story, but Witherspoon also dons some fantastic outfits and makeup, which would be great inspiration for any stylish woman!

Both of these movies were made from exceptional books.  I have seen both movies and can honestly say they are both gift worthy.

 

 

 

7.  Fun book shelves

Most big time book lovers are always scrambling for space to store their precious treasures.  A great gift is to give them is a unique way to do just that.  Do you not just love this shelf?

8.  Bookish Board Games

300 trivia cards, including 8 bonus Jane Austen trivia questions.  Super bookish party fare!

In Liebrary, players are given a book title and the plot summary and then asked it create the most believable first line of the book. The object of the game is to bluff other players into believing that their first line is the correct one. The more outrageous the better.  Come on!  Doesn’t that sound so fantastic?

9.  Trilogy that have gone GLOBAL!

We have been talking Hunger Games for the last two years.  Now – next year the movies will start and if you have bookish friends who have yet to read the series (shudder the thought!) then what an incredible gift to give!  This will be the gift that keeps on giving. 

 

 

 

10.  Harry Potter Boxed Complete Hardcover set

With the release of the last and final installment of the Harry Potter movies, we are truly at the end of an incredible era.  (Pause for a moment of silence)…………………………………………………………………….

To have all the books in hard cover in mint condition to the Harry Potter fan in your life?  Priceless.

That’s it for now… I have a DVD copy of Snow Flower and The Secret Fan as well as a DVD copy of Water For Elephants which I will choose two winners for next week from those who leave a comment letting me know what bookish gift they would like to receive this Christmas. 

Morning Meanderings… A Bit of This and A Bit of That

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)54 Comments

Good morning!

How is everyone surviving the Thanksgiving weekend?  Honestly I feel soooo behind.  I have had the best of intentions to post reviews the last few days and the fact is… I need to write them first.  My week has been busy with not only Thanksgiving prep and crazy hours of shopping, but also a good friend of mine’s sister passed away on Wednesday and I have been spending time with her as well as she goes through this hard time.

Yesterday College Son (Justin) spent all day with me from the crazy shopping to afternoon errands to lunch at a Chinese restaurant.  It’s hard to catch him when he is in town as he is off visiting friends but having him all day on Thursday and most of Friday was a blessing.  He will be hanging out with us a while today before he heads back to Mankato this afternoon to prepare his projects for school again on Monday. 

So this morning I was trying to think what pictures I was going to post for Alyce’s Saturday Snapshot as well as Candice’s Weekend Cooking post and decided if I want to add another post I have been working on this afternoon – I had to (just this once) combine the two meme’s. 

In honor of Thanksgiving…. here is what I have to share.

SO… you may have heard of a very odd (IMO) tradition of stuffing a turkey with a duck and inside the duck a chicken?  (ughhh…. I so dont even like the visual image of this).  It is called Turducken.

No worries… I did not do it, BUT this past week I heard of something a little visually comforting and a fun holiday treat and that is the combination of a cake and a pie. (I looked it up on the internet this morning… I guess the official title is Pumpple.

I have no “before” pictures… but it is fairly easy and you can get the steps here:

you will need:

a cake mix or two

a pie or two that you think would compliment the cake mix

In this particular two layer one… the cake mixes were spice and yellow and the pies were pumpkin and apple.

Use round cake pans and put a little spray oil in the bottom and on sides.  Mix up the cake mix as instructed on the box and put a layer in the bottom of your cake pan.  Place your pie in the cake pan.  Pour more cake mix over pie in the cake pan.  Yes, you will have mix left over.  Maybe make a few cupcakes or a mini cake. 

Bake as instructed on the cake box.  When done, cool and then frost.  It looks pretty cool on a plate and when you cut into it.  Its pretty tasty as well as a fun conversation piece for your next get together. 

Verdict:  It’s good.  I liked the pumpkin pie and spice cake combo.  I heard that a chocolate cake with pumpkin is really good too and since I am a fan of all things chocolate I would consider that one. 😛

Please stop by At Home With Books to see what others are posting today for Saturday Snapshots…

AND be sure to check out Beth Fish Reads Weekend Cooking which always has links to fantastic recipes that make you (ME) run right out the door to get the things to cook them!  😀

Today is going to be a low-key day and I am sooooo excited for that.  I am going to write the missing reviews and between today and tomorrow get in some good reading time as well.  I hope your weekend is a fantastic one.

Morning Meanderings… What Crazy People Do on Thanksgiving

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)39 Comments

Good morning…

Or for me….

that would be good night.  😀

Yesterday was a super fab day.  Our youngest College son came home and spent the entire day with us, eating too much good food… watching movies, and playing board games.

Turkey!

Then….

at 9:30 pm… we headed out into the cold Minnesota night to do what only crazy people do… hit the sales.  This is only my second time doing this and as I sit now in my recliner with sand filled eyes… I remember why I have not made this a yearly must.

It’s cold.  There is a TON of crazy people in the area I live in. The crowds.  The pushing.  The crabbies. The lines.  Did I mention it’s cold?  😯

BUT…

it is also crazy fun and Walmart at 10 pm Thursday night was hilarious.  We could not even park in the super center parking lot… instead we parked across the highway at JC Penney’s and walked over. 

The people were pushy to say the least and the crowds were probably “fire marshall worthy”… I found none of the items that were on my list as I could not get through the people.  My son Justin found a few movies and a board game.

check out lines at Wal-Mart Thursday night
Wal-Mart parking lot Thursday night

Then we went to Target…. also crazy but in a different way.  They did not open their doors until midnight so at 11:30 pm we found our way to the back of the line that then wrapped around the front of the building.  All I can say is thank God there was no snow or wind… I don’t think I could handle it. 

Target at 11:30 pm last night. We were in line around the corner from the front side of the building.

When we did get to go in – kudos to Target for having a plan.  They had people directing traffic, aisles taped off to keep us from getting grid locked and I went right to the movie sections without feeling I was taking my life into my own hands.  We left Target with movie purchases and a new IPOD home for me.  That was happy shopping.

We swing in, and quickly out, of Best Buy.  They are just too congested in their set up anyway to be able to do Black Friday right.  While I did pick up a movie I would have liked to have – I would rather pay full price for it on a different day then wait over an hour (I am sure) in their crazy long line.

We were home by 1:20 am… and I was in bed by 1:45 am.

It’s not over.

I was up at 5 am, waking Justin and we were out the door by 5:15 am to go the Mennards sale.  Mennard’s had the one thing I really wanted and my husband was buying it for me for Christmas… but it was my job to face the crazies and go and get it.  Not a problem for someone just as crazy.  😛

This time we were again in a line probably farther back then we were a few short hours prior at Target.  Again we were thankful for no snow.  It was cold… and I wished I was in Florida for Black Friday shopping… but it was doable.

And….

it paid off.  I get the Cricut machine I had wanted for $119.  I picked up several cartridges for $12.99 each.  Justin and I had fun, it wasn’t too crazy and we were back home by 7:15 am.  He is already back in bed… later we will go do lunch.  I am writing this post and going to catch a couple of hours of sleep myself. 

SSSQQQUUUEEE!!!!! My very own Cricut! (and assorted goodies)
The cartridges I picked up for the Cricut.... which... needs a name......

The weekend will be much quieter and I am excited to catch up on a few reviews and checking out the blog world to see what you are all up too.

Anyone else crazy enough to pull off the sales?  Oh please share the stories!  😛

Morning Meanderings… Oh… Seriously?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)42 Comments

 

Good Morning And Happy Thanksgiving. 

I feel like a grub monkey.  😛

I have no idea what a grub monkey is, but if there was a picture of one in the dictionary… I am pretty sure it would look like me right now.  😯

 

ANYWAY…. yesterday I received some sad news that kept me away from the house until late.  In fact, by the time I did come home I was so emotionally exhausted that I curled up on the couch and was asleep by 8:30 pm and slept on the couch all night long.

This morning… I feel grubby… you know… like you feel when you have been camping in that hot plastic tent and you wake up feeling… microwaved?  Yeah… that’s me right now.  (Sorry about the visual :razz:)

And now as I sit here typing I am looking at my kitchen table… which is laughable and I think… picture worthy.

 

 

 

I think tomorrow morning… I will show you what my table and kitchen looked like AFTER I prepped for Thanksgiving.  😛

So what accompanies during this prep today?  Ready Player One on audio and I am LOVING it. 

Even in this mess, I am thankful for family and friendships and the combination of friends who are like family.  ♥  I am thankful for my home and my job.  I am thankful for the pets in my life… past and present.  I am thankful for my health.  I am thankful for this little corner of the internet that I call my blog home and for all of you who visit and make me smile.  I am thankful for the opportunities that present themselves every day – big or small, they make me who I am.

Have an awesome Thanksgiving everyone.  

 

 

Morning Meanderings… A Couple of Cool Happenings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)14 Comments

Happy Wednesday!

Life happenings (yes again!) are going to keep this short and to the point today… BUT

I have to mention two kind of fun things as we go into this Thanksgiving weekend:

1.  I am being featured over at Alyce’s At Home With Books today where I am talking abut my love/hate relationship with Anita Shreve.  Please take a moment today and go check that out.  😛

2.  My review of One Perfect Day by Lorraine Snelling came out in Her Voice magazine yesterday.  I am on page 30 and 31.

I have to run… but plan to be back later with a review and yet this week with a list of bookish holiday gifts that I love and I think you will too.  😀

2.  My review of

Morning Meanderings… Whats Happening In Books

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)17 Comments

Good morning.

Every Monday as I am perusing The Monday What Are You Reading posts I almost consistently leave these posts with a book (or two.. or three) added to me already impossibly massive TBR (To Be Read).  AND each week I think I should rat out these bloggers who make my TBR grow to a dangerously tippy pile because they described a book so well and made it sound so appealing… I could not pass it up.

If I ever have a book related injury… those who have added to me TBR (oh you know who you are) are fully to blame.  😛

SO this week I came almost unscathed from the Monday posts except for one. 

Christina from Reading Extensively caught me in a book trap when she talked about Anne Ursu’s book Breadcrumbs.

Now I may have been able to pass on this cover… but what I could not pass on was Christina’s description…

“I wasn’t sure if I’d like this at first since I don’t care for the original fairy tale but this retelling was very nicely done and I loved all the references to Narnia, Harry Potter, and other books.”

Seriously… I am a big sucker for book references in other books.

In other bookish moments I have just survived (barely) the assassination of Lincoln (Killing Lincoln by Bill O’Reilly) and the hunt is now on for John Wilkes Booth.  AND Bod Owens has just encountered the man who killed his entire family (The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman).  AND my real life friend Eric Crabtree is sharing another account of his stint in the Air Force Base Hospital in Iraq in 2006 (A Captains Journal).

Where are your books taking you?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)74 Comments

Hello and welcome to another fun addition of 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:

Lori from Escape With Dollycas!

WOO HOO!!!!  Please choose an item out of the Reading Cafe Grab Shelves  and email me your choice with your mailing address as well!   journeythroughbooks@gmail.com

Well… I am not sure what happened this past week.  I expected… more.  I thought I would easily whip through several books I had going but that was not the case.  I ad a meeting Monday night, Wednesday night, and Thursday night.  And honestly – this weekend…. I slept a lot.  :zzz:

So here is what I did post (mainly items I had finished while I was away two weeks ago):

A List Of Odd Things (with pictures) that happened while I was in Honduras

Bookies Book Club thoughts on Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff (*With a picture of our very own Cleopatra!)

Monsters Of Men by Patrick Ness (my long awaited review of the last book in the best series I have read this year!)

Catch Me If You Can by Frank Abagnale (you may have seen the movie but the audio is so much better!!!)

Season To Taste by Molly Birnbaum (the true and triumphant story of a want to be chef who lost her sense of taste and smell in an accident)

Ok… now that I look at the list… maybe it wasn’t so bad… what I reviewed was pretty awesome.  So while I did not get a lot of reading done, I did write some good reviews.  😀

I am still finishing the two audio from last week and should have reviews up soon… as well as a couple of books from last week too.

As far as what is new for this week:

Tuesdays at Castle Glower are Princess Celie’s favorite days. That’s because on Tuesdays the castle adds a new room, a turret, or sometimes even an entire wing. No one ever knows what the castle will do next, and no one-other than Celie, that is-takes the time to map out the new additions. But when King and Queen Glower are ambushed and their fate is unknown, it’s up to Celie, with her secret knowledge of the castle’s never-ending twists and turns, to protect their home and save their kingdom.

Yup… goin’ a little middle grade…. 😀

Arriving in the mail over a period of weeks are taunting letters that end with a simple declaration, “Think of any number…picture it…now see how well I know your secrets.”  Amazingly, those who comply find that the letter writer has predicted their random choice exactly.  For Dave Gurney, just retired as the NYPD’s top homicide investigator and forging a new life with his wife, Madeleine, in upstate New York, the letters are oddities that begin as a diverting puzzle but quickly ignite a massive serial murder investigation.

What police are confronted with is a completely baffling killer, one who is fond of rhymes filled with threats and warnings, whose attention to detail is unprecedented, and who has an uncanny knack for disappearing into thin air.  Even more disturbing, the scale of his ambition seems to widen as events unfold.

From BEA this past May…

Janessa McNeil’s husband, Dr. Brock McNeil, a researcher and professor at Stanford University’s Department of Medicine, specializes in tick-borne diseases—especially Lyme. For years he has insisted that Chronic Lyme Disease doesn’t exist. Even as patients across the country are getting sicker, the committee Brock chairs is about to announce its latest findings—which will further seal the door shut for Lyme treatment.  

One embittered man sets out to prove Dr. McNeil wrong by giving him a close-up view of the very disease he denies. The man infects Janessa with Lyme, then states his demand: convince her husband to publicly reverse his stand on Lyme—or their young daughter will be next. 

But Janessa’s marriage is already rocky. She’s so sick she can hardly move or think. And her husband denies she has Lyme at all. 

Reading this one for the INSPY awards…

In one terrifying moment, Dynah Carey’s perfect life is shattered by rape, her future irrevocably altered by an unwanted pregnancy, and her doting family torn apart. Her seemingly rock-solid faith is pushed to the limits as she faces the most momentous choice of her life–to embrace or to end the untimely life within her.

One I have been meaning to read forever…

Maybe that’s a lofty plan but there it is. 😀  Now I want to know what you are reading this holiday week!  Is this a big reading week for you with the long weekend, or is it a lite reading week due to big plans?  I am excited to see what you are reading so please add your link below where it says “click here”

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Season To Taste by Molly Birnbaum

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)24 Comments

Molly Birnbaum had a mission.  She wanted to be a chef.  Che spent her days working in Boston alongside a well-known chef, and her nights reading cookbooks ans studying food in preparation for her entrance to the Culinary Institute of America.

While taking a quick morning jog, all her dreams came to an end when she was hit by a car.  The accident broke her pelvis,  fractured her skull, tore her knee up, and destroyed her sense of taste and smell.

Her bones would heal in time… but her sense of smell and taste?  That was another story.  How could Molly become the chef she wanted to be if she did not have her sense of taste and smell?  Molly quickly sank into a depression.

Then Molly made a choice not to sit back and let this destroy her.  By researching and working with experts, Season To Taste is a story of triumph and overcoming enormous obstacles.

I read and reviewed this book as part of Weekend Cooking, found at Beth Fish Reads.

 

 

 

Molly Birnbaun: Recipient of the Politzer Traveling Fellowship In Arts and Culture from Columbia's Graduation School of Journalism. Her work also appeared in the New York Times and Art News Magazine.

 

I read a couple of reviews on this book a while back and loved the sound of it.  Being a foodie, and finding myself more and more fascinated with non fiction… I was sold on knowing more. 

Molly tells an amazing story of a dream to be a chef and how in the blink of an eye, that dream was shattered.  Most of us would probably have given up there and moved on to something more doable, but not Molly.  Molly instead works hard to find out why she has lost her sense of smell and taste and that is really what makes this book a page turner.

As Molly describes food attached to memory, even my mouth watered at her descriptions of dark chocolate and bean scents wafting from coffee shops, sweet pastry’s and good seasoned spaghetti.  I could not imagine putting these items into my mouth and sensing nothing but texture…

The research of smell and taste also intrigued me.  On page 89 it was discussed how if we are eating something and we become sick our brain is programmed to remember that, making that taste and smell associate with the sickness.  I can personally account for that.  As a teen, I loved coconut… all things coconut.  Then one eventing I remember clearly that I was babysitting and eating coconut right out of the bag (like you buy for baking).  I had a flu bug that night and wound up throwing up … well… coconut.  To this day – I can’t eat anything with coconut in it.

Molly’s journey from the accident to her strong desire to cook and bake causing her to learn all she can about scent and taste was an amazing one.  Not only did I learn through this book much about how our senses work… but also about food, food that made me long to try some of Molly’s specialties this coming week.

Molly had a way about talking about food (as I think all good chefs do) that make you long for what they are describing…. I soon found myself making mental notes to pick up asparagus and fresh Parisian, longing for baked sweet potatoes, and lightly sautéed chicken breasts with mushrooms and wine.

Foodies beware… this book will make you hungry.  You want to know about Molly Birnbaum?  Check her out at her popular food blog:  My Madeleine.

 

I purchased this book from Amazon

Morning Meanderings… Expect An Avalanche

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)18 Comments

 

Good morning. 

Its funny… it is early, but I am already running late.  GAH.  How does that happen?  I need to be out of the house in 18 minutes…. I think that would be pushing it… but I will see what I can do.  😛

I am on the verge of finishing two audio books and three book books… all within the next day or two… does this happen to anyone else?

Seriously it feels like I have nothing to review and then wham!  I am overloaded in reviews.  I also have a review to do of the movie Atlas Shrugs (seriously… this is a review I am not looking forward to…)

As for today… I have a late breakfast with my friend Wendy and then back home to do a little reading and keep my weekend at a nice low blip.  I am looking forward to this afternoon as being quiet and feel that will cause me to go into tomorrow well rested and ready to go into Thanksgiving week.  (How did it get to be Thanksgiving already?)

I suppose this will be a crazy week for some of you, but for us… not so much.  We do not have a lot of family and our son Justin will be coming home (YAY!!!) but Brad will be in Jacksonville Florida (Navy) until his leave in January. 

Our holiday get togethers usually mean movies, board games, and food.  It works for us.  😛

Ok… I am off.  I will be back this afternoon with a review and later with the What Are You Reading post. 

Enjoy your Sunday.