It’s Monday! What Are You Reading!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)96 Comments

Hi everyone – it’s that time again when we all get to share what books are making our current reads…. what’s coming up, and what maybe we wish we would have passed on….:D

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:

Dollycas

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


Here’s what graced my life this past week in bookish ways:

Review:  The Passage by Justin Cronin (I listened to all 35 hours of this audio and came out the other side with a “WOW”!


Review:   auf Weidersehen by Christa Holder Ocker (a memoir of a young girl during WWII)

Attack Of The Library Sale with theme music! (Seriously… there is a theme song…. don’t you have one?)

Author Chat with Colin Sokolowski – author if The Accidental Adult (Colin is a laugh a minute!)

Sleeping At The Library (see what first in line looks like at the annual fall library sale in my town)  😛

Review:  The Evolution Of Shadows (A fiction book that read and felt like non – fiction)

That was my past week!  Now moving forward to this week – I am playing it a bit safe as I will not be back in town until Tuesday night (more about that below) So here’s the plan:

This one I have read some good reviews on  and picked it up from my library.  I am not that far into it but have liked it so far.

I am going to have a mocking week – (you will see more of this on Wednesday) but part of that is going to be that I am finally going to take the time to read To Kill A Mockingbird – and yes, it will be my first time.


AND….. Finally I will be reading and reviewing Mockingjay – the long anticipated finale to Suzanne Collins Hunger Games Trilogy.  I CAN NOT WAIT!!!!  It is being released on Wednesday and I am taking the day off from work and reading it.  Yes I am.  😛

So, that’s my plan!  By the time this post goes up I will be In Grand Marais Minnesota at a Leadership training camp until Tuesday evening.  I am 98% sure I will have no internet even though I brought my security Laptop.  🙂  I will catch up on checking out all your Monday posts on Wednesday.

Please enter the link to your Monday What Are You Reading below where it says “Click Here”.  I cant wait to see what you are reading this week!


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Morning Meanderings… and not a book mentioned in this post

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)32 Comments

Good morning all!  What a day yesterday.  Wendy and I left my house at 6 am and drove to Itaska State Park.  We went on the 2nd Annual  bike ride that they had.  Last year they offered a 50 mile ride which my cousin and I did.  This year they had a 25, 50, and 75 mile option.  We opted to do the 75.   Wendy id such a trooper – it was first long ride and she did fantastic!

Me and Wendy - Itaska State Park

It was a great ride – beautiful day but close to 90 degrees out.  AND – I have to say it, probably the most hills I have ever experienced on any bike ride I have been on.  This picture here is one that we went up last year too and it is right around 55 miles into the ride.

Oof.  I think I need a minute after seeing this hill again in the picture.  😉

Then last night Al and I met friends at an annual street dance that happens in Brainerd.  It was a good band called The District and it is made up of teachers.  Two of my good friends who I used to work with were there and we had a fun time listening to the music.

How crazy is that tan line on my arm?

That was why you did not see me around here yesterday.  Today I pack for camp retreat and I leave at 1:00 pm for the North Shore and will not return until Tuesday afternoon.  I am prepping a review for later and the Monday, What Are You Reading meme so go forward as always.

Life is a  bit too busy right now and I am hoping to take Wednesday off from work upon my return to home so I can catch up on some things here and relax before I start running full speed ahead again.

How is everyone’s weekend going?

The Passage by Justin Cronin

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)39 Comments

Where Will You Be
When The Lights Go Out?

First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by fear—of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.

As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he’s done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. He is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors. But for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey—spanning miles and decades—towards the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun.


I entered into this audio cautiously.  I was not really sure I had a full grasp on what The Passage was going to be about – or if I would like the direction it took.  Yet, it had such a  mysterious buzz about it when I was at BEA in New York and U knew whatever it was – I wanted to know more.

A futuristic read which is normally not a genre I would choose for myself, I started this audio and was introduced to Amy.  This little girl who’s mother tried – but made poor choices, and eventually – all there is… is Amy.  I quickly grew attached to this little girl and at times in the beginning when the audio stretched into so many different directions, and I was lost in the government testing, and the odd inhabitants of the facility…. I clung to the fact that eventually it would get back to Amy.

And while I waited…. the story began to mesh and an audio that first made me wonder how I felt about it, suddenly I couldn’t wait to hear more.  Soon as the story brought Amy into each scene, and I learned how she fit into this, I began to really enjoy this.  The audio started following me to the bathroom when I fixed my hair, to the kitchen while I cooked or cleaned…. to the lawn mower…. to the  reading room.

It is hard to put The Passage into words…. it is not so much a vampire story, but a story about a virus.  A virus that takes out the world as we know it and the few that survive, live solely for that purpose – survival.   Justin Cronin has woven such a detailed story here – so deep entwined in each person, in each event – that I listen in amazement in the world he has created from his mind to these words.

The “virals” as Cronin calls these blood thirsty creatures, are “spooktacular.”  They keep you on your toes and seriously even on the audio I think I actually got goosebumps a few times as I worried for our small group of non effected survivors…. and they really were survivors – minus Jeff Probst.

And you really do not know when your fire will be snuffed out.

Suddenly you realize – this ain’t your grandma’s version of vampire….

Over all – the hype surrounding the book was right on and I am so glad I gave this one a try.  I enjoyed this very much and highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good book adventure with qualities you found in books like Harry Potter, the originality of

With awesome words like flyers, virals, slims, jumps, smokes… and Cronin says himself , the vampire story will never go away, because it asks an essential question: “What part of your humanity would you be trading away if you got to live forever? It’s ultimately a fable to reassure us that it’s better to be mortal.”

This is the book of the summer for me. It blew me away!

My Amazon Rating

 

Book Journey’s 2010 Reading Map has been updated to include The Passage

While passing through Colorado (if you are not a viral) you may be hankering for a bit of coffee… I would recommend The Laughing Goat Coffee House for the name and the ambiance.  AND – as far as I know…. it’s a no “smoking” zone.  (A little Passage humor….)

Cover Story:  Oh it is fantastic!  And perfect because you must always, always watch the trees….  😉

I purchased my copy of this audio through audible.com

Morning Meanderings: Bookcloseouts Sale and a 75 Mile Bike Ride

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)23 Comments


Good morning!  Yes, another early morning post and if I could wrap my head around it, I would love all the meanderings to be this early so those who subscribe to this blog would have them when they check their morning emails.  😀

Today I am up early to head to Itaska which is a bout an hour and a half away for a 75 mile bike ride.  Today is supposed to be beautiful so I am excited for this ride – and it is my friend Wendy’s first BIG RIDE!  I am excited for her and hoping that she will find a love for the rides and the people as much as I do.

I will be gone most of today, Al and I are meeting some friends tonight at an annual street dance and tomorrow, oh that’s a whole other story.

I am guest posting (again) at Trisha’s lovely blog Eclectic Eccentric – and this time it is about Minnesota Festivals.  My only hint… is this picture.  You will have to read the post at Trisha’s for more about that.  😉

Click a pig to go to the Guest Post 😉

In bookish news – and this is DANGEROUS NEWS for book lovers…..  Bookcloseouts is having a summer sale and if you know anything about Bookcloseouts you know the books are gorgeous and the prices are right.  The sale is $1.99 for paperbacks, and the hard covers are $2.99.  AND they have some good titles…  so if you are looking for gifts, or for yourself – this is worth checking out.

Oh – and for those of you who are thinking, “SHE’S GETTING MORE BOOKS??????”  I am not – I am just letting you know about the sale.  😀

Have an awesome Saturday!

The Evolution Of Shadows by Jason Quinn Malott

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)23 Comments


It’s the summer if 1995 and Gray Banick, an American News Photographer disappears somewhere in the Bosnian war zone.   He leaves behind his  love interest, Lian Zha, Emil Todorovic, his interpreter and friend, and Jack MacKenzine, the mentor who taught him how to hold a camera steady between himself and the worst the war presented.

Now move forward to the year 2000, and Lian who’s Chinese American heritage caused her to bow to her parents wishes and marry another Chinese American.  This union results in a loveless marriage and Lian continues to pine for Gray and search for answers to what happened to him.

Lian connects with Jack and together the two of them meet up with Emil who is still in Bosnia, to see if they can not search out answers together of what happened to Gray.  From here the story goes into the three sharing stories of old times, as well as what has happened to each of them since that fateful time years ago.


This book read with such reality that I admit I went back and checked to make sure it was fiction.  Well written, to the point that it felt so real to me, I entered into this emotionally charged book, unprepared for the emotions it would bring out in me.

The Evolution Of Shadows, while surrounding itself with the story of a war, is more about friendships than bombs.  Sure there is the taste of war among the pages and you do feel this, but for me the war was within the three people who longed for answers; Lian, Emil, and Jack.  Not sure if they are looking for the man Gray, or the remains of Gray, you feel that each of these characters has a longing and a fear of both.

Beautifully titled, these words “evolution of shadows” comes out of a sleepless night in the book.  I love how that was weaved into the words.

Breathtaking and hard to put down, I pushed through the pages wanting to know the answers that each was seeking.  What did happen to Gray?  Would they ever know?  What would they find?  What if he is alive, how will they all react?  What if they find what they fear the most?

For these answers – you will find not from me….. but from this book.

Amazon Rating

Book Journey has updated the 2010 Reading map to include The Evolution Of Shadows

Apparently if you are in the Bosnia area you will not want to miss the ambiance of Zlatna Ribica, a place to have a nice meal and a great cup of coffee – it is described as having the menus written in real books and attached by telephone cords that hang from the wall.

253 pages

Cover Story:  I don’t really follow where the cover is trying to go.  I would believe it is dark to reveal the shadows, but this is not a cover that would call me to pick up this book without first having some information about this book.

I received this book for review from Caitlin of Unbridled Book Tours

Morning Meanderings… Sleeping At The Library

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)78 Comments


Oh!  I knew I should have prepped this post yesterday, but I was so tired….  and I was reading…  AND….. reading won.

So as promised – here is the “rest of the story” about yesterdays plan to be the first people in line for the Fall Library Sale. AND – yes we did it!  Woo hoo!

I arrived at 7:02 (had to stop and get gas, can you believe that?  There are a lot of things you need to consider in pulling off a really good mission and seriously – rookie mistake, not having enough fuel to make your getaway..  GAH!)

My friend Amy arrived shortly after me.

We laughed about our earliness… high-fived over our success…. and since no one was really around yet (or so we thought) we would take a few funny pictures.   I had brought a folding camp chair and a blanket so I decided to give the impression that I had slept at the library.  Amy was happy to oblige by being the picture taker.

Sleeping at the Library

It might have been more realistic if I could have stopped smiling….. BUT it was a LIBRARY SALE, what could I do?


The next person arrived at 7:20 and it went on from there.  We had a great time talking books with the people in line and I had the opportunity to hand out my Book Journey card.  Amy was really hoping for a copy of The Passage and I shouted this information down the line asking others if they seen it, she was looking for it.

I really had no book I was looking for.  I just like to see what there it is and what catches my eye.

The line by 8:20 a.m.

The line by 8:20 am wrapped around the building.  The doors to the sale open at 9 am and they only let in about 20 at a time so the tables do not get too crowded.


The weather was nice so we were not battling any cold or rain.  At 9 am they opened the doors and we were in!  At 50 cents a book, here are my treasures of the Fall Library Sale:





There they are.  My precious. I mean, my books.  They are all books I think I would enjoy reading but the real “woo hoo treasures” of this pile for me was:

  • The Bell Jar:  This is my October Classic book club read and I had yet to purchase it!

  • Garden Spells:  one I have seen many reviews on and LOVE this cover!

  • Precious:  has been on my list to read

  • The Children of Hurin:  I am a BIG Tolkein fan!

  • Summer House:  If you know me well, you know this is one of my favorite all time books.  I have several copies and I grab them up whenever I see them at sales so I can have extras to hand out.  I have never seen it in hard cover before.

SO that’s the last of the library sales until April 2011.  I hit three this year and was told about a big one in Duluth that I will have to check out for next year as well.

Me and Amy

What treasures do you see in these books I chose?

Author Chat with Colin Sokolowski (Author of The Accidental Adult)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)21 Comments

A couple of weeks back I reviewed a book called The Accidental Adult.  The book which was a sometimes humorous look into growing up was one I was curious about knowing more about our author.  I contacted Colin and asked if he would be willing to share a little about his accidental adulthood with me as well as you my readers and after a round of rock, paper, scissors, he obliged.  (Just kidding!  😉 )

Please give a warm welcome to Colin Sokolowski.

Colin Sokolowski

Colin thanks for coming and chatting with me today.  I have to admit, I was a bit nervous having you here… I mean…. you might spill something on my books or break a cup.  I try to keep a pretty neat and tidy blog here.

Colin:  Yeah, that whole “accidental” adult thing?  It’s not that I’m clumsy or reckless. I’m more accidental in the sense that I have unintentionally joined adulthood. But just to be safe, I’ll use a coaster.


*Whew!*  Thank you.  Colin, how do you take your coffee?


Colin:  Black and decaf. I know some adults don’t really consider that coffee at all, but caffeine does a number on me. TMI?


What made you decide to write a book about accidental adulthood?

Colin: I started writing a series of essays that were really personal and more like a memoir. After a while, I realized a theme was developing in every essay. I’m this reluctant grownup, an accidental adult, who still thinks adults are other people, and I’m simply occupying space in their world. As I’d share my essays with others, their reaction told me I was on to something. Now I’m convinced. Accidental adults may be in the minority, but there are more of us hiding underneath a professional, adult exterior than most people would realize. This book tells people it’s ok – it’s even encouraged – to embrace accidental adulthood, and I even give the reader some tips on how to navigate life’s most challenging adult situations without totally selling out.


That is funny how you say that you think adults are other people.  That’s the way I feel when I am at a family gathering and witting with my aunts and uncles.  I still feel like a kid sitting at the grown up table.  How does your wife Kelly like living with an accidental adult?


Colin: I think she appreciates that I don’t take myself too seriously. But I’d say there are many days when she’d like a glimpse at life with a handy man as a husband. Maybe she’d just settle for living with a guy who will always make sure she has a full tank of gas in her car. But in fairness (to me!), we dated for six years before getting married, so she really knew what she was getting into.


What has been a recent “accidental adult” moment?


Colin: I just recently learned the difference between having my shirts laundered and having them dry cleaned. That revelation came about 20 years later than it should have.

Do you have any favorite fictional characters you would love to be buddies with?

Colin: I’m more interested in authors than their characters, and I read a lot more nonfiction than fiction. On the fiction side, I’d love to hang out with Tom Perrotta. I really liked his book Joe College, and he was super cool to me by responding to an e-mail I sent him months ago – especially when he didn’t have to reply. My nonfiction bud would be Rob Sheffield whose latest book, Talking to Girls about Duran Duran, is really fun and funny. I love immersing myself in anything well done like that, especially if it features plenty of 1980s pop culture and musical references.


Colin what is next for you?


Colin: I continue to post blogs at www.accidentaladult.com and I also share news and skewed insights on Facebook at www.facebook.com/accidentaladult. Maybe I’ll write a regular column from The Accidental Adult someday in either local or national media. But I also am spending more time with Kelly and our kids these days. I know that answer sounds really lame, but for me it’s true and it’s really important and rewarding.


It is tradition for me to ask each author I interview to share a little known fact about themselves.  As much as you share in the book, I would really be interested to hear what yours is.

Colin: So I’ve already shared in my book that I used to perm my hair in college, I came close to soiling myself while running a marathon and I once voted for a senate candidate simply because his wife is hot. And you really want me to share more? I might need some real caffeine coffee before I open up any more . . .

Thank you Colin for stopping by today and chatting with me.  Readers Colin has linked to his blog and Facebook above.  If you would like to know more about Colin or his book, these links would be the next stop for you.


Morning Meanderings…. Attack of the Library Sale… Mission POSSIBLE!!!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)52 Comments


Ok…. before you read this post please humor me by pushing play on the video below.  I will wait here. ……..


It is 6:30  am…. feel free to synchronize your watches.  I am up and dressed warmly, grabbing a blanket, my folding summer chair and I am out the door…. I am meeting Amy at O’ seven hundred.


The Destination:

The Brainerd Library Fall Book Sale


The Mission:

To be the first two people waiting to get in to the sale


Why, you may ask would I care if I was the first one at the sale?  It is something I have always wanted to do.  The doors actually do not open until 9 a.m.  Around 8 am people will start to gather and form a line.  When they do unlock the doors they only let so many in at a time.

This spring when they had the sale…. I lallygagged.   I got coffee…. took my time going through town and when I arrived at 8:15…. I was way back in the line.  WAY BACK.  I was a mere speck to the people in the front… and for the first time in Library Sale history, I was not in the first group that entered the library.  I was in the second group.

Never again.

Amy, who is just a wonderful friend understands my need to be first – at least once.  If for no other reason than I think its kind of funny to be all huddled in chairs, covered in a blanket, like we are waiting to purchase really good concert tickets.  It certainly should be picture worthy…..

So this morning – I have notified work I will be in late…. tomorrow morning you are welcome (and encouraged!) to tune in and see what we accomplished on our mission.  😀

auf Wiedersehen by Christa Holder Ocker

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)12 Comments

auf Wiedersehen means:  Good-bye, farewell, until we meet again.  This is something Christa at a very young age learned again and again.  It was during WWII in Germany and Christa’s family was always on the move trying to stay safe.  Christa’s dad served in the German Army, her mother is left to take care of Christa and her sister.  This book, is Christa’s story.


This book was a look into a sad time of war, poverty, and hardships.  Through Christa’s young eyes, we experience what it was like to be a part of this world that should have been a time of innocence for her.  Christa never knew how long they would be staying at a place or where there next move would be.  Sleeping on beds of straw, and eating whatever could be made available (including a beloved pet horse), as a reader we get a real feel of what this life must have been like.

What I found almost refreshing is that book was not a heavy read.  There are lighter moments of Christa and other children putting on a puppet show, there are moments that made me smile.  What this book was is a read about WWII that could easily be a Young Adult read.

My Amazon Rating

Book Journey 2010 reading map has been updated to include auf Wiedersehen

Rumor has it that Germany has fantastic coffee… while mostly imported – they do brew a good cup.  A place to start for your own taste would be Berhard Benecke Coffee

142 pages

Cover Story:  I like the cover, I think it is a good look at what you are going to get within this book, while you see the girl she is not afraid, she is holding the puppet and smiling.

I received my book for review from author Christa Holder Ocker

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)70 Comments


I really did have a second post planned for yesterday, but I was having so much fun watching the comments on the morning meandering that I just let it ride.  🙂

I picked up my library books yesterday which were pretty much the books I seen on blogs two weeks ago. So let me unveil these titles :

I believe we are all familiar with the Harry Potter books, and I have been grabbing these on audio and devouring them like popcorn.  If you have not had the pleasure of listening to the book on audio, I highly recommend them.  You are in for a real treat.


Beach Combers by Nancy Thayer just screams “read me! ANd read me now while the sun is shining!”


The Wives Tale by Lori Lansens has a cover that just makes me want to know more about this book.


PREP by Curtis Sittenfeld is a review I read (I wish I could remember where!) and it sounded interesting.


In other life updates, we played kickball last night, back to back games and we won them both.  Woo hoo!!!

Do you use your local library?