Congratulations! You are magical! (POTTERMORE)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)28 Comments

Yes…. I admit it.  I have been intrigued by Pottermore and what it may entail.  Having been a HUGE JK Rowling fan and of course due to the Harry Potter books… I have followed much Potter activity through the years.  Pottermore is no exception.

Give me a little challenge and a mystery behind it (what is Pottermore?)  (Why do I want to be in it early?)  and I am IN.  At least I will try….

Only 7 days to enter and I come in under the wire on day 6.  Every time I went on the site, day or night… registration was always closed.  CLOSED. 

GAH. 

Then this morning I thought I would check it out and the clue was there… I had a chance!!!!  And then I knew the answer and entered it like 8 times…. and…

nothing.

I thought I was doing it wrong.  I re-read the clues, knowing full well that gate may close any time… ANYTIME!!!   I was doing it right, but maybe due to heavy activity it would not let me in…

and then…

it did. 

I am in. 

Totally Harry Potter geaked out.

Life…

is grand.

😛

Your Pottermore account

Welcome and thank you for registering for Pottermore by J.K. Rowling – the magical new online experience based around the Harry Potter books.

A million registrants are going to be granted early entry into Pottermore to help give it the finishing touches, and the exciting news is that if you validate your account quickly, you could be one of the lucky few selected. Please be quick because places are going to be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis*.

This is the last day to get in on the pre- group for Pottermore.  I have no idea what I am getting into… but it sounds like fun!  😀

Morning Meanderings… A BIG Bike Ride for a great cause

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)41 Comments

Today I am starting a two day ride for Camp Benedict, the ride I participate in for families infected of affected by AIDS/HIV.  We will start at 8 am this morning and bike 75 miles (with an option to do 100) to camp, then we get up Sunday morning and bike the 75 miles back to Brainerd. 

It’s a great ride and a wonderful team. 

For Saturday Snapshots (Check out Alyce’s blog, At Home With Books for more info) I thought I would post a few pics from last years ride…

Our team 2010
Friend and co-rider last year - Sheila W and Sheila D 🙂
Where we stay overnight (I know... so spoiled!)
Final stop on the way back (day two) me and Connie in the front. Connie is the organizer of the ride and the camp.

See you all tomorrow afternoon 😀

Curse Of The Blue Tattoo by L.A. Meyer

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)14 Comments

The sequel to Bloody Jack, Jacky Faber has now been removed from the Dolphin, her “ships boy” role stripped from her now that they know she is a girl…. and she has been placed instead into The Lawson Peabody School for Fine Young Girls. 

Wha? 

The Jacky Faber?  Tom boy, loud, adventurous, pirate fighting, occasionally obnoxious, Jacky…. in a school for fine young ladies?

It is soon discovered that the high seas fighting for rations was a piece of cake compared to the stuffy girl for schools where you have to master “the look” ( sucked in cheek bones, lips slightly parted, and eyes lowered), and how to sew and…

well… as you can imagine… Jacky finds her way into mischief by sneaking out of the school playing her music in bars at night and scaring a preacher who does not deserve the title…  she learns to ride a horse not only like a girl, but also like a guy with a leg on each side…. she struggles learning the ways of being a lady, but at the same time finds a way into some of the girls hearts and earns the name, “friend”.

Yet Jacky still missed her first love Jaimy, and feels the draw of the sea….

I think Jack will always be drawn to the sea...

I have made my way through this second audio.  It didn’t take long that Jacky would have troubles in school with some of the snooty rich girls like Clarissa, and yet admired for her high spirit and dedication to anyone who is kind to her, like Amy. 

This is the new cover for the book

I enjoyed the mystery around the reverend and wish that would have been a bit more in the book.  There is a lot of action happening between Jacky’s trips to Amy’s home, and meeting her brother Randall, and making friends, and

dancing, and making money, and getting into trouble…

yeah about that…

by the end of this audio book I was a bit stretched on the amount of trouble that Jacky kept getting in to.  It seemed like she keeps making major mistakes and causing her friendships to strain.  I realize that is part of the thrill of Jacky Faber and the series but in the end… I am going to have to say it was all a bit too much.

Still a delightful listen, incredible narration by Katherine Kellgren who does a lovely job with the rough accent of Jacky, to the polite voices of the girls from school….

Yes I will move on to audio book three as I think Jacky is on her way back to the ship and maybe if I can get her back in the water, I will find what I loved about the first audio again.


Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading map has been updated to include Curse Of The Blue Tattoo

I borrowed this audio from our local library

Morning Meanderings… A Book Sale and A Bike Ride

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)52 Comments

Good morning!

Yesterday was a blast at the Brainerd book sale.

I arrived around 6:50 am and secured the first spot at the sale as per crazy book girl tradition. 😛

First three cars in the library parking lot!

Soon to follow – two of my awesome friends joined me at the 7:00 am hour.  YAY to Dawn and Amy!

Here we are – me, Dawn, and Amy…. holding down the first three spots tot the sale.  Did I mention it did not open until 9 am?  😛

As the hour neared 9 am… the line wrapped around the library.  They let in the first 50, then as people leave the sale, they replace them with people still waiting.  It is quite the system 😀

And then we were in and it was AWESOME!  Paperbacks and hard covers alike are 50 cents a piece.  Here is my haul:

I am thrilled with my take away!  I am excited especially about City Of Ashes, the Margaret Atwood books (I have yet to read her…) and Anita Shreve’s Weight Of Water – which many of you have said is one of Shreve’s best.  I am hopeful that many of these other titles are incredible too… I just dont know it yet!  😀

Tomorrow morning I go on probably my favorite bike ride of the year, the Camp Benedict Ride.  Two days… 150 miles… possibly 175 if I do the optional 100 the first day, which I really hope to do as I have not ever done a century in one day before and that was the plan at the MS ride in June, but unforeseen happenings made that not be possible.  😀

One Tuesday Morning by Karen Kingsbury

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)22 Comments

This book sat on my shelf for YEARS and I just never got around to it.

Then I seen it on audible.com and bought it to listen to on audio…. now

with tears in my eyes, I wonder what took me so long.

Sheila

Jake Bryan was a God-fearing man.  He loved his wife Jamie, and his daughter Sierra with all of his heart.  Jake was a fireman in New York City but made it a point to always be home to put his daughter to bed, and spend time with his wife.

Eric Micheal’s was a business man through and through.  When early in their marriage he and his wife Laura,lost their new-born daughter right after she was born.  They were told if they had brought Laura in earlier for more care, they could have prevented this but at the time they did not have the insurance to help pay for doctors appointments.  Eric vowed never again would they be in want of anything.  Now, years later, Eric works all the time…. working his way up the corporate ladder and not looking back.. barely noticing that he is leaving his beautiful blond wife and 6-year-old son behind.  Eric once believed in God – but since his one day old daughter died, Eric really had no time for a God who did not deliver.  Time after all was money.. and money was security.

Then, one Tuesday in September, Eric was on a business trip in New York at the World Trade Center when a plane mysteriously hit the other tower.  Baffled, Eric watches the smoke billow from the building and calls home to tell his wife what happened.  When she asks him to leave the building, he says there is no need – he is safer where he is and continues his work…

just as a second plane comes on to the TV screen aiming for the tower he is in, as his wife screams “Eric!  Watch out!”

and then

silence.

Hours later on this September day, Jamie receives a phone call.  Jake has been found… alive.  He is in the hospital and he has amnesia.  Jamie is so grateful, but Jake does not recognize her.  And as days turn into months, Jamie’s heart breaks again and again as the man in her home tries to remember… but can’t.  And odd flashes are coming to him… of a blond woman… and a little boy….

Twin Towers.... coming up on ten years.

When I recently found this book on audible.com I was thrilled to finally get to know what this book was all about.  When I announced on the Monday What Are You Reading Meme that I would be listening to this, Martha from Martha’s Bookshelf commented that she was about to listen to this too… we teamed up to do our reviews together.

One Tuesday Morning is a phenomenal read centered around the events of September 11th and the tragedy of The World Trade Center.  Author Karen Kingsbury does a wonderful job of handling a hard subject with great care.  The words play out and word after word, I find myself there…experiencing it almost again, but from a different view.  A few times, this book brought me to tears.

One of the questions I had asked Martha for her review was did she find this book believable?  To answer this myself, I did.  What happens in this book through the terror and the grief, and the hope for a miracle… I could see something like this happening. 

Martha asked me if I felt the faith based issues were blended easily into the story or if they felt forced (more preachy).  I would say… a little of both.  For me, I like faith based books with some meat to them – not fluff and all is right with the world…. real life issues, messy even and I think Karen Kingbury delivered… after all, we do have a mix up of identities and a man living with another mans wife -falling in love with her.   There were a few moments in the book that felt a little forced, but I would not say over done – just enough for me notice the push. 

It’s not an easy read, but it is a worthwhile one.  Even if you are not a reader of Christian Fiction I think you would find this book a great read.  There are two more books in this series, and I will go on to read the second one Beyond Tuesday Morning, because I loved the characters and seeing what happens next is very appealing to me.  However – you don’t need to feel that this book left you hanging on for another book… it doesn’t.  You could easily stop right here with this one as it comes to a wonderful close.

Please check out Martha’s review – I asked her a couple of question for her review and thought she had great answers.

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map has been updated to include One Tuesday Morning

I purchased this from audible.com

Morning Meanderings… BBAW (Book Blogger Appreciation Week)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)14 Comments

Good Morning!  😀

Up early… prepping to go the library sale that opens at 9.  A couple of friends and I are going and we will be there around 7, just because it is so fun to get our lawn chairs and COFFEE CUPS and hang out like we are waiting for concert tickets.  It really is the event to be at this morning.  😛

Yup – had to mention it.  Book Blogger Appreciation Week is coming in September.  LOVE THIS.  It is a fun time to recognize some of your favorite blogs/bloggers as well as a time to meet some new.  I am all about community so this is AWESOME!!!

Be sure to stop be the BBAW website to register so you can vote and participate.  You will also be able to check out the categories so you will be able to start thinking about who you would nominate for what.  😛

Here are the categories – but please go and check them out on the BBAW category page as well.

Featured Categories

Best Written Book Blog
This blog is consistently well-written, clear, and engaging, no matter what the subject.

Best Author Interviews
This blogger does his or her research and asks the questions no one else does. These interviews are top-notch. Note that this award reflects the quality of the interviews, not the popularity of the person being interviewed.

Best New Book Blog
This blog was launched on or after September 1, 2010. The blogger has already made his or her mark in terms of the quality of the reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content on the blog; it’s hard to imagine the book blogging world without this blogger.

Best Book Blog Meme
This weekly or monthly meme is one that you never miss. You look forward to contributing on a regular basis and/or to reading the participants’ posts.

Best Book Blogging Event
This event, whether it focuses on blogging, reading, collecting reviews, or building community, inspires everyone to join in. It brings bloggers together for fun, learning, reading, or mutual support and help.

Best Book Blog Feature or Series of Posts
This weekly or monthly feature is something that an individual blogger does on a regular basis, but that does not include the community participation of a meme.

NICHE Categories

Best Eclectic Book Blog
This blog doesn’t specialize in any one book genre. It is known for consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content in a variety of genres.

Best Kidlit Book Blog
This blog offers the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content for books written for young children through middle-grade readers.

Best Young Adult Book Blog
This blog offers the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content for books written for a young adult audience.

Best Nonfiction Book Blog
This blog offers the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content in nonfiction. It may cover a variety of areas or focus on one particular field.

Best Speculative Fiction Book Blog
This blog offers the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content in fantasy, science fiction, horror, and/or paranormal books. The blog may cover several of these subgenres or just one.

Best Literary Fiction Book Blog
This blog offers the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content in literary fiction.

Best Classics Book Blog
This blog offers the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content in classics.

Best Romance Book Blog
This blog offers the best reviews and specialized content in romance books of any subgenre, from historical to contemporary.

Best Historical Fiction Book Blog
This blog offers the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content in historical novels. For the purposes of this award, consider historical anything from 1945 (World War II) and older.

Best Mystery/Suspense/Crime Book Blog
This blog offers the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content in mysteries, suspense, and/or crime. The blog may cover several of these subgenres or just one.

Best Horror/Thriller Book Blog
This blog offers the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content in horror and/or thrillers. This blog may cover both of these subgenres or just one.

Best GLBT Lit Book Blog
This blog features the best reviews and specialized content in GLBT books. This blogger may or may not self-identify as a member of the GLBT community, but he or she focuses on GLBT literature on the blog

Best Cultural Book Blog
This blog features the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content in books and/or authors of a *specific* cultural identity. This blogger may or may not self-identify with the culture featured on the blog but focuses on that culture’s literature.

Best Graphic Novel/Illustrated Nonfiction Book Blog
This blog features the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content in the graphic medium.

Best Publishing/Industry Blog
This blog features the best content on the publishing industry and is written by an industry professional.

Best Published Author Blog
This blog features the best content written by an author. This is an author who keeps an active blog that engages his or her readers.

Best Spiritual, Inspirational, or Religious Book Blog
This blog features the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content on books that address a life of faith. This blog is not necessarily associated with an organized religion and may discuss either fiction or nonfiction books.

Best Audiobook Blog
This blog features the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content on audiobooks.

Best Poetry Blog
This blog features the best consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content in poetry.

Best Bookstore Blog
This blog is associated with a retail bookstore, offering book news, staff recommendations, and other content of interest to people who love to shop for books.

Best Bookish Miscellaneous Blog
This blog has a specific focus that is related to books, but doesn’t include reviews of books. It might focus on book cover design, books in culture, trends in books, hidden treasures in books, etc.

 

I have to start thinking about my nominations as well.  😀

Have a great day – I have to go get ready for the sale…. pics of the haul and the event will be up tomorrow in the meandering…. I mean… in the morning 😀

Between by Jessica Warman

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)23 Comments

Elizabeth Valchar rocks the three “P’s”… pretty, popular, and perfect.  She has six close friends, all of them who come to celebrate her eighteenth birthday with a little partying and a sleep over on her family yacht.  In the wee hours of the following morning, Elizabeth is awakened by a thumping sound.  Annoyed that she is the only one who seems disturbed by it she slips out on to the yachts deck to investigate…

what she finds, changes everything.  What she thought she knew about life, her friends, and everything in between…. all comes to a halt after she discovers the

“thump thump thump”

Two other covers I found on line... I prefer the one on my book which is the one I used for this post


Ok really?  How could I read a synopsis that includes a mysterious thump thump thump and not want to know more?  What goes thump?  How does it change Elizabeth forever?

Well… that’s for me to know and you to find out.  😛

I picked up this book in May at BEA.  I was drawn to the cover immediately…was it a paranormal thriller?  Dystopia?  definitely YA…. yet it went into my book box and remained there until a few days ago when I noticed this book was coming up for release on August 1st.  When I pulled it out of the box and read the synopsis I was instantly pulled in.  I had to know and yes, a couple of books were sat to the wayside so I could pull this one to the front. 

It’s been a long time since a book kept me up late into the wee hours of the morning, but that is what happened with Between. 

Elizabeth’s character in short order reminded me a bit of Lauren Oliver’s Before I Fall.  In my review of Before I Fall I had to laugh because I started that review almost the same as I did this one… in that book it was Samantha that has the looks, the popularity… and she too was in for a rude awakening (ok… that may not be the best word…. 😉 )

Elizabeth, while stuck on herself, is likable.  She is quick to see the error of her ways, and I found I liked her and trying to solve the mystery behind the thump (you got it – I am not giving it away! 😛 )  A secondary character comes into play early on, and Alex who also attended Elizabeth’s school and was quit the opposite of Elizabeth, poor, unpopular…. becomes almost as much of a lead character as Elizabeth is herself. 

It’s hard to write about this review without giving moments away that while are given up early in the read, are so good to discover on your own – I don’t wish to be the one who tells you.  😛 

Between will surprise you.  Occasionally I thought I had it all figured out and then a couple of pages later I felt I knew nothing again.  Author Jessica Warman is able to keep her readers on their toes with every turn of the page.  A YA read that was just the perfect mix of mystery with a sprinkle of paranormal.

 

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

 

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map has been updated to include Between

I received this book at BEA in May 2011

Morning Meanderings… A Book To Win… A Sale To Conquer!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)18 Comments

Good morning!

What’s happening in your corner of the world?

Pretty normal around here.  😀  The weather has been nice, 80’s but not killer humid, and other than work this week, I have done a little house keeping and DEVOURED the book Between by Jessica Warman (which was released yesterday).  My review will be up yet today.

Are you a Shelf Awareness reader?  I love this little email I receive on weekdays by 7 am.  It lists book and author reviews, book store happenings, upcoming bookish news, and usually a chance to win a book or two.  This morning they announced a little incentive for others to sign up:

Subscribe to Shelf Awareness and enter to win a free book!

Since I had nothing witty or spectacular to say this morning… I am going with the Shelf Awareness sign up.  😛  I will put this in my sidebar too for those who are interested, get on board by clicking and entering…. you wont be sorry. 

In other news, the big Brainerd Library sale is tomorrow morning at 9 am.  I will be there by 7 am.  Yes, as a freind of the library I could have helped set up the sale and get first pick of the books… but if you know me… I like the adventure of the hunt.  Besides, as I told my friend on the phone yesterday, they may frown apon how many books I would like to have “first pick” at. 

I will take my chances in the crowd.  😀

Here is what happened last fall during the wait for this sale:

Waiting for Library Sale August 2010

 

Whats the craziest thing you have ever done for a book/ author event?

Something Blue by Emily Giffin

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)30 Comments

Darcy was born beautiful.  Really… it’s true.  Just ask her.  She will be the first to tell you that she is perfect.  She loves that men find her attractive so it’s no big surprise that she is stunned to find that her fiance friend Marcus takes work.  Oh but never fear, Darcy continues to work her magic until she gets her way… only to be truly shocked and offended when she finds out fer fiance Dex, has also found his way to another… her best friend Rachel.

Oh the nerve of some people!  While yes, Darcy to has cheated with Marcus (more than once but really who is counting) she is still appalled to think that Dex and Rachel had done the unthinkable to her.  Yes… once again it is all about Darcy…

and as the title suggests….

she turns out to be pregnant with Marcus’s child… a child he does not want… and in fact he’s pretty tired of Darcy’s uppity ways as well.  Darcy quickly finds herself without a place to stay, so she packs her bags and goes to London to stay with her writer friend Ethan… only the life lessons continue as Ethan’s flat isn’t “all that” and he is not about to put up with selfish behavior.

Oh whats a girl to do…. and a pregnant one at that….

The character of Darcy is desribed as 5' 9" and 124 pounds. I had to Google such a body type to get a visual... and here she is .... "A Darcy"

Occasionally I enjoy a bit of a fluff read.  Just a fun, no thinking involved read.  When I found this audio on Amazon I thought I would give this audio a try.   A series of emotions came forth as I listened to this audio:

disbelief

annoyance

horrified

disgusted

cautiously optimistic

passive

accepting

Ugghhh…. it’s almost like the stages of grief.  😛  I started out not liking Darcy at all.  Really there was nothing to like.  She is an extremely self-centered character who only cared about making sue all men had eyes only for her, always wanting what she could not have until she got it… and then drinking while pregnant just about pushed me over the edge.  Fictional character or not, I was about to take Darcy out. 

Then…. slowly…. she began to change, in an almost predictable way, she learns the errors of her ways and well… you will just have to read it to see exactly what that means.

This is the sequel to Something Borrowed which I have not read.  ( I heard it was a movie and I was going to try to see it before I listened to this audio but I did not… I still may watch it at some point.) However I don’t think I missed anything by diving into this one, the characters were easy to figure out where they stood. 

In recap…. I didn’t hate it.  It actually grew on me a bit.  Not so much as I would pursue the series, but in the end I may have been able to have lunch with Darcy without stabbing her in the neck with my fork. 

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

I have updated the 2011 WHERE Are You reading map to include Something Blue

I purchased this audio from Amazon


Morning Meanderings… Its Going To Be A Big Book Week

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)34 Comments

Good morning! 😀

This past weekend I was up North with a couple of friends.  It is a tradition to go the last weekend of July and one of the reasons I love this trip is the Silver Bay Book Sale.  Yup, at 8:45 am on Saturday the three of us waited in a short line to get in the library when the doors opened at 9. 

Here is what I walked out with:

Now to bad at a 25 each on the paperbacks and $1.00 for the hard cover.   Two books I am really excited about are Shanghai Girls as I have yet to read Lisa See and A Night To remember because I am fascinated with all things Titanic.

Brainerd’s library sale is this Thursday.  It is a much bigger sale and I am quite sure I will have a larger pile than this to post on Friday.  😛