Ok ok…. before you go calling the CAA (Challenge Addicts anonymous) – hear me out. This is a POSITIVE thing. What Delgal’s Book Reviews has presented here, is a challenge for us to put away $1 for every book we read. From Jan 1 – Dec 31, a buck a book put somewhere that you can not spend it. At the end of the year you have a little bonus money for all the wonderful reads you read during the year and the money is to be used for something special for yourself. Is it books? A new book shelf? Maybe it is a little pampering? Die hard readers this could be the start to your BEA 2011 fund! Whatever it is – it is yours for the reading! How super fab cool is that?
So – of course I am in! And I owe money for my January reads! Pop in at Delgal’s Book Reviews for official details and to get signed up! Come on! EVERYBODY’S doing it! 🙂
Good morning from Florida! How nice it is to wake up without snow! Al is off this morning to check out the equipment auctions in Orlando and I am at my cousins home in Deland, Florida. Alone. Solitude. Oh yeah. 🙂
Cousins House in Florida
Al doesn’t get this. He kept telling me, “You realize I will be gone all day. You will have no car, no way to venture out.”
What he has trouble understanding is that this is perfect for me. I like nothing more than the occasional (and oh so rare) days of nothingness. Life lately had been running from one commitment to another…. trying to juggle home, two offices, phone calls, appointments… here I have none of that. Today is going to be a day of books and catching up with my bookish friends on their blogs.
How about you? When you are given the rare opportunity to have a day of “no commitments” what do you like to do with it?
At twenty-five, free-spirited Becca Daniels is still trying to figure out what she wants to be when she grows up. What Becca doesn’t want to be is bored. She craves the rush of a new experience, whether it’s an extreme sport, a shocking hair color, or a new guy. That’s why she quit her bookstore job, used her last bit of credit to go skydiving, and broke her leg.
And that’s why, grounded and grumpy, Becca bristles when teased by friends for being commitment-phobic. In response, Becca issues an outrageous wager—that she can sustain a three-month or twenty-five date relationship with the next guy who asks her out. When the guy turns out to be “churchy” Ben—definitely not Becca’s type—she gamely embarks on a hilarious series of dates that plunge her purple-haired, free-speaking, commitment-phobic self into the alien world of church potlucks and prayer meetings.
This irrepressible Getaway Girl will have you cheering her on as she “suffers” through her dates, gains perspective on her life’s purpose, and ultimately begins her greatest adventure of all.
Book store jobs? Book Clubs? Well this is a book right up my alley! This is my first Laura Jensen Walker read, this book is third in the series but I did not need the first two books to follow the story. I enjoyed the characters and the turn that Laura Jensen Walker takes while making her main character, Becca a non Christian in a Christian book. While Becca starts out as not always likeable…. a little rough around the edges, I found myself cheering her on as the book goes on.
Truth is – I like Becca. This character has a free spirit and a sense of adventure that is attractive. A light read that was humorous…. and I enjoyed getting into this book.
This morning we (Al and I) are leaving for Florida at the wee hours of the morning – flight out of Brainerd at 6:40 am. I am writing this late Wednesday night. I will be with Laptop during our time away so posts and reviews will continue as always. I am hoping for some sunny relaxing time away and am inviting all of you to come with me. 🙂
As a young kid barely able to carry a gun, Jal, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, witnessed and perpetrated unspeakable brutality in his country’s civil war, but he has not only found refuge in the U.S. but also become an international rap star for peace. His violent memories are graphically relayed in this powerful autobiography. At age 9, he smashed faces with machetes as his friend plunged a bayonet into an enemy’s stomach. What is amazing in this story is how Jal has been able to let go of his rage. His family gone, he was adopted by a British aid worker, who took him to Kenya, where he struggled in school. But eventually, inspired by Gandhi, King, and Mandela, he turned to music and the idea of rapping for peace (“no tribalism, nepotism, and racism in my motherland”). And his songs climbed the charts. With the intense personal story, Jal also brings in political issues not confronted in other books about the Sudanese War, including the crucial role of oil (“black gold”) in the ethnic conflict.
Every rare once in awhile a book comes along that blows you right out of the pages. This is that book. Emmanuel’s true story of being a soldier of war at the age of seven is enough to send chills through your body. If that was all you knew about this book it would be enough to stay with you for a long time to come. Yet Emmanuel’s story is more. Much more.
Born in Southern Sudan, Emmanuel lives with his mother, his father is an official in the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). The sounds of bombing and war become a regular occurrence for Emmanuel. Emmanuel lays out pages of detailed memories of what the war was like as his mom tried to constantly keep them moving towards safety, at times stripping themselves naked to mingle in with the villagers as they made their way through towns to perhaps a day or two of safety before the war followed.
Graphic… real…. sometimes painfully so, Emmanuel lays it all out of what survival was like for him as a child. Having minutes to eat oatmeal in the mornings, so hot it scalded, Emmanuel tells of ways they learned to eat quickly as that was the only change for food all day.
This book is not only one of great trials…. but also of great triumph. Through the book you feel Emmanuel’s spirit, his drive for more – to learn more – to be more. Emmanuel’s hardships bring him to roads that lead him to being a Christian, and these roads let him to a career in music. Today, he is a musician – a rapper who’s music speaks of peace.
“Life is hard in Africa, and my story was only a drop in an ocean made up of a million tears”.
Currently Emmanuel Jal has been on a fast for over a year to raise money for GUA Africa. Learn more about this incredible cause here.
This book was one that spoke to me deeply. Emmanuel’s story is one of survival. It caused at times, my heart to ache… and at times my heart to rejoice. I recommend this book highly. It is not just a book to be read – it is a bookto be experienced.
WARNING: The following Video has pictures of children at war:
New Yorker Gillian Chang starts her second term at posh SpencerAcademy boarding school in San Francisco prepared to focus on her studies, her faith, and her friends. She plays a dozen musical instruments and can recite the periodic table of the elements backward. She’s totally prepared for everything–except love!
She’s falling hard for Lucas Hayes, who isn’t even a senior yet and is already aiming at a Ph.D. in physics from Stanford. The problem is, she never seems to be able to measure up and be the girlfriend he wants. He’s under a lot of pressure from his parents to achieve–maybe that’s why he’s short-tempered sometimes. But even a thick-skinned girl like Gillian can only take so much.
With her heart on the line, Gillian conceals more and more from her friends. So when she’s accused of selling exam answer sheets, even her girlfriends, Lissa Mansfield and Carly Aragon, wonder if it can be true. Gillian will need the power of honesty–with herself and with Lucas–to show what she’s really made of.
This book was nominated for the 2009 Christy Award. I chose this book for that reason as part of the Christy Award Challenge. As I read the book I found it to be nicely written, well-rounded characters with a lite Christian theme. The girls were in a boarding school and there is a romance brewing between Gillian and Lucas that is pretty standard YA. I wasn’t feeling the hardiness behind the book – what I would be expecting from a book, any book, up for an award.
And that is about the time that in my opinion author Shelley Adina hits a home run in this book with a twist to the plot – so perfectly woven throughout the books happenings that I didn’t see it coming. Shelly takes this book to a higher level and through all my previous thoughts on the book out the door when she blind sides me as the reader, with a topic very important to young girls, abuse.
I am trying hard not to give away too much of the book here yet this is such an important part of my review. When the abuse – not only physical but also verbal is presented I actually had to pause in my reading to consider what I had read – and how it was there, and I hadn’t seen it. And that is where the brilliance of this book comes in. How often do young women go about what they think is a normal relationship and not see it in the correct light? Sometimes it takes a friend to show us the way. And as I write this I am reminded that it is not only the young that can be caught by this … but women of all ages.
Overall, I am impressed, Faith and Friendships flow generously through this well written book.
When Lola comes home to her parents’ house to find a horde of relatives mourning her death, no one is more surprised than she is. The news had reported that one Lola Cruz, PI was found murdered in an alley, causing great alarm in the Cruz family. Before Lola can say “boo,” a cop comes to the house. It turns out the dead woman had a driver’s license with Lola’s information. Between avoiding an unsavory ex-boyfriend, sorting out mixed signals from the very interested but not yet committed Jack Callaghan, and filling in as a waitress at her parents’ Mexican restaurant, Lola tries to find out who the woman was and why she stole her identity. Was the woman hiding from someone who meant her harm, or is there someone out there who wants Lola dead?
This follow-up to Ramirez’s debut novel, Living the Vida Lola, is a red-hot, fun-filled mystery. Lola, a black belt in kung fu who loves to salsa dance, makes for a sexy, unique, and vivacious detective.
About Misa Ramirez
Misa Ramirez is the author of the Lola Cruz mystery series: Living the Vida Lola (January ’09) and Hasta la Vista, Lola! (2010) from St. Martin’s Press Minotaur. A former middle and high school teacher, and current CEO and CFO for La Familia Ramirez, this blonde-haired, green-eyed, proud to be Latina-by-Marriage girl loves following Lola on her many adventures. Whether it’s contemplating belly button piercings or visiting nudist resorts, she’s always up for the challenge. Misa is hard at work on a new women’s fiction novel, is published in Woman’s World Magazine and Romance Writers Report, and has a children’s book published.
Oh and I cant forget to tell you – One lucky commenter today will receive a copy of Hasta La Vista Lola! How super cool is that!!!!
I was on blog tour for this book but the book did not come in time for my review post so I am posting the information about this book instead. Doesn’t it sound wonderful?
Shhh! Dont tell Coffee Cup but this morning I am off to Caribou Coffee to meet some of my friends. Thats right – I am having someone elses coffee. 🙂
There is a little group of five of us girls who used to do this once a week. Then life happens, job changes…. and suddenly we couldn’t do it anymore. Today we are getting together like old times and I am so looking forward to the coffee and the conversation.
Today I have work and then I meet with the house sitter (yes – we get a house sitter) to watch the dogs while we are gone because the kennel is $22 a day per dog. AND we have two dogs. That is an insane amount of money. Thus the house/ dog sitter. Then I should really start to pack….
Thank you to J Kaye’s Blog for this great meme that I use weekly to check off the books that are on my radar for the week. This is not an exact science…. books I plan on reading, sometimes I do not get too. Books that were not on my list to read that week, some how wind up in my hand and read. *sigh*
This week – is all about The Library. With us leaving this Thursday for Florida, I have a few library books that are all started – and I need to finish them up and return them on Wednesday. Those books consist of:
I am in the last quarter of this book and find this a powerful read. I thought I would have it done this past weekend but had an incredibly busy weekend that left little time for reading. This true story of Emmanuel Jal is a real eye opener that I am anxious to share in my review.
This one I have about 100 pages to go but it is a quick read and a fun read. This book is one of the 2009 Christy Award Winners and I am enjoying this light read!
Fascinating book I am still working my way through. I have about half way to go in this one so need to kick it down over the next couple of evenings.
Alas, Ballad will be returned to the Library unread. When I checked this out I had forgotten that this was a 2nd book in the series and I have not read Lament yet. I reserved Lament but as of yet it has not come in so this will have to wait for another time.
So that is my week of reading. Later this week I will post about the books that are going to Florida with me….. now that should be interesting…LOL
Book Journey 