Morning Meanderings… A Literary Weekend

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)21 Comments

GOOD MORNING!

Yes – that is enthusiastic.  I am coming off one of the best Saturdays I have had in a long time….

I am relaxed

I feel accomplished

and I was able to read!

It does not take much to make this girl happy.  😀

I was up until 1:00 am last night finishing up Skipping A  Beat by Sarah Pekkanen.   Sarah’s new book is being released on Tuesday and I want my review to go live on that day as I adore Sarah – and this second book…. well – yeah.  I can not wait to talk to you about it!  Sarah and I will also be chatting here at Book Journey this week about the book, about life and about fictional characters we would love to hang out with.

Between my excitement over Sarah Pekkanen and my excitement over my upcoming chat with author Cheryl Lu-Lein Tan from my review of Tiger In The Kitchen….  I feel really good going into this week.

Now – if I could only finish Olive Kitteridge which is my bonus book club review – at my house this Tuesday and I have yet to crack the spine.  *gulp!*  This is my quest for today.  🙂

So I am off to start my Sunday – nothing big happening here, I am picking up Chance in 20 minutes and after Church I need to plan out our meals for the week while I listen to a little audio, shop a little and then home base for hopefully some quality reading time.

How do you plan to roll out your Sunday?

The Art Of Mending by Elizabeth Berg

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)16 Comments

Laura Baratone is a master with material.  She can create masterpieces with her quilting skills.  As she looks forward to her annual family reunion with her parents, her brother Steve, and her sister Caroline, the reunion turns out to be more than anyone bargained for.

When Caroline takes her brother and sister aside and tells them that she was abused by their mother as a child, a whole new door is open to the past – and to the future.  As Laura tried to piece together all of this  she wonders, if Caroline being over dramatic?  She does have a flare for drama… or is there truth behind this accusation.

 

mending - the act of putting something in working order again

 

 


As I continue my way through Elizabeth Berg’s works I am continuously impressed with the diversity of her books.  The Art Of Mending is indeed a book about mending.  What does a family do when a tear in its very fabric of who they thought were is found to be frayed?  How does one move on from something that seems to have happened so long ago yet exploring this history could change everything that you were.

Laura was the perfect main character for this read… she was the eldest sibling and the one that had it most together.  Elizabeth Berg put much on this characters shoulders as Laura worked to separate the mother she knew and the memories she had of growing up to what was actual fact.  As she sorts through her memories she starts to see things differently through these new eyes and what had appeared to be a saddened. melancholy of a sister she had in Caroline- turned out to be something much bigger.

I found the beginning of this read to drag out and take a while to get to the heart of the matter.  One there, it sparked into a flame that held throughout the rest of the read.  I felt much like Laura myself, trying to sort out what would eventually turn out to be truth or fiction.

A read that is on a very hard subject.  Emotional abuse is every bit as damaging as physical abuse.  Tearing away at a persons self-worth can damage them for life, and Elizabeth Berg sets an extraordinary example of that here when we have siblings now in their 50’s dealing with something that happened when they were between the ages of 3 -14.

Not my favorite of the Elizabeth Berg books that I have read but a worthy opponent.

Amazon Rating

The 2011 WHERE Are You reading Map has been updated to include The Art Of Mending


Rented this in audio format from my local library

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)47 Comments

Good morning.

I am a little later than usual this morning due to prepping and putting up my Literary Giveaway post for Judith’s Blog hop.  If you have some time you should check out the giveaways.  I plan to do this as well once I get some coffee in me… yes, you read that right… as of this moment I am caffeine free.  Probably another reason this post is up a little later… I am not moving as quickly as I normally am.  😛

On other random notes, it is Saturday and time for a Saturday Snapshot thanks to Alyce of At Home With Books.   Hmmmm…. what am I in the mood for this morning…..  *clicking through pictures from my files*

Ok – this will work:

This is a picture of my uncle’s wedding in 1959.  From left to right is my uncle Dick, my uncle Bill, and my dad Gary.  I don’t have many pictures of my dad who died in a house fire in 1980 so I grabbed a few life this at my aunt and uncles 50th wedding anniversary party.  It’s fun to see the hair styles!

For giggles – here is a picture of my dad’s siblings from that 50th anniversary party.  It was awesome to have them all there!  From left to right:  Bunk (she lives in California), Bill (the groom from the above picture), Bob, and Ida. Bill, Bob, and Ida all still live here in Brainerd Minnesota.

My big plan for today is to get in some reading!   I have a few errands to run this afternoon but nothing seriously time-consuming.  I ran a lot yesterday to make today a bit more relaxing.  Seriously though, I do need to get some coffee.  😀

Literary Blog Hop

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)112 Comments

This is a sticky post – all new posts are below 😀

My friend Judith at Leeswammes has put together this 4 day Literary Giveaway HOP.  I am thrilled to share in this opportunity for you to win a great book and think I put together a pretty good selection here:

 

Sadly, many on this grouping I have not read myself.  To enter this giveaway leave a comment here on which of these 8 books you would like to win.  If you are my winner (drawn with random.org on February 24th) I will ship you the book directly from Amazon and if I have not read it myself, I will order one for me as well.  I love win, win….LOL

This book giveaway is open to US only.  If you are out of the US and have access to order from Amazon, you are welcome to participate and if you are the winner I will email you a $10 gift card from Amazon instead.

Make sure you pop on in and see the rest of the hop at Leeswammes’ Blog!

Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)13 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

“Ok… so here’s the scoop.  My name is Kelley,  K -E -L -L -E -Y.  Yes, I am a girl.  Well… actually as it turns out I am more than that but hang on a second to that story line.  I am 17 and have moved to New York to be on Broadway.

Seriously.  Broadway.  And for those of you giving me the eye roll and thinking yeah, that’s why everyone goes to New York, AND before you label me as an EPIC FAIL… know this….

I AM on Broadway.  And thanks to the star of the show getting herself hurt, I am also the lead… well, anyway I hope I still am, ’cause let me just say things got über weird around here lately.  Like I met this boy in Central Park, and yeah he seemed a bit different but not entirely unfortunate looking if you know what I mean.

And then – well, not sure how long I have to talk here but things really fast became really STRANGE and yeah that is with a capital ‘S’.  For instance, I saved a horse from drowning, and it followed me home.  It’s true!  And then that boy?  Turns out his name is Sonny and he keeps turning up everywhere I am, like totally stalker like, but really, I am not sure I mind…

And the last thing I can say before I go is that guess what?  Turns out, I am seeing more mystical creatures than on the stage these days…. yup, and I even just learned…

Oh gotta go.  Lay- tah!

So……  I listened to this on audio after picking it on from audible.com for their first in the series sale of audio less than $5.  I thought this was a good price and a good time to try out a few series I have been curious about but wasn’t sure.

Wondrous Strange was one of those stories that is coming at you from two different directions.  On one side you have this background mythical story of creatures and Fairy Kings (they seem to be quite the rage in YA these days!) and ancient porthole like gates that only open once a year in Central Park (of course – I knew that!) and guards of these gates to keep the baddies from entering the world.  Then on the other side you have Kelley.  She is carefree and fun, she has a high maintenance roommate and she just got the lead in the Broadway Play A Midsummer Night’s Dream and she is beyond thrilled.

Starting out – I much preferred Kelley’s story line as mythical creatures and gates and the narrator’s voice that took on an eerie bubbly tone that took some getting used to, was honestly for me – hard to follow.

Of course, as many stories tend to do, once you get in a little deeper and things start to mesh a bit…. I started to get it and the narrator didn’t seem to bother me as much, in fact towards the end when they added a few spooky sounds and laughter, I was rather impressed.

My overall thoughts are this book is a good Fantasy YA.  The storyline was fun, and as a lot of the action takes place in Central Park in New York, I could picture many of the things mentioned.  YA Fantasy lovers will gobble this book up and anxiously head into the rest of the trilogy….

Tempestuous - the final in the trilogy
DarkLight - 2nd in the trilogy

Amazon Rating

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

I purchased this audio from audible.com

Morning Meanderings… Random Thoughts

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)19 Comments

I seen this over at  Polishing Mudballs and LOVE this!  SO I thought I would try it for this Morning Meandering.


Outside my Window: Over cast skies with a hint of pink shining through…. the snow is melting and there are patches of green among the white…. if this is like past years, it is signs of false spring and we will be hit again a couple more times with big snow falls.  I hope not.


I am listening to:  Chance getting ready for school.


I am Thinking:  I have a couple of author chats to complete and a review.  I hope to read a little this morning… and prep packages to mail.  I am hoping I can accomplish a lot today and still get reading time as well.


I Am Grateful For:  This day off.


I am pondering:  The weekend.  What should I get done today – what can wait until tomorrow…


I am reading:  Olive Kitteridge for Tuesdays bonus book group.  I hope to start Black Girl White Girl, and Skipping A Beat over the weekend.


I am photographing: Nothing at the time…


I am listing:  “to do’s”


I am creating: something…..  the question is, what?  😀


From The Kitchen:  Just Al and I tonight so maybe it will be sizzling mushroom covered steaks tonight…


Favorite Thing Of The Week:  Justin (College Son) was over last night.  We had dinner together and watched a movie before he had to go.  AND Brad (Navy son) called last night and I was able to chat with him for a while.


On This Date:  I will work on the book a bit and strive to have a well-balanced day

Ok…. onward.  Have a super Friday everyone.  😀

Think No Evil by Jonas Beiler

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)15 Comments

In October of 2006 in a quiet Amish community, the unthinkable happened.  A gunman entered the school, ordered the boys and teachers outside and then shot the ten remaining girls before turning the gun on himself and taking his own life.

As life shattering and shocking as this is…. what shocked even more was the powerful response of forgiveness  that the Amish community offered to the murderer and to his family, even bringing the family baskets of food and welcoming them into their home.

In a tragedy just as horrible as the other school shootings across the country, here was something that was hard to understand.  Unconditional forgiveness.


I am drawn to true stories… and yes, true stories about crimes.  I am amazed at the level of explosive anger that some people can carry and the reasons that push people over the edge.  I am just as amazed with the survivors of such violence.

I should have written down what blog I seen this book on last week, but I did not and if it was your blog, please let me know and I will add that to this review.  I had not heard of this book until seeing a review on it and I knew I wanted to read it too.  While this book is on a subject I have read before (COLUMBINE), it has something else that drew me to it…

the act of forgiveness.

As I read the details that lead up to this horrific tragedy, I could not help but ask if this was my child who was in the school that day – could I have forgiven so fully?  Before I even finished typing that question I know in my heart the answer is, no.  Yet here are a people so emerged in their faith that even such a crime as this they are able to look past the act and see the bigger picture.

The act itself was horrible.  As I read the details of what happened that day my heart broke for the children and families involved.  What drives anyone to do something like this?  yet we have seen it again and again through the years, terrifying act after terrifying act.

What this book brought to the fore front for me was the amazing faith of the community.  I have known a little about the Amish, but this book brought me much closer to understanding how they choose to live and their strong belief in God.  Their incredible believe that everything has a purpose and their never wavering faith that it is their duty to forgive is astounding –

and humbling.

I believe strongly in forgiveness, but reading this book put my forgiveness to shame.  Immediate and selfless, this community instantly turned to the gunman’s family and offered support and friendship to them… worrying about their well-being instead of their own.

If I say this book is powerful…. it is true but powerful does not seem to be a strong enough word to describe what I have read.

Amazon Rating

I have updated the 2011 WHAT Are You reading map to include Think No Evil


I borrowed this book from my local library

Morning Meandering: Batter Blaster – It’s What’s For Dinner!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)38 Comments

 

Good morning…. 😀

I am not really a gimmick girl… the “as seen on tv” doesn’t phase me….I pride myself on passing on crazy packaging or the stunts that are done to make old products more appealing.  I say “pshaw” to all that.

Unless…

there is a sale.

(You know there is a story here).  My local grocery store had a product called Batter Blast.  See exhibit A:

Batter Blast is basically a pancake in a can.  You shake it and spray it like cheese whiz into your fry pan and whip up some quick pancakes.  Priced out at 2 cans for $5, I took one look and thought, “FUN!” as I plopped two cans into my cart.

That was over a week ago and they have been in my frig ever since.

Last night was a typical Wednesday of getting home around 5 pm and have to be on the move by 6:30…. my window for anything I need to get done including supper, is a small one.  Al was not going to be home for supper so it was just Chance and I and I was not really hungry so I gave him two options… on our way to town we swing by and grab him a Little Caesar’s Pizza – $5 at the drive thru, or I could make the Batter Blast with a side of turkey bacon.

Batter Blast won… hands down.  I heated up the pan, read the instructions and pressed out a pancake… first attempt, the pancake was too thin and burned easily. Batch #2 was better but my pan was still too hot and I was having trouble turning them fast enough… by batch three, Chance was involved and along with pressing out the letter “C” ’cause that was what we wanted to do, we also make a couple nice batches of pancakes.


Over all thoughts:

Me:  Meh.  It was cool but actually was hard to press the button and really it’s not like it takes all that much work to whip up a batch of fresh pancakes.  It’s also cheaper to make them from scratch.

Chance:  Loved it.  He thought they tasted good and it was fun to squeeze out the shapes.

 

 

 

COFFEE CUP and I are up and preparing for a busy day.  I am leaving for the cities at 10 am for training and will not be home until 5:30 or 6 tonight.  Then College Son Justin is supposed to be over for super and we are thinking about taking in a movie… I would like to see Just Go With It.

I really dislike my days being so FULL.  I am the type of person who needs to unwind and have a little quiet time.  When that is hard to come by…. I start to feel tense.   I have a class Friday morning and I meet with Connie 11 – 1 tomorrow to continue recording her story.  After that….  I am home and chilling for what I hope to be, most of the weekend.  😀

Right now…. I miss books.  I need a good uninterrupted reading session.

 

I will leave you with this question… have you ever bought an as seen on tv  item?  What was it?  How did it work out for you and most importantly….. where is it now?  😀

When We Were Strangers by Pamela Schoenewaldt

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)26 Comments

It is the late 19th century and Irma Vitale of the age of 16 sits with her dieing mother.  Her mother warns Irma never to leave their mountain village as doing so will doom her to die among strangers.  Fast forward a few years and Irma finds she must go against her mother’s last wishes  to avoid the advances of her father.  Taking only her a small dowry and the sewing skills she has learned, she boards a boat crossing the ocean to a world that is foreign to her.  Irma dreams that her sewing will take to places where she will be able to be a seamstress and make beautiful dresses with her skills.  Some will take advantage of this immigrant girl, while others will become what true friendship is all about as Irma learns to pick herself up and move forward as she travels parts of the United States.

The Immigrants Sculptor Luis Sanguino (b. 1934) celebrates the diversity of New York City and the struggle of immigrants in this heroic-sized bronze figural group. The piece was donated by Samuel Rudin (1896–1975), who commissioned the sculpture in the early 1970s, intending it to be installed near Castle Clinton as a memorial to his parents, who, as it is noted on the plinth, emigrated to the United States in the late-19th century. Although Rudin died in 1975, Rudin’s family took up the campaign to install the sculpture at the park, and it eventually was dedicated on May 4, 1983.

This is just the kind of book I get giddy about reviewing.  When a story  pulls you in with its breathtaking descriptions of the time, the place, the people, the food…

I thought about how hard is it is for even people like myself in the US to move away from our roots to another state, and as I think about that I can not even imagine what it would have felt like for Irma, a plain, poor girl, from a small village to have the courage to take up her things and move to a world she did not know anything about.

Irma’s story was a mix of emotions and I followed her all the way through them all.  As she traveled I was delighted to read about the interesting characters she met, Lula, the African American cook was so well described that I felt I would know her if I passed her on the street, then Molly an Irish maid and Sofia an Italian nurse left colorful descriptions in my mind of how different these women’s backgrounds all were.

This is not a sweet easy fluffy read.  Irma’s travels are sprinkled with hard ships and hard decisions from the time she is on the boat to her new life as she travels from Cleavland, to Chicago, and then finally to San Francisco.  There is even quite a graphic scene of violence that made me catch my breath.  While fiction, I can imagine that what is described in this book is not too far from what some of the immigrants did endure in search of a better life.  These thoughts, break my heart.

A book I do not think I can stress enough how much I recommend.  A literary treat that will leave you feeling satisfied. This book would make for a fantastic book club discussion and you can bet that this will be the title I bring to our next Bookies meeting as my suggestion for our April read.

Amazon Rating

I have updated the WHERE Are You reading Map to include When We Were Strangers (where oh where to put the map peg!)

I read this book as part of the TLC Book Tours

Morning Meanderings… Can Someone Invent A Book Tracker?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)25 Comments

Good morning!  COFFEE CUP says good morning too… we have been up….

a while.  🙂

Yesterday I was working on my interview/chat questions for Cheryl Lu-Lein Tan, author of A Tiger In The Kitchen.  I reviewed and adored her book this last weekend and she has agreed to chat with me about her life, her writing, and her book.

Uh yeah….

about the book.

Here is a little background info…. when I finish a book it goes one of two directions.  If it was an ok read but probably not one I would ever refer to or read again, it goes to my giveaway closet, a closet in the book room that has all the books that go into the prize box for my giveaways.  If it is a book I really enjoyed and will be referring to again, it goes on my book shelves.

There was a time I knew where everything on my shelves were.  If a friend came over and said, “Hey (they say that a lot), do you have the book _____________________ by ___________________.  If I did, I could take them right to it.

This is no longer the case.  Somewhere since Saturday I placed my treasured book A Tiger In The Kitchen on the book shelf and when I went to refer to it today…. I was lost in the sea of book titles flashing before my eyes, and I came out empty-handed.

So if there was such a  thing as a book tracker, (work with me here…. this is a bazillion dollar idea) I could go in the reading room and command it “Find Tiger In The Kitchen” and like a Geiger counter it would beep in the direction of the book and seriously, who couldn’t use such a time-saving device?

Ok… in the mean time.. my search continues….

the good news, there will be an author chat with Cheryl Lu-Lein Tan and that is pretty exciting!

I am off – awesome review coming up today (yes – a gush worthy book!) and I am pretty much missing in action until this evening.  Work, work out, dinner and then Chance to Student Group and I have a class every Wednesday evening.  I will land at home about 8:30 pm tonight.