Morning Meanderings… Off To The Races… (I need an energy drink – or a cape…)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)28 Comments


Confession:  I do not like a lot of structure.  That may not surprise some of you who have been reading me for a while.  I like the freedom of doing something … or not.  An over committed schedule makes my skin crawl.   I am what my friends refer to as an introverted extrovert.  I LOVE hanging out with people and experiencing life, but it exhausts me – zaps my energy and the way I restore “my power” is to be alone, unwind….

I know…. I should be on medication…..LOL  😛


This weekend is such an epic sized overcommitment time that I have to actually think about in pieces, like one step at a time to not get over-anxious but all I must accomplish before I hit the finish line of late Sunday.  Here is what I mean:

  • Today – I work until 2 pm.  I normally do not work Fridays but it is my assistants last day and I want to work with her as she has been so wonderful and will truly be missed.  Today will be a hard day.  Also – in our own company my husband owns, our longest employee (of 9 years!) is also having his last day.  Al and I are both having sad days.

  • This late afternoon I am doing Group Power because it is good for me – and it will help me relax.

  • AT 6:30 tonight I need to be at the Armory in town to help set up the tables for the Feed The Children Event tomorrow we are bagging a rice mix to be sent to Haiti.

  • Saturday I need to be back at the Armory at 6:30 am to unload the truck that brings the bulk food, and then I help greet people and take them to stations to work until 2 pm.

  • AT 2 pm I dash from the Armory with my hubby and we cruise about 10 miles out-of-town to a potluck where some of the kids I know from Honduras will be at and get time to hang out with them a bit.

  • At 6:30 we are going to the Saturday Church service as one of the Honduras girls will be sharing her story.  I know this girl well and can not miss this incredible event.  After going to Honduras for the past 6 years to see her – she is in my home town currently.  That blows me away.

  • Sunday morning  at 8:30 am I meet the trailer to set up the cots for the Homeless Program.  It is my groups turn to serve for the week.  I need to set up bedrooms for the 3 families that are currently in the program and then go purchase food for the breakfasts and lunches for the week.  I have volunteers that provide the dinners and stay overnight with them each night from Sunday until the following Saturday.

  • I race to the church parking lot by 11:00 am as it is out annual tailgate party and my vehicle is one of the tailgate.  Note to self – I need to have a tailgate food item to share…. hmmmm…. I think meatballs are quick and easy.  Leave there by 2 pm

  • At 4:30 pick up the guests that are in the Homeless Program and take them to where they will be staying the next week and give them their orientation.  Make sure my volunteers are feeling good and then by 6:30 pm go home and probably pass out.  😛


On the bright side – this weekend is filled with wonderful happenings and it is a bummer they are hitting all at once but they will make incredible memories.  I will have pics in my morning meanderings, and actually breaking this down into bite size pieces like I just did makes it feel like a “to do” list that I can conquer one step at a time.  😀

Enter here to see more details about this program

Hope your weekend provides some fun and down time!!!

Morning Meanderings…The “F” word is being dropped like a bomb over here!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)49 Comments

GAH!  (Probably not the best first word of the day… but, ehhhhh).  The “GAH” is because I did it again.  I said the “F” word.  ANd for some reason I keep on saying it like I have a problem or something.  Seriously what is wrong with me?

Fall.

(you knew that was where I was going right?)


Being a summer… I have to admit I am not a bit fan of the cooler mornings, the 50 and 60 degree temperatures, the longer leaved shirts and digging out the pants instead of Capri’s for work.  HOWEVER…. thanks to book lovers, there are some awesome happenings that kind of sort of make up a wee bit of ground with me.

Such as…


This weekend is the Blogfest.  I know right?  I must have just continuously been at the wrong place at the wrong time because I seriously missed out on all of this until the last couple days.  This takes place September 10-12.  I have linked to a list of participating blogs here so if you so choose you can stop on by.



AND then, of course there is Book Blogger Appreciation Week which is sooooo much fun!   And check out the super cool theme this year, A Treasure Chest of Infinite Books and Infinite Blogs.  SO COOL!  I love participating and saying “Hey!” to all my bloggy friends old and new by offering giveaways and fun posts right here during the very productive week on the blog, September13-17.



And (oh yes, there is more!!!!) Banned Books Week is coming up again and before you say I would never, could never read a banned book…. uhhh…. yeah, check out the list.  More than likely – you already have.  have you ever read a classic?  Chances are it was a banned book.  Have you ever read a Harry Potter book?  Banned! Banned! Banned!  Judy Blume?  Yup… her too.  Here is a list of banned books, but you can find lists and lists everywhere.   Check out the Banned Books site that is taking reviews of banned books.  I was invited to add my recent review of To Kill A Mockingbird to the blog.  Mark your calendars for September 25 – October 2 and maybe plan to read one or two during banned books week….bring out the rebel in you!



Then on October 9, the wonderful Dewey’s Read-A-Thon rolls out again for another fantastic 24 hour read a thon that includes great games and giveaways as well as a time to set aside and read and read and read…  check out the site.


For all you anti “F” word people such as myself, looking at these great events kind of eases the pain of fall right?  And even if you love fall… oh I know you are out there….  this is just a little icing on the cake then.  😀


Ok – for the record – I do not hate Fall.  BUT, in Minnesota, Fall is a prequel of what’s to come…. and if you think Fall causes me to sigh… wait until we get to Winter.  BRRRRRR!!!!!  😛

If I missed any events please let me know!  😀

Men and Dogs by Katie Crouch (audio review)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)29 Comments


Hannah Legare finds herself back in her home town of Chareleston Harbor, South Carolina.  Her marriage is in a shambles and her business that once thrived is now looking at failing in the economy.  Taking time at home she starts to puzzle over the disappearance of her father that took place 20 years earlier.  She feels that there never was closure to this man who was her dad, and Hannah starts asking questions around town digging up old hurts and old relationships. As she searches for answers, she slowly begins to find herself.

Not this kind of men....

Not this kind of dog...

I had not read anything by Katie Crouch before but recall first becoming interested in her writing when I seen the book Girls In Trucks.  Another snappy title, and a fun cover but one I have yet to read.

I know going into this review I am going to struggle.  I listened to this on audio and I just found Hannah to be extremely unlikable.  Her problems in her marriage were brought on by her and her habit of falling in bed with other men.  She wined, she struggled with life, she was not a strong woman – and perhaps that is what bothered me most.  (I like strong women characters – I always have).

I thought we would find some sort of closure as I listened to this read but honestly I never felt it.  Hannah and her relationships with her family felt immature and I have to admit that for most of this audio I was just annoyed with this character.  I took a lot of time to write this review but my opinion has not changed, I just didn’t like it.

I have not read other reviews but they must be out there and I will gladly connect to your review if you have written one and I would love to hear if you had a better experience with this read.  The narrator was wonderful, and enjoyable, and I would still be interested in reading Girls In Trucks by this author.


I received this audio for review from Hachette Audio

Morning Meanderings… So chatty this morning… must be the coffee…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)27 Comments

Morning all!   Yesterday I was going to post the books I discovered while checking out the Monday meme.  However with the Holiday weekend and scraping back  into town mid day on Monday, it did not happen.  Today, this morning, with Coffee Cup at the ready, I am reading to chat books with you.


Jill at Fizzy Thoughts was chatting about this book and I realized I have never read anything by Ray Bradbury.  Nada.  Nothing.   I think I would like to try this in audio and have already reserved it at the library.  I found some wonderful articles online about Ray Bradbury readings at coffee houses….  they had me at coffee.


Everything Distils Into Reading posted a review on this book recently.  I have heard so many good things about this book and I want to read it!  They are talking movie rights on this one and it looks like it is going to happen!


Cem’s Book Hideout has this little gem reviewed.  Now this one I actually have but have not read yet.  Yet.  And I heard the book has coffee quotes! 😀


This book that I discovered over at Amy Reads is probably the hit of the week.  I mean – look at this cover.  AND then after you are done cover admiring, go over and read the review.  I am looking for this one right away!


I received this award from Cheryl over at CMash Loves To Read and I am really terrible at doing awards and passing them on but the question that goes with this one was a bit too good to pass on so here goes.

If you had the chance to go back and change one thing in your life, would you and what would it be?

It’s funny as I was recently just thinking about this.  I would love to go back and spend more time with my kids when they were in their younger years.  We had our kids so young and we were both working full-time trying to get .  I wish I could go back and use daycare less and spend more times with my kids.  They are grown now and I feel I missed a lot of opportunities with them when they were younger.


Anyone who reads this is welcome to the Cherry On Top Award.  I could not possibly choose  just as so many of you have such wonderful book blogs that I enjoy reading.

Final thought, Wordshakers is up and running with its online book club read  for Sept – October 6.  Click here for details on the book and the fun we have lined up with the author including an author chat and a great giveaway!  😀

Have a super day!  I have a busy one – full day at work and then Group Power this late afternoon.  I am also prepping my volunteer list as our serving week with the homeless begins this Sunday.

Off and running!  😛

To Kill A Mockingbird – Movie review and book comparisons

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)40 Comments

Last week I read and reviewed To Kill A Mockingbird, easily naming this as one of my now all time favorite reads.  The book was so well written, so smart, so engaging…. I just fell in love with it and I am so impressed with Harper Lee’s writing style and the story that she tells.

After finishing the book, I knew I wanted to see the movie and was lucky enough to find it at one of our few remaining video rental stores (uhhh yeah… whats with all the Red Boxes anyway?).  I brought the movie with us camping this weekend and watched it with my husband as well as with our company which included two young girls ages 9 and 12.  It is fair to say that i was actually a little jealous that they were able to experience this show at the ages they are where I am currently in my 40’s and seeing it for the first time.


The movie was… well, wonderful.  Gregory Peck made an incredible Aticus and listening to him was just as I had pictured he would be, evenly tempered, wise in his speech, and gentle in his manner.  It was wonderful to watch the book come alive before my eyes, and having just finished the book I enjoyed watching how it all played out on the screen.

As in all movies, parts of the book are lost.  One of my favorite parts in the book was the end when Scout is walking home in the turkey costume and while that is in the movie, they cut out a lot of the story behind that part of the book, which I missed.

Over all I would highly recommend that everyone first read the book – you will not be sorry, and secondly, watch the movie, both are worth your time and you will forever have this wonderful piece of culture known as To Kill A Mockingbird.


Did you know that To Kill A Mockingbird was a banned book?

Fact:   Challenged in Eden Valley, Minn. (1977) and temporarily banned due to words “damn” and “whore lady” used in the novel. Challenged in the Vernon Verona Sherill, N.Y School District (1980) as a “filthy, trashy novel:” Challenged at the Warren, Ind.Township schools (1981) because the book does “psychological damage to the positive integration process ” and “represents institutionalized racism under the guise of good literature:” After unsuccessfully banning Lee’s novel, three black parents resigned from the township human relations advisory council. Challenged in the Waukegan, III. School District (1984) because the novel uses the word “nigger.” Challenged in the Kansas City, Mo. junior high schools (1985). Challenged at the Park Hill, Mo. Junior High School (1985) because the novel “contains profanity and racial slurs:” Retained on a supplemental eighth grade reading list in the Casa Grande, Ariz. Elementary School District (1985), despite the protests by black parents and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People who charged the book was unfit for junior high use. Challenged at the Santa Cruz, Calif. Schools (1995) because of its racial themes. Removed from the Southwood High School Library in Caddo Parish, La. (1995) because the book’s language and content were objectionable. Challenged at the Moss Point, Miss. School District (1996) because the novel contains a racial epithet. Banned from the Lindale,Tex. advanced placement English reading list (1996) because the book “conflicted with the values of the community.” Challenged by a Glynn County, Ga. (2001) school board member because of profanity. The novel was retained. Returned to the freshman reading list at Muskogee, Okla. High School (2001) despite complaints over the years from black students and parents about racial slurs in the text. Challenged in the Normal, ILL Community High Schools sophomore literature class (2003) as being degrading to African Americans. Challenged at the Stanford Middle School in Durham, N.C. (2004) because the 1961 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel uses the word “nigger.”

Morning Meanderings… Camp fires, diets, and REALLY BIG BOOKS

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)41 Comments


Good morning and happy Tuesday!  Initially my plan was to do the “Hit List” this morning which is about all the great finds I discover while reading the Monday What Are You Reading participant blogs.  HOWEVER… that’s just going to have to wait until tomorrow.

We arrived home yesterday afternoon from the cabin and when I finally sat down to answer emails and read the memes I realized there was no way I was going to finish them in one sitting.  SO, that will be continued later today and instead today I have a couple other “morning chat worthy” topics.

Camping for the weekend with friends was wonderful.  We watched a few movies, ate way too much food, played board games, searched for agates by Lake Superior, had a campfire and laughed a lot.  I even got in a little reading time so The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and I are moving along quite nicely.

Al and I at the campfire. I know - a rare sightling of my hubby but there he is. :D
Al and I at the campfire. I know - a rare sightling of my hubby but there he is. 😀

Inside the cabin playing a game called STARE. there are three of our guests: Amy, Morgan, and Chad

Upon arriving home and starting to unpack guess where I found my dog Elmo?

On another note, The Game On Diet is game on again!  I played in August and started out strong and then about the third week tapered off…. life got busy and yeah…..  however, a group of us wanted to continue and as I have not reached my goals yet I am on again and we start today.  I will get back to updating the journal (right side bar) as well.

You may remember my goal was to fit into these pants again.

AND finally – there were two book challenges I really want to be a part of and I have become behind on both but plan on catching up.  One was from Trish over at Hey Lady!  Watcha Readin’? She started a nicely paced challenge with The Handmaid’s Tale and I want to participate as this is a book I have meant to read like FOREVER!  I have to catch up but I will.  😀


AND Amanda from The  Zen Leaf has a challenge going for Charles Dicken’s Bleak House.  Uhhh…. yeah.  MONSTER read.  914 pages.  In fact I may need to drink Monster to get through this…. and I hate energy drinks.  😛   This is another one being read slowly so I want to give it a try.

So that’s what is currently happening over here.  Hope you all had a wonderful Labor day Weekend.  Cant wait to catch up with all of you!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)103 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 (using Random.Org) was:

Susan (Black Eyed Susan’s)

and

Dollycas (Dollycas’s Thoughts)


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 had a really fun week here this past week.  Here is what happened in case you didn’t get a chance to pop in:


I Am Nujood Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali (a quick yet powerful read!)


We Interrupt This Blog For Fall Programming


To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (uhhh… hello!  Why didn’t anyone tell me how great this book was!  Or more to the point, why didn’t I listen?)


Author Chat with Sarah Ockler (author of Twenty Boy Summer)

Masquerade by Nancy Moser (SO GOOD!)


The Pinky Swear with another blogger….


Word Shaker On Line Book Club pick for September – ooh you are going to want to check this one out!  Giveaways and more!


That’s the week.  Told you it was a good one 🙂

So what is next for  me….

Well, I have a couple of books I want to catch up on so I am going to keep it light and see what happens.  I am still working my way through The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and I hope to start this one this week:

Releasing this week, ROOM has already been making an impact on the reviews.  I look forward to sinking into this book.

I am really anxious to see what you are reading this week.  Fall seems to bring some new titles and new reads to the table and I for one am looking forward to what the rest of this year will bring.  Please enter your link to your Monday What Are You Reading post where it says “click here”.  See you soon!  😀

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Click here to enter your link and view the entire list of entered links…


Note:  I am still out-of-town until Monday afternoon but will respond to all comments and visit all meme participants upon my return.  😀

I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)19 Comments


Nujood of Yamen was sold to her husband when she was the rip old age of ten.  The man she was married to was three times her age.  The promise was made to her family that her husband would not touch her until she became a woman.  A promise he did not keep.

Nujood makes a daring escape and in a voice beyond her young years, she shares her story in these pages from the marriage to seeking help from the courts, doing the unheard of in her country.  Nujood’s courage and her defiance towards her family and Yemeni customs, became an inspiration to other young girls in the Middle East.

Her story will break your heart.


As in many of the books I read, I have fellow book bloggers to thank for this one.  I picked up on this book somewhere out in the blogosphere and this one refused to let go until I had read it.  I always take read like this to heart as having walked the streets of Honduras and seeing young girls around the ages of 12 heavy with pregnancy, I can all too easy recall what it felt like to see these children growing up way too fast.  This feeling rushed over me again as I read this book.

Nujood’s story within these pages is short, I read the book in a couple of hours.  Yet don’t be fooled.  Each page is powerfully packed with the truth of her situation where in some cases what I read felt like I was being punched in the gut.  It literally took my breath away.   Which I think makes the story even stronger when you read about this young girl deciding that enough was enough and she goes and fights for her rights, in a country where ever her own mother tells her that she must obey her husband even when Nujood tells her what he is doing to her.

Be ready for a book that will take you through cruelty, abuse,hope,  courage, and triumph…. be ready for a rollercoaster of emotions.

My Amazon Rating

I borrowed this book from my local library

We Interupt This Blog For Fall Programming….

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)29 Comments

I have seen quite a few posts about Fall lately…. shoot, I have posted a few myself.  It’s not like I want to give up on summer but for central Minnesota, we can feel it in the air.  Fall doesn’t mean there will be no more beautiful sweltering days…. no, I still think we will be getting those over the next 6 weeks, in fact I look forward to them.  No matter what you think of Fall – pro, con, undecided – there is one thing we as book lovers must agree on….

There are some GGGGOOOOOOOODDDDDDD books coming our way over the next couple months.


ROOM.  Oh I have waited to read this book and it is on my reading list for next week.  CAN NOT WAIT.


I am not a huge fan of Nicholas Sparks (although he has had some pretty good releases as of late) however – look at this cover.  I mean LOOK at this cover.  I could frame it.  I might frame it.  This book becomes available on September 14th.



Dennis Lehane.  Need I say more?  I mean we are talking Mystic River and Shutter Island.  Both books that while I can’t say much for either of the movies, the books blew me away.  November 2 is the release day.

I know there are more lovely books coming out soon…. and I am sure I have missed many that wold be on my list as well.  This is where you come in.  What books are you looking forward to being released yet this year?

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (plows right into the top books I have read this year and top books I have read in my lifetime)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)43 Comments

Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ’em,

but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.


Meet Jean Louise Finch, but do not call her that.  Call her Scout.  Scout is 8.  She lives with her slightly older brother Jem and her father Atticus who is a lawyer.  As they hang out and play in their neighborhood they become increasingly infatuated with a man named Boo Radley, who is 30 years old and has not been seen out of his home where he lives with for family for more years than Scout has been alive.  The imagination of Scout, Jem, and a boy named Dill get the best of them as they imagine the monster that must be Boo Radley.

Scout’s father Atticus becomes a defense attorney for a black man who is falsely accused of raping a white woman  in a time when that is just acceptable in the eyes of the towns people.  Scout and Jem become targets at school because of this and as the story progresses, the children see first hand the prejudices around them.

A book wrapped around the deep south, interesting and delightful characters such as Scout, Jem, and the infamous Boo, along with a father named Atticus and how his decision to defend the innocent, makes for all that is To Kill A Mockingbird.


When this book came up for the 50 Anniversary I knew I had to read it this year.  I thought I was one of the last people on earth who had not read To Kill A Mockingbird, but as the conversations came up about this book, I discovered there were a lot of people who have not read this book.

You know what else I discovered?

We are all missing something remarkable by not reading this.  I was so impressed by the writing of this book.  I can not stress that enough, Harper Lee is an amazing writer who writes with words that are just as relevant today as they were in 1960 when the book was first written.

The sixth grade seemed to please him from the beginning:  he went through a brief Egyptian Period that baffled me – he tried to walk flat a great deal, sticking one arm in front of him and one in back of him, putting one foot behind the other.  He declared Egyptians walked that way; I said if they did I didn’t see how they got anything done, but Jem said they accomplished more than the Americans ever did, they invented toilet paper and perpetual embalming, and asked where would we be today if they hadn’t?  Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I’d have the facts.  ~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 7

The words are poetic, rhythmic, I can’t even tell you how many times I was in awe of the writing, smiling to myself at how brilliantly written each line is.  Kicking myself again for thinking this would be another wordy hard to read classic that would no doubt give me a head ache before it was done.   I can not wait to see the movie!

When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness’ sake.  But don’t make a production of it.  Children are children, but they can spot an evasion quicker than adults, and evasion simply muddles ’em.  ~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 9

In the end, I feel it is safe to say that this book just reached into the elite group that holds the spots of the best books I have ever read.     Everyone needs to read this book.

I received my review copy of this book from Harper Perennial