The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker *Giveaway!

Thank you to Valerie at Hachette Book Group for allowing me a chance to review this book – and to offer a giveaway to my readers!


When Truly Plaice’s mother was pregnant, the town of Aberdeen joined together in betting how record breaking huge the baby boy would ultimately be. The girl who proved to be Truly paid the price of her enormity; her father blamed her for her mother’s death in childbirth, and was totally ill equipped to raise either this giant child or her polar opposite sister Serena Jane, the epitome of femine perfection. When he, too, relinquished his increasingly tenuous grip on life, Truly and Serena Jane are separated–Serena Jane to live a life of privilege as the future May Queen and Truly to live on the outskirts of town on the farm of the town Sadsack, the subject of constant abuse and humiliation at the hands of her peers.

Serena Jane’s beauty proves to be her greatest blessing and her biggest curse, for it makes her the obsession of classmate Bob Bob Morgan, the youngest in a line of Robert Morgans who have been doctors in Aberdeen for generations. Though they have long been the pillars of the community, the earliest Robert Morgan married the town witch, Tabitha Dyerson, and the location of her fabled shadow book–containing mysterious secrets for healing and darker powers–has been the subject of town gossip ever since. Bob Bob Morgan, one of Truly’s biggest tormentors, does the unthinkable to claim the prize of Serena Jane, and changes the destiny of all Aberdeen from there on.

When Serena Jane flees town and a loveless marriage to Bob Bob, it is Truly who must become the woman of a house that she did not choose and mother to her eight-year-old nephew Bobbie. Truly’s brother-in-law is relentless and brutal; he criticizes her physique and the limitations of her health as a result, and degrades her more than any one human could bear. It is only when Truly finds her calling–the ability to heal illness with herbs and naturopathic techniques–hidden within the folds of Robert Morgan’s family quilt, that she begins to regain control over her life and herself. Unearthed family secrets, however, will lead to the kind of betrayal that eventually break the Morgan family apart forever, but Truly’s reckoning with her own demons allows for both an uprooting of Aberdeen County, and the possibility of love in unexpected places.

Reading Group Guide

Giveaway is now closed

I have three books to give away!  Here’s how you can get in on this giveaway:

For your first entry – please leave a comment here with what “the plot” of a book  would be that you would write

Bonus Entries:

Tweet or blog about this giveaway and leave me a link here on a separate comment for an extra entry

Be a subscriber to this blog (either new or old) and let me know here for two extra chances

USA or Canada entrants only – Giveaway will end February 10

Morning Meanderings

It is currently 19 below zero here.  As I type, I am warming up my Durango because I am due at the gym in 30 minutes to workout with a friend.  Did I mention it was 19 below?  I am wondering if I need this friend…..  LOL..  (just kidding)  (I think)

Day 2 of the Bloggiesta.  Yesterday for me went pretty well.  I was able to visit a lot of blogs which I always enjoy.  It amazes me that even after the 7 months that I have been doing this and meeting others… I have not even scratched the surface of all the blogs that are out there.  And that’s just book blogs! After my return from the gym, I will get back into my to do list for the Bloggiesta.  Now I will spending time today on the housekeeping of my blog as well as well as looking into the mini challenges that I have not visited yet.

Later today I have my author chat with Becca Fitzpatrick – author of hush hush.  I am so excited to have her here at One Persons Journey Through A World of Books!  There will also be a giveaway or two posted so really should be an active blog day!

Stay warm everyone….. any big fun Saturday plans?

The One Day Way by Chantel Hobbs w/ Giveaway

I’ve got great news for you: You are about to feel better and look better beginning today!   Today is truly a new opportunity for you to reach your weight loss goals. No, you won’t fit into your “skinny jeans” today, but I’m going to show you how each day will get you closer to that goal.

Yesterday’s mistakes are gone so let them go. You can’t control tomorrow, so stop worrying about it. Today is your opportunity to lose weight, get strong, and look great. It won’t happen overnight, but you can build a new life by changing your actions immediately and I’m here to show you how to make the changes that will create the new lifestyle you dream of: body, mind, and spirit. Best of all, you will start celebrating right away!

Come on, my friend. Let’s get started! By opening this book, I’ll show you how to unlock every tool you need to lose weight and get fit —and stay that way for the rest of your life. Success can be yours, what are you waiting for?

-Chantel

Chantel has written an incredible book.  I have read many books on healthy habits, good food choices, work outs…. you name it – I have probably read something about it. I find enjoyment in learning new and healthy habits and I take away a little bit from each book.  Chantel provided me with more thana little bit of food for thought.

Chantel takes on the role of personal coach to the reader.  An approach I found unique and inspiring.  In the begining of her books she asks that we trust her.  Put your guard down – and dig into this book and make the changes you have dreamed of for a healithier life style.  By “demolitioning” old habits.

I found this book to be wonderfully inspiring.  Chantel has been there, having lost 200 pounds herself.  her dreams of being fit and living a healthy life style have come true and I was impressed with her honest and down to earth writing.  The book is filled with lists of habits to apply and choices to make.  She has included recipes to give you the jump start you may need.  For a book I thought I would just be skimming through the details – I found myself deeply into Chantel’s story and the stories of others who struggled greatly with their weight.  If you are serious  about making a change this year – I would highly recommend you start by picking up a copy of this book.

Chantel Hobbs is a motivational speaker, life coach, personal trainer, marathon runner, wife, and mother of four whose story has been featured on Oprah, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Fox & Friends, the 700 Club, and the covers of People and First magazines. She appears weekly on two fitness-themed radio programs and promotes her One-Day Way Learning System on television. Visit Chantel at ChantelHobbs.com for fitness updates and coaching tips.

Oh and one more thing….. I have an extra copy of this book to give away!

To enter this giveaway leave a comment here and let me know what your kryptonite food is.  You know the food item that you just have trouble saying no to.  The item that like krytonite is to Super Man, makes you week in the  knees you must answer this to be entered.  (I will start, mine is pretty much anything chocolate)!

Bonus entries?  Ok…

Blog or Twitter about this giveaway and I will give you an extra chance to win (leave me your twitter or blog link here in a separate comment)

Become a subscriber or let me know you are a current subscriber of this blog on a separate comment  (upper right sidebar) and I will toss in 2 extra chances

Giveaway will end Jan. 26  Winners US or Canada only

That’s it!  Have fun!

My review copy came from Waterbrook Press

My Amazon Review


Bloggiesta! 2nd Addition Starting Line

It has begun!  Today through Sunday I will be in Bloggiesta mode.  What exactly is Bloggiesta?  Well it is a time to take a closer look at our blogs and do some…. well, let me let Pedro the mascot, explain it.  Pedro?

Plan.  Edit.  Develop.  Review.  Organize.

That’s it.  Through mini challenges this is a time to plan out 2010 and get a little organized.  I want to share with you a few highlights from the first Bloggiesta event:

I had just started seriously book blogging about two weeks prior to this event.  Somehow I heard about the Bloggiesta and thought it would be a great way to perhaps (maybe) learn more about blogging, reviewing, etc….  I created a “to do” list and I participated in everything I could.  I learned so much through that event that my blog came out the other side looking sharper, more effective, and I had a new confidence of how I was going to go forward.  That was over 6 months ago and I cant even believe how much I am enjoying connecting with others through this Blog.  And now thanks to all those who helped me, I am able to help others.  🙂

Here is my weekend to do list:  (I will probably add to this as I go)

  • Catch up on writing all the reviews for the books I have completed
  • Have back up posts ready to go
  • Send out invites for authors chats with a few authors
  • Clean up my Wish List link
  • Organize all my pages
  • Create a new Blog Badge
  • Love a bit on my blog roll…. it needs a facelift!
  • Love a little bit on my blog
  • Clean up my book related emails
  • Get out and visit other blogs!  Life has been so busy lately I have not had a lot of time to do this part of blogging which I love! (and still going!)
  • Post the awards that I was planning to do at the end of December
  • Revisit last Bloggiesta’s mini challenges to see if there is anything I may have missed
  • Take a look at My Review Policy (written during the last Bloggiesta) is it still current?
  • Catch up on the giveaways that I still need to post
  • Stop in and see and comment on every participants blog (currently working on)

Here are the links to the wonderful mini challenges which I hope to participate in every one of them!

If you have time – I would suggest you go and sign up over at Maw Books and join an event that may very well make a positive difference in your blogging experience!

I will be keeping track of the invested Bloggiesta hours here:  as of 1/10/2010 10:07  a.m.   17 hours

Party Time!

Here is my starting line post from the last Bloggiesta.   And here is my finish line post from last time.

Monique And The Mango Rains by Kris Holloway

Monique and the Mango Rains is the compelling story of a rare friendship between a young Peace Corps volunteer and a midwife who became a legend . . .

Monique Dembele saved lives and dispensed hope in a place where childbirth is a life-and-death matter. This book tells of her unquenchable passion to better the lives of women and children in the face of poverty, unhappy marriages, and endless backbreaking work. Monique’s buoyant humor and willingness to defy tradition were uniquely hers. In the course of this deeply personal narrative, as readers immerse themselves in the rhythms of West African village life, they come to know Monique as friend, mother, and inspired woman.

From witnessing her first village birth to the night of Monique’s own tragic death, Kris Holloway draws on her first-person experiences in Mali, her graduate studies in maternal and child health, medical and clinic records, letters and journals, as well as conversations with Monique, her family, friends and colleagues, to give readers a unique view—and a friend in West Africa.


I really enjoy reading about other countries and other cultures.  Kris Holloway’s book was a book that fed this hunger for knowledge.  Following in Kris’ footsteps this book takes you through her two years she spent in the Peace Corps working with Monique, a midwife in Mali.

Monique's Home
The Birthing House in Mali

The friendship that you witness develop between Kris Halloway and Monique is worth reading the book alone.  Yet, there is so much more information to this book them the friendship.  This is an accurate account of what life in West Africa was like for this incredible woman.

Day to day Monique wakes early and works all day in the birthing house where she helps women with pregnancies, before the birth, during, and after.  Working for unheard of wages that are collected by her husband… this book is one that ripped at my heart.  Kris Holloway brings a voice to this remarkable women and brings her story that otherwise would be unknown… to us, the lucky readers.  What a privilege to share a part of Monique’s life.

From Kris’s words about Africa, to Monique’s time in America… you will want to experience this book.  And that is just what this book is… an experience not to be missed.

Kris Holloway served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali, West Africa from 1989-1991, where she met her husband,

Kris and Monique

John Bidwell. She holds a MPH from the University of Michigan where she focused her research on maternal and child health. She has used her unique background in writing, public health, and development to further the mission of numerous non-profits and educational institutions including Planned Parenthood, the National Priorities Project, the University of Michigan, Springfield College, and the Greenbelt Movement International. She currently works as the Director of Institutional Relations at the Center for International Studies, a fabulous study/live/explore abroad organization. She is a confirmed Francophile, loves chocolate, and sits on a physio ball while at her computer. She lives in Northampton, MA with John and their two sons.

Mali Music Video

The incredible life of Monique

West African Peanut Stew — Tigadegena

(from Monique Dembele, Mali, West Africa, adapted for vegetarians)
Serves 6-8

  • 2c. chopped onion
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
  • 4 c. vegetable stock
  • 2 c. tomato juice
  • ½ tsp. cayenne (or to taste)
  • 1 -1 ½ c. smooth peanut butter
  • 2 c. chopped cabbage
  • 2 c. chopped sweet potato
  • 1 c. chopped okra (if available)
  • salt and pepper
  • chopped scallions
  • Rice or cous-cous (this sauce can be served over either)

  • Heat oil in large pot/skillet and fry onions, garlic, and ginger until soft. Add veg. stock, tomato juice, and cayenne. When hot, add peanut butter and mix well. Allow to boil for 10-20 minutes to thicken, then add remaining vegetables. Cook 20 minutes or so until vegetables are soft. Add water if the sauce is too thick, peanut butter if too thin. Serve over rice or cous-cous. Top with scallions. Is even better the next day.
  • Traditionally this is served communal-style. A large bowl filled with rice and sauce is placed on the ground. People gather around it and, after washing their hands in a small bowl of water, dig in (each person being careful to only nosh on the rice and sauce directly in front of him/her so as not to mix spit with the folks on either side). Another bowl of water is passed to rinse hands after eating.
  • Blessing for after the meal:
    Allah ka suma I kono. (May God cool the food in your belly.)
    Amina (Amen)

My Amazon Review

This books fits in the following challenges:

2010 100+ Reading Challenge

This book was given to me by Julie from My Own Little Corner Of The World

Thanks Julie – it was wonderful!

Morning Meanderings…

It has been three days since my last book review.  The start to the new year was going so well and then I just got busy.  Busy busy.  Last night I finally had a chance to cozy up with Coffee Cup and  finish a wonderful book that I will be sharing with you later today.

I am hopeful things will slow down a bit as tomorrow starts the Blogiesta and I am so ready to be involved in that again!  Also tomorrow I am thrilled to announce that I will be having an authors chat with the wonderful author of hush hush, Becca Fitzpatrick!  That’s right, Becca is going to swing on by One Persons Journey Through A World Of Books!

AND this weekend just promises to be fun…. and I really like fun!  Lots to come and a hint of a few giveaways coming up in the next few days that are just fun~  Did I mention I like fun? 

Gilmore Girls Mini Challenge

In honor of the wonderful Gilmore Girl Challenge – Lisa over at Lit and Life asked me if I would do a Mini Challenge and I was honored to do so.  If you are familiar with the series (and I hope you are!)   This mother/daughter quick whit team refers to so many books…. well so many – that there is a Gilmore Girl Challenge.

Another thing they refer to almost as much as books, is movies.  Since Lisa has the book part of this Challenge well covered, I am going to take the movie part.  I think many of us who love books, also love good movies!  So here is my Challenge to you.  Over these winter months we tend to watch more tv…. SO – your task, my fellow Gilmore Girl addicts….. is to watch and review some of these wonderful choice movies!

This Challenge will start today and go through March 8, 2010.  To do this challenge you need to watch and review any of the movies on the list below.  As you do your reviews, use Mr Linky to link directly to your movie review for this mini challenge.  Be sure to link DIRECTLY to the review so I can count it.  For each review you do on the movies from the Gilmore Girls, you will receive one entry for a change to win choice – either The Gilmore Girls Soundtrack or the Coffee AT Luke’s book.

One more thing… You must be signed on for the Gilmore Girl Challenge in order to participate in this one.  What!  You are not signed up?  Well it is not too late!  Pop over and look at the challenge – the books are a wonderful selection and it is going to be a ton of fun!

The Movie List

2000 Year old man
2001
3 Days
8 mile
9 1/2 weeks
AI
Alive
All About Eve
All the President’s Men
American Gigolo
American in Paris
Amistad
An Affair to Remember
Animal House
Annie Hall
Apocaplypse Now
Arthur
Attica
Autumn in New York
Babe
Babe II
Bambi
Banger Sisters
Basic Instinct
Batman
Battlestar Galactica
Beautiful Mind
Ben Hur
Benji
Bewitched
Billy Jack
Blades of Glory
Blood on the Highway
Blue Crush
Blue Lagoon
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
Bonnie & Clyde
Boogie Nights                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Boxing Helena
Breakfast Club, The
Breaking Away
Bride of Chucky
Bridge On The River Kwai
Brigadoon
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
Bringing up Baby
Brokeback Mountain
Bugsy Malone
Bull Durham
Bye Bye Birdie
Byron
Cabaret
Cabin Boy
California Suite
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin
Casablanca
Champ, The
Charlemagne: Holy Barbarian
Charlie’s Angel’s Full Throttle
Chico & the Man
Chinatown                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Christmas Carol (Also on the book list!)
Cinderella
Citizen Kane
Cocktail
Cocoon
Coming Home
Cool Hand Luke
Courtship of Eddie’s Father, The
Crimes & Misdemeanos                                                                                                                                                                                                               Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Crucible, The
Damned, The
Dances with Wolves
Dangerous Liasons
Das Boot
Dead Calm
Dean Martin Roast Don Rickles
Deerhunters, The
Delovely
Desperately Seeking Susan
Detective, The
Dick Tracy
Dig
Diner
Dirty Dancing
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
Dog Day Afternoon
Dollhouse,The
Dr. Dolittle                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Dream A Little Dream
Driving Miss Daisy
Duece Bigalow
Dumbo
Easter Parade
Ed Wood
Edward Scissorhands
Electric Boogaloo
Endless Love
Endless Summer
Enter the Dragon
Erin Brockovich                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
Everest
Exorcist, The
Fair Pentitent, The
Fame
Farenheit
Fast & the Furious, The
Fatal Attraction
Fatso
Ferris Bueller’s Day off
Fiddler on the Roof                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Field Of Dreams
Final Destination (1,2,3)
Flashdance
Fletch,
Fly, The
Footloose
For Keeps
Forty-Year-Old Virgin
Freaky Friday
Fried Green Tomatoes
From Here to Eternity                                                                                                                                                                              Funny Face
Funny Girl
G.I. Jane
Gaslight
Ghost                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Ghostbusters, The
GI Jane
Gigi
Girl, Interrupted
Glitter
Godfather, The
Gone with the Wind
Good Morning Vietnam
Good Night & Good Luck
Good Ship Lollipop
Goonies, The                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Graduate, The
Gray Gardens
Grease
Great Santini
Grease
Grinch Who Stole Christmas
Hairspray
Hamlet
Hannibal Lector Movies
Hardbodies
Harold & Maude
Harvey
Heathers, The
Heidi
High Noon
His Girl Friday
Hitch
Hoosiers                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Hotel Rwanda
Hudson Hawk
Ice Castles
Inconvenient Truth, An
Inherit the wind
Into the Woods
Invasion of the Bodysnatchers
Ironweed (ALSO ON THE BOOK LIST!)
Ishtar
It Happened One Night
James Bond Movies
Jarhead
Jerk, The                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Jerry McGuire
Joe vs. the Volcano
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat
Julia
Karate Kid
Ken Burns Boring Sod Documentary that I couldn’t find
Kill Bill
Kiss My Grits
Kujo
La boheme
Lady & the Tramp
Lake House, The
Last Tango in Paris
Legend of Bagger Vance, The
Les Miserables                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         License To Drive
Little House on the Prairie
Little Man Tate
Little Rascals, The
Lord of the Rings
Love in the Afternoon
Love Story
M. Night Shyamalan movies
Mad About Ballroom                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Mad Max
Magnolia
Marathon Man
March of the Penguins, The
Mary Poppins
Mask
Master & Commander
Matrix, The
Midnight Express
Midsummer Night’s Dream
Milton, John
Misery
Mission Impossible
Moment by Moment
Mommie Dearest
Money Pit, The                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Monty Python and The Holy Grail
Monster
Moose Murders
Mr. & Mrs. Bridge
Mr. Baseball
Music Man, The
Mystic Pizza
National Velvet
Nell
Network
Norma Rae
Not Without my Daughter
Officer & a Gentleman
Old Yeller
Open Water
Othello
Out of Africa                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Oxford Blues
Paper Moon
Parent Trap, The
Passion of the Christ
Philadelphia Story                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Pippi Longstocking
Pleasantville
Poseidon Adventure, The
Postman, The
Power of Myth, The                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Pretty In Pink
Primary Colors
Princess Bride, The
Producers
Psycho                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Pulp Fiction
Purple Rain
Pursuit of Happyness, The
Rainman
Rent
Reversal of Fortune
Richard III
Riding the Bus with my Sister
Risky Business
River Wild The
Rocky Horror Picture Show The
Room with a View
Rosemary’s Baby
Sabrina
Saint Elmo’s Fire
Sandra Oh
Saturday Night Fever
Saw II                                                                                                                                                                                           Say Anything
Schindler’s List
Seventh Samurai
Shaft
Shakespeare in Love
Shallow Hal
Shane
Shanghai Express
Shoah
Showgirls
Silent Movie
Silkwood
Singing in the Rain
Sixteen Candles
Sleeping Beauty
Snakes on a Plane
Snow Dogs
Sophie’s Choice
Sound of Music, The
Space Odyssey
Speed                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         St Elmos Fire                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Star Is Born
Star Wars
Sting, The
Streetcar Named Desire, A
Taboo Broadway Show
Taxi Driver
Terms of Endearment                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Thelma and Louise
Them
This is Spinal Tap
Thomas Crown Affair, The
Titanic                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   To Kill A Mockingbird (Also on the book list!)
Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Turning Point
Untouchables, The
Urban Cowboy
Valley of the Dolls
View from the Top
Waiting for Godot
Waiting for Guthman
Wall Street
Way We Were, The
Welcome to the Dollhouse
West Side Story
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory                                                                                                                                                                                Witches Of Eastwick, The
Wizard of Oz
Working Girl
Xanadu
Yearling, The
Young Frankenstein
You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown

*Remember to link each movie review here – the more reviews the more chances you have to win!  Now grab your popcorn and lets get started!

Lorelai: So, apparently, I’m now the Reigning Lorelai.

Rory: Huh. I guess you are.

Lorelai: It’s a lot of responsibility.

Rory: Well, sure.

Lorelai: I mean, it’s mostly ceremonial stuff nowadays. Declaring knighthoods, opening supermarkets. But now and then, you get to banish someone or pose for a stamp.

Rory: Neat. And coins.

Lorelai: Yeah, and coins. You know, someday you’ll be the Reigning Lorelai.

Rory: I don’t like that idea!

Lorelai: Why not? You get a cape.

Rory: Because if I’m the Reigning Lorelai, then that means you’ll be gone.

Lorelai: Gone? No, not me. I’ll step down way before that. I’m not going to pull a Queen Elizabeth on you, make you wait around forever, force you to develop interests in polo and architecture.

Rory: I am scared of horses.

Lorelai: I know that.

Rory: So there’s a cape, huh?

Blogiesta : 2nd Edition


I am foregoing the Morning Meandering today to instead, let everyone know about the upcoming Blogiesta this Jan 8,9, and 10th.  The 1st Blogiesta that was held in June 2009 was right when I started blogging and it was not only timely for me – but so helpful.  (I will go more into detail on that this Friday at the kick off.)

If you are not familiar with the Blogiesta, pop over to Maw Books Blog and see what it is all about.  Basically it is a great way to learn more about blogging, meet new people, and make some blog improvements that you may have been putting off or did not know how to do. There are mini challenges as well as prizes.  It is not to late to hop on board and seriously – if you can participate, you wont be sorry.  This is like a blog makeover weekend!

Head over to Maw Books and see all the details on this wonderful event – I would love to do this with all of you!

Curse Of The Tahiera Winner!

Its time to announce the winner of the Curse Of The Tahiera book by Wendy Gillissen. Thanks to everyone who signed up for this one… your answers to my question were awesome!

The winner is (using random.org):

wendy wallach!!!


My questions was: If you were a fictitious character dropped into an adventure book, what would your adventure (story plot) be. add an extra chance by also telling me what your character name would be!

Wendy’s answer was:

My adventure would be about finding my way to a magical universe and my name would be Kyra

Thriller and Suspense Challenge 2010

Oh come on!  I had to!  Look at this great challenge picture!  Plus I read Thrillers and Suspense…. so I am in!  Book City Chick is hosting this challenge this year and you can peek over there for full details and signing up.  Here is the basics:


Timeline: 01 Jan 2010 – 31 Dec 2010
Rules: To read TWELVE (12) thrillers in 2010

Details:
• You don’t have to select your books ahead of time, you can just add them as you go. Also if you do list them upfront then you can change them, nothing is set in stone! The books you choose can crossover into other challenges you have on the go.

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