2010 Reading From My Shelves Project

I love this idea that Bibliophile By The Sea is hosting and I think it will fit nicely into the other challenges I have signed up for 2010.  Yes, you can combine challenges – meaning that if you are signed up for a Suspense Mystery Challenge for 2010 and 5 of those books are off your personal book shelves, those books can be used for both challenges. I have shelves full of books i have purchased and found at Library sales.  Books that are wonderful, but sit waiting patiently on me.  This will intentionally give me purpose to pull some of these treasures off the shelf throughout the year.

Here is the info:

So with 2010 just around the corner, we are encouraged to lesson the weight on our bookshelves, by reading books from our shelves, and then passing the books on to someone else: a friend, relative, the library, used book store, swap them, just as long as the book leaves our homes once it has been read.

My personal goal is going to be the minimum of 20.  I will try to read the book and set it free if I can…. I really hang on to a lot of my books, especially the ones I love.

Does this sound like something you’d like to do as well?  If so, head over to Bibliophile By The Sea and get the instructions to sign up from there!  🙂

 

Its Monday… What are you Reading?

This is the weekly meme hosted by J Kayes Blog. I love this because it gives me a chance to walk to the shelves and choose what is up for this week.  I am more successful than not when I plan my reading this way.  🙂  So here is what is on my reading plan for this week:

Yes!  I am currently reading Catching Fire and will be done very soon with it.  After finishing Hunger Games over the weekend there really was no choice, I had to pick this one up next.

Loss Of Carrier is on tour this week and I am almost done with this one as well.

Tirissa and The Necklace of Nulidor is on tour for tomorrow.  This one I have completed.

Thanksgiving at The Inn in is my Thursday read.  I figured this was the perfect week to be reading this book!

Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day is hopefully going to be on the Thanksgiving menu here at the DeChantal’s.  I want to review it and bake out of it for Thursday.

This week I completed:

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Wisdom Hunter by Randall Arthur

Too Many Visitors For One little House

Charlie and Mama Kyna

Novel Destinations

The Secret of Joy by Melissa Senate

Marriage 101

So thats what I am reading.  How about you?

Morning Meanderings…

Morning all.  Coffee Cup I will be rolling out of here early today.  Normally Mondays have more time to hang out as my office days are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday – but this week being Thanksgiving, I am going to go to the office today until about 2:30.

Yesterday Chance and I went to New Moon and I really enjoyed it!  I am just going to put my thoughts here as doing a separate post on it when I have so many exciting reviews yet to catch up on seems a little much.  So – first off I read all the Twilight series in January of this year.  Here is the review of New Moon.  (Take note I was not book blogging then I was more book journaling so no one was reading these reviews and they are not as “polished” should I say as they are now.  Actually reading that post now, I am kind of proud of it.  I had enjoyed the books and looking at my words, besides maybe adding a bit about the author, I dont think I would have changed it much from what I said.

As far as the movie goes, I really liked it.  I think the only thing I would say about it is that it moved so quickly through some of the scenes (and I know it needed to) yet in the book the motorcycle building and practicing and riding is longer, it shows the relationship developing stronger with Jacob and of course in a movie, there just isnt time so one ride … and move on basically.  Also, the return of Edward seems to come together faster, easier than it did in the book as well.  I remember reading the book and longing for Edwards return and Stephanie Meyer had really written this book well to keep us at bay with not getting what we wanted.  Like I said in my review, this book is a necessity to build Jake.s character up in us and in Bella.  Edward has to be out of the picture for this to happen.

Here are the other reviews of the series:  Twilight, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn. * Note – these reviews are fun to read because I am so open with how I feel about the books.  For instance, in my review of Eclipse, I say I want to bite Bella for being so wishy washy washy.  I want to bite her on the neck.  Fair warning.  😉

So – that’s about it.  It was a good afternoon!  It was fun to hang out with Chance and talk books!

Currently I am flying through Catching Fire and have reviews I really need to get written.  Yet today you will see the What Are You Reading Monday post and this afternoon I am thinking I am going to write up my interview I had with Pam Cope last week, author of the book Jantsens Gift.  This was a remarkable conversation and I cant wait to share it with all of you.

Have an incredible day!  Stop in, say hi, let me know about your weekend… the coffee is always on!  🙂

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Breathtaking action!  I was transported into a world that may have once been mine… and I found myself anticipating what would happen next!  ~  Sheila

Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, “The Hunger Games.” The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When her sister is chosen by lottery, Katniss steps up to go in her place.



In My Opinion:

I just finished Hunger games minutes ago and I feel like I have just been let in to a secret club.  Seriously.  I have read reviews on Hunger Games for months now and wondering what all the hype was.  I entered a few contests to win it, and did not.  I did however win a copy of Catching Fire and I knew I had to read Hunger Games first so I bought it last weekend and started it yesterday.

This is a book that by cover alone I would never have picked up.  The title?  Nope.  Reading what it was about?  Still a no, I couldn’t imagine myself reading on a topic of young kids fighting to the death.  Even after I picked the book up and opened up to the first page I still am having doubt.  What if I am that one person that just cant get into this book? And then I started reading….  and in no time, I love Katniss and her strength and her love for her family.  I love Prim in all her youthfulness and sweetness… still mostly untouched by all the harshness of all this world that I have just entered.  I could hardly put it down.  You know the type.  The book that you can hardly stop to eat dinner for.  It traveled with me everywhere the past 48 hours.  In any spare moments I had, I read.

I don’t know what I can say other than I loved this book!  It is so well written that I have a list of people who I feel must read it.  I have to tell my book club about it.  I am not sure who to pass this book on to next because the selfish book lover in me is thinking, what if they damage it?  What if I don’t get it back?  I seriously am treating this book like a piece of gold I just discovered…. a book of much worth.

What am I reading next?  As I type, I have Catching Fire sitting next to me.  It has to be next.  I have to know what happens next.


I purchased my copy of this book from Barnes & Noble, St. Cloud, MN


Morning Meanderings

I am so excited!  Yesterday I finished reading Hunger Games and I feel like I have just been given the keys to the club that is all things Suzanne Collins!  I seriously can not even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed this book!  My review will be up later today along with my first use of the Spoiler Alert Button so those of you who have alread read the book can enter there and we can discuss the book in more detail!  I would really enjoy that!  🙂

Yesterday my friend Jennifer and I went on an 18 mile bike ride!  Yes!  18 miles on November 21 in MINNESOTA!  The temperature was about 48  degrees.  I was totally not dressed right and after I got home spent the next couple hours in bed with a sweatshirt on and three quilts on my with the heat turned up.  SO COLD.

My vehicle loaded with my bike for the November ride!
My vehicle loaded with my bike for the November ride!

In a couple hours here Chance and I are going to go and see New Moon!  I bought the tickets yesterday and I am really excited for this movie!

My In My Mailbox post went up late last night so if you are curious what entered the home of the DeChantal’s this week, please check it out here….

In My Mailbox

This weeks mailbox was a  fairly light one.  Here is what arrived:



Rene’ has Two Names – how fun is this great looking book?


40 Loaves is an upcoming Blog Tour that I am really excited about!


The Silent Gift, Though Waters Roar, and The Rose Legacy are all from Bethany House.  These books look like sweet reads I am going to review soon!


Samson’s Wall’s ARC is a pretty exciting sounding read.  I am glad to get in on the ground floor of this one.


Healthy Bread In Five Minutes A Day (what is with the bread theme this week?)  This looks delicious!  I think this review may be on Thanksgiving as I try out a recipe or two out of this wonderful looking book!


Run For Your Life Audio is a win from J Kayes Blog!  I am so excited to listen to this one… I am on a whole Patterson kick…  Thanks J Kaye!


Thanksgiving At The Inn is a win from Miss Remmer’s Blog.  What perfect timing!  I want tor ead this one this weel for obvious reasons!  🙂  Thanks Reagan!


So that’s what the mailbox had in store for me this week.  How about you?  Be sure to link to this wonderful weekly meme hosted by Kristi of Story Siren.

Happy reading everyone!  I am off to enjoy Catching Fire, having finish Hunger Games about an hour ago…. I am now a total addict!  😉

The Winners!!!

I had several giveaways end on the 20th and I am now ready to announce the lucky winners! All winners are chosen by using Random.org

First up, I have 3 copies of 9 Dragons by Michael Connelly to give away…

the winners are….

Jonnie H

(already won this book so new name was drawn)

Framed

Debbie

Sandi

Winner from Alisons Guest Post on Jantsen’s Gift for a copy of the incredible book Jantsens Gift:

Margie

Winner from Esme’s Guest Post of a Book of their choice from the prize box:

Piroska

And last but not least…. the New Moon book giveaway with candy….

Birdie S.

Interesting fact… on the New Moon giveaway the question to qualify for this giveaway was who is your favorite Twilight series character….  the winner out of the 70 responses was:

Edward

Thanks everyone for entering the giveaways!  Please check the giveaway link often, I have more giveaways going up soon and and a big one planned to start in December!



2010 100+ Reading Challenge

Having started my serious blogging journey this past June, this was a challenge that I was curious about but was unsure if was a reachable goal at at that time.  I still have not sat down and organized my reviews of this year to see where I have landed, but I hope to do that soon.  I also need to really organize my Challenges for 2010.  🙂

This one is really an ideal Challenge for me, and really for anyone who reads a lot.  You can use this with any other challenge, so for instance, I also signed up for the challenge to read 25 YA reads in 2010.  I can include those 25 in this challenge.  Interested on knowing more?  Stop over at J Kayes Blog and find the official sign up post.


1.Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling

2. The Mayo Clinic Diet and Journal

3. Mass Casualties by Michael Anthony

4. hush hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

5. Monique And The Mango Rains by Kris Holloway

6. What To Do When The Roof Caves In by Marilyn Meberg

7. The Heretics Daughter by Kathleen Kent

8. Denise’s Daily Dozen by Denise Austin

9. The Fruit Of My Lipstick by Shelley Adina

10.  The Mercy Seller by Brenda Rickman Vantrease

11.  War Child by Emmanuel Jal

12.  Rene Has Two Last Names by Rene Calato Lainez

13.  The Mother Daughter Book Club by Shireen Dodson

14.  I, Alex Cross by James Patterson

15.  Home Is Where The Wine Is by Laurie Perry

16.  The Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter and Sweet By Jamie Ford

17.  Swoon At Your Own Risk by Sydney Salter

18.  Hear No Evil by Matthew Paul Turner

19.  The Pastors Wife By Jennifer AILee

20.  Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

21.  Always My Brother by Jean Reagan

22.  Wounded by Claudia Mair Burney

23.  STILL A Winters Journey by Greg Budig

24.  The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

25.  The Next Thing On My List by Jill Smolinski

26.  I Hadn’t meant To Tell You This by Jacqueline Woodson

27.  My Shoes and I by Rene Colato Lainez

28.  The Thirteenth Hour by Richard Doetsch

29.  The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova

30.  Girlfriends From Campfires to Crows Feet by Monica Sheehan

31.  Balancing Acts by Zoe Fishman

32.  Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani

33.  The Fiddler’s Gun by A.S. Peterson

34. Songbirds Under A German Moon by Tricia Goyer

35.  Little Bee by Chris Cleave

36.  Sand In My Bra From Funny Women From The Road

37.  Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

38.  Hold Still by Nina LaCour

39.  100 Cupboards by N D Wilson

40.  Read, Remember, Recommend by Rachel Rogers Knight

41.  Worst Case by James Patterson

42.  Deadly Deals by Fern Michaels

43.  Titanic 2012 by Bill Walker

44.  Dead End Gene Pool by Wendy Burden

45.  The Arrival by Shaun Tan

46.  The Girl She Used To Be by David Cristofano

47.  Forbidden Fruit by Pearce Carefoote

48.  Life In Spite Of Me by Tricia Goyer

49.The Opposite Of Me by Sarah Pekkanen

50.  The Girls From Ames by Jeffrey Zaslow

51.  The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

52.  Annie Freeman’s Fabulous Traveling Funeral by Kris Radish

53.  Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban by J K Rowling

54.  Eyes Of Darkness by Dean Koontz

55.  Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

56.  Dreaming Of Dior by Charlotte Smith

57.  Dovey Coe by Frances O Roark Dowell

58.  The Short Second Life On Bree tanner by Stephanie Meyer

59. Guest House by Barbara Richardson

60.  The Missing Element by John Betcher

61.  At Witt’s End by Beth Solheim

62.  Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

63.  born under a million shadows by Andrea Busfield

64.  Seven Year Switch by Claire Cook

65.  The Accidental Adult by Colin Sokolowski

66.  The Icing On The Cupcake by Jennifer Ross

67.  Not Without Hope by Nick Schuyler

68.  The Game On Diet by Krista Vernoff and A Z Ferguson

69.  The Color Purple by Alice Walker

70.  The Wildwater Walking Club by Claire Cook

71.  Thumbing Through Thoreau by Kenny Luck

72.  auf weidersehen by Christa Holder Ocker

73.  The Evolution of Shadows by Jason Quinn Malot

74.  Summer At Tiffany’s by Marjorie Hart

75.  Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

76.  Masquerade by Nancy Moser

77.  To Kill A  Mockingbird by Harper Lee

78.  I Am Nujood Age 10 and Divorced by Nojood Ali

79.  What The YUCK by the Editors of Health

80.  The I Hate To Cook Book by Peg Bracken

81.  The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

82.  ROOM by Emma Donoghue

83.  The Face On The Milk Carton by Caroline B Cooney

84.  SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson

85.  The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel and Pie Society by Mary Ann Schafer

86.  The Wife’s Tale by Lori Lansens

87.  The Absolute True Diary Of A Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

88.  Noah’s Castle by John Rowe Townsend

89.  The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

90.  Alice’s tea Cup by Haley Fox and Lauren Fox

91.  The LORAX by Dr. Suess

92.  The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

93.  Left To Tell by Immaculee IIibagiza

94.  The Boticelli Secret by Marina Fiorato

95.  Cake Boss by Buddy Valastro

96.  The Snow Globe by Sheila Roberts

97.  Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl

98.  Dont Sing At The Table… Life Lessons From My Grandmothers by Adraina Trigiani

99.  The Games Bible by Leigh Anderson

100.  Coffee and Fate by R J Erbacher

101.  The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck

102.  The Secret Society Of The Pink Crystal Ball by Risa Green

103.  Shiver by Maggie Steifvater

104.  Chosen – House Of Night by P.C. Cast

105.  Step On A Crack by James Patterson

106.  Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows by J K Rowling

107.  Men and Dogs by Katie Crouch

108.  Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

109.  The Postcard Killers by James Patterson

110.  The Island by Elin Hilderbrand

111.  The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

112.  Life Sentences by Laura Lippman

113.  Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

114.  A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

115.  House Rules by Jodi Piccoult

116.  The Passage by Justin Cronin

 


Morning Meanderings…

I have a 3 hour Leadership Training meeting this morning so not a lot of time here but wanted to grab Coffee Cup and say hi really quick.  I have winner s to announce later for the giveaways that ended yesterday.

This afternoon I plan to go to New Moon with Chance and I am pretty excited about that.  I also started reading Hunger Games yesterday afternoon and it is totally blowing me away.  I would have never thought I would have enjoyed a book with this sort of theme but I am so loving it.  Obviously more soon…. this will be quite the review!

You may have noticed my post on the Pemberley Ball.  Yes, I have been invited to a weekend ball of all things Austen!  Stop by and check out this clever event!

I am off for now.  Enjoy your Saturday wherever you are!

Pemberley Ball

Pemberley Ball

November 20-22, 2009

3-day party

Welcome!  For the next couple of days I will be partaking in this wonderful ball being held by Mr. Darcey himself!  Why it makes me blush just to think about it!  This is an open invitation if you would care to join me.  The invite did say I could bring along a few acquaintances and of course I thought of you.

I am so pleased with the gown I was able to just finish the lace on this afternoon.  I certainly hope their will be lots of dancing as I have my dance card ready to go!

Marianne Dashwood