Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)33 Comments

Hello bookish people!  Are you ready for the weekend?  I am!

Yesterday was super busy but at the end of the day I felt good.  I did double work outs (morning and afternoon), ate right so I am off to a good start on the 3-1-1, the hair cut is good…. and I forgot (forgot!) to tell you that yesterday was our spring Library book sale!

I hope to have pictures up tomorrow but somewhere in my recent travels… I have lost my camera charger and therefore have a camera with no “oomph” whatsoever.  It wont even turn on.  I will remedy that today when I go purchase a new charger.

The sale was good, I had a lot of fun standing in line and talking books with people.  One lady by me is in a non fiction book club but she says they never discuss the book.

“What???”

Yup.  That’s what she said.  They choose books, but they just get together for social time.

For the first time ever I was not in the first group they let in.  They only allow so many people in at a time so the sale isnt overly crowded.  I was 5 people from the door when they made the cut off.  GAH!  I drank my coffee, chatted up books and thought about how I should have brought my business card to this captive bookish audience.

When I did get in – all books are 50 cents, paperback, hardcover….  I didn’t find that one treasure… but did walk out with $15 worth of books that look really good.  (Again, hopefully a picture tomorrow). Amy from my book  club however did find treasure when she found our book club read that we have just picked on Tuesday, Little Bee.  In Hard Cover for 50 cents.  And – I was in the sale before her and missed it.  LOL

Got to inhale my coffee here and run – I have a gym date, and today I am going to tan ( to pretend it is warm out) and get a pedicure with a gift certificate I received from my friends for my birthday.  A fun morning and then back to work this afternoon.

Any fun weekend plans for you?

Cold Streak by Lewis Aleman

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)20 Comments

Enter Laura’s world…

Her family is brutally murdered, and she finds herself on her knees praying for things she never could have imagined. Her dark journey of revenge takes off as she hunts her family’s killers, while being chased down by a troubled detective, his lovelorn partner, and an inner voice that grants her no peace. Her quest lures her through an explosive music scene, down unlit alleyways, to the edge of a towering church rooftop, and into the nightmarish landscape of her own mind. Will she get her justice before time runs out? Will her own lust for vengeance consume all that is left of her in the process.

°          °          °          °          °          °          °

Lewis Aleman has written a book that by looks, I thought I would breeze through this 268 page book in a few sittings.  Once inside the mind of Lewis – I discovered I was wrong and I would be here awhile basking in deep intelligent writing and a read that was a wild – frightening ride into the mind of Lewis’s created character, Laura.

I don’t read much of this genre.  It is a stretch for me but it is one I embrace as I like to try new styles of reads and see how they fit.  What drew me to this book was the fact that Laura was a mother.  She had a family – and that family was taken away.  And through this knowledge you enter the mind of a desperate woman.

Detective Anduras and his partner Irene’s arguments provided a lighter side to this read that cold easily have become heavy if not for the inner working of this duo.

A suspenseful read, I found myself caught up in the grief that was Laura – having lost her husband and children to a horrible murder she seeks revenge on those who did it.  While a bit graphic at times, I felt Lauras’ heavy grief and maybe part of that is the reason I did not fly through this book.  It took time to settle into that grief and follow Laura through a journey that only she could take.

At times the scenes were a bit gory for my taste, but other than that I found the book to be impressively engrossing and intelligently written.

Lewis Aleman is the author of the time travel thriller, Faces in Time, and the dark literary thriller, Cold Streak, which became an Amazon Bestseller, a Kindle Bestseller, and #1 in Myspace Books. He graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree in Creative Writing. He grew up and still resides just outside of New Orleans. Currently, he is fast at work on the first book in a realistic fantasy series, entitled A Brother, A Drunkard, and Something Odd.
Besides writing, Lewis Aleman also enjoys playing guitar, restoring/hot rodding cars, working out, reading, website design, and recording music.

**  You may have seen this post at Book Chick City’s Blog where I guest posted for her last week 🙂

I received my copy of this book from author Lewis Aleman

Morning Meanderings….

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)32 Comments


Ok….. seriously….  you should see my hair.

Why is that your hair can one day be just wonderful …


and then suddenly the next day you wake up and it is too long, and doesn’t style right and well seriously….


My hair has been that way for over a week now.  So today – yes today, at 5 pm, I am getting it cut and highlighted and I am beyond thrilled.  I am actually bringing a picture of me from last April when I thought my hair was super cute…. (don’t laugh….. have you never done this?)  I want my hair lady to take me back a  year.  🙂


So any way – I am starting my morning at the gym because that’s the way I roll.  OR – that’s the way I want to roll… and I need to get back into good habits.  My friend Jennifer and I are starting a program today that we are calling the 3 -1 – 1.  Based not only on the date… but also on 3 good meals, 2 healthy snacks a day…. 30 days to get to 4-1-1, and see our results.  Since 3-1-1  adds to 5, we have to work out for a minimum of 5 hours a week.

So here’s to new starts – better fitness habits, and hopefully good hair.

Spring is coming – any thing you are planning to get a jump-start on the season?

This One Is Mine by Maria Semple – GIVEAWAY!!!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)34 Comments

Hachette Book Group?  You rock!  Thanks for letting me give three copies of this book away!

This giveaway is now closed

Violet Parry is living the quintessential life of luxury in the Hollywood Hills with David, her rock-and-roll manager husband, and her darling toddler, Dot. She has the perfect life–except that she’s deeply unhappy. David expects the world of Violet but gives little of himself in return. When she meets Teddy, a roguish small-time bass player, Violet comes alive, and soon she’s risking everything for the chance to find herself again. Also in the picture are David’s hilariously high-strung sister, Sally, on the prowl for a successful husband, and Jeremy, the ESPN sportscaster savant who falls into her trap.

Sound good?  I thought so too!

To enter this give away enter with the form below and answer this question in the comment section:

This is not the cover you will see on the book sale sights, however I like this one better than the one they actually have on the book now. Reading the above synopsis of this book, how would you design the cover to capture the eye of potential book buyers?

This giveaway will end on April 1, 2010.  Good luck!

Slip Of The Knife by Denise Mina – GIVEAWAY!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)41 Comments

Thank you to Hachette for the opportunity to give away three copies of this book!  You…. complete me!  🙂

This giveaway is now closed

Paddy Meehan is no stranger to murder–as a reporter she lives at crime scenes–but nothing has prepared her for this visit from the police. Her former boyfriend and fellow journalist Terry Patterson has been found hooded and shot through the head. Paddy knows she will be of little help–she had not seen Terry in more than six months. So she is bewildered to learn that in his will he has left her his house and several suitcases full of notes. Drawn into a maze of secrets and lies, Paddy begins making connections to Terry’s murder that no one else has seen, and soon finds herself trapped in the most important–and dangerous–story of her career.

How do you enter?  Please fill out the form that is linked here and answer this question in the comment section:

Reading the synopsis above, what would you have titled this book?

(Feel free to be creative and even funny)


Good luck everyone!  This giveaway will end on March 28th  ♣

The Girl She Used To Be by david cristofano- Giveaway!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)68 Comments

Thank you so much to Hachette Book Group who have given me three (3!!!!) of these books to give away!

This giveaway is now closed – Thank you 🙂

When Melody Grace McCartney was six years old, she and her parents witnessed an act of violence so brutal that it changed their lives forever. The federal government lured them into the Witness Protection Program with the promise of safety, and they went gratefully. But the program took Melody’s name, her home, her innocence, and, ultimately, her family. She’s been May Adams, Karen Smith, Anne Johnson, and countless others–everyone but the one person she longs to be: herself. So when the feds spirit her off to begin yet another new life in another town, she’s stunned when a man confronts her and calls her by her real name.

Does this sound super fab or what?

To Enter – please fill out this form at the link below and be sure to answer this question in the comment area below:

**You are in the witness protection program….  what would your name be – and where would you like to be located?

Fill out this form please

Thank everyone for entering – this giveaway will close on March 27.  Open to USA and Canada

The Next Thing On My List by Jill Smolinski

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)45 Comments

After a car accident in which her passenger, Marissa, dies, June Parker finds herself in possession of a list Marissa has written: “20 Things to Do by My 25th Birthday.” The tasks range from inspiring (run a 5K) to daring (go braless) to near-impossible (change someone’s life).

To assuage her guilt, June races to achieve each goal herself before the deadline, learning more about her own life than she ever bargained for.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

So what do you do with a story line like this?  Well, if you are me you wonder what causes the accident and what is on that list?????

This book was one of those books that you pick up and get into right from the start.  The character of June is funny and strong willed.  She carries with her this burden of the accident being her fault (after all, Marissa’s seat belt was off only because June had to have that Taco Soup recipe!  (Which by the way I highly recommend making!)  And June had just met Marissa that night at the meeting when she got up to receive her lifetime achievement award for losing 100 pounds!

As June goes through the list, working to complete Marissa’s dreams, we see that it is June who grows as a person.  She becomes more confident in herself as she puts herself out there “for the list” and on a grand scale, the list isnt anything unachievable with things on it like:

Lose 100 pounds

Throw away the bathroom scale

Try Boogie Boarding

Eat Ice Cream In Public

Make Buddy Fitch Pay

There are more things on the list and each one just adds to the fun of this book.  After all who is Buddy Fitch and what did he do that he has to pay?

A wonderful book club read – we reviewed it last night and we had a lot of fun discussing Marissa’s list and making our own as well.  We each pulled one thing from our list and put it in an envelope.  We mixed them up and passed them out again.  Each of us read what the paper said on our envelope and tried to guess who’s list that as on.  This was a lot of fun and we learned about each others dreams.

We now know that many us have dreams of traveling, one of us wants their pilots license, one hopes to be a master chef, see all 50 states, slow dance in the rain with their husband, learn spanish, ride a mechanical horse, 2 wish to become published authors….

These discussions make for the best book club reviews!

Charming and fun – I would recommend this book as quick read that will make you really think about your own life goals.  I would also highly recommend this for those of you in book clubs.  This is a wonderful discussion book and there is a reading group guide in the back of the book.

Stop in and see Angie from By Book Or By Crook and read her review of this book.  Angie is part of our book Club!

I purchased my copy from Amazon

Bookies overall rating on a scale of 1 – 5 (5 being the best)

4

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)38 Comments


Sometimes at night I like to go through old comments and link to the blogs.  I am not sure how other blogs work, but WordPress keeps all the comments and I can go back to the very first comment I ever had.  Normally I will go back about 200 comments (10 pages) and randomly visit blogs who have visited me.  Last night I did something I have never done, I went to the very first page of comments I had – 774 pages back.

What was kind of sad was how many of these blogs no longer exist – and really this is only since June 2009.  For the ones that are still out there, it was interesting to see some of the blogs that visited me in my early journey and I had not been on their blog for months nor they on mine.  To me, it kind of felt like going back for a class reunion.  My blog has changed so much from those early days it is not even recognizable.   I had to think if they visit me back, will I be “new” to them?  Will they recognize this blog?

I am curious – does anyone else ever go back through comments and randomly visit blogs?  Does Blogger keep all your comments too?

And for fun – for those of you who have been blogging a while, has your blog changed from the early days?  If so – how?

Waking Up In The Land Of Glitter by Kathy Cano-Murillo

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)31 Comments


With glue guns, glitter, twigs, or yarn, the ordinary can become extraordinary . . . especially at La Pachanga. Owned by Estrella “Star” Esteban’s family, the restaurant has a rep for two things: good food and great art. La Pachanga brings people together-even when it looks like they couldn’t be further apart.

One ill-fated evening, Star jeopardizes her family’s business, her relationship with her boyfriend, and her future career. To redeem herself, she agrees to participate in a national craft competition, teaming up with her best friend, Ofelia-a secretly troubled mother whose love for crafting borders on obsession-and local celebrity Chloe Chavez-a determined television personality with more than one skeleton in her professional closet. If these unlikely allies can set aside their differences, they’ll find strength they never knew they had, and learn that friendship, like crafting, is truly an art form.

ο ο ο ο ο ο ο ο

On occasion, I really enjoy a book that gives me a sort of comic relief and that is that is what I found in the pages of In The Land Of Glitter.  In this delightful laugh out loud setting, I found out very quickly that the old saying that all that glitters is not gold as the characters of this book are soon to find out!

The main character Estrella (or Star as we come to thankfully know her in this book!) can cause more damage to her relationships in short time than a F-5 twister!  At 28 Star really hasn’t really done anything with her life.  She still lives at home and floats about aimlessly through day-to-day life never really accomplishing (or finishing) anything.  As her father decided enough is enough, Star seeks redemption in the above mentioned  craft competition, and drags along a couple of her friends, Ofy and Chloe.   This is where the book really takes off in a flurry of glitter (about 350 pounds of it) and several laugh out loud events that follow.

The book characters are Hispanic and with that Spanish words are occasionally tossed into the book just adding to its unique craftiness.  I found the glossary in the back of the book for the meaning of these Spanish word to be a wonderful idea.

Let me introduce author Kathy Cano-Murillo who would like to share about this book:

The book is a fun ” just enjoy the rollercoaster ride ” style of read.  I do enjoy books about women’s friendships and that was what I found in this book. Star, Ofy, and Chloe are characters that make me smile.  And I do like to smile.

Reading Group Guide

I received my copy of this books from Hachette Book Group

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)49 Comments


Woo!  Busy Monday and I feel like I have come through in flying colors…. coffee cup in hand and Rocky Theme clearly my current theme song.  🙂

Yesterday besides work, interviews, and meetings, I spent my time visiting the Monday What Are You Reading blogs.  I have so much fun with that and if you do not currently do this meme, I would suggest yo give it a try!  we have so much fun!

Also, the wonderful Book Chick City featured my review of Cold Streak by Lewis Aleman.  Stop over there and check out the post.  It was a different genre for me but I enjoyed the read.

Today I have a review coming up and yet tonight I hope to put up a few giveaways that have come my way.  This evening the Bookies meet for the monthly book club and tonights discussion is The Next Thing On My List.   Should be a fun review!  🙂

So tell me – as you are reading this, other than your computer, what is the closest thing(s) to you right now and what time is it where you are at?

Here’s mine:

I am in Minnesota and it is 8:07 am

Closest things to me are:  My Coffee Cup, today’s book for review, and my agenda (which has my library card sitting on top of it.  😉