Book Journey

Morning Meanderings….

Published on October 27, 2009October 27, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)12 Comments

I feel completely relaxed for a person who is about to venture into a pretty heavy office day. We are switching data management software at Church and I am going to help review records and make sure everything transferred the way it was suppose to – all the names, info, etc… we have 24 hours to find any corrections that this new company will fix – after that we sign off on it tomorrow and anything beyond that is ours to fix. I am hopeful that things look just lovely today and it wont be a large project.

Other than that, my day isn’t too bad. I do no hopping around the blogesphere last night. None. Nada. In fact I didnt turn my computer back on after 5 pm. I was tired from the root canal thing and I am so deeply into this book The Help by Kathryn Stockett that I read it most of the evening. There truly are days when I know I am too tired to look at a computer screen… heck, there are days I know my eyes are too tired to read. Ever get that way?

Tonight I hope to catch up on the computer end – do some blog surfing (ahhhh… surfing would be great!) and write my posts for next week. Leave me a note here and I will be sure to stop your way later today. 🙂

Have a great Tuesday everyone!

What Are You Reading On Monday?

Published on October 26, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)8 Comments

This is a super late post. My dentist appointment (that little pain I have had over the last week?) Yeah, that resulted in a root canal this morning. I came home groggy and tired and pretty much out of it for the day. I want to get this post up because I love this meme and I am excited about the books that will be a part of my world over the next week or so…

Last week I completed

Family Plots by M P Kavanaugh (laugh out loud moments in this one!)

Nine Things Nathan Noticed at Night By Christy Baldwin (childrens read)

Receive Me Falling by Erika Robuck (an incredible read – a bit mystery, a bit historical, a bit paranormal… all rolled into one!)

This week I am currently reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett and loving it! This is going to be our first Word Shaker review that is suppose to go up yet today but I am not sure with as shaky as I am feeling right now.

For the rest of the week I dont think I will get a lot of reading in, I will mostly be prepping by guest posts for next week (be sure to check them out – I have a lot of fun things planned). I am mainly looking at the books I am planning to take with me to Honduras. Currently they are:

Tales of Pruit Almus by Robert Belenky ( about a Russian Childrens Shelter)

Jantsen’s Gift by Pam Cope (A true story of a woman who loses her son and finds new life working with vietnam orphans)

Take Your Best Shot by Austin Gutwein (about an AIDS clinic and medical center built in Zambia)

Children Of Dust by Eteraz (about growing up in Pakistan)

I will have 6 hours of plane time for reading there and back, plus evenings as well.

Thank you J Kaye for hosting this wonderful meme! I encourage you to share what you are reading as well and be sure to link to J Kaye’s post so others can stop in and see whats on your agenda this week for books! 🙂

Morning Meanderings….

Published on October 26, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)1 Comment

I only have a short time this morning as I have a dentist appointment. Ugh! I know right? I have to have it looked at before I head to Honduras on Friday as I really do not want to have any “tooth like” issues while in Honduras. I am holding my breath here that Al (hubby) will still be able to go. The weather here has been rainy and miserable and that has put him behind on the jobs ( we have an excavating company). I told him I had to know by this morning as I have to call in any changes to the lady we work wit on our trip planning.

When I am home today I am working on The Word Shaker on line Book Club review of The Help by Katherine Stockett. As the responses have come in I have held off on reading them as I am still enjoying the book and will finish up with it today.This is going to be a review that you are not going to want to miss!

What book have you read lately that has been the “dont miss review” for you?

In My Mailbox

Published on October 25, 2009October 25, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)28 Comments

Ooh – it was a good mailbox week! Good in the sense that the books were plentiful and some excellent titles passed through my fingers.

Ready to see what there was? Me too!

Shadow of Tears by Ole Dammegard is sent to me from the author. This book is a true story about friendship and an escape from Iran. Yeah – I know, pretty cool sounding! Oh, and it is signed too!

Freddie Girl by Nona David… doesnt this one just look fun? I am always up for a little YA reading! Thank you to Joan from Bernards Book Publishing for this one.

Flesh and Fire by Laura Anne Gilman. Smoking cover. Seriously. Look at it. This is book one of the Vineart War. Pocket Books sent this one my way for review.

Over The Holidays by Sandra Harper popped in my mailbox on Friday. I received this too late to do the review I was scheduled to do this past Wednesday so I will get to this one yet this week and have it posted. Doesn’t it look fun? Another read from Pocket Books.

The Bible Salesman by Clyde Edgeton and Life After Genius by M. Ann Jacoby are both review books from Hachette Book Group. They both sound wonderful! I will be posting a giveaway for Life After Genius before I leave at the end of the week.

The Laceyville Monkeys by Harriett Ruderman looks so fun! I will try to dig into this one as well this week. This one is from Bostick Communications.

100 Books For Girls To Grow On by Shireen Dodson, The Readers Choice by Victoria Golden McMains, The Mother Daughter Book Club by Shireen Dodson, and How To Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C Foster all came in for review by Harper Collins Publishers. Don’t they look fabulous? The books about books are driving me crazy… I want to touch them and dig right in! The book on how to read like a Professor? Well hello! What if I actually learn something? 🙂

Secrets Of The Christmas Box by Steven Hornby is this cute looking hard cover read that makes me think of snowy nights of hot cocoa and candy canes. Thank you to Ecky Thump Books for my review copy!

Soul Catcher by Leigh Bridger looks like an upbeat change of pace book for me. Cant wait to jump into the pages! Thank you to Bell Bridge Books for my review copy.

And finally – see this letter? It is from Michelle Moran, author of Cleopatra’s Daughter which I reviewed recently. She thanked me for the review and sent along this authentic coin from Ancient Rome! Very cool… letter and coin will be kept with the book.

So thats my mailbox. Lots of great things to read! I would love to hear about what you got as well! Hop, skip, jump, and click your way over to Kristi at Story Siren and add your post to her linky. That way we can all visit and snoop in your mailbox! 😉

Receive Me Falling by Erika Robuck

Published on October 25, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)4 Comments

Woven between two worlds…. one woman desperately seeking the truth to her families heritage and one seeking a world where all people are free…. and both women more similar than they would ever know…. ~ Sheila

Every slave story is a ghost story. The haunting words of an historian and former cane worker on the Caribbean island of Nevis launch Meghan Owen on her quest to unlock the secrets of an abandoned sugar plantation and its ghosts. After Meg’s parents die in a car accident on the night of her engagement party, she calls off her wedding, takes leave of her job in Annapolis, and travels to land she’s inherited on Nevis. A series of discoveries in an old plantation house on the property, Eden, set her on a search for the truth surrounding the shameful past of her ancestors, their slaves, and the tragedy that resulted in the fall of the plantation and its inhabitants. Through a crushing phone call with her lawyer, Meg learns that her father’s estate was built on stolen money, and is being sued by multiple sources. She is faced with having to sell the land and plantation home, and deal with the betrayal she feels from her deceased father. In alternating chapters, the historical drama of the Dall family unfolds. Upon the arrival of British abolitionists to the hedonistic 19th century plantation society, Catherine Dall is forced to choose between her lifestyle and the scandal of deserting her family. An angry confrontation with Catherine’s slave, Leah, results in the girl’s death, but was it murder or suicide? Hidden texts, scandalous diaries, antique paintings, and confessional letters help Meghan Owen uncover the secrets of Eden and put the ghosts to rest.

My Thoughts:

At first this book that travels in alternating chapters from present time Meg to 19th century Catherine left me struggling to get a grip on both worlds as they unfolded. And unfold they did. In past reads that had a similar layout of alternating people or times I had found that I favored one story line over the other. In Receive Me Falling, I quickly found myself enjoying both Meg’s journey into the past as well as Catherines hopes for the future.

This was not a light story line either. Author Erika Robuck hits hard on the lives of the slaves in Catherines world. At times the description of the beatings, the rapes, and even the deaths were enough to grab my breath and tighten my heart strings. There is even one part of the book that was so vivid, so richly described that I placed a post it in the space to hopefully be able to ask the author about this particular scene.

A read with strong characters both female and male. A taste of plantation reality as well as modern day heartbreak when your family is not who you thought or hoped they were. A masterpiece in writing and I do not say these words lightly.

Erika is an historical fiction writer. Her first novel, Receive Me Falling, was released in March of 2009. She is currently at work on a novel set in depression-era Key West in the home of Ernest Hemingway.

Erika has a keen interest in all things historical, and spends her time reading, writing, researching for her writing, and visiting local, national, and international historic sites.

You can visit Erika’s website here

I received my review copy from Bostick Communications

I would rate this book PG for some strong imageing of slaves

Morning Meandering…

Published on October 25, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)15 Comments

Up most the night with the Read A Thon and so not sure it really feels like morning. 🙂 The Read A Thon was a lot of fun and I had many visitors that were new who i will have to visit in the next couple of days and see their blogs as well. I am tired…. and will probably go lay down and take fulla dvantage of the 30 minutes I can rest before I really need to be up and moving.

Thanks everyone who put work and effort into the Read A Thon… for my first one it was a blast and it fun to see how things were done. I finished 4 books and am currently reading The Help which is where I had planned to end up. I have receiws to write yet and a great one going live today so watch for it!

Have a great day everyone….. and g night to me for at least 30 minutes… maybe 45….

Dewey’s 24 Hour Read A Thon!

Published on October 25, 2009October 25, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)54 Comments

My very first Read A Thon! I am so excited! This post will stay on top today (all other posts today will be below so be sure to check them out!

What is Dewey’s 24-Hour Read-A-Thon? For 24 hours, we read books, post to our blogs about OKour reading, and visit other readers’ blogs. We also participate in mini-challenges throughout the day. It happens twice a year, in April and in October.

It was created by the beloved Dewey. The first one was held in October 2007. Dewey died in late 2008. We’re still saddened by her absence, but the show must go on. The Read-A-Thon was renamed to honor its founder in 2009.

This will be my log of what I am doing each hour of the Read A Thon….

8 am: Start time: I am up and excited to go. I am fully loaded with a fresh pot of coffee and finishing up Receive Me Falling by Erika Robuck (loving it!)

9 am: Checking out the Deweys 24 Hour read A Thon blog to see what challenges are happening… the 8 am book is complete.

10 am: I am reading Too Many Visitors For One Little House by Susan Chodakiewitz (short read) and now have movied on to Love Has A Face by Michelle Perry (super excited about this one!)

11 am: Had more coffee, caught up on the mini challenges (I am a sucker for those!) Commented on a few blogs and continues reading.

12 noon: Eating a little bag of trail mix… checking in on new challenges. Taking a break soon to write a post on a great post I seen at Maw Books that is calling me…. then seriously back to my book.

1 pm: Back to the mini’s… I am hooked on the challenges…Oh NO! Must stop so I can read. Reading now and had some yogurt.

2 pm: Made popcorn for the reading challenge last hour and am now enjoying it while still into my book. Also did some lunges in the kitchen while the popcorn popped so I wasnt just sitting all day…LOL

3pm: Reading on… about half way through.

4 pm: Sat the book down and read a graphic comic on line. It was for a mini challenge. I have never read a graphic comic before. Deciding with my hubby what to plan for dinner… (I am hoping we just order pizza!) Oh – and I won a mini challenge comment prize and was able to pick to books out of the prize package! I went for Shiver and The Lost Symbol! 🙂

5 pm: Dinner break w/ hubby and then shut laptop down so I could finish the book and stop being tempted by the mini challenges and comments… 🙂

6 pm: Used this hour and finished reading Love Has A Face by Michelle Perry! YES!

7 pm: Back on line and catching up on comments and looking to see what the challenges are for this hour… then I have a few small childrens reads I am going to do before I go to a bigger read..

8 pm: I have started The Help. Yippy! I have so been looking forward to this read! :0 Cha Cha happy dance – seriously! I did all the mini challenges this hour because – they are so fun!

9 pm: Holy cats! 13 hours in for me… I feel good. Maybe a bit more coffee. Enjoying The Help so far and knew I would. I did the Dewey post… I had too. Such an amazing person… I wish I had known her.

10 pm: Ok now I am a bit tired… got up and stretched a bit. Book is good. I put it down to do the two mini challenges and now am back on it.

11 pm: Still here… reading only now and not commenting so much. At 11:30 I am checking the mini challenges for this hour and then will return to the reading.

MIDNIGHT: Getting tired. Broke up the pattern of reading by writing a review for one of the books I finished. I wanted to capture the details while it was still fresh in my mind! Checking in on the Read A Thon site to see what is new…

1 am: Wow… its like I am coming full circle… but not…LOL. Yup getting tired and giddy. I did the challenges. Still reading but it is not sticking to the brain as well….

2 am: I think I am done. Eyes dont work any more….

3 am – 6: am: Sleeping 😉

6 am: Up – cheering for those who are still going….

Wrap Up Mini Challenge

Published on October 25, 2009October 25, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)4 Comments

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?

At 2 am is when I was losing it….

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

Receive Me Falling was excellent and quick moving, I would also suggest if you have a small series you have been wanting to get into this may be a good time too….

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

I thought this year was wonderful…

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

It all went together well. Everyone seemed to work together from the challenges to the cheerleaders.

5. How many books did you read?

6. What were the names of the books you read?

Receive Me Falling, In The Name Of Love, Too Many People In One Little House, When The Roof Caves In and I am working on The Help

7. Which book did you enjoy most?

Receive me falling was really a wonderful read. The Help is going to be excellent but I am not done with it yet

8. Which did you enjoy least?

The House one…. and there was another one not mentioned here that I started and stopped.

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
NA

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

Oh I would love to participate again! I would be a reader again and I would love to host a mini challenge

5 Children Read Favs (Mini Challenge)

Published on October 25, 2009October 25, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)2 Comments

Ok… its after midnight and I am taking part of this challenge posted by Chronicles Of An Infant Bibliophile

For this challenge we are supose to list 5 of our favorite childrens read. Ok here I go:

Charlotte’s Web :Oh come on, no brainer right? Loved this book as a child – I really did.

Are You There God Its Me Margaret…. ok I grew up on Judy Blume and I swear I owe part of my reading habits today to her wonderful books!

Really just about anything Dr. Seuss. I think I knew these books by heart. I had, my kids had them….

This one will probably surprise you. If you know me you know that dolls creep me out. Always have. This is the exception. Mrs Beasley was ok and I even had a Mrs. Beasely doll growing up. I have no idea what happened to her.

Original Nancy Drew…. not remakes. No. Much be the good old ones. In fact I have some of these I found at a flea market. I hope to find them all.

In Honour Of Dewey

Published on October 25, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)Leave a comment

For this mini challenge we have asked to take a few minutes and remember Dewey. I didn’t know Dewey. I came into the blogging world after she had gone on…. but there is truly this amazing presence of her still today. From all areas of The Blogesphere, I have seen her name, read about the amazing things she has done, and wished that I could have been one of those to say that I had had known her as well.

I first seen the sidebar memes that said in Memory of Dewey. I wanted to ask about her, but didn’t know how. I didnt want to leave my question in a comment and I didn’t know any of my fellow bloggers well enought to ask in an email. I did wonder though… who was Dewey?

It wasnt until BBAW that I heard the entire story and with tears in my eyes I read about her incredible pressence, how she made everyone feel appreciated and welcome, how she built up a community of bloggers and knit them together… all the while dealing with an illness that if I understand correctly, she did not reveal in any way.

Her passing, was a surprise that shook the core of many of the long term book bloggers. Reading on the BBAW posts I read comment after comment of lives she had touched. As tears ran down my face my heart actually ached for this wonderful person who I had never met, but had touched so many.

Even though I never new Dewey… through you, the book blogging community, I feel that I did. And for that I am grateful.