Book Journey

Eat To Read Mini Challenge

Published on October 24, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)11 Comments

I am doing the Dewey’s 24 Hour read A Thon today (my first ever!) and one of the mini challenges put on by Beth Fish Reads is to tell about what we snack on while we read.

Well today as I am in hour 7 I had started my day with a bowl of Fiber One Cereal (Delicious!)

Of Course I have had lots and lots of coffee

As noon approached (hour 4 for me) I had a Key Lime Pie Fiber One Yogurt (Also super yummy if you have not tried them!)

My normal snacking for reading has to be what I am about to have next – the tried and true bowl of popcorn (Salty!) with a diet Pepsi (Sweet!)

How about you? What do you snack on?

Book Carnival: Books About Africa

Published on October 24, 2009October 24, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)2 Comments

If you have hung around the book blogs for any amount of time you are sure to have heard us bloggers joking about our TBR (To Be Read) piles (hills, mountains, whatever…). I often look at the books on my shelf that I are on my TBR radar and think, “ok, that’s it. No more books until you make a dent here!”

Yeah right.

I really do mean well but unless I lose my ability to read – I will always be seeing more and more books that I want to read. Today, I popped in to see what Natasha was reviewing over at Maw Books and found a feast of new titles in her Bookworm Carnival post that made me weak in the knees. As I scrolled through these wonderful books I knew I had to post about this and I also needed pen and paper to start writing titles down.

Natasha has asked a few questions that I am happy to answer:

Do you read a lot of books that have an African focus? If so, why do you enjoy them?

Loving this question as my current read is Love Has A Face by Michelle Perry. This is an African based book about Michelle Perry opening up a home for orphans in war torn Sudan, a country in northeastern Africa. Yes, these style of books I do really enjoy. I enjoy them because I have worked with street kids in Honduras since 2004. I have made a trip there at least once a year to assist in building homes, helping with schooling, and feeding those who have no where to go. I read these books because I am well aware that orphaned children and street kids are not limited to Honduras. I like to read book about people such as this author, Michelle Perry who feels called to make a difference. Sadly, I have not read ass many as I would like to – but thanks to the post at Maw Books that has introduced me to many that look wonderful, I will be reading more.

Have you reviewed any books with an African theme?

I do not think at this time that I have. I read The Poisonwood Bible but it was pre blogging….Looking through my titles on my shelf I have done a few with a Vietnam theme, Honduras, Pakistan, and other area.

What are you looking forward to reading next? Anything on your radar?

I leave for Honduras next Friday and I am taking with me Jantzens Gift (Vietnam children), Children Of Dust (written about growing up in Pakistan). I just found out yesterday that Julie from Faithfulgirl is sending me a book off my wishlist,Monique And The Mango Rains and that one is set in Africa.

If you haven’t read a lot of books with an African focus, what are some books that you’d like to read? Are there any book titles showcased in this carnival that sounds interesting to you or that you’ve read?

Ooh – thank you for asking this one. From the books I seen listed at Maw Books, I would be very interested in reading:

The View From Garden City – Carolyn Baugh
Burn my Heart by Beverly Naidoo
When God Says GO by Lorry Lutz
Half Of A Yellow Sun by Chimanamda Ngozi Adichie
As We Forgive by Catherine Claire Larson
A Long Way Gone by Ishmael beah
The Bite Of The Mango by Mariatu Kamara
Tear Of The Desert by Halima Bashir
The Translator by Daoud Hari
Slave by Mende Nazar
The Boy Next Doot by Irene Sabatini
Another Mans War by Sam Childers
Say You’re One Of Them by Uwen Akpan

I know… I cant help it. I love books like this.

Deweys Read A Thon Mini Challenge!

Published on October 24, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)4 Comments

Ok posting this quickly…. this is one of the challenges today for the Read A Thon (I LOVE CHALLENGES!!!)

At Bart’s Bookshelf there is a challenge to take 3 or 4 books off our shelves and combine them to make a new title. If you go to Bart’s Bookshelf you can see his. Here is mine:

While I Was Away For One More Day A Ship Possessed A Beautiful Mind

Breathtaking isnt it? I am sure it is the heartbreaking story of a man who while away on business, his wife loses her mind because of a haunted ship. Yup…. I am waiting for movie producers to start knocking down my door with offers. 😉

Morning Meanderings!

Published on October 24, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)12 Comments

Morning all you super book readers! 🙂 I am in the midst of the Dewey’s 24 Hour Read a Thon… more on that throughout the day. 🙂

What I want to talk about this morning is the Haunted Acres I went to last night in St Cloud with three of my friends! My friends Cindy and Heidi both have birthdays in October. We do monthly get togetheres so we dont grow apart (we all used to work together – heidi, Cindy, Sara, and myself). We each have a month we are responsible for to plan something. It can be anything – a dinner, bike ride, movie, dancing, whatever.

October was my pick and I wanted to do something really fun so we went to St Cloud and had dinner at Mongo’s. We love that place! Then we shopped a little bit (I got some great boots!) and then we went to Moliter’s haunted Acres! This is something we have wanted to do for a couple of years and it was really fun and really scary!

The first thing we do is go on a hay ride where we are on this trailer pulled by a tractor through these woods. We have to all sit still and we are not allowed to take pictures. Every spooky dude you can imagine jumps out at us throughout this ride – Freddy Krueger, Jason, Chucky (Chucky really creeps me out!)… we even have a headless horse man come down the trail on a beautiful white horse…. all glowing like.

After the ride we go through a series of buildings like a mine shaft, a maze, butchers house, and a field of corn… this was pretty scary and we ran through a lot of it. Not sure I have screamed so much in my life. It was a BLAST! Then as we were leaving, the Ghostbusters pulled up and of course being the 80’s girls that we are we jumped right on that and had pictures taken with the car and even a Ghostbuster (who we could have used as an escort earlier to keep the scary bad guys away…LOL).

Overall a fantastically fun evening! Ok… Back to the challenge…. 😉

Over The Holidays by Sandra Harper

Published on October 23, 2009October 23, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)2 Comments

OVER THE HOLIDAYS is newest warm-hearted tale from Sandra Harper, author of High Tea. Vanessa Channing, a dutiful wife and mother, goes in search of a simpler, more meaningful holiday. But her good intentions quickly go comically awry. Throw in a chronically irresponsible sister, a wacky mother and a temptingly hot new colleague, and you have the makings of one complicated, hectic, and ultimately incredibly rewarding holiday.

About the Author

Sandra Harper is the author of the play, Magpie’s Tea Room, which enjoyed a successful run in Los Angeles at The Ventura Court Theatre. She has written a cooking column, “The California Cook” for the newspaper, Skirt. A script reader for Pathe Studios and Springcreek Productions, she also wrote and produced fashion and rock videos for Elvis Costello, Chaka Khan and Vidal Sassoon, among others. Ms. Harper received her B.A. in Journalism from the University of Southern California and has completed a children’s book, The Witches Club.

I am excited to receive my review copy of this book from Pocket Books! It should be here any day and if it arrives today or tomorrow I can add it to my 24 Hour reading Challenge! 🙂
Here are the other tour spots:

Rundpinne: http://www.rundpinne.blogspot.com
Frugal Plus: http://frugalplus.com/
The Life (And Lies) of an Inanimate Flying Object: http://haleymathiot.blogspot.com/
Drey’s Library: http://dreyslibrary.blogspot.com/
Wendi’s Book Corner: http://wendisbookcorner.blogspot.com/
Opinionated? Me? : http://readingwatchingliving.blogspot.com/
Me, My Book and the Couch: http://memybookandthecouch.blogspot.com/
Libby’s Library News: http://www.libslibrary.blogspot.com/
Bookin’ With Bingo: http://bookinwithbingo.blogspot.com/
Books, Movies, and Chinese Food: http://books-movies-chinesefood.blogspot.com/
Psychotic State: http://www.psychoticstate.blogspot.com/
Readaholic: http://bridget3420.blogspot.com/
That’s A Novel Idea: http://thatsanovelidea.blogspot.com
All About {N}: http://www.bookwormygirl.blogspot.com/
Starting Fresh: http://startingfresh-gaby317.blogspot.com/
A Sea of Books: http://aseaofbooks.blogspot.com/
Just Another New Blog: http://justanothernewblog.blogspot.com/
Blog Business World: http://www.blogbusinessworld.blogspot.com
My Friend Amy: http://www.myfriendamysblog.com
Cheryl’s Book Nook: http://cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com/
One Person’s Journey Through A World of Books: https://bookjourney.wordpress.com/
I Read: http://sumanam.wordpress.com/
So Many Books, So Little Time: http://purplg8r-somanybooks.blogspot.com/
Keep on Booking: http://keeponbooking.blogspot.com
Reading at the Beach: http://ilratb.blogspot.com/
Found Not Lost: http://jmomfinds.amoores.com/
Brizmus Blogs Books: http://brizmusblogsbooks.blogspot.com/
Book Reviews by Buuklvr81: http://www.buuklvr81.blogspot.com/

Nine Things Nathan Noticed at Night by Christy Baldwin

Published on October 23, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)2 Comments

Night skies and little eyes… a book of soft words and pictures with comforting scriptures for the little ones in your life. ~ Sheila

Nine great things happen when the sun sets for the evening. Each page includes a statement about what is happening and then some fun facts and information about that event. Written from a Christian perspective, the story describes how God made things when He created the Earth. While the story was written specifically for ages 3-8, children of all ages will enjoy this book. Even adults can admire the beautiful watercolor artwork.

My Thoughts:

This book for young children is just a sweet read. It is small with great night pictures and short sentences and scriptures that will hold a young childs attention. I can almost picture a little 3 year olds eyes getting big at the latge moon and desriptions of the sounds of the crickets as they chirp you to a peaceful sleep.

I think this is just the perfect length for the little ones. The pictures have a water color look to them that compliments the authors words….

I received this book as an e read from Tribute Books

Morning Meanderings

Published on October 23, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)6 Comments

One week out today until I leave for Honduras and I am pretty not prepped for anything. Yet. I think today I will start packing, getting my passport ready, call in for malaria medicine and Ambien…

And on this end, I am also prepping some great posts and guests for this blog… that has actually been fun and I am excited about what has been coming in so far.

I plan to continue my Morning Meanderings during the time I am gone (OCt 31 – NOv 7)…as long as I have internet, but the meanderings will be more about what I am doing while I am away and probably what I am reading. I even already have planned which books are going with me!

How about you? When you travel or vacation do you take books to read? Is it a certain type of book that goes with you?

Word Verification Balderdash – My Thursday Thing

Published on October 22, 2009October 23, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)20 Comments

Yes! I am back! I missed the last two weeks due to crazy schedules and as I have blog hopped this week I was excited to see others who do this meme kept on going! YEAH! Love that!

So for those of you just tuning in… here is what we do (and you can too!) As quoted from my original post:

Ok… I admit it. I am a comment junkie. I love – love ♥ LOVE ♥ to read blogs, the discussions on books, author interviews, bookshelves, great bookish stories and adventures….

but along with loving to comment comes the ever dreaded endless… (dun dun dun dun…scary music)

word verification.

I know it is a necessity… I get that. You leave a comment, chances are you going to be word verified. Yet being a comment junkie… it slows me down. So to make this a bit more enjoyable… I came up with a plan.

I love word games (not as much as commenting). To entertain myself and maybe some of you… I decided to share with you a little thing I do while I type in the verification. I play Balderdash in my head. Yup. As I am typing in the word, I think if it was a real word… what would it mean. Some come easy. Others…. I really have to stretch the imagination.

The definition of Balderdash: An oft used strategy to elect your own fake definition in an attempt to give it credibility in the minds of your fellow players. …

And here is my list for this week:

CLOOBDINE: A social network originated in Peru. People gather around their computers and “virtual dine” together… sharing what they are eating and using abbreviations for food related events. IE. “B” for burp. “EM” for excuse me.

LAGAZES: A new drug just becoming FDA approved to assist people who suffer from chronic lagging. These people are always a bit behind and have no motivation or desire to catch up.

CARCHIC: Finally a word for her! She is that girl that can do just about anything from her car – apply makeup, eat breakfast, style her hair, talk on her phone and make all her appointments for the day, mix no bake cookies for the school bake sale, and is packing two changes of clothes for emergency events (such as a sporty outfit to cheer the kids on and a dress up outfit for emergency meetings) All of this while looking smoking hot.

KIJACK: The unfortunate new theft ring for off shore criminals. The act of stealing kyaks. People who are victims on kijacking are usually knocked out of the kyak and left to swim to shore where if their cell phone survived the water bath, they call for help.

Feel free to play along at home, here or on your own blog. You can even take the little picture meme I made if you like and use it. Link your words here in a comment and I will add you to this post so other readers may go and check out your list as well! 🙂

See the fun word definitions at:

My Ever Expanding Library

My World

Wordsmithonia

Alexias Books and Such

Morning Meanderings…

Published on October 22, 2009October 22, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)7 Comments

I shouldn’t be here….

We have a huge project at work today and we were all going in early to get a jump start on it. Yet here I am with Coffee Cup, still in PJ’s trying to get through emails this morning before I go in.

So what can I share today? Well… I think I had some interesting spam overnight. New stuff that actually were comments that almost made sense… but didn’t make sense you know what I mean? I had a few of them that were actual sentences but they didn’t fit the post and that is how I caught them. They were:

“So chickens have nothing to do with financial downturn”. (On my Featured Book Club post of the Bookies)

My thoughts: “Uhhhh….. no. I dont think chickens effect finances either way. Have an egg. relax”.

“I can remember being bored stiff until it was my turn to get behind the camera” (On my guest post of Sold)

My Thoughts: “Maybe you wouldnt be so bored if you had a hobby – or a pet. Maybe a chicken”.

I don’t really get spam. I mean, does it actually work? All of mine go into a spam folder that I have to approve so they never actually touch my blog and they never make enough sense to fool me into thinking they are actually comments…. although these two above did have me looking at my posts and going “huh?”

Have a delightful spam free day everyone! ♥

Life After Genius by M. Ann Jacoby Giveaway

Published on October 22, 2009October 22, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)40 Comments

Thanks to Valerie with Hachette Book Group I am thrilled to be able to offer up tp 5 copies of Life After Genius for giveaway!

Theodore Mead Fegley has always been the smartest person he knows. By age 12, he was in high school, and by 15 he was attending a top-ranking university. And now, at the tender age of 18, he’s on the verge of proving the Riemann Hypothesis, a mathematical equation that has mystified academics for almost 150 years. But only days before graduation, Mead suddenly packs his bags and flees home to rural Illinois. What has caused him to flee remains a mystery to all but Mead and a classmate whose quest for success has turned into a dangerous obession.

At home, Mead finds little solace. His past ghosts haunt him; his parents don’t understand the agony his genius has caused him, nor his desire to be a normal kid, and his dreams seem crushed forever. He embarks on a new life’s journey — learning the family business of selling furniture and embalming the dead–that disappoints and surprises all who knew him as “the young Fegley genius.”

Equal parts academic thriller and poignant coming-of-age story, LIFE AFTER GENIUS follows the remarkable journey of a young man who must discover that the heart may know what the head hasn’t yet learned.

Reading Group Guide

So how to enter?

1) Leave a comment here with what your dream job is

Additional Entries

2) second entry if you blog, tweet or Facebook about this giveaway. let me know on a separate comment here

3) third entry if you comment on any non giveaway post and let me know here on a separate comment

Thats it! I have up to 5 books to give away – I will give one away per 10 comments – 50 comments will let me give all 5 away! Giveaway will end on November 22. USA and Canada entrants only please.