I noticed yesterday that my upper left sidebar Twitter button is gone. Stolen from my blog? I do not know so I took my case to Twitter and found out that many bloggers are missing their Twitter buttons. It’s like a bad Twilight episode…. anyone have the answer of what is going on? I could not seem to fix it either. Uhhhhhh…. A w k w a r d.
In other bookish news….. I was very excited to hear that Swaptree which is known for swapping books is going to start allowing audio books to be Swapped in August. Seriously that calls for a big SQQQQQQUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEE! 😀 I love audio and have been tossing around ideas of how to do a swap so I could get my hands on some of the great audio books I have been hearing about. Maybe this will be the answer.
And finally, I seen this You Tube video posted at Maw Books and it made me smile. If you remember a while back I posted about the Old Spice commercial that just cracked me up. Well this is kind of a spoof of that and made my day when I seen it!
I am off to a day at work and hopefully some biking or blading in the afternoon. I will be posting a review later. Have a super day 😀
Hopefully you have read my review that I posted earlier today on The Seven Year Switch by Claire Cook. I had a fun little story about how I discovered the book and broke land speed records to get to the book store before the last copy was snatched up.
Today I am enjoying an iced coffee because its summer and it sounded good, while I prep for my chat with Claire Cook. Claire has already turned out to be an amazing author and I really have just met her through her book I just read and through a couple emails. I am so excited not to get to learn a little bit more about this author so please welcome, Claire Cook.
Claire Cook
Claire, first off, I need to know how do you take your coffee?
Claire: I take it right up to my office as fast as I can and get to work! Oh, wait, I get it. One percent milk, no sugar.
We are chatting over coffee today to discuss your book Seven Year Switch. I simply adored this book and you really brought out the “foody” in me with all the foods you describe from different parts of the world. What was the idea behind putting this side job for Jill in the book?
Claire: Thanks so much, Sheila! I’m so glad you enjoyed Seven Year Switch and I’m thrilled to be having coffee with you. All seven of my novels are about women reinventing themselves in one way or another, and readers always tell me how much they enjoy my characters’ jobs and how these jobs often given them ideas for their own lives. Jill’s life didn’t turn out quite the way she planned, so I knew that instead of jetting all over the world as a cultural coach, she’d be doing something much less glamorous. Teaching Lunch Around the World classes just seemed like something she’d do, and I thought my readers would enjoy both the cultural info and the food!
I really did enjoy the cultural references! In Seven Year Switch, Jill works for a company called Great Girlfriend Getaways, which of course is totally where I want to work when I grow up! Do you like to travel or prefer to leave that to your characters?
Claire: I know, too bad GGG doesn’t really exist — I want to work for them, too! I went to Costa Rica for research for Seven Year Switch — tough work but somebody’s got to do it! I also went to a fabulous lavender festival in Washington state as research for The Wildwater Walking Club. I love to travel, especially for my novels, and I try to pick places I think my readers would enjoy!
I am a total cover snob and LOVE LOVE LOVE this cover. Do you have any say in the covers chosen for your books?
Total beach read!
Claire: Thank you! I love the Seven Year Switch cover, too! I have a wonderful publisher, Hyperion Voice, and they’re very open to my input. As soon as I saw this cover, I knew it was perfect!
What is coming up next in your world? (another book, life happening…)
Claire: The revisions for my next novel have just arrived via FedEx, so I am about to disappear into author land again. I can’t wait till everyone can read it — it’ll be out in the summer of 2011. I’ll post more about it at http://ClaireCook.com and do some fun giveaways, as soon as it gets a little bit closer!
You currently have seven novels that are published. Out of all of your characters that you have created, which one would you most likely be friends with and why?
Claire: I would totally hang out with all of my characters! Otherwise I wouldn’t have let them into one of my books. And I’d never be able to pick a favorite – I’d worry too much about hurting the rest of their feelings!
Claire that is an awesome answer – it sounds like something I would say! I hate to admit this, but this is the first book I have read written by you. I have seen and own the movie Must Love Dogs, but have not read this book. Since I am now excited to read something else you have written which one of your other books would you recommend to me start with and why?
Claire: That’s okay! I’m always thrilled when a new reader (and a talented blogger!) discovers my books! I find that if someone enjoys one of my books, they usually like them all, so you can jump in anywhere. But if I had to pick one, I’d say The Wildwater Walking Club – it’s about a group of neighbors who start walking together as they figure out their lives, and I think it’s a fun and inspiring summer read.
Claire Cook Groupies!!!
I ordered that one today on your recommendation, it also has a fabulous cover! Claire, you are having a pretty exciting giveaway on your website, could you tell us a little about that?
Claire: I’m giving away a beach bag filled with all 7 of my novels, plus a beach towel! Head over to http://ClaireCook.com for more info. I love doing giveaways, so make sure you sign up for my newsletter while you’re there, so you stay in the loop for the next one!
Coolness right?
I am so on that! I love fun giveaways! It is tradition for me to ask every author I chat with to share a little known fact about themselves. Spill it Claire!
Claire: A zillion years ago, I was one of the country’s first certified aerobics teachers!
Thank you so much Claire for your time! If you ever come Minnesota way give me a shout!
Thank YOU, Sheila — and thanks for the coffee! I’ll definitely look you up if book tour (or research!) takes me to Minnesota!
Readers, I hope you will find time to stop by and check out Claire’s Lovely Website as well as the fun giveaway she is having!
Meet Jill. She does ok for a single mom. She works from home answering phone calls for a company called Great Girl Friend Getaways, and teaches a weekly class called Lunch Around The World at the Community Center. It may not be all glamorous, but hey – it’s a living and one that keeps Jill and her ten-year old daughter Anastasia in left overs from class, and a roof over their head.
So why, why, WHY, is it that just as Jill is thinking she may have met someone interesting…. enter stage left (because it certainly isn’t right!) her ex-husband Seth. It’s been seven years of struggling to make it on her own and now he is back, smug and feeling that he can now take on his parental duties and mosey right back into the household. Instant family. Just add Seth. No hard feelings right?
Right???
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Book Cover Imitation
Before I get into review mode…. let me share with you how this book happened to get into my hot little hands in the matter of 30 minutes from knowing it existed to reading. I had been reading right along this past weekend and while what I was reading was good…. it wasn’t holding me. It was gorgeous outside and my mind kept wandering off the pages. I needed literature substance, but I needed something….. else.
I took a break to check out some of the blogs I like to haunt frequent, when I popped into Vicki’s Reading At The Beach (with a blog title like that how could I go wrong?) and read her review of Seven Year Switch. I knew then as I popped from Vicki’s blog to this bright sunny looking authors site with a smiley Claire Cook on it that this was the book I wanted to read. (Oh tell me I am not the only one that happens too…)
So I jumped on my cell phone and speed dialed my local book store. (Ok not speed dialed but that would have been funny and come to think of it they SHOULD be under speed dial!). They had the book in stock, yes, but only one copy. I asked them to hold it and I would be there in 15 minutes.
30 minutes later I am home with book, take out pizza, and ice-cold diet Pepsi. I am ready to read.
I was not disappointed. From the start Claire Cook’s book of fun and real characters hopped into my heart. I appreciated that it was not only a fun enjoyable read, but I was also pleasantly surprised with the little things I learned along the way. While Jill was teaching her Lunch Around The World Class she spilled this little gem for my brain:
“Yum cha is one of the best ways to experience this,” I continued. “literally, yum cha means ‘drinking tea’, but it actually encompasses both the tea drinking and the eating of dim sum, a wide range of light dishes served in small portions.”
“Dim sum has many translations: ‘small eats’ of course but also ‘hearts delight’….”
And there was plenty more from where that came from…. from Jill’s classes to her phone conversations with potential Great Girlfriend Getaways customers – I picked up on tips about food, traditions, and the countries themselves.
The food and learning of the places centered around the food was such an interesting part of the book that by the time I got to Hawaii, and Jill listed out the ingredients to make Huli Huli chicken…. I was right on that and the book and I went to the grocery store to pick up the ginger I would need and the frozen pineapple juice.
You will enjoy Jill’s daughter Anastasia with her diary entries (oh I remember my diary when I was that age!) and her sweet spelling word sentences. Author Claire Cook had really breathed life into this little character with a big heart.
The book was fun and the characters caused me to laugh (read the book I think we all have a Cynthia in our life….). I knew I wanted to read more of Claire Cook’s work as apparently I was under some sort of rock and had missed this author who writes books that I want to take to my deck, pop my feet up on the chair arm and read read read!
I chatted a bit with author Claire Cook over the past couple of days like a crazed book groupie and either from fear, or from the kindness of her heart (I believe the latter…) she agreed to hang out with me here and chat about her book, her coffee preference, and whatever else two chicks who love books chat about! AND this is all happening yet today so make a mental note to come back and not miss this fun event! 😀
For all you know I may just be a raving lunatic so here are a couple wonderful bloggers I know who have agreed to share their thoughts on this book with all of you as well. Please visit them and see their thoughts on Seven Year Switch as well.
Book Journey’s 2010 reading map has been updated to include Seven Year Switch
Since Jill found a fun getaway in Costa Rica, certainly if you go you must go on a Costa Rica Coffee Tour!
237 pages of pure fun
Cover Story: Oh yes! The cover was Squeeeee worthy as soon as I laid eyes on it!
Bonus…. The Recipe For Huli Huli Chicken
Huli Huli Chicken from Seven Year Switch by Claire Cook
This is from page 79 of the book and while Jill did not give exact measurements I just kind of went with it and it turned out DELICIOUS! (Ask my hubby – he was munching on Huli Huli all evening long)!
One fresh pineapple cut into bite size chunks
cut up bite size chunks of uncooked chicken breast ( I used 4 pounds for my recipe)
chicken broth (I bought a big can but only used 2/3, probably could have used 2 small cans)
1 can frozen pineapple juice concentrate
soy sauce
ketchup
Worcestershire Sauce
chopped ginger (I found a little jar in the produce department already chopped fine)
Mix in large bow. The book does not give exact amounts, it says “nothing from Hawaii was every fussy so I guessed on the amounts.”
So did I….. I just added until I liked the taste of the sauce. Put the cut up chunks of chicken into the sauce, cover bowl and refrigerate. I refrigerated 6 hours. Then put chicken on skewers that have been soaked in water so as not to burn, and alternate between chicken and pineapple. Grill and serve.
I purchased this book from Bookworld in Brainerd, MN.
Most of you are probably familiar with the Monday, What Are You reading meme that I host each Monday. I love to see the bloggers and book lovers checking out different blogs and picking up great titles as well as maybe seeing blogs that they would enjoy following. I really LOVE the community of blogging.
I too like to take time on Mondays to go and see what is happening out in the blogesphere….. what are people reading, what bookish news are they chatting about….. I love it all!
This past Monday I found a couple books that I cant get out of my head. The first one I seen over at Second Childhood Reviews:
Imagine it is present day and a an archeological team has just unearthed bones in an Israel tomb which all point to be the bones of Jesus. But how can that be? If there are bones then doesn’t that change everything we know and believe about the resurrection?
This book is from my 2005 book journals. I am planning on converting my hand written reviews to Book Journey, and therefore will occasionally be presenting one of the amazing reads of my pre blog days.
This book qualifies as one of those amazing reads. I have always been a fan of a good suspenseful mystery. I also like a good Christian Fiction read. This one gave me a big dose of both with a little theology thrown in for good measure. The topic of this book blew me away.
What Paul Maier presents in this book is what would happen to the world in the face of the death of Christianity. Main character Johnathon Weber, an archeologist and Bible Scholar works hard against the clock to prove that these bones could not possibly be the bones of Jesus.
This book is for anyone who likes a good suspenseful novel that makes you think. To this day, this book brings back wonderful memories and I have two sets on my shelf. One is mine and one is to loan out to friends.
In Paul Maier’s follow up to A Skeleton In God’s Closet, archeologist Johnathon Weber is once again called to investigate what is either an elaborate hoax, or the return of Christ.
When Joshua Ben-Yosef, an Israeli from Galilee-born in Nazareth to parents Mary and Joseph-begins assembling twelve followers, attracting crowds, and performing miracles, the world takes notice. Is this the return of Jesus?
It seems everyone is a believer including Johnathon Webber’s wife Shannon.
You have to hand it to Maier…. he doesn’t mess around with light subjects. I devoured this book almost as soon as I closed the last page to A Skeleton In God’s Closet. Another book that really made me think…. how would I react in such evidence? Seeing is believing…. right? And if that’s the case…. I can truly understand how people must have struggled with Jesus performing such acts even when he did walk the earth.
The more I think about this book, the more I like it. This is another one that I have on my “keeper” shelf and have a spare around to loan out.
Dr. Maier is The Russell H. Seibert Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University and a much-published author of both scholarly and popular works. His novels include two historical documentaries: Pontius Pilate and The Flames of Rome, as well as a theological thriller that became #1 national bestseller in Christian fiction: A Skeleton in God’s Closet. A sequel, More Than a Skeleton, appeared in 2003.
Good morning! I hope everyone’s weekends went well. I had a little hangout time with Chance (Kinship Partner) On Sunday afternoon. We went and hung out at a small touristy town near us called Nisswa Minnesota. It’s a fun little town to just explore and that’s what we did.
Here’s a few pics of what we did:
Hanging in the park...
Chance trying not to laugh
Literally getting into the flowersTrying on some new fashion...There are no wordsMeeting up with some friends
Ok…. sorry about the photo shoot, but for a couple of time wasters, we had a blast! We ended up at Rainy Day Book Store. They always have large basket of ARC’s that you can donate $2 a piece for. The money goes to the Nisswa library fund. I dug through the box and came out with these:
I am off to work. I have a pretty easy week coming up but there is a slight chance I may be in Texas next week for training. Not too big of a chance, but a chance all the same and that would make my scheduling (I am at the cabin this weekend) become a bit intense. We will see…… hate to turn down an opportunity.
Review coming up later today! Hope your day is wonderful! Is anything fun happening out there?
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.
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 pretty awesome weekend, even if it did go by fast! 😀 My friend Wendy started doing Group Power with me (yay!) and it is so much more fun to have someone to go with. I went to a bridal shower, drove to a nearby town and hung out in the shops, completed a couple of books, and celebrated my 23rd anniversary. (I know – holy smokes right?)
We had the weekend Book Extravaganza, which was so much fun and if you have a few minutes to read the responses to my question where I encouraged people who entered to share a little known fact about themselves then I really encourage you to do so. I was amazed! I even laughed a couple of times (sorry Ryan but that is FUNNY stuff!) (and Lynne – WOW! Super cool!) You can see who won this giveaway here.
The Evolution of Shadows by Jason Quinn Malott (review this week)
The Accidental Adult by Colin Sokolowski (review this week)
Between Sisters by Kristen Hannah (review this week)
Auf Wieberschen by Christa Holden Ocker ( finishing up this read)
Ok I chatted with a few authors last week but did not get a lot of my reviews posted – that’s my goal for this week! 😀
Here is what I am serving up this week for reads:
Yes this delicious looking book was on last weeks agenda and I did not get to it. Why? Well…. look below.
Vicki at Reading At The Beach had a wonderful review on this book. I was kind of in a weekend slump where my books I was reading weren’t really doing it for me. I seen this review and called my book store and they held the last copy for me. I am flying through this and will have a review and author Claire Cook has already confirmed she would love to come and chat with us here! Woo Hoo! 😀
Reading this one as part of a read A Long at 30+ A Lifetime of Books. I am excited to get going on this!
I was on Twitter the other night and a few bloggers were discussing doing this as a group and I thought it sounded like a blast! We are not starting until August 1st but I want to read up on it this week and prepare myself 🙂
My week should be pretty good for reading and hopefully catching up on the reviews that I need to. I am planning a trip to the cabin with some friends this next weekend which will allow for reading (at least a bit) which makes me very happy! 😀
I am so thrilled to see what all of you are reading. Enter the link to your Monday What Are You Reading below where it says Click Here. Thanks and have a wonderful week of awesome reads! 😀
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Click here to enter your link and view the entire list of entered links…
What a fun time I had with all of you who participated on this weekend giveaway! Your responses to the comment to share a little known fact about yourself were amazing and if you have time I encourage you to read through the comments.
I used random.org to choose two winners from the 140 entries and my winners are:
First paragraph: My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973. In newspaper photos of missing girls from the seventies, most looked like me: white girls with mousy brown hair. This was before kids of all races and genders started appearing on milk cartons or in the daily mail. It was still back when people believed things like that didn’t happen.
The Book
Taken from my book journal – July 2004: This book was nominated for our book club read for August but did not win the vote. Many of the book club members thought it was hitting too close to home as a local 21-year-old Brainerd Minnesota woman’s remains had just been found in May. She had been missing since October 2002.
I went on to read this book on my own and found it to truly be a unique read, the story being told by 14-year-old Suzie Salmon who had been murdered. Suzie is seeing everything happening on earth while she is a place that is the step before Heaven. Before she can move on she needs to let go of earthly things and while she watches her family struggle on earth and her murderer go around unsuspected – she finds she can not let go until things are resolved.
A highly emotional book, I felt the families pain as Suzie’s father refused to give up, her mother could not bear to hold on, and the pain of all things surrounding Suzie rips them apart. I read most of this book with a lump in my throat and a feeling of uneasiness and anxiety for Suzie. I was left knowing I had just experienced something unique in this style of writing, a brilliant step I feel made by author Alice Sebold. While the ending did not satisfy me, the book as a whole was a “wow”.
**Update: Since I wrote this review in 2004, I am not sure what exactly about the ending left me unsatisfied as I did not elaborate.
The Audio
Fall 2009: I receive the audio version of The Lovely Bones and it is read by Alice Sebold herself. I am so excited to get into these audio that I put the first cd in right away while I am putting around my house. My cd number two I quit listening. The narration is so monotone I can’t stand it. The voices from the dad, to the mom, to Suzie herself do not change. I gave up on the audio, hoping I did not give up too soon.
Suzie and her dad, Jack, building ships in a bottle together
The Movie
Current date: I am offered a chance to watch the movie that just recently came out on DVD. I am hesitant as my most recent time spent with this was the audio and I still have this unfortunate memory of that experience. Next thing I know, the DVD is on my kitchen counter, sent home to me by a friend of my sons who thinks I need to give it a try. On Saturday evening after an attempt with a poor video rental choice that Al and I agreed needed to be shut off 20 minutes in because we had no idea what was going on – I put in The Lovely Bones.
Is it possible for those first feelings I had when I read the book come up again? I think so. With a lump in my throat I watched as this story unfolded, beautifully heartbreaking, beyond what I would have ever thought possible. The film makers did an incredible job on capturing this story. The imagery of Suzie’s Heaven was breath-taking and the scene of the large ships in the bottle caused my heart to break just a little.
Jack feels Suzie is out there, somewhere
I was truly impressed with the movie all the way through. Very tastefully done. The ending was wonderful too and my heart wept again. I would highly recommend this movie.
If you want to talk more deeply about the book, the audio, or the movie, please enter below by clicking on the spoiler button. This will take you to an area where we can chat more openly about this without spoiling anything for those who have not yet experienced The Lovely Bones.
Book Journey 