Book Journey

In the reading room I have this great little 2 drawer stand.  The stands drawers are deep like a filing cabinet and as books come in to my home each week (by mail, by gift, by library, by me…) they go in the drawers of this stand until I take them out and catalog them for this weekly post.

Many weeks, such as this one, I start pulling out of the drawers and I am surprised how many have entered these walls.  Its like a little Christmas each week!  So a special thank you to Kristi at Story Siren, who inspired me by hosting this weekly meme.

Secrets, secrets are no fun. Secrets, secrets hurt someone. . . .

An eccentric new girl. A brooding socialite. The scion of one of New York’s wealthiest families. A promising filmmaker. As students at the exclusive Chadwick School, Phoebe, Lauren, Nick, and Patch already live in a world most teenagers only dream about.

They didn’t ask to be Society members. But when three of them receive a mysterious text message promising success and fame beyond belief, they say yes to everything—even to the harrowing initiation ceremony in a gritty warehouse downtown and to the ankh-shaped tattoo they’re forced to get on the nape of their necks. Once they’re part of the Society, things begin falling into place for them. Week after week, their ambitions are fulfilled. It’s all perfect—until a body is found in Central Park with no distinguishing marks except for an ankh-shaped tattoo.

I seriously am loving this cover and this story line!  Thanks to Luxury Reading for first introducing me to this book!  I had to purchase it!

The world is changing: the government has seized control of every aspect of society, and now, kids are disappearing. For 15-year-old Wisty and her older brother Whit, life turns upside down when they are torn from their parents one night and slammed into a secret prison for no reason they can comprehend. The New Order, as it is known, is clearly trying to suppress Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Being a Normal Teenager. But while trapped in this totalitarian nightmare, Wisty and Whit discover they have incredible powers they’d never dreamed of. Can this newly minted witch and wizard master their skills in time to save themselves, their parents–and maybe the world?

I am so into James Patterson these days and I love the diversity in his books.  I was interested in this YA read the moment I seen it.  This one I bought two of – one for me and one for my son.  I have read mysteries, suspense, and even romance from Patterson…. this one will be a new adventure!

Author Jonny Bowden looks at what he calls “The Four Horsemen of Aging”—free radicals, inflammation, glycation, and stress—and shows how they can harm your health and shorten your life. Bowden then unveils an arsenal of anti-aging strategies culled from cutting edge research and lessons learned from the longest lived people on the planet. He examines how the major organs, such as the heart and the brain, age and how you can prevent damage to these vital parts of the body. In total, readers learn what they can eat, do, and take to feel great, avoid illness, and live a long life.

I enjoy interesting books on keeping fit and eating right.  I am always up for new ways to keep the workouts fresh and fun.  When this book was offered up for review I jumped at the chance!

When SPC Anthony joined the Army at 18, he went in with high hopes and sterling ideals; coming from a family with a proud military background, Anthony expected to meet mentors, heroes and lifelong friends while earning money for college and becoming a man. What he discovered was a disenchanting web of mundane corruption and self-serving lies. Unlike accounts exposing the military’s most shameful iniquities, Anthony’s memoir focuses on an endless parade of petty offenses-the cowardice, drug addiction, thievery, adultery and rampant hypocrisy-he found while working in a base hospital. Relentlessly honest and reflective, Anthony’s record communicates perfectly the stranglehold of sadness, fear and disappointment that came with his lost innocence; just as worse is his eventual acceptance of the pointless, dysfunctional bureaucracy maintaining the status quo. Avoiding the intensity of the battlefield and the OR itself, Anthony’s frustrations resonate with the feelings of any young man learning about the nature of authority and his helplessness before it. Readers curious about the human side of the ongoing Iraqi conflict will be struck by Anthony’s strong voice, direct storytelling and stark honesty.

No – I am not a war buff, but I do like true stories and when I first heard about this book I knew I wanted to know more.

She’s Back, and edgier than ever. In her debut narrative, Drunk, Divorced, & Covered in Cat Hair, blogger extraordinaire Laurie Perry, aka ‘Crazy Aunt Purl,’ gave women everywhere a hilarious yet heartfelt glimpse into her misadventures as a recent divorcee with a herd of cats, a slight wine and Cheetos problem, and scores of unfinished and uneven knitting projects.

Now, in her second installment, she’s no longer drunk-dialing her ex. She is well on her way to divorce recovery and has embraced a new-found philosophy: To make the best out of the ‘extra odd bits’—both in knitting and in life. Discovering how she accomplishes this will make you laugh and cry as she navigates new territory, from dating in a weird, wired world to vacationing solo for the first time. On the cusp of the big four-O, she ventures to the most exotic, foreign locations—the gym, a therapist’s office, a self-tanning emporium— on a search for enlightenment and happiness in— where else?—downtown Los Angeles.

As usual… my reading pallet takes me all over the board and this review looked a little to funny to pass up.  I think what really caught my eyes is that this book includes 12 knitting recipes.  I know…. I don’t knit… but I am curious anyway!  🙂

Readers are in for a delightful romp with this award-winning debut from a British author who dances in the footsteps of P.L. Travers and Roald Dahl. As the story opens, mysterious goings-on ruffle the self-satisfied suburban world of the Dursleys, culminating in a trio of strangers depositing the Dursleys’ infant nephew Harry in a basket on their doorstep. After 11 years of disregard and neglect at the hands of his aunt, uncle and their swinish son Dudley, Harry suddenly receives a visit from a giant named Hagrid, who informs Harry that his mother and father were a witch and a wizard, and that he is to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry himself. Most surprising of all, Harry is a legend in the witch world for having survived an attack by the evil sorcerer Voldemort, who killed his parents and left Harry with a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. And so the fun begins, with Harry going off to boarding school like a typical English kid?only his supplies include a message-carrying owl and a magic wand. There is enchantment, suspense and danger galore (as well as enough creepy creatures to satisfy the most bogeymen-loving readers, and even a magical game of soccer like Quidditch to entertain sports fans) as Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione plumb the secrets of the forbidden third floor at Hogwarts to battle evil and unravel the mystery behind Harry’s scar. Rowling leaves the door wide open for a sequel; bedazzled readers will surely clamor for one.

I have recently been reading book one again and I have to say it is bringing me right back to the brilliance it once was.  It never grows old for me.  I love right from the start how J K Rowling is simply brilliant!  I heard through a conversation on Twitter that the audios of the books were fantastic so I set out to see for myself.  This one arrived this week, a used copy I purchased on line but see now I have goofed as it is in cassette and not DVD.  Oh well….  hopefully it is just as wonderful.

About three things I was absolutely certain. First, Edwart was most likely my soul mate, maybe. Second, there was a vampire part of him–which I assumed was wildly out of his control–that wanted me dead. And third, I unconditionally, irrevocably, impenetrably, heterogeneously, gynecologically, and disreputably wished he had kissed me.

I had never heard of this book prior to me opening it up as a gift from my son on Christmas.  The cover made me think it was another vampire like series hanging on to the coat tales of Twilight.  In a way, I was right…  when I turned the book over to read the back… I laughed out loud.  I am currently reading this and it is pretty fun.

There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce–and goes out of his way to make that very clear–she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

This is a book I fell totally in love with from the reviews on line.  I think I first spotted it on Kristi’s Story Siren post… and then it snowballed from there.  This one also showed up under the tree for Christmas from my wonderful husband who sees first hand all the books I am surrounded by and yet has the heart to purchase me another!

“Empowering, motivating, and inspiring, The One-Day Way artfully weaves the story of Chantel Hobbs’s weight struggles and triumphs with practical strategies. Chantel shows readers how to change their thoughts and habits to move toward long-term, sustainable weight loss. The key messages–taking each day as it comes and turning negative, sabotaging thoughts into positive ones–are powerful.”

Yes, another book on healthy habits.  It is that time of year where many people take a good hard look at where they are at physically and decide to make a change.  For me, I made that change over a year ago and try to keep healthy habits in my path by surrounding myself with people who want to eat healthy and who challenge me to be the best I can be.

With startling transparency, Joshua Harris shares how we can rediscover the relevance and power of Christian truth. This is book shows a young man who rose quickly to success in the Christian evangelical world before he realized his spirituality lacked a foundation—it rested more on tradition and morality than on an informed knowledge of God.

For the indifferent or spiritually numb, Harris’s humorous and engaging reflections on Christian beliefs show that orthodoxy isn’t just for scholars—it is for anyone who longs to know the living Jesus Christ. As Harris writes, “I’ve come to learn that theology matters. It matters not because we want to impress people, but because what we know about God shapes the way we think and live. Theology matters because if we get it wrong then our whole life will be wrong.”

I have read Josh before and enjoyed his writing.  This is a book I am thrilled to review.

Set in 1907 Wisconsin, Goolrick’s fiction debut (after a memoir, The End of the World as We Know It) gets off to a slow, stylized start, but eventually generates some real suspense. When Catherine Land, who’s survived a traumatic early life by using her wits and sexuality as weapons, happens on a newspaper ad from a well-to-do businessman in need of a “reliable wife,” she invents a plan to benefit from his riches and his need. Her new husband, Ralph Truitt, discovers she’s deceived him the moment she arrives in his remote hometown. Driven by a complex mix of emotions and simple animal attraction, he marries her anyway. After the wedding, Catherine helps Ralph search for his estranged son and, despite growing misgivings, begins to poison him with small doses of arsenic.

Does this look super or what?  What a great story line and I love my cover much better than the one on Amazon!

. . dramatic, tender, funny, frightening, earthy, quirky, wise and heart-warming. The tale of young Christa and her family as they leave a comfortable home to become penniless immigrants in their quest to survive the collapse of the Third Reich and flee the horrors that it has unleashed, opens up to universal themes of suffering, loss, love and hope.

Another book I am anxious to read!

From Mayo Clinic, a leading authority on health and nutrition, comes The Mayo Clinic Diet, the last diet you’ll ever need.

Get a quick and gratifying start with Lose It!, the phase of the diet designed to help you lose up to six to ten pounds in just two weeks. Eat the foods you love – in moderation – in the Live It! phase, which is designed to help you continue to lose one to two pounds a week (and keep them off!).

This is exciting and my review copy came with the journal as well!  I am going to look this over this next week and see if I can implement some of the habits for the review.

Yes! It is a Barnes & Noble Gift Card!!!  I cant decide what it will be……

There it is!  That’s what was in my mailbox this week.  How about you?  Did fabulous reads come your way?  Be sure to connect over at Story Siren’s blog.  I would love to see what you got!