Morning Meanderings… kidliocandesto

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)36 Comments

Good Morning!

My Snookie (NOOK) tales continue…. (trust me … when I am learning how to use anything electronic it is always interesting!) .  Last night I wanted to download the first of my two books I received from Netgalley.  I finished up all my things around the house and finally (FINALLY!) in the evening I was able to sit down and but the books on my NOOK.

However…

Apparently I did not know how.  I downloaded one and it was on my computer but I had no idea how to get it to my NOOK.  I went on Twitter for advice and this is something I LOVE about book bloggers… to my rescue came 4 incredible people who twittered me through the steps to get it done.  Ending with a link that took me step by step through the Netgalley to Nook process.

They were even supportive when they told me I had to plug my NOOK into the computer to complete the download.  I could not recall getting a cord for that so I ran around the house looking for the NOOK box to see if there was a cord in it.  All it came with was one that plugged into the wall…. no Nook to computer cord.  I looked around the house for a half hour for the Nook box.. found it… no cord.  Then I started looking at my other cords to see if I had one that fit…. nope.  Frustrated I went back to Twitter and said I must not have received the cord with mine.

The response:

whatsheread

@bookjourney The cord you use to plug it in the wall comes apart to become a cord to computer connection. via TweetDeck in reply to bookjourney

 
Oh good grief.

I rushed up stairs and sure enough the plug-in word came apart to reveal the cord I needed.

Mission accomplished.  😀

Oh and if you are wondering why I named the post “kidliocandesto” here is my short version of what happened at the YMCA while I was on the tread mill with my friend Heidi.

 

Me:  …”And then I encountered Netgalley and I was really excited to sign up”.

Heidi:  “So that allows you to receive books to read and review through your NOOK”?

Me:  “Yes!  Oh and when I clicked on the catalog and seen all the books they were offering I was like a kid in a candy store!”

Heidi:  “You were what?”

Me:  “I was like a kid in a candy store.”

Heidi:  “Oh, I heard kidliocandesto.”

Me:  “LOL, that is awesome…. that is how I am going to refer to this saying from now on!”

 

What things in your life make you feel like kidliocandedto?

 

 

 

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)25 Comments

High School Senior Regina Afton is part of the “in” crowd.  Along side her BFF Anna, no one can stop her.  The students hate them for being so popular, but they fear them more and that is just the way Regina prefers it.  No one is off-limits to her click and they will destroy anyone in their paths and Regina is all too happy to do it as long as it keeps Anna on her side.  Regina knows there is nothing that can bring her down.

Until…. one day…

something does.

At a party one night Anna’s boyfriend moves in on Regina.  When Regina confides in someone about a potential rape, she is sold out for a chance for the other girl to replace her in the popularity circle.  What follows is a series of events that spiral Regina from the top of the heap to the lowest position in the school, practically overnight.  As Regina struggles for a foothold, she sees how her treatment of others has left her with no allies, except possibly the one boy she had helped destroy.

I have so many thoughts about this book.

I seen a review of this late last summer and thought it sounded interesting then.  More recently I found it on a list for a Cybils award and knew that I had to read it.

Some Girls Are is a book of all the things I love and hate about some of the YA I read.  Let’s start with hate.

I hate (I know that’s a strong word – and really dislike is probably more appropriate here) when the books center around parties and drinking and drugs…. and there is plenty of all of the above in Some Girls Are.  I am not prudish, I just think of the audience the books are for and when I see High School characters doing these things like it is just a part of their 15 – 18-year-old existence, it bothers me.

In particular there is a line in the book when Regina’s mom tells her that if she continues to skip school, she will no longer be allowed to see her friends, go out with her boyfriend, or go to parties.  Go to parties?

AND (I am fired up now!) In several instances in the book it seems like these parties go late.  I mean LATE.   While they are always wise to have a designated driver – the level of drinking in this book makes me wonder – do these kids not have curfews?  Do their parents not care if their teenager stumbles into the house at 3 am smelling like a brewery or higher than a kite?

Ok.

Now that I said my piece with that.  Let me tell you what I love about the book.

I love the relationships that author Courtney Summers creates within this book.  I honestly felt Regina’s pain when she is betrayed and ostracized from her friends.  For those of us who have been through high school, we should all be able to remember what it feels like when a secret is told… when a friend, is no longer the friend you thought he/she was.   In this, Courtney Summers excels with the accurate descriptions of the high emotion of youth.

In all YA I read, I try to find the deeper lesson and it is told well here.  As Regina’s story unfolds, she learns who her true friends are, and in the process of healing – she finds herself too.

And holy smokes, can someone say “Mean Girls?”  The level of evilness that happens within this book is no less than the movie that holds that name.  FYI:  There is a girl in the movie – also named Regina….

Overall, this is a book I did appreciate.  I enjoyed the writing style, it became hard to put down as I began to wonder what would be Regina’s breaking point…. who was going to come out on top… and would there (could there?) be a reconciliation between the once friends.

I look forward to reading Courtney Summers again.

Amazon Rating

The 2011 Reading map has been updated to include Some Girls Are


*Actually, I could not find a location for Some Girls Are so I Googled The High School they mention in the book and turns out – there is one in Maine…. so Maine it is.  If anyone knows where the book is set at, please let me know.  😀



I borrowed this book from my local library

Check out Coutney’s blog here

Morning Meanderings… Note To Self…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)31 Comments

Good morning.

This morning came pretty early.  Do you ever have days like that?  I felt like I just went to bed.

I did stay up way too late…. after the midnight hour… I was still online.  I was possessed….

Note to self:

 

Self,

When you get all excited about joining something errr….. let’s say like NETGALLEY, do not make said decision at 11:30 pm and think anything good is going to come out of said decision.  Since when has having the opportunity to look at books being offered for review (PAGES AND PAGES of delicious looking tempting reads) ever been something I can whip through?

The truth?

I can’t.

I have to look at each book.  What is is about?  What genre?

With the addition on SNOOKIE (my NOOK) into the family this Christmas it has since sat close to my reading chair with a couple of books on it I purchased off Amazon but other than that… that is really all I have done with it.  I wanted it mainly for road trips and travel…

I had forgotten about NETGALLEY.

Yesterday when i seen many book lovers reading and enjoying books from NetGalley I decided to check it out and…

it looks amazing.

So pages and pages of books were looked at, a few requests made… well into the morning hours.

Timing…. is everything.  😀

So Self,

Plan better next time…. a Sunday afternoon would be a perfect time to browse books.

I am just saying…

Sheila

 

Ok then… that was a bit awkward.

I am off to work…. running out the door quite literally with COFFEE Cup in hand.

I will leave you with this “Question On The Blog” that came in this morning:

 

 

Sheila, how far do you get in your audio listening per day if you are listening to three different audio?

 

Answer:

Great questions Patricia!  The one in my IPOD I listen to while I get up and prep for my day – so while I am in the bedroom bathroom are it is on – about 30 minutes a day average.

The one in the kitchen I will switch on while I make the coffee in the morning and prep all my things to leave for work – ten minutes maybe, but I will listen tot hat one again when I come home, clean up around house and make dinner – so probably another 30 minutes.

The final one is in my car and that is what I listen to as I go to work and back, run any errands…
that one gets about 20 minutes a day.

 

Have a great morning everyone!  This afternoon I am posting my thoughts on Cybils Award winner:  Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)102 Comments

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

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.  You receive one entry for every 10 comments, just come back here and tell me how many in the comment area.

Last weeks winner:

Aleluialu from Bookend Crossing



Congratulations!  Please choose an item out of the PRIZE BOX and email me your choice with your mailing address as well!   journeythroughbooks@gmail.com

 

My past week started out kind of slow… I had several books/audio at the point of being done… but nothing done.  Then midway through the week the dam broke and everything started finishing up one after another.  Here is what my week looked like:

 

 

Could I Please Get A Huck Finn Lite? (My thoughts on the changes that are being made to the Mark Twain books)


Audio Suggestions (A master list of what you think the best audio books around are)


The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (The Bookies book club January read and review)


365 Thank You’s by John Kralik (an inspirational book that put me on the path of a personal challenge)


We Are All Welcome Here by Elizabeth Berg (My first Berg… and not my last….. oh wow.)


I signed up for a Polar Bear Plunge in March… in Minnesota…. in a tiara and prom dress.  TRUE story


Finger Lickin’ Fifteen by Janet Evanovich (A visit back to a series I used to never miss)


It’s not too late to join the WHERE Are You Reading Challenge

The Nineteenth Element is still up for a signed copy giveaway!


Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers – review up on Tuesday


◊

As  for this week I have some good things happening I am pretty excited about!


Yes… another Berg.  My second.  The first went so smoothly and left me admiring this author enough to reserve four more of her audio (all of which are now on my kitchen table).  This one currently resides in my car cd player.


 


Last Monday I was at a loss of what to listen to on my IPOD so I asked you what you would recommend.  Between the Monday post and the Audio Suggestion post I ran on Tuesday, the suggestions flew in.  This was one of them and having started it yesterday I have to say I truly love this story so far being told by the dog, Enzo.   I am finding it funny and sad all rolled into one.

 

 


My friend Angie from the Bookies book club suggested this one and I know a recommendation from Angie has to be good.   This one is just starting in my Kitchen CD player.  It sounds fascinating!  (click on the picture and read for yourself!)

 


The Butterfly Garden is the book I am starting today.  I discovered it at Wal-Mart and after reading the back about the author being raised falsely as the child of a man on America’s Most Wanted, I knew I had to know more.

 


And finally this book was recommended by my friend Wendy when we were at Barnes and Noble last week.  I know many of you have read this book.  I have not.  But… I will.

 

 

I have a few I hope to finish up from past weeks, in the event I finish up the reading I have listed here.  And one more thing… if you are  not aware, or in case you forgot, this weekend is the BLOGGIESTA and it is not too late to sign up.  I have participated each time and always come out learning something new or updating a blog project that I have put off.  Stop by to check it out, it is not too late to sign up.

SO now my favorite part of the week!  What are you reading?  Please link your own What Are You Reading post below.  I cant wait to stop in and see what you are reading!  Please add your post to where it says “click here” below:


Powered by Linky Tools

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

Finger Lickin’ Fifteen by Janet Evanovich

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)18 Comments

Things are pretty much the same in Trenton New Jersey for Stephanie Plum.  She is still a  bail bondsman at her cousin Vinnie’s place.  She is still hanging around with Lulu, the over sized woman in the undersized clothes, and she is still attracted to two men – Morelli the cop, and Ranger the dark and mysterious bounty hunter who runs Rangeman Inc.  And of course, cars in her care tend to blow up.

In Finger Lickin’ Fifteen Lulu is witness to a beheading and subsequently becomes the murderer’s targeted witness.  As Stephanie does what she can to protect her friend Lulu, even letting her take over her own apartment therefore forcing her to stay at Ranger’s (is it forced?  Even Stephanie is unsure…).

When Lulu decides the best way to catch the killers is by drawing them out in the open at a barbecue Competition that the victim was supposed to be promoting – things get spicy and sticky.  Lulu with the help of Stephanie’s Granda Muzur decide to try their hand at making a winning barbecue sauce that proves to be more than anyone could have anticipated.

many years ago I discovered Janet Evanovich with One For The Money.  The story was funny, quirky and for the most part I liked the characters.  I proceeded to follow this series, anxiously awaiting the next book along with a few members of my book club.  We devoured these books all the way up to Twelve Sharp.  At that point, the story line took a turn for the worse (in my opinion) and at that point I stopped reading the series.

Recently while I was in my local library I found this audio on the shelves and I had a twinge of the things I remember liking about the series.  Errr….. mainly Morelli and Ranger.

Ok… Ok…..

Ranger.

I scooped up this audio and brought it home.

The verdict?

The Stephanie Plum books could be compared to a soap opera.  You could miss a few years of episodes (in this case books) and see a new one and fall right back in where you left off.  Stephanie is as I remember her. Lulu and Grandma Muzur too. Her parents?  The same.  Her office?  The same.   Even the two leading men have not changed nor has their relationship with Stephanie.

While I did enjoy a few chuckles throughout this audio, and a few scowls as well as sometimes the language annoys me…. I did not get the felling I was missing much by letting this series go. This book was much like all the others just a different crime to solve.

It was a nice series to revisit, I enjoyed catching up… but now I am ready to move on.

Amazon rating

 

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map has been updated to include Finger Lickin’ Fifteen


 

This is an audio borrowed from my local library

Morning Meanderings… Polar Bear Plunge In Prom Dresses and Tiaras… ok

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)43 Comments

Good Morning!

Happy Sunday ya all!  😀

Coming in pretty late this morning but I made it.

I had a busy morning and was not organized enough to get a post out before I took off.  Home now though with a new book (SSSSQQQUUUEEEE!!!) which I will reveal tonight when I post the It’s Monday!  What Are You reading post.

Yes I went snow tubing yesterday and yes it was cold but it was fun too.   There were 21 of us…. one injury that involved a trip to the emergency room, I was not the victim, but I was the driver to the hospital.  Turned out to be not too bad, a sprang ankle.

Came home and covered myself in blankets and a good book and then promptly fell asleep.  What is it about being out in the cold and wind that wipes a person out?

In other exciting news… this morning I signed on with some friends to do the March 12th Polar Bear Plunge for The Special Olympics.   I have always wanted to try the plunge and I guess this is my chance to do so.  The group I am doing this with has an additional stipulation…. our team will wear prom dresses and tiaras.

Well…. ok then.  😀

I am all about the memories and living life to the fullest so here we go…..

(And I thought I was cold yesterday)

So today I am off to read for the afternoon while washing clothes and doing a little book room straightening for breaks.


What are you doing this Sunday?

We Are All Welcome Here By Elizabeth Berg

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)20 Comments

Paige Dunn is a stunning looking woman.  Everyone is always commenting on her beauty and her gentle soul.  She once even took care of Elvis Presley’s mother when she was a student nurse.

The really amazing thing however about Paige is that thirteen years ago while pregnant with her daughter she contacted polio and is paralyzed from the neck down.  Her husband, realizing that she was never going to get better, abandoned her and their baby girl, Diana.  Now at the age of thirteen, Diana lives with her mom on welfare and they rely on their African-American daytime nurse Peacie, and although they tell social services they have night help too, they can not afford it so Diana takes care of her mom at night.

As Diana becomes a young woman she becomes more and more unsettled about how she can now do the things other girls her age do.  She is unable to have sleepovers, or run and play all day in the summer.  She carries a huge responsibility with her mother and struggles with how poor they are.  When Peacie’s boyfriend Larue is badly beaten after trying to help African-Americans be able to vote, Diana starts to learn a lot about compassion, as well as race and class in the 1960’s.

Iron Lung used for Polio victims

What amazed me the most is what a strong and well written character Paige Dunn is.  She is confined to a wheelchair, has no use of anything from below the neck, yet she can command a household as thought she functioned like any other woman.  Where most women would drown in self-pity or be eaten up by anger, Paige had made up her mind to live life to the fullest and that is what she did.

I loved the relationship between Paige and her daughter Diana.  While Diana grumbled about how much she had to do to help, these two characters were so well written and in tune to one another it was enough to bring tears to my eyes.  Even when Paige is angry with her daughter (there is a particularity fantastic scene where they have a long mother daughter talk well into the night and the early morning hours that made me really appreciate this writing.  Not every author could pull off such a scene and make it feel believable.

In the end, I found there were times I felt for Paige, and there were times I felt for Diana.  What Elizabeth Berg ends up with is a story that will go right to your core, fill you with compassion, and finally…. make you look at the outside world in a whole new way.

I think I have just become a fan of Elizabeth Berg’s and have already checked out 4 more of her writings.

Amazon Rating

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map has been updated to include We Are All Welcome Here

I borrowed this in audio version from my local library

Morning Meanderings…Teens, Snow, and A Bundled Up Version Of Me

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)25 Comments

It’s Saturday.  I am sitting at my kitchen table still in pj’s…. having my coffee and sulking…

just a little bit.

This morning I will be helping to take a group of teenagers to Ski Gull to go tubing.  Ski Gull is our local ski resort and somehow, at some point, my mouth formed the words, “if you need any help…”

Yup.  I only have myself to blame.

First know this – I don’t really do snow.  This time of year, I am really an inside girl.

Snow is cold, unpredictable, slippery, wet, soft and hard at the same time….. did I mention it is cold?

I need to find my mittens.  DO I own mittens?

And does this make me a tuber?  AND isn’t a tuber a potato????

Hmmm.... maybe being a tuber isn't so bad...

Ok – I whine but it may be a good time and it may be good for me to do this.  Tubing is fun, I did it once a couple of years ago with some friends and I admit I did have a blast.  SO we shall see – and there will probably be pictures.  And in a week I promised to go with a couple friends and learn to ski… so you know…

snow happens.

I guess I have to deal with it.

Example of a happy tuber. Tuber?

Later though, you can trust I will be here curled up with a blanket and my nose stuck in a book.  Certainly – this will be my reward.  😀

365 Thank You’s by John Kralik

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)29 Comments

John Kralik was 53 years old, owner of a struggling law firm, divorced twice, distant children, 2 mortgages (not his own), a tiny apartment, and a girlfriend that was about to become his ex-girlfriend.  Life , it was safe to say, was at an all time low.

One New Years day while taking a walk to sort out his thoughts, John struggled with what he had to be grateful about.  Shoot…. he coulomb even spell the word grateful.  Certainly…. even as he looked through his crumbling life… there had to be something.

And that is where it began.  John made a decision that day to write a thank you card every day for a year in an attempt to focus on the positive.  At first it was easy, he thanked people for the Christmas gifts that he had recently received.  Then, he had to dig a little deeper.  What came out of this project was far beyond what John could have ever imagined.  Relationships…. healed and strengthened, people responded in kind, he learned more about people he hardly knew, and John’s world… became a friendly place again….

All because he opened up to the possibility of gratitude for what he had… no matter how little it seemed.

 

Read mostly in the dining room

I love books that make me realize I was wrong.

When I agreed to review this book I really thought this was going to be a little guide on writing thank you notes.  In a small way it is just that.  In a much larger and more important way, it is about a true story of a man who changed his attitude to gratitude and in turn…. changed himself into someone he wanted to be.

This book… is right up my alley.

I love stories like Pay It Forward, where a kindness changes someone…. makes us look at the good and not focus so much on all that is and can be bad around us.  It’s easy to see where the world fails… where we fail…. it takes a little effort to find the good in things sometimes but I promise you, it is there.

I take this book a little personally because I have been in the low places in my own life and have learned that even the darkest times… have a little light.  It may not be as obvious as the dark that surrounds us, but you can find it.

I won’t get all deep on you – but I will tell you this.  This book inspired me to try to do my own 365 thank you’s.  The written thank you seems almost a thing of the past, yet I know when I receive one I am always thrilled that someone took the time to thank me or appreciate me.  I want to do the same for others.  I think a project like this is one that makes you dig a little beyond the surface…. sure there are the obvious people to thank:

  • the mailman who delivers the mail to your box rain or shine (or in my case hauls books to my front door)
  • a grandparent for sharing their past with you
  • your hairdresser who has listened to your stories for years
  • the friend that is always the first one you call when things are rough
  • your spouse who you share your life with
  • the neighbor who may or may not be a part of your life
  • the adult child who struggles but you love – no matter what
  • the child still in your home
  • A relative who you may have not connected with in a while
  • a boss from the past who really made your job worthwhile
  • the person who bags your groceries
  • parents and siblings

I am going to create a sidebar button and post who I sent the thank you’s to in order to keep track.

I think this book would be a wonderful gift for someone who is struggling to find anything to be grateful for.  I found the book to be inspirational and I am so glad I for the opportunity to read and review it.

Amazon Rating

My 2011 WHERE Are You reading Map has been updated to include 365 Thank Yous


 

I received this advanced copy of this book from Shelf Awareness

 

 

 

A few of you have expressed an interest in also doing a 365 Day Thank You Challenge

Here is a button for that challenge:


Morning Meanderings…. When Reading Habits Just Get….. Embarrassing

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)51 Comments

Good morning. 😀

Let’s just cut to the chase.

I blame you.

Yes you!  Sitting there all innocent like staring into your computer screen with those innocent eyes.

Pah…. lease.

First let me get this blame game started at the beginning…. you, the bookish people who told me, “Oh!  How can you live without a library card!”

Yes, even taking it a step further last year when there was a Library Challenge…. “read you library books” it said!   It’s fun, it’s easy, and you could save a library.

I went for it.  Yup.  Gullible me went down to my local library last year and came out with a…

with a….

library card.

Of course…. if that was it, there would be no story here.

Oh no….. then there were the book recommendations……everyone is reading all over the place, my book club, my friends, and all of you here on-line offering up book choices and covers I can not resist… like book pushers really…

I am weak I tell you….

but you did not care.

No – instead I was bombarded with books, books, books….

and then it happened.

Yup.  the “A’ word.

Audio books.

*gulp*

*sweat beads*

I was drawn to the convenience…. no longer was I bound to a book where I had to hold still and find a quiet corner to read in.  Oh no….. new doors were opened when I discovered I could read…

ANYWHERE and ANYTIME.

I mowed the lawn while listening to Farenheit 451, I baked cookies while listening to House Rules by Jodi Piccoult, every morning getting ready to the sound of a book being narrated while I showered, dressed, did make up and hair and only (ONLY) shut it off as I headed out the door each morning.

I was in my bookish dream world.

SO…..

to get to the point…

(get to the point…. get to the point… get to the point… get to the point…)

Ahh yes!  The point!

For the past couple days since I asked for your help with great audio books…. I have been popping these titles into my library reserve like they were candy.  I currently am at the point where two of my current audio are going to end yet this weekend and I did not want an audio dry spell…..

yes friends…. I do think it can be too quiet.

AND then after work yesterday I went to pick up a reserve audio that had come in.  I went to the reserve shelf and pulled out two rubber banded together with my name on them.  AWESOME I thought!

Then I looked a little further on the shelf to a much longer bundle of 2 books and 4 audio…. also under my name.

*gulp*

Yet I held me head high and went to the automatic check out scanner and started scanning my treasures.  I was right at the end…. so close I could smell freedom!  …And then it happened.

The little computer scanner thingy told me I had too many audio out and would have to go to the front desk.

Oh the humiliation…..

So I took the one audio I was denied up to the desk and spoke to Mr. Library Man.  I told him my dilemma and asked if I could return the one to the reserved shelf and come back tomorrow with one to turn in.  I told him I had one on my kitchen table that I just forgot to bring back…. this is true…. Dean Koontz’ Frankenstein was waiting for return after I decided this audio was not for me….

He smiled.  It may have been condescending, it may have been pity, it might have been fear of the crazy woman in front of him white knuckling an audio book she did not want to let go of….

whatever it was.  He said “sure.”

Yes I have had coffee this morning… why do you ask?

😛