Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)52 Comments


Good morning!  Looks like it is going to be a gorgeous day here in Minnesota.  Al and I and a couple of friends of ours are going to take a motorcycle ride this morning around the area.  This will of course require the helmet that I purchased a couple of years ago that reminds me of something Schultz would wear in that old series, Hogan’s Heroes.


Ok, maybe it is not that bad….. but every time I wear it I like to say “I know nothing…. NOTH -ING!”  You would need to know the show to understand that line… 😀

Here is what popped up in my Email box this morning… these are the books that became available this week in either hard cover or paperback.  Joy In The Morning is one that catches my eye as it is written by Betty Smith, author of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn.

How about you?  Are any of these books on your wish list?

New in Fiction
1
“The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet” by David Mitchell
Read more
2
“Work Song” by Ivan Doig
Read more
3
“A Vintage Affair” by Isabel Wolff
Read more
4
“The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives” by Lola Shoneyin
Read more
5
“Her Fearful Symmetry” by Audrey Niffenegger
Read more
6
“Tatiana and Alexander” by Paullina Simons
Read more
7
“Joy in the Morning” by Betty Smith
Read more
8
“A King of Infinite Space” by Tyler Dilts
Read more
9
“The Quickening” by Michelle Hoover
Read more
10
“Paths of Glory (Penguin Classics)” by Humphrey Cobb
Read more

Remember Your First Time?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)50 Comments


I was recently reading a review on a book that I have ♥ LOVED  ♥ and I was actually envious of the reader.  I wanted to be them, opening that treasured book, innocently going in to the pages having no idea….

you are about to change forever.

Do you remember your first time?  What was “that book” for you?  The one that gripped you and hung on tight, and kept you up at night, trying to sleep but not being able to because you couldn’t wait to have that book in your hands again… almost not wanting to share the characters with anyone as you become this jealous reader type version of who you used to be…

Ok… maybe it’s not that bad.  😉

The question is – what book do you wish you could go back and read again like it was the first time?

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)38 Comments


Woo!  Sorry about my lateness…. I have been up, but doing other things and prepping my day…. and honestly I have so many things going on in my head right now for the “topic” of the morning that I couldn’t choose….  (yeah, I know my coffee cup is upside down)  😀

So fair warning – I have no idea which direction this post is going to go.

Ok – for starters…. is anyone reading, listening too, have read,  or considering The Passage by Justin Cronin?  I was in line for it at BEA.  Justin Cronin was there signing the books and he gave out his last book to the girl right in front of me.  Apparently his full shipment for the signing had not come in.  I did not know a lot about the book, other than it was plastered everywhere in large signs all over the convention center.

When I came back home, I found it on Audible.com and downloaded it to my IPOD.  It is 15 35 hours of audio so you know – C O M M I T M E N T.    I am probably a couple of hours in and seriously the jury is still out.  I loved the beginning, then it went a different direction and was odd and I was lost…. then it connected to the beginning so I was back – but now I am confused again….


Second random topic – I am excited to participate in the Book Blogger Appreciation Week which will take place in September of this year.  More info on this will be on a separate post.


Third random topic – you know I mentioned that I went to Eclipse with my friend Wendy.  What I did not mention is that she is crazy.  A complete loony.  Ok, maybe not – but here is the full size movie poster  she left in my office:

I also have June comments awards to do – and yes, I am doing that for July too…. just need to get things organized around here.  🙂

I hope you all have wonderful 4th of July plans!

Guest House by Barbara Richardson

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)26 Comments

One night, Melba Burns is driving home and witnesses a horrible accident.  The accident so completely affects her, that Melba changes her life style in that second of life and death.  The quits her job, removes herself from the rat race, and even gives up driving.  She retreats to her Farmhouse, which to her means comfort and security, Melba over her doors to a roommate who is a trouble magnet. And as Melba adjusts to her new life, of guests who are real and flawed, she becomes someone different, stronger, and richer.


I have to admit, this book is total cover love…  I mean look at.  Go ahead.  I will wait.

…………………………………..

As this book opened with Melba peering into the windows of the for sale by owner farmhouse, a line in the book catches my breath:

Is it lunatic to believe a property actually needs you?

That one line hit home for me… but that… is a different story.

Melba’s story moves along in a steady pace with a rapid introduction of characters that left me backtracking to keep track of who is who.  Yet, with a witty sense of humor and colorful well-developed characters, the book started to take on a life of its own and I soon felt like a guest in Melba’s farmhouse.

Thanks to the writing talent of Barbara Richardson, a book that could have been considered heavy is not.  Instead I found myself taken for a pleasant reading experience that as I turned the pages of the book, I became deeper and deeper into the read.

My Amazon Rating

Book Journeys map has been updated to include Guest House

When in Portland Oregon (besides checking out the old stomping grounds of my friends Brett and Kate Richmond)…  rumor has it Elephants Delicatessen has a cup of coffee to die for and deli foods as well!

218 pages

Cover Story:  Seriously fabulous.  I want to print it out on photo paper and frame it.

I received this book for review from The Book Report Network

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)25 Comments


Morning all.  We wound up going to the 10 pm showing of Eclipse last night.  The plan was to go to the 2:25 pm, but both Wendy (who I was going to the movie with) and I, were in a planning meeting until after 2 pm and the timing just wasn’t right. I really enjoyed the movie and some moments were laugh out loud funny…. others really made you think.  We had a good conversation on the way home about the over all effect of the movie – good vs. evil, and of course I love the fact that two lifelong sworn enemies (the vamps and the werewolves) come together for a greater cause, and you start to see what may be the beginning of peace between these two tribes.

What they leave out of this clip is what is said next – and that’s really what I wanted to show you.  Jacob then goes on to say, “and she broke her hand punching me in the face.  It’s complicated.”


This morning I woke up to an email that said my cluster map has been reset as it has been a year since I had signed up for it.  The cluster map is the little map thing way down on my right sidebar that keeps track of where people are visiting my blog from.  Its kind of cool, and when I first put it on the blog, I looked at it every couple of days…. it fascinated me.  Now – a year later, I have kind of ignored it, but today I took a look at the stats of a year and it was kind of interesting:

United States (US)

 57,884

Canada (CA)

 5,355

United Kingdom (GB)

 3,638

Australia (AU)

 1,580

India (IN)

 1,193

Philippines (PH)

 863

Germany (DE)

 795

Netherlands (NL)

 589

New Zealand (NZ)

 389

Italy (IT)

 376

Spain (ES)

 368

France (FR)

 349

Malaysia (MY)

 339

Mexico (MX)

 338

Thailand (TH)

 332

Indonesia (ID)

 331

Brazil (BR)

 329

Turkey (TR)

 324

Singapore (SG)

 287

South Africa (ZA)

 266

Belgium (BE)

 249

Romania (RO)

 221

Pakistan (PK)

 220

Greece (GR)

 217

Poland (PL)

 211

Sweden (SE)

 211

Iran, Islamic Republic of (IR)

 194

Ireland (IE)

 190

Portugal (PT)

 189

Serbia (RS)

 171

United Arab Emirates (AE)

 170

Norway (NO)

 167

Taiwan (TW)

 163

Denmark (DK)

 162

Israel (IL)

 152

Switzerland (CH)

 152

Vietnam (VN)

 152

Egypt (EG)

 144

Hong Kong (HK)

 140

Argentina (AR)

 129

Ukraine (UA)

 128

Hungary (HU)

 122

Czech Republic (CZ)

 115

Russian Federation (RU)

 115

Bulgaria (BG)

 110

Finland (FI)

 110

Saudi Arabia (SA)

 108

Korea, Republic of (KR)

 98

Sri Lanka (LK)

 95

Slovakia (SK)

 90

Austria (AT)

 86

Macedonia (MK)

 84

Puerto Rico (PR)

 84

Slovenia (SI)

 80

Japan (JP)

 74

Chile (CL)

 72

Croatia (HR)

 71

Colombia (CO)

 69

Latvia (LV)

 62

Lithuania (LT)

 61

Nigeria (NG)

 57

Peru (PE)

 56

China (CN)

 54

Trinidad and Tobago (TT)

 50

Honduras (HN)

 46

Kuwait (KW)

 39

Venezuela (VE)

 39

Lebanon (LB)

 37

Jamaica (JM)

 35

Bangladesh (BD)

 33

Bahrain (BH)

 33

Guatemala (GT)

 30

Costa Rica (CR)

 29

Malta (MT)

 29

Kenya (KE)

 28

Panama (PA)

 27

Bermuda (BM)

 27

Jordan (JO)

 25

Brunei Darussalam (BN)

 24

Estonia (EE)

 23

Qatar (QA)

 23

Ghana (GH)

 21

Dominican Republic (DO)

 21

Senegal (SN)

 21

Iceland (IS)

 20

Cyprus (CY)

 19

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BA)

 18

Nepal (NP)

 17

Georgia (GE)

 17

Kazakstan (KZ)

 17

Maldives (MV)

 17

Moldova, Republic of (MD)

 16

El Salvador (SV)

 15

Palestinian Territory (PS)

 15

Algeria (DZ)

 15

Morocco (MA)

 14

Cote D’Ivoire (CI)

 14

Ecuador (EC)

 14

Syrian Arab Republic (SY)

 13

Guam (GU)

 13

Bahamas (BS)

 13

Azerbaijan (AZ)

 13

Albania (AL)

 11

Mongolia (MN)

 11

Uruguay (UY)

 10

Belarus (BY)

 9

Armenia (AM)

 9

Tunisia (TN)

 9

Cambodia (KH)

 8

Oman (OM)

 8

Barbados (BB)

 8

Iraq (IQ)

 7

Ethiopia (ET)

 7

Bolivia (BO)

 7

Macau (MO)

 7

Netherlands Antilles (AN)

 7

Tanzania, United Republic of (TZ)

 6

Guernsey (GG)

 6

Aruba (AW)

 6

Mauritius (MU)

 6

Sudan (SD)

 5

Uganda (UG)

 5

Montenegro (ME)

 5

Zimbabwe (ZW)

 5

Paraguay (PY)

 5

Grenada (GD)

 5

Nicaragua (NI)

 4

Asia/Pacific Region (AP)

 4

Belize (BZ)

 4

Jersey (JE)

 4

Yemen (YE)

 4

Botswana (BW)

 4

Angola (AO)

 4

Namibia (NA)

 4

Fiji (FJ)

 4

Burkina Faso (BF)

 3

Virgin Islands, U.S. (VI)

 3

Mozambique (MZ)

 3

Cayman Islands (KY)

 3

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (LY)

 3

Guadeloupe (GP)

 3

Luxembourg (LU)

 2

Monaco (MC)

 2

Haiti (HT)

 2

Antigua and Barbuda (AG)

 2

Lao People’s Democratic Republic (LA)

 2

Saint Lucia (LC)

 2

Togo (TG)

 2

Zambia (ZM)

 2

Benin (BJ)

 2

Virgin Islands, British (VG)

 2

Gambia (GM)

 2

Turks and Caicos Islands (TC)

 2

Isle of Man (IM)

 1

Rwanda (RW)

 1

Congo, The Democratic Republic of the (CD)

 1

Papua New Guinea (PG)

 1

Gabon (GA)

 1

Cameroon (CM)

 1

French Polynesia (PF)

 1

Reunion (RE)

 1

Swaziland (SZ)

 1

Tonga (TO)

 1

Madagascar (MG)

 1

Suriname (SR)

 1

Andorra (AD)

 1

Turkmenistan (TM)

 1

Myanmar (MM)

 1

Northern Mariana Islands (MP)

 1

Liechtenstein (LI)

 1

Saint Kitts and Nevis (KN)

 1

Mauritania (MR)

 1

Chad (TD)

 1

Bhutan (BT)

 1

Gibraltar (GI)

 1

Guyana (GY)

 1

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (VC)

 1

Kyrgyzstan (KG)

 1

Anguilla (AI)

Well, some of its interesting anyway.  Today I work – and then blade or bike, not sure yet but think I may just throw in my ear buds and hit the trail for a while.  I have had a lot of requests to get the Wordshaker Book Club rolling again and I plan too, I just need to create a group to connect with those who I know are interested as well as a form to sign up on for those who want to be included.  I let this lapse way to long but am hoping to have that ready to go live sometime in the next few days.

Ok – I am babbling….. I am coffeed up and need to get out the door!  Later!  😀

My Next Read Is Chosen by – YOU! (Winner)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)13 Comments

Thank you to everyone who participated in last weeks post on Choosing my next read.  I was so excited to toss all entries into Random.org tonight and see what book I was going to pull out of the pile, read and then pass on to the lucky winner.

The person who won the drawing is:

Bookjunkiemom09

Her comment was:

“This was a hard choice but… “Between Sisters” by Kristin Hannah”


So, the book that I will be reading throughout the weekend is:

Thank you to all who entered – I appreciate you all so much and once this book is read and on its way to its new owner, we will do this again 🙂

the short second life of bree tanner by Stephenie Meyer

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)21 Comments


So here’s the story…. in the midst of the Twilight series, Eclipse to be exact,  Bree is one of very few newborn vampires introduced by name.   Ten pages later she is killed off during the war between the evil vamps and the Cullen/Werewolf battle.  In this book, the short second life of bree tanner, Bree is already a newborn when the pages open and this is told from her point of view up until where she meets Bella and well… you know…. dies…. again.

I’m not giving anything away, seriously…. it’s in the title!


Honesty time.  I did not remember Bree Tanner from the  book.   I had to go back and find her.  Bree was a back ground character at most, and I never imagined I would see or hear from her again, obviously – because I forgot she ever existed.  ;D

When I heard about this book coming out I was really excited.  I thought it was brilliant of Stephenie Meyer to bring in another book that could add to the already phenomenon that is all things Twilight.  (I could only dream that J K Rowling would try such a book!) Once the book was out I snatched it up from the closest B & N and brought it home waiting for the right time to read it and this week with the opening of Eclipse, I knew the time to read was now.

Honestly time again.  I didn’t love it.  And… here is why:  I am not really a vampire reading fan.  Yes, I read the Twilight books and yes, I enjoyed them… but to me that was not a vampire read.  The Twilight series to me is  a YA love story.  It involves a High School, a new girl who is attractive, a hot guy, and a second hot guy – that are both interested in the new girl. The fact that ones a vampire and one is a werewolf, that is just a new twist on an old story.  One I really feel is an incredible idea.   They don’t really go into any detail of killing, in fact the Cullen’s hunt animals – not humans.  Yes – there are “baddies” but you don’t really see too much of what they are doing, as this is Bella’s story, told from Bella’s perspective.  If Bella doesn’t see it – it may as well have not have happened.

I personally have a tough time with the whole blood sucking thing and no offensive to Bree, after all that is the way that her and her kind roll.

I think this book is going to be loved by many that enjoy the true vampire reads.  Stephenie Meyer made a smart move by publishing the book and from what I have heard the book has done well, and I am very pleased to add that the book sales that donate $1 of the purchase price to the Red Cross (which is also such a brilliant idea), has raised over 1 Million dollars for the Red Cross International Response Fund.

Amazon Rating

I have updated my Book Journey map to include the short second life of bree tanner

When in Forks, Washington – I am told by a coffee connoisseur, that Espresso Vivace Roasteria is the place to go for a great atmosphere and an awesome cup of coffee.

192 Pages

Cover Story:  If a cover can be perfect – this would be one that is.  Seriously, an hour-glass filled with red sand, representing how quickly time is passing and running out?  Once again – brilliant.

I bought by copy of this book from Barnes & Noble

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)51 Comments


Ok…. two cups of COFFEE in to my morning… I have a confession.

*deep breath*

*just rip the band-aid off…*

I almost went to the triple movie showing last night of all three of the Twilight movies.

I know – I know!  If you know me you know I love adventures and love to be a part of unique things – I mean seriously, I waited 6 hours with my 18-year-old son a couple of years back for a Wii that was going to be released at midnight in Wal-Mart.  I stood in line among Quiddich clad youth to go to a midnight showing of the last Harry Potter movie with Chance….. I mean,

this is what I do.

And, for a moment, ok – more like for an hour and a half, I seriously thought my friend Wendy and I were going to do the triple movie experience.  It started at 7:00 pm with Twilight, followed at 9:25 pm by New Moon, and at 12:05 am Eclipse.

Then I thought about it and knew I could not do 7+ hours in the movie theater…. plus, I have a 9:30 am meeting this morning that not looking like I have been up half the night wearing a Team Edward shirt and ju ju bees stuck to the side of face (and probably in my hair) would be a plus.

However.  Today.  This afternoon….   Wendy and I will be going to the afternoon showing of Eclipse.   I have seen the other two movies and thought they were good, I read all the books back when they were first released, and yes, I am continuing my Twilight adventure with my head held high (hopefully ju ju bee free) to the completion of the movies.

Last night, I read the short second life of bree tanner, in part, because Bree shows up in the book Eclipse.  I hope to have that review up this afternoon.  My only hint…. it wasn’t like the other books.


For giggles – here are my original reviews of the books – note:  I wrote these pre blog.  This means, I didn’t really format them for other readers, they are mainly my on-line journal – and probably a bit raw and totally unplugged:


Twilight (I have my Sally Field moment here… I like it, I really like it)

New Moon (I fight the critics here that say this book is awful…)

Eclipse (in this one I gush a little too much about Edward and threaten to bite someone…)

breaking dawn (I rave about…. the title.  And something about locking the characters in a box with Harry Potter….)


How about you – I know there is a lot of talk about the Twilight series – for and against.  Would you see the movie?

The Secrets Of Newberry by Victor McGolthin (GIVEAWAY!)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)58 Comments

Thank you Hachette for the opportunity to offer this book for giveaway to my readers!

This giveaway is now closed

For Ivory Bones Arcineaux and Julian Bynote, life in 1950s New Orleans couldn’t be sweeter. Friends since they met in an illegal gambling house in Newberry, Louisiana, they have their pick of all the fine women, good food, and hot nights they can handle. They seem to have it made–especially Julian who begins to make a new life for himself after meeting the beautiful, classy Magnolia Garbo at a social. But both men are about to find out that letting the good times roll can be deadly when a simple robbery goes wrong and Julian witnesses Bones murdering a man in cold blood. The victim was a white city councilman with all the right connections-and if the two are discovered, it will mean the end to everything they’ve built together. With the New Orleans police hot on their trail, Julian must decide whether rolling in the fast lane is worth losing his freedom and his life.

How To Enter this Giveaway

A book set in New Orleans! To enter this giveaway imagine you are going to New Orleans  for a brief stay.  What for you would be a “must do” New Orleans experience?  (You much complete this task to be entered)


Want more chances to win?

For two extra chances to win, become a subscriber  (or be a current subscriber) of this blog (do this in the upper right side bar) and let me know in a separate comment

Blog about this giveaway and let me know in a separate comment and receive two more entries

Twitter about this giveaway or link tot his giveaway on Facebook and let me know here for another entry

This giveaway will end on July 14.  USA and Canada entrants only please.

(Be sure to see other giveaways going on by checking out the Giveaway page)

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)27 Comments


I woke up and stretched about an hour and a half ago.  I looked outside and said, “I shall call you… Tuesday”.

I worked close to 12 hours yesterday so I am probably a little punchy.  🙂  The meeting I have been prepping for was last night and it went off fairly well.  Today – may be a short day at work…

It’s gorgeous out and I already want to play hooky.

Ok… I have Coffee Cup with me so I should be able to focus on this post and not the day developing outside.  I am a bit later posting this morning than I wanted to be but I really wanted to visit all the Monday What Are You Reading posts before I completed this and I just finished now.  WONDERFUL reading going on in the world!

Here are a couple of books I have put on reserve at my library that I discovered yesterday:


Keeping Corner by Kashmira Sheth, I seen this one over at Second Childhood Reviews


I picked up on The Great Deluge (about Hurricane Katrina) over at Nancy’s  2010:  The Year In Books.  I have friends that go at least once a year to Mississippi to help with the repairs (still!) even after now 5 years since this Hurricane hit.

And then…

Over at Alyce’s At Home With Books, author L. Diane Wolfe shares her stories on book signings that blew me away…. but also made me very interested in her YA series…

So that’s what I have been doing the last 24 hours – working and catching up on the reading world.  I am hoping to rollerblade like the wind later today.  Ok, maybe not like the wind…. I am not even sure that the wind rollerblades…. but you know what I mean.  I think.  😉

Off to work I go!