Today as a bonus along with my Sarah Pekkanen Chat here, I want to start my giveaway for the two signed copies of The Opposite Of Me that she sent home with me from New York for just this occasion. I am thrilled to offer up these books!
How To Enter
The author chat post is directly above this giveaway post. Tell me something you enjoyed about the chat. (*You must answer this question to be entered)
Extra Entries (for those who want them!)
At the bottom of the author chat, Sarah Pekkanen has added a link to her Facebook page. Add her as a friend on Facebook and let me know you did here in a separate comment and I will add another entry.
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 10. USA and Canada entrants only please.
This was said at 4:42 am this morning when my two shih tzus bounded off the bed. This means, they want to go outside. Groggy and disoriented I make my way tot he sliding door that allows them to escape to the back deck and to their little fenced in area of the yard. I then made my way back to bed until 20 minutes later their barks to come in wake me for the second time.
Sometimes… I think I am the pet.
Now at a more decent hour, I enjoy time with Coffee Cup and gaze out the window to what looks like could be an overcast day. I am inside all day so that’s alright, and after work I need to (MUST) go to my Group Power class, so its nice not to have an outside draw that makes me think of skipping school, or in my case… life. 😀
This afternoon Sarah Pekkanen, author of Opposite of Me will joining me here to chat books and life, and along with that will be a giveaway that I am super excited about, directly from Sarah. Also – do not forget to pop in at Devourer of Books where Jen is busy with Audiobook week. You can win some cool audios, and learn a little more about the appeal of books on audio as well. 🙂
Have a super fine day (for those of you who follow my work out rants…. I have biked 18 miles this week and rollerbladed 12 miles this week. Now if I could just quit coming home and having ice cream….. 😉
15-year-old Scarlett is thrilled that Summer is here! In New York city, Scarlett lives in their family owned hotel, Hopewell, where everyone is pitching in to help make ends meet. Along with brother Spencer (19) is an out of work actor, sister Lola (18),and little sister Marlene (11), things are bound to be interesting.
A tradition in Scarlett’s family is that when you turn 15, you receive a room in the hotel to call your own and be in full care of it and its occupants. Scarlett receives the Empire Suite, and along with it, a starlet called Ms. Amberson. As life is starting to look a little interesting, in enters Eric, a nineteen year old actor who is causing Scarlett to think that maybe.. just maybe, this will turn out to be the best summer of her life.
This is my first experience with Maureen Johnson and I was excited to give this one a listen. I was pleasantly surprised to hear the youthful voice of narrator Jeannie Stith. Told in this sweet story sort of way I could imagine listening to this with a young teen girl.
The story line was catching, lite, and fun. I really liked the characters and enjoyed Scarlett’s adventures. Ms. Amberson really adds to the adventure as she begins giving Scarlett tasks to do. This was a young YA (if that makes sense). Its fun and funny and I listened to this audio straight through, at many times with a big smile on my face.
Book Journey’s had updated the book travel map to include Suite Scarlett
Cover Story: I really like this cover, it is age appropriate and hold a little mystery to it with the gold key. There is a second cover I have seen with a girl on the cover with messy blond hair and bright red lipstick, the girl looks to be 18 or so in age and older than what Scarlett is in this book, causing me to prefer the fun pinkish one pictured here with the key.
I received my copy of this audio from our BBC bags in New York
where Maureen Johnson was the speaker for this event
Good morning. I am scrambling this morning but Coffee Cup is here and we are moving right along. I slept well…. I feel good… the weather outside is gorgeous…. I may go bike riding this afternoon.
A couple of days ago I went to the local laundromat – probably for the first time in 20+ years. I had all the sheets, blankets, comforters, and pillow cases to wash for the 18 people we had in the IHN program last week. I wasnt about to do 18 sets of bedding in my home…. I would still be doing laundry now! 😀
In my head, I had this picture of how the laundromat scenario would go. I would have all the laundry put into many (many) washers. Then I had brought my laptop so I would proceed to grab a cup of coffee and sit in a quiet space and do a little blogging throughout my afternoon. I was actually a little excited about this outing.
This is not the way it went down at all. Nope. Instead I pull up with my laundry and find a crowded area where you wheel in your laundry on a basket with wheels… and start grabbing washers wherever you can. This is when I discovered I had not thought ahead to bring soap…. so instead I purchased all those little boxes of laundry soaps… one at a time out of a machine.
After I figured out how to make the coin operated machines work I ran back to get the rest of my stuff I had yet to pick up, the pillows, the blankets we did not use, food we did not finish, etc… I ran into a woman there that would be serving this week and her and I proceeded to chat for about an hour. She had many questions, I was willing to help.
I learned in Laundromat language being late to move your wash is not cool.
I get back to the laundromat and find all the bedding has been removed from the washers. People need the machines. I have been hogging them with my tardiness. They are right.
Then I put the laundry into the dryers and I am surprised that they are only a quarter. I use 5 large dryers. Put a quarter in each, and run home to pick up my hubby and take him up town where he is going to drive a piece of our excavating equipment home. I then hurry back to the laundromat to avoid another mishap…. I find all the machines have stopped, but my laundry is still wet.
An elderly gentleman calls over to me “Your never going to dry the sheets that way – you have the dryers too full. I tell him I am new, hoping that excuses my lack of laundromat knowledge. He tells me to use more dryers, which I do then spread out to 12 dryers. Then he tells me that a quarter in a dryer equals 6 minutes. I need to put in several quarters… he advises me to put 3 quarters in each machine. I take his advice and do so.
I am then going to relax with my laptop but see there really is no place to sit in this laundromat. The tables are for folding laundry and there are no chairs. I prop a hip on one of the tables and try to answer a few emails but the distance between me and lap top is not working for me. Its awkward and hard to see what I am doing. As for the coffee… no…. get that idea out of your head. I did however have a nice diet Pepsi and all in all the laundry project did not take me nearly as long as I thought it was going to thanks to one man.
Today I work. I will have a review up later and possibly more audio talk. It is audio book week and if you did not see yesterdays post on audio books, please check it here.
I have been planning to do an audio post for a while now and when I seen that Jen from Devourer Of Books was having an Audio Book Week, I knew I had to jump on board and support this.
I love audio and I have expressed that time and again on this blog. I really started listening to them last summer when I received a few for review through Hachette audio. I discovered that while I was traveling during the summer months I preferred listening to audio over the radio.
Here are some times that audio is more beneficial that books:
It is hard to read and cook. You either wind up burning dinner; the book, or both. Audio can play at a safe distance from all things flammable and you can stir or chop or set the table while listening.
Driving and reading is frowned upon. It could get you a ticket or worse. Audio cds are fair game in the car and feel free to yell to your hears content when the character makes you angry, and pull over and weep on the steering wheel when alas…. the incredible read comes to a heartbreaking end.
I can sweep and mop the floor and not try to balance a book while doing it or feel disgruntled because the house work is cutting into my reading time. Wash and fold laundry, dust,do windows – even mow the lawn all while listening to audio.
Sometimes a book on the treadmill can be difficult and dangerous. Drop that baby on the tread and you could take a nasty spill. On the other hand, pop in an audio and you are moving right along getting into a great story and have the added benefit of not hearing the guy running next to you gasping for breath.
Ok – I am just being funny here – but the point is that audio can go where books can not. I have only listened to audio for a little over a year now and I love it. A great audio has made long road trips interesting and bearable. Just this afternoon I sat in my car in the garage to hear what was going to happen to Mike Bennett as he defused a hostage situation in James Patterson’s Step On A Crack. In my bathroom while I get ready in the morning my IPOD sits in its speakers and I hear Zoey make tough decisions about life and death…. literally in House of Night: Chosen by Kristin Cast. In my CD player for when I am buzzing around the house Jim Dale takes me back to Hogwarts with Harry and Ron in a voice that I love and makes up for the fact that I do not have time to sit down and re-read this series I love so much.
This may be a bit much, but my point is that I can turn on an audio as I do my life.
What I would like to know from my readers is – if you do not do audio… why not? (expect me to try to change your mind 😀 )
And if you do like audio, I would love to hear what book is awesome on audio, as I am still new to this but when you find one that is read well – it is like finding the gold ticket in the Wonka Bar…. you already had the delicious chocolate, the ticket is just a bonus! 😀
My favs at this time have been:
The Kite Runner read by Khaled Hosseini (author)Blew me away!
Anything by James Patterson – his readers are wonderful!
House Rules by Jodi Piccoult is read by 6 different people and is incredible
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 busy busy week. Once every 4 months I am part of a group that houses the homeless for a week. We stay in the downstairs of a local church and use the Sunday school rooms as bedrooms. We provide meals and a place to sleep for 7 days. This past week was our week and while I have many volunteers that take a ton of the work load off of me…. it is still mentally and physically exhausting – so reading time this week was not as productive as I had hoped.
Ok, looking at that…. my week doesn’t sound so unproductive in my book world. 🙂 Bottom line, I did not get through the books I had hoped to so bringing back for a “take two”:
Duff – waiting for me on my kitchen table….
Choices, I am just starting this one.
The Michael Sullivan Series is going to be completed this week. Seriously – I have taken way too long on this….
It is also Audio Book week and I am a big supported so I will be filling in audio wherever and whenever I can 🙂
So that’s the week – I cant wait to spend some time seeing what you have going on in your books! Please link to where it says “click here” and add your link to your Monday What Are You Reading Post.
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Click here to enter your link and view the entire list of entered links…
Hey all – it is beyond time for me to choose a winner of the swag bag giveaway from BEA. If you missed this post and want to see the contents in this great bag you can check it out here. I was excited when the BBC (Book Blogger Convention) organizers offered an extra swag bag to those who wanted one. This one I brought back for one Book Journey reader.
So… using random.org… Isn’t this SUPER exciting? The winner is….
Happy Sunday! Looks like today going to be a good day – sunny and warm here in Minnesota – even at 7 am! Al and I went out and had dinner last night to celebrate father’s day early. Today I need to tear down from our serving week for the homeless, which means I will spent many hours today at Giant Wash, washing all the bedding and then putting it away for our next serving dates in September.
On the upside… I am taking Laptop, Coffee Cup, and a book….
Speaking of books…. I think at least for the summer I will add books that have come in to my morning meandering posts. I just don’t have the time to create the long one I usually do for In My Mailbox this time of year. I will just put a few on as they come in daily, if there are any.
I really want to keep my focus on the reviews, the pondering moment book discussions, meanderings, and of course the Monday, What Are You Reading. On that note…. here is a little of what I seen come in this week:
Ehhhhhh? I know, right? The sequel to The Farfield Curse. Woo Hoo – thank you Sourcebooks!
FSB and Associates sent this one over… it is supposed to be written in a Janet Evanovich style, so a funny, mystery.
I recently read Kris Radish for book club, and would like to see how this book is.
Later I need to – I have to put a review up…. I must catch up on these! 🙂 Hope you have a wonderful Fathers Day everyone!
Meet Samantha “Sam” Kingsley. She’s popular, she’s pretty, she has “the guy” and she has the friends who back her up. She’s the girl in high school you wish you were, and if you couldn’t be her, it would be really nice for her to know you. Knowing Samantha…. meant you were in.
Now when I said meet Samantha, I mean do it now. Because life for Samantha is about to change drastically. In fact… I think it is safe to say without spoiling anything – that Sam’s life is about to stop… and in a flash of a few words – Sam’s life is over.
Or is it?
It seems that for some freakish reason – Sam keeps waking up to that last day. The alarm ringing at the same time… her little sister comes rushing in to greet her… her friend Lindsey waiting impatiently outside to driver her to school. And what starts out as what seems to be a second chance to change things to save herself… becomes something so much more.
◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊
Ok … let me be honest. I met Lauren Oliver in New York when I was there in May and enjoyed talking to her about her writing and this book. While I loved the thought and the idea behind the book I really didn’t know if it was one I would enjoy and with so many “bookortunities” at BEA, I passed this one up.
So now you are scratching your head and thinking, “But Sheila… you are reviewing it. What changed?”
Thank you for asking. There were a couple of factors. One was Reagan at Miss Remmer’s Reviews. She was on Twitter gushing about this book. G-U-S-H-I-N-G. It was annoying. 😉 She was one of my roommates while in New York. She knew I passed on the book. She should stop the gushing. STOP IT! Secondly, it was Jay Asher. Jay is the author of Thirteen Reasons Why. Which, honestly? Blew me away. I read it. I reviewed Thirteen Reasons Why (with “gushsto” – yes, my word) and then I interviewed him. Jay Asher is the author quote on the front of Before I Fall and he says, “You’ll have no choice but to tear through this book!”
So between Reagan and Jay… merely days after I returned from New York with loads of books traveling my way by UPS, Fed Ex, and the post office…. I made my way to our local book store and purchased this book.
When I started reading it I still wasn’t sure. As I said, the book breaks in to the same day, again and again. Seven times to be exact. And the first couple times I wasn’t seeing the point. The characters were developed well and I could picture the scenario…. but what was the benefit of rewriting the same day over and over?
And then things changed. Samantha changed. And a light bulb went off for me. Each day Sam relived again…. she was different. She went through all the phases of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally, acceptance.
I’ve never really thought about it before but it is a miracle how many kinds of light there is in the world, how many skies: the brightness of spring, when it feels like the whole world is blushing; the lush, bright boldness of a July noon; purple storm skies and a green queasiness just before lightning strikes…
~page 187
Sam grieves. For what was lost, for what could have been, for what she had and didn’t realize… she grieves.
I stayed up late into the night, and was up early the next morning and finished the last pages in bed, refusing to get until I knew how it all ended. There is so much more I would like to share about what this book brought up in me… but to have that conversation, you will need to read the book. When you are done, pop back this way and join me on the Spoiler Page.
Book Journeys map has been updated to include Before I Fall
When in Connecticut, make a stop at The Vanilla Bean, rated one of the top three coffee stops in Connecticut.
480 pages
Cover Story: The first time I seen it, I was unsure if I liked it. Although it works well with the book, and it definitely is noticeable, I am still not sure if it is the best fit for this book.
me and Lauren Oliver
I purchased my copy of this book at Bookworld in Brainerd, MN
Other thoughts:
One thing I would like to share is this book made me think of near misses in my life. One instance that comes to mind is back when I was 16. My best friend Traci and I were in my car. It was nighttime and winter, and we were cutting it close to making curfew. I was speeding down a back road trying to get us home on time. I even remember what was playing in the car – Prince: I Would Die For You. We were belting this out at the top of our lungs… young and invincible.
The main highway came up faster than I had anticipated and as we rounded a corner the stop sign was there and I hit my breaks. The road we were on was ice-covered and I went into a slide heading straight through the stop sign. A semi went by inches ahead of us as I Dukes of Hazard style hit the highway and launched over 4 lanes of traffic into the ditch on the other side. Hearts pounding we couldn’t believe we were alive.
Through the years, Traci and I have referred to that story. I sometimes wonder why I survived that and am content in knowing it wasn’t my time and there are other plans for me. This is one instance. I have others. If you think about it you probably do too.
Good morning! We finally had a gorgeous day in Brainerd on Friday after some severe storms in the area on Thursday night. I met three of my good friends on the bike trail and we went for a morning ride.
Heidi, Cindy, Sara
These three friends of mine are girls I used to work with. To stay in touch, each month we take a turn choosing an activity we do as a group. Sometimes it is as simple as getting together for lunch or a movie. Other times we have spent weekends doing murder mystery parties, Wisconsin Dells, camping, weekends on the North Shore… We have done this for years.
We each have a charm bracelet that we add a charm to for each event. Doing this for years, we now have three charm bracelets of memories. (The picture below is not any where near as clear as I wanted it to be, but you can see some of the charms):
The banana: when we pretended we were all too busy to do something for Sara’s birthday and then donned masks and kidnapped her from her home by banana point.
Two hearts: Ole and Lena’s Wedding – a play in Duluth Minnesota, a surprise event for my birthday
The flag: 4th of July camp out at Cindy’s with food and a camp fire and lots of laughs
Wine and Cheese: Is our formal overnight stay at the mansions in Little Falls
Each charm tells a story, and yesterday we added a bike charm to our bracelets. I love spending time with these girls. Next month (July) is my month to plan. I am hoping we are going to be able to go to the Blueberry Festival up North and stay at our cabin for the weekend.
Upper left: Heidi, Sara Lower Left: Me and Cindy
Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Others stay awhile, make footprints on our hearts and we are never, ever the same.
Tornadoes swept through Minnesota Thursday night doing severe damage in Wadena , a town about 45 miles from where I live in. There will be a lot of work needed to be done in that area and at this time they are not taking volunteers until they can assess the damage better. Thank you to those who checked in on me… the blogging community never ceases to astound me – thank you to Sharon (Sharon’s Garden of book reviews) who checked on me through Facebook and Esme from (Chocolate’s and Croissants) who called me to make sure we were ok.
Book Journey 