It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)118 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:

Joy from Joy’s Book Blog

***  Joy is also a brand new participant in Monday What Are Your Reading!


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

 

I did not finish  a lot of books during this last week but I did actually get a lot of others things done that will lead to great reading this year.  Here is what I accomplished this past week:

 

  • I finally sat down and planned out what Challenges I wanted to be a part of this year.  This was fun and I think I can be successful in all of them.

  • The 2011 WHERE are you reading Map is up and now has three (woo hoo 3!!!) pegs on it coming out of the first week of January so I thrilled about that.  You still have time to join in!  😀  You can see my current map at the bottom of all my current book reviews in 2011.


  • Also – new in the house from my super fun road trip with my friend Wendy this weekend to St. Cloud and of course Barnes and Noble:

Yup!  I could not turn down the chance to pick up th LOST encyclopedia at 50% off!!!  AND Matched has been on my wish list for awhile and Wendy recommended Night by Elie Wiesel.

 

 

That was pretty much my week, but considering that I had work all week and a meeting every evening :  Monday – Thursday, I feel pretty good about what I accomplished.

 

For this week here is what I currently have going on as well as what I hope to accomplish:

 

I have not read Evanovich in years but while looking for something to listen to in my kitchen CD player at the library this one caught my eye.  I had heard that the audio’s were good and thought I would give this a try…. I am currently on disc 2 and enjoying the read!

 

 

Fresh from my library, Some Girls Are was on my wish list for 2010 and I just never got to it.  So – here it is, on my kitchen table and in the plans for this week!

 

I am listening to We Are All Welcome Here in my car.   Currently on disc 3 I am in awe of this one so far.  Key words of interest:  Polio, Iron Lung, Paralyzed

 

 

???????????

 

Currently on the IPod…… Nothing….. nada. After finishing Peace, Locomotion yesterday I have not looked to figure out what I want to download next to listen to on my IPOD.  I am open to suggestions – what would you recommend on audio?



 

Kitchen Boy that I am currently reading from last week has been put on hold for me to finish in the next 36 hours:  The Forgotten Garden which is my book club read for this Tuesday.

 


There you have it.  I am anxious to see what you are reading these cool January days and nights.  I will popping in as I can to check that out!  LINK up with the Linky below and I highly encourage each of us to take time to check out some of the other participants blogs.  It’s fun and appreciated and you never know where you may find that next great book recommendation – or blog you wish to follow.

 

Powered by Linky Tools

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

The Nineteenth Element by John L. Betcher (and a signed copy to GIVEAWAY!)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)41 Comments

You may think that there is nothing in Minnesota that grants a nuclear attack plan.

You would be wrong.

The Prairie River Nuclear Power Plant seems to be the target and with the help of a few Minnesotans as well as a Three Mile Island Survivor with a chip on his shoulder, things are looking a bit grim.

Yet just as things are beginning to look bleak, we find retired U S Government Intelligence, James Becker, living a mere six miles from the targeted plant.  As John uses his past experience to put together the clues, he is also tasked with trying to convince the government of the threat.

Can’t a retired guy catch a break?

So here I am reading a book about the government,war, and terrorists….. and I do not like reading about government, war, and terrorists.

Why then?

Here’s why.  Last year I had the opportunity to read John Betcher’s first book, The Missing Element.  In this book I was introduced to a character I really enjoyed, James Becker.  James was  light-hearted character who while dealing with serious matters, still had a snappy line here and there that made me smile and want to read more.

This past fall I was offered to read John’s second book and I  was glad to do so.  It took me awhile to fit the book into my crazy schedule but once I sat down to read it…. I was back in the world of James Becker again.

I think what makes this book enjoyable for me is that John Betcher’s writing style is down to earth.  I can’t help but like the life he writes into his character James Becker’s DNA.  SO while this topic would be one I would most certainly pass on, John writes it in such a way that I found it fascinating to research the clues and solve the mystery like a side kick in the story.   I, being from Minnesota as well, enjoyed this setting around the familiar area of  Red Wing, a place where you really are not expecting a body to wash up along the shores of the Mississippi.

John and I in Minneapolis - Oct. 2010

Amazon Rating

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map now includes The Nineteenth Element


Did I mention a Giveaway?


I did!  To enter this giveaway leave a comment on this review.

A second chance to win will be given if you blog or tweet about this giveaway (let me know in a separate comment)

For a bonus entry – subscribe to receive my posts by email (upper right sidebar) and let me know in a separate comment)

That’s it!  I will close this giveaway out on January 29th.  USA and Canada entrants only please.  The winner will be chosen using random.org

I received my review copy as well as a signed copy to give away from author John Becker

Morning Meanderings… and “don’t tell my book club!”

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)61 Comments

Ok… I have to be quick this morning… I have Church in about twenty minutes and after that I really must get home and read.

Our book club – The bookies meets on Tuesday of this week.  We are reading The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton  and I am really excited because I have wanted to read this one… it is 552 pages…

and…

I started it last night.

OK – SHHHHHH!!!!!!  Keep you voices down!

I know – I know…..

I should have started it earlier, I should have been working on it all month and finished early…

but…

I didn’t.

Now here I am on the eve of the eve of the eve of our Book Club and I am going to have to power read the next two days.

*gulp*

I have a big awards event tonight I am helping with and tomorrow I work a short day but have a meeting at 2 pm and a group meeting at 6:30 pm.  Reading this book is going to be hit and miss for time…. but…

I must do it.

I want to do it.

Can I do it???

Has this ever happened to you?

Were you ever supposed to have a book read for a book meeting or for a discussion of some sort and had to scramble at the last days?

 

Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)15 Comments

After a house fire that takes the lives of their parents, Lonnie (12) and his sister Lili (9) are placed in different foster homes.  Lonnie, who likes to be called”Locomotion” writes letters to his sister who he misses terribly.  He updates her on what is happening at his school, his friends, his poetry, and about the war that is going on and the son that his foster mom has in it.  When the war hits close to home…. Lonnie starts writing about peace.

As time passes and Lonnie continues to write to his sister, his writing changes s he grows and matures in to his surroundings.  Lonnie starts to really understand the meaning of family, understanding that it can go beyond his sister as he learns to let others in.

If you have never read or listened to a Jacqueline Woodson book I highly recommend that you do.  I first read her last year with I Hadn’t Meant To Tell You This, and found her writing to be a steady smooth gathering of words that made it hard to put her book down.  In this instance, I listened on audio and I am so glad I chose this format.

This audio was read by Dion Graham and he was the perfect voice for Lonnie (Locomotion).  I really enjoyed how Dion gave the 12-year-old feel to Lonnie’s voice, the excitement, the sorrow, even when he was angry.

Within this short story you really get the feel for how important teachers are to kids.  When  teacher tells Lonnie what a great writer he is, he blooms, and not only improves in his already great writing, but in his other classes as well.  When we is told that is not a poet, he crumbles…. and both sides of this is reflected well.

Written as a series of letters, I found this short audio to be a perfect listen and a new dimension to experience with Woodson.  If this book would have been large I can see where it may have drug out and become too much, yet in a short amount of time Woodson bundled up a young foster boys life into a careful package of hope, love, and peace.

Amazon Rating

Book 3 on my WHERE are you reading map

I purchased this from audible.com

Morning Meanderings… Death Of A Coffee Pot

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)42 Comments

Good morning.

Nope -this post title is not a book…. however I can imagine it being a cozy mystery …

No instead this would be the true tale of the last day of my coffee pot.  You are probably imaging something really tragic – like a crash upon the floor, but no – there was no warning and it was rather…. well…

peaceful.

Here is what happened.

I was at my house with my friend and author Sarah Lindberg.  We were going over website stuff and before she had arrived, at 8:00 am I had made a pot of coffee.  Having drank most of it (*sheepishly guilty*) before she arrived at ten I prepped a second pot after pouring her the last of the current pot.

We worked on the website for about an hour when I asked her if she would like a second cup of coffee, she said yes, so I got up to fill her cup and that is when I noticed that my coffee pot, had not prepared the pot as I had asked.  I tried again… there was clearly power to the pot, but no action… I even moved the pot to another plug-in and still…

nothing.

Sarah and I then each had a cup of tea, and after she left I looked at the coffee pot again.

It was just done for.

Of course…. I did have to (I had to!) go out yesterday afternoon and purchase a new coffee pot.  I am not trying to be insensitive here… but really…. the coffee must brew on.

Today, Wendy and I are doing a day trip to St. Cloud.  We are going to shop a little, have lunch, stop at Barnes and Noble and maybe take in a movie.  I am sooooooo looking forward to a little friend time!  😀

Have a LOVELY day!

Author Chat: Rhonda Hayter (author The Witchy Worries of Abbie Adams)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)10 Comments

While in New York this past May I had an opportunity to meet and talk with the Class of 2K10 YA Debut Authors.  This was a lot of fun and I met some wonderfully talented women including my guest here today, Rhonda Hayter.  Rhonda and I had a little time to chat one on one and she presented me with a signed copy of her book, The  Witchy Worries of bbie Adams(SQQQQUUUEEEEEEEE)!

Please welcome to Book Journey, the lovely and talented Rhonda Hayter.

Rhonda Hayter

Rhonda, welcome.   I always start by asking, how do you take your coffee?


Rhonda:  By the gallon.


Good to know –  will keep the coffee pot on!  Have you been a long time reader?


Rhonda:  I always talk about this in my school visits just to horrify the children but where I grew up there was no TV.  It was in northernmost Canada in a place called Labrador and at that time, it was too remote to get a TV signal up there.  It was also thirty degrees below zero a lot of the time, so reading was the only game in town. Much of my growing up was spent huddled on a heating grate, buried in books.

Rhonda in her home office where everyone leaves her alone....except their dog, Kitty.


I was a book girl too Rhonda, I Almaty preferred books to tv.   What is one of the first books you remember falling in love with?


Rhonda:  I think it might have been the Pippi Longstocking books.  I ordered them through the book clubs at school and devoured them the day I got them. Pippi was so wild and free, without parental supervision and she could go anywhere and dress however she pleased.  Of course I was happy to have parents and all…but it was really fun to think about.


When did you know you wanted to be a writer?


Rhonda:  I actually always wanted to be an actor.  I started off as one but well..not in what you might call a hugely successful way.  I spent so much of my life yearning for that and riding the ups and downs of it all, that I almost didn’t notice that I wanted to write too…although I always did.  It wasn’t until I finally gave up my acting (or it gave me up)  that I noticed that writing gave me exactly the same kind of seat-of-the-pants/living-in-the-moment thrill that acting did.


I recently finished reading The Witchy Worries of Abbie Adams.  Abbie is a delightful character and I enjoyed getting to know her.  Was this the book you thought you would write?


Rhonda:  I never actually thought of writing a whole book before Abbie but it just came pouring out of me. I had a fifth grader in the house at the time, and I was immersed in his life and his voice and his concerns….and that’s just the book that materialized.

 

Rhonda and her youngest son Ethan ( the inspiration for the character of Munch)


There are a couple of references to Harry Potter in the book.  You mention Abbie has a poster of Hermione on her bedroom wall and later there is a reference to Hogwarts.  I am a big Potter fan.  What is your Harry Potter connections – love the books, love the movies?  Both?


Rhonda:  My older boy Duncan is 16 now, so he was exactly the age to be ready for each book as it came out. It was such an incredible part of his childhood, waiting for the next installment…showing up at midnight at Barnes and Noble on the day it was to be released, watching him be completely consumed by it until he powered through to the end…and then passing it around the family, and reading it aloud to his younger brother…until he was finally ready to read it alone.  And the movies always came out right around Duncan’s birthday in November so that was always momentous too.  (Although I had to take him into the lobby for some of the scary parts of the first movie.  I have such an affection for the whole experience that Harry Potter gave our family, books and movies combined.


I love that connection your family has to the Potter books!  I heard a rumor that Abbie may be showing up in a future book…. hmmmm, is this true?


Rhonda:  Well I can tell you that she’s going to share a very big secret with her best friend Callie…and complications will arise.


Is there a fictional character that you would like to hang out with?


Rhonda:  I like that question!  Let me see. I’ve always been a monster Jane Austen fan, and I’d just love to swish around in long dresses exchanging witty observations with Elizabeth Bennett or the Sense and Sensibility gals.

Rhonda's hang out buddy, Elizabeth Bennett

It was so fun to meet you at BEA this past May.  I enjoyed hearing that you were part of the Class of 2k10 debut authors group.  Can you tell us a little more about this group?


Rhonda:  I LOVE that group.  We’re all published in YA or MG for the first time this year. I always liken it to my pregnancy yoga class— you’re united in fellowship with people at a unique and magical moment in their lives. We network and cross promote and all that, but more importantly, we have become friends and great support for each other. That was one of the things that made BEA such fun, getting to meet everyone in person, after having chatted almost every day over the Internet for months. We were all CRAZY about each other!


I can not let you leave without asking you to share a little known fact about yourself.


Rhonda:  Oh dear, let’s see.  I guess something that’s a little unusual is that I didn’t learn to drive until I was in my late 30s, when I moved out to Los Angeles.  I look at my 16-year old learning now and I realize that what it really takes is a teenager’s blithe unawareness that anything bad can ever happen.  At the time I learned, that ship had long since sailed and I felt exactly as if I was getting into the Electric Chair to be executed every time I strapped myself into the driver’s seat.  I’m better now….but I still ain’t good.


That is a great fact Rhonda!  Thank you so much for stooping in and chatting with me today!



Thanks so much for having me Sheila. This was fun.

 

Rhonda and I, May 2010, New York

Please stop in and see Rhonda at her website as well as at the  Class of 2k10 website.

Morning Meanderings…. Confess It…. Where Are They?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)58 Comments

GOOD MORNING!!!!  Guess what?  It is my day off!  (* happy happy happy dance!!!*)

I love what I do but honestly….

I am tired out this week.

Last night I had a gathering to go to that was in Aitkin Minnesota.  It is normally about a 40 minute drive but with the snowy conditions we were about an hour +.  I arrived back home last night at 9:30 pm.

Todays meandering is brought to you by “TOOMUCHCAFFEINEATTOOEARLYANHOUR”….

What I would like to talk about today – is where are they?  Oh don’t pretend you don’t know what I am talking about!  Bookish people come on…. give it up.

Confess.

Tell me…

Where are the books?

Ok ok.. I know the places they should be… I would say it is safe to say that most of us have at least one book shelf or a book box or something… but what I want to know is the down right occasionally embarrassing stuff…  take a moment… if you are at home scan around the area you are currently in.  If you are not at home close your eyes (not while typing – that could be dangerous!) and think… where are the books…… where are the books….

Here’s mine:

My books (besides the book shelves) are:

On my kitchen table (currently 9)

on a stand by my kitchen table (currently 7)

Kitchen counter (currently 3)

Downstairs by recliner ( currently 11)

Downstairs coffee table ( currently 2)

On my nightstand (currently 1)

On the reading chair table (currently 9)

Front room rocking chair table (currently 1)

Bathroom (proudly – none)

 

Oh that feels so good!  😀  I am not counting the reading room at all whats on the shelves, whats next to the shelves, the BEA box still (STILL!!!) in the corner, my grandmothers step stool that is covered with books….

really as I type here… I should give that room some attention and do a little organizing.


With my day off I will be meeting with a friend and author in a couple of hours here to talk website design – for her, not me.   Then I need to go and pick up a book at the library that I have in, and go to the award store in town to get the Bookies Book of the year plaque updated to reveal our book of the year next Tuesday at book club.  (You will have to wait to hear who won!)

Other than that – I am hoping to read today… in fact right now I have a little over an hour to sink into a book and that means – yes my friends…. there will be reviews.  😀

Morning Meanderings… “Oh! The NUMBERS!”

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)34 Comments

Good morning! Happy Thursday!

I have mentioned in recent posts that every winter I usually pick a TV show that I have enjoyed and spend the winter evenings watching all the seasons. Last year it was all the Gilmore Girls seasons (one of my all time favorite tv shows!) and this winter Chance and I have been working our way through the LOST episodes.

If you have been a fan of LOST you certainly know about the numbers.

4       8       15       16      23       42

These numbers are a big part of  LOST right from the beginning and they all have to do with the character of Hurley playing these numbers in the lottery and winning big.  However – the numbers are supposed to be cursed and all these bad things start happening to Hurley and his family (a house fire, a family member dies, a business is purchased and then blows up…)

Hurley on LOST

Yesterday afternoon I heard about the Lottery numbers that recently were drawn through the MEGA MILLIONS lotto and the numbers winning Tuesday nights jackpot of $355 million were:

 

4       8       15       25       47

and the mega ball:  42

😯

I know right?  The funny – or not so funny thing about the numbers being so close to the LOST numbers is that people who played these numbers really did not think about how many other people also played the LOST numbers.

Final answer:  41,763 had those numbers in their tickets, giving each winner:

$150.00  😯

Still… a win is a win I guess.  😀

Sorry if I “lost” all you non LOST watcher readers out there with this post.  I just thought this was too good to pass on chatting about.

Hope everyone’s day is wonderful.  You may have noticed that I have been sadly short on book reviews this week.  I am bummed by that but the honest truth is that I have had a meeting every night this week (including tonight…) and with work all day I have had minimal reading time.  I have a couple of books close and I plan to break through this dry spell going into tomorrow (can you say “DAY OFF?”  WOO WOO!)  and through the weekend.


*Note that I never finished watching the episodes while they were on TV so PLEASE do not give me ant spoilers in the comments – I am currently on Season 4.

Morning Meanderings… Minnesota Reality: Who Smells Like A Beef Stick?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)84 Comments

Good Morning.  Current temperature…. 5 degrees.

It’s practically a heat wave from some of the 20 below days we have had of recent.

This morning…. I thought I would give you a little dose of Minnesota.

Throughout the last month as I have been reading some of the blog posts out there I have seen posts about biking, or enjoying the cooler temps of 60 and 70 degrees…. on one post I even read that the blogger went to the beach for Christmas.

The beach.

I do love to think of where you are all reading this post from… sitting in your homes or offices all over the world.  Grasp that thought for a moment.  Doesn’t that just blow you away?

Here is a little piece of my Minnesota around this time of year.  We heat our home with wood, but not a fireplace in our home.  What we have is a wood stove that sits out behind our home and in front of our business.  The wood stove heats water that runs through pipes and heats our home and our business with hot water.  For us it is cost efficient as my husband owns an excavating company and we get much of the wood for free when we clear  lots for new homes.

This time of year when it is really cold like it has been lately it is a lot of work to keep the stove temperature up.  My hubby goes to bed around 8 pm (I know – he keeps such odd hours!) and fills the stove then.  I am usually up until about midnight and before I go to bed I go and fill it again so the temperature stays nice and warm until Al (hubby) gets up at around 5 am (hey I told you he kept odd hours) and fills it and goes to work.

Here is the visual for all you readers out there of me filling the stove at midnight:

  • First I put on a heavy winter coat, gloves, and hubby’s boots (mine are too darn cute to wear to the wood stove!)
  • Next I drive down to the stove (yes, I drive!  Its cold and dark and the headlights help me see the woodpile!)
  • I then proceed to grab wood off the pile (the pieces I can lift) and toss them into the mouth of this huge wood stove
  • If I am lucky I do not singe my hair…. but usually… I do singe my hair.  (So annoying)
  • Once I am done I drive back to the house smelling like a piece of beef jerky

There you have it.  My life is not all the warm lovely pictures of me in my home with a book…. nope the reality this time of year is big coat, big man boots, red nose, singed hair….odd smoky smell that seems to be…me

(I bet now you know why I LOVE LOVE LOVE summer so much!)

SO for giggles…. if you comment on this post tell me where you are at this morning.  (State or country and actual spot you are commenting from:  IE.  Chicago:  home office)

In my case that answer would be:  Minnesota:  kitchen table

In Memory of a Book Blogger

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)44 Comments

It is with a sad and heavy heart that I share this news with you, but I feel compelled to do so.  I received an email yesterday letting me know that Anna Marie Catoir, from Anna Marie’s Corner passed away on December 25th at the age of 32.

Anna was diagnosed with lymphoma several months ago.

I did not personally know Anna other than through our conversations through the Monday What Are You Reading meme and the comments on my blog.  I knew she was a manager at Barnes and Noble.

One comment I remember was on a post I did called Book Bloggers Unite and it was during banned book week while I was selecting what books to read that Anna Marie said this:

If your dance card isn’t full and you haven’t read it already, why not try the recently banned The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Here is the story from Sept. 9th. http://www.semissourian.com/story/1663154.html I’ve read this tile and really enjoyed it.

 

And you know what?  I did read that book and Anna Marie was right – I loved it.

In  many ways this is  a hard post for me to write and  I really had to think about what I would, or should say.  After sitting on this news for 24 hours my heart says that  Anna Marie was part of our community and rather than seeing a blog go silent and wonder why… we can know who she was and share in this loss.

 

I will miss her comments and conversations, and popping over to see what she is reading.  To her family and friends I give my deepest sympathies.