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?

😛

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)46 Comments

Grab your coat and a change of clothes, we are going on an amazing adventure – and once we get started, you are not going to want to turn back!

Sheila

It is 1913 and a little four-year old girl is found coming off a ship in Australia.  She has no memory and is taken in to the home of the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own.  When Nell, as we come to know her, turns 21, her life is turned upside down when the dockmaster shares the secret that she is not who she thinks she is.

Tormented,by the mysteries behind who she is, Nell’s only clues to her past are within a small suitcase that was with her when she was found abandoned.  Many years pass and within the pages of a book of fairy tales Nell is able to put enough together to find that she was from England and just as she is about to embark on the journey that holds the keys to her past, her granddaughter Cassandra is left in her care. All plans are then placed on hold so Nell can raise her granddaughter.

When Nell dies, it is Cassandra who picks up where the clues left off – finding herself drawn to the mysteries of who her grandmother was, she takes the journey that Nell never had the opportunity to… and unlocks a much bigger story than anyone could have imagined.

Starting out in 2005 with Cassandra and the passing of Nell, we weave back to 1913 when Nell first arrived off the ship, to 1930 when Nell turns 21, to 1976 when Nell takes Cassandra into her home.

Looking at that above paragraph you can think that this 552 page book could be just a jumble of happenings and a big confusing mess… and..

you would be wrong.

Kate Morton weaves together strong women through the decades that in some cases never met, but still have their stories entwined, making not only the women, but the story , stronger.  This writing style would not be for the light of heart or for someone of little imagination as you could easily get lost in the worlds that are within the pages, but again I had no trouble sorting out the story line, more and more fascinated and deeper involved as each page was turned.   Kate Morton holds together each story on its own and a more in-depth read I have not encountered in a long time.

As Kate is quoted from her website:

I like to think of The Forgotten Garden that way: just as a Victorian mourning brooch contains a plait made from the hairs of family members, my book’s narrative binds the lives of three women in three different eras into a single story.

At first I admit that I did find myself trying to remember what was happening when as each chapter for the most part switches years and pieces of the story.  I was asked why I was not whipping through the book, and my response was that as I read I would have to back track to recall where I was and what was happening….  however, about 100 pages in, I picked up on the flow of the read and started to truly engage in each of the different parts of the story – looking forward to what was going to happen next.

Read in the Reading Room

I was in awe of how author Kate Morton was able to detail each part of the book so well and there was no story line that lagged.  In books I have read in the past that have attempted this style of writing I have found that I prefer a storyline and skim through the others just to get back to what I like, this was not the case in this book.  Each woman was so detailed in their time period I felt as though I was there – from the detailed descriptions of the houses to the clothing and the background characters, they all held a secure spot in bringing this divine work of literature to a very satisfying close that will not soon leave my heart.

Amazon Rating

Bookies Book Club Review:

This was our book club pick for our January 2011 review.  It was a fun discussion and I was pleased to see that for as big as this book was, almost all of the group had finished it is time for the review, with a few exceptions (me included!), yet everyone was planning to finish.

My favorite discussion question was the one where we talked about what would happen if you found out everything you thought was true about your life, was false, such as Nell did when she turned 21.  At that point Nell made huge life changing decisions because of this news.  This surprised me and our discussion became pretty deep as we talked about how we would each take such news.  While some of us felt you could move froward from that moment with little disruption to your life, others strongly disagreed and felt that news like that would truly change the course of your life and you would always be left with that “what if”, and “who am I really” feeling.

Out overall rating on a scale of 1 – 5 was a strong 4.8.  In many cases, the highest rating some of our members have ever given a book.


The WHERE Are You Reading Map has been updated to include The Forgotten Garden


I won this book from Helen’s book blog

Morning Meanderings… Bookies, Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)27 Comments

Good morning!

I posted over the weekend that I was scraping in at the last second on our HUGE book club read that was due for review on Tuesday.  Did I make the deadline?

Uhhh…. no

Pretty much an epic fail.

I did however hold my head up high and showed up as the moderator that I am for our book club and confessed that I was not done… I had procrastinated on starting it and I was not finished.

And how did this great group of women respond?

With love and kindness as we have all been there.  I love that about my book club.  Read it, we hope you can, but we also get that life happens… and that’s ok too.  Above all else we hope you show up – book read or not.

Our review was awesome and as I have now completed the book I am ready to post my review later today as well as share their thoughts on this incredible read.  Stay tuned….

I went into book club on Tuesday evening feeling  S T R E T C H E D…. tired out, over booked (no pun intended but there it is anyway), and really had nothing else to give.

And you know what?  When it was all said and done in that two hours I was there,  this is what I left my book club thinking:

 

 

Oh yeah… also… our newest Bookie (born in December):



Audio Suggestions for 2011… Recommended Listening

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)59 Comments

It is no surprise to my regular readers that I am a BIG audio book fan.  I wasn’t always this way but about a year and a half ago I discovered that there are so many different ways to listen to them that they actually help me make time for books I wish I could get to.  I know many of you have said that you have trouble concentrating on audio but here is how I do it:

  • In the mornings while I get ready I have a book going in my IPOD in the speakers and I listen while I prep for the day
  • In the kitchen cd player while I cook or while I clean
  • In my IPOD with ear buds while I mow the lawn in the summer
  • In my car while I drive…. it really passes the time and I find I enjoy car rides so much more and when I have to travel alone – it is ideal!

My biggest audio dilemma is choosing them.  I can be a real audio snob.  I am a firm believer that the narrator can make or break a perfectly good book.  I never knew this would be the case until I experienced bad narration.

This is where you come in – those of you who have experienced great audio – I am asking for your assistance.  What I am currently experiencing is that I am need of good audio – and I do not know what to choose for fear of the “bad experience”.   I would like to make a 2011 audio play list based on your recommendations.  If I listen to that audio I will mention that you recommended the audio in my review.

Please share hear the audio books you have LOVED.  A few of you left me suggestions on the Monday What Are You reading Post and I thank you for that.  Due to your recommendations, I am now listening to The Art of Racing in The Rain (thank you Margaret of Just One More Chapter, Please)

I plan to make a list of your recommendations and put them up on my sidebar so others can look at what has been recommended for audio as well.   I will also include audio that I have particularly enjoyed too.

Morning Meanderings…. When There Are No Words

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)18 Comments

Good morning!

*takes a large sip of coffee and wipes mouth with back of hand*

I LOVE LOVE LOVE chatting with all of you!  You are like an addiction to me…. I read your comments, I laugh out loud, or think about what brilliant thing you said and then I respond back.  I love the community of blogging and when I comment to you, it is like having a conversation about one of my favorite all time topics:

Books.

Yet occasionally, I will post something that I just let ride without my input.  This happened yesterday when I posted about the controversy currently surrounding the changes to the Huck Finn book.  I wanted to share my thoughts and hear yours as well and I am enjoying seeing the comments come in but I have no more to say about it myself.

Note that this is a rare occurrence…. mainly because “man, I do love to chat with you!”  Blogging to me is so community oriented.  I love the books you recommend to me, the thoughts you share, and I look forward to hearing from you.

I am on a crazy day today – work, work out, 5:00 meeting and a class at 6:30 – 8:00 pm tonight.  I will not touch back to home base until around 8:30 tonight and even thinking about that makes me tired!

I have a post up later today I am pretty excited about so hope you will be able to stop back and know that when I get a chance I will be responding to your comments 🙂  I believe I am naturally chatty…

and caffeinated.  😀