Book Journey

It’s Tuesday, Where Are You?

Published on October 6, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)8 Comments

This is hosted by An Adventure in Reading

I am in Abbeville with George Bailey. Don’t laugh… that really is his name. His mother had a weakness for It’s A Wonderful Life. We are at George’s grandpa’s home… a home that George never thought as an adult that he would spend another night in – or want to. Yet here we are, looking at the old bookcase that used to hold such treasures as Zane Grey’s Stories For Boys, sea tales, a copy of Dale Carnegie and The Robe, a number of Bibles, including one inscribed in German in 1851 by one of Grandpa’s forebears, and more. Now, the old books were gone.

Abbeville by Jack Fuller

The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy

Published on October 6, 2009August 13, 2010 by Sheila (Book Journey)16 Comments

Kay gives a wonderful voice to the YA in me…I am left with my own memories of school, and boys…. and how we all just wanted to fit in somewhere… ~ Sheila

What’s a girl to do when the glass slipper fits, but she doesn’t want to wear it anymore?

Sixteen-year-old Jess Parker survives by staying invisible. Then she gets the chance of a lifetime: an invitation to join the Cinderella Society, a secret club of some of the most popular girls in school, where makeovers are the first order of official business. Catching the eye of her popular crush, and with a chance to finally fit in, Jess feels like she’s found her fairy tale.

Until the Wickeds – led by Jess’s archenemy – begin targeting innocent girls, and Jess learns that there’s more to being a Cindy than reinventing yourself from the outside. She’s become part of a battle for good vs. evil, and now the Cindys need Jess on special assignment. Is honouring her new sisterhood worth destroying her dream life?

My Thoughts…

Where do I begin? I picked up Kay’s book wondering what this book would be about… a coming of age story? Ugly duckling to swan? No – I found out quickly that this was a different story… a story of acceptance in a school where you are the new kid…. a story of those high school years where everything is a big deal (or at least as teens you tend to think it is) prestige, parents, clothing, and of course who you hang out with. A story with another story inside it,one that goes back 100+ years… a story of a group of strong women with *Power *Personality *Appearance *Strength ... a secret society called The Cinderella Society.

I immediately took to the main character of Jess…. trying to be strong and fit in, I think I could sense a little bit of me in this character when I was that age. Jess and I? Yeah… we bonded. Jess is a wonderful character who is a typical teenager, trying to fit into her new school and trying not to be embarrassed by a very pregnant mother who Jess feels relies on her too much. Jess has decided that it is too late for a “mother/daughter bonding” at this point. No matter how hard her mom may try.

And what is a book without a villain… or in this case, a wicked? Lexy is Jess’s arch enemy. Ever since Jess won the spot on the cheerleader squad over Lexy it has been a battle. Lexy is after Jess and works hard to make her look stupid at every opportunity from spilling coffee drinks on her to starting hurtful rumors…. As Jess works to counteract each blow, you wonder what is the story behind Lexy’s anger?

This is one of those books that I am so excited about having this opportunity to read and want to share so much of it with you ! About the secret society (Oh yes my friends – it is that cool!) about the hot guy (what YA book would be complete without him?) and about the friendships we make through those years while we are molding into who we will become… and probably more importantly, the friendships that survive those years, the good ones… that make it through because we all know… those are the true ones. (Yes – that is an intentional run on sentence!) Yet, I don’t want to give away too much so I am going to encourage you to seriously consider this book to go on your own TBR lists for yourself or the YA in your life….. because she is going to thank you for it!

Let’s Talk about Kay Cassidy…

Kay Cassidy is the author of teen fiction she wishes was based on her real life. Her debut novel, THE CINDERELLA SOCIETY, won the 2008 Golden Heart award in the Young Adult category. In her life B.W. (Before Writing), Kay was an award-winning professional trainer and now enjoys giving energizing motivational talks to young people around the country.

Kay is a former cheerleader and sorority girl, an M.B.A. and a member of Mensa. She thinks it’s comical when people are surprised to discover those things aren’t mutually exclusive. When not writing, Kay enjoys tennis, yoga, movies and reading.

The inside cover of my Copy of The Cinderella Society

On a personal note…I discovered Kay a couple months ago online at her blog You 2.0. Kay’s blog is an active one! She is always interviewing YA authors and having great contests and tips for YA authors. It was through her blog that I won this book and now that I have read it I am beyond excited to read the sequel that she is currently putting the finishing touches on.

My Amazon Rating

I received this book from an online contest at Kay Cassdiy’s blog You 2.0

I would rate this book PG

Morning Meanderings…

Published on October 6, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)3 Comments

Mornin’. Little groggy… I was up until 12:45 a.m finishing up The Cinderella Society. I kept thinking after the next chapter I would stop… but then no…. and then the next one… and then it came to the point that really – I didn’t have all that more to read and why would I leave such a little bit?

At 12:45 am. I closed the back cover… completely satisfied with the book and my choice to complete it.

Of course now… I am in the office with Coffee Cup and just a wee bit fuzzy. I am going to write the review and it should be up in a couple hours. It is not the longest I stayed up to finish a book. I think a few years back I finished After Anne at about 2 am…. could not – would not put it down until the bitter, heartbreaking end. (That’s another story) 🙂

So readers – whats the longest you have stayed up to complete a book?

100 Mile Challenge

Published on October 5, 2009October 5, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)18 Comments

Ok… this is a not so bookish moment…. but hey just like a book girl has to eat, she also has to take care of herself. So when Trish posted about this 100 Mile Challenge Between October 1 and December 31 I felt this was a great incentive to keep me on track going into these colder months.

Here’s the challenge:

Here’s how it works:
In order to complete this Challenge, you will need to “travel” 100 miles from October 1st through December 31st.

Here’s how you calculate your mileage:
*Running or walking 1 mile outside or on a treadmill equals 1 mile.

*15 minutes of other workouts equals 1 mile (elliptical, swimming, weight lifting, workout video, workout classes, etc.).

Click on the button above to go to the page to sign up. Hope you join us!

It’s Monday What Are You Reading?

Published on October 5, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)35 Comments

I have my nose buried deep in Kay Cassidy’s book, The Cinderella Society…. SO GOOD! I am on such a huge YA kick I feel like I should be snapping my gum, twirling my hair and listening to Bon Jovi…. oh – maybe YA don’t do that anymore…LOL Really enjoying the book!

I am pleased to say that last weeks list of Cleopatra’s Daughter (which was an AMAZING READ), Bo’s Cafe (great book and one to make you think…) and VIOLA in Reel Life (Loved this!)… I only have one that still is sticking out of my TBR shelf, partially read and part of my plan to finish the last two weeks…. that’s right, Pride and Prejudice still waits on me.

The big plan for this week…. and for some reason I feel like I am Stella and got my groove back…. (book groove that is)… so I piled them high for this weeks reading plan. They are:

Of course to finish the wonderful The Cinderella Society

I have Extraordinary by John Bevere for tour this week along with a giveaway copy!

Abbeville by Jack Fuller has also waited patiently to be reviewed and I pulled this off the shelf to do just that!

Football is For Lovers I have for a tour next week and I am trying to be more proactive on the tour reads and not waiting until the last minute and then cranking them out just under the wire.

The Financial Lives of Poets is also on tour next week

A Worthy Legacy by Tomi Akinyanmi just came in but is one off my wish list and I want to treat myself to this read.

So that’s the plan. For those of you who are looking at this and saying how can you possibly read that many books in a week?

Well, first it is only a plan and I tend to plan big – but don’t beat myself up if I don’t reach the goal. Sometimes a book I planned to read may be set aside for a different read because that is the beauty of reading… you do get to pick what you enjoy.

The Cinderella Society is sailing right along and I should complete that yet today, Extraordinary has been in the process of reading for a couple weeks now and in this type of book I find that helpful when I can break it down so I only have part of that book left to read. Football Is For Lovers (I know right… I am still not really sure what I signed on to with this one…LOL) and A Worthy Legacy are both smaller books. Which leaves me with Abbeville which I hope to roll into the weekend with, but we will see how it all goes.

Most of my evenings are spent reading. My husband goes to bed around 8:30 or 9 pm as he gets up at 5 am. That gives me on the average about 3 hours to read a night, not including that I do occasionally read early in the a.m., while I am making dinner and usually longer on weekends when we have no big commitments.

What are you reading this week? Pop Over to J Kaye’s blog and be sure to connect there to add your post to the linky so we can all see your list of wonderful books as well!

Happy reading all!

Morning Meanderings…

Published on October 5, 2009October 5, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)14 Comments

Where oh where has the nice weather gone?

The days of heavy overcast gray skies are already wearing on me. The current temperature is 42 degrees and I and Coffee Cup are feeling a little rough this morning with the cold and sinus bug that is going around. I really could have just stayed in bed this morning if it was not for having to deliver Chance to school by 8 am.

It is probably a good thing I did have a commitment as now I am up and have already made two appointments into my day – I love making appointments before people are int he office. That way I can give details of what I need and the right person usually calls me back with the right info and a date and time instead of being put on hold and waiting forever to get to the right person who then ponders over a schedule for 10 minutes…. LOL. Yes I even micro manage my time to make appointments. 🙂

Anyway… as I ramble on, has anyone seen this book? Novel Destinations? I think it looks wonderful. I have seen bloggers have opportunities to go to wonderfully bookish sites and I think I wouldn’t even know where to start. For all I know I could have been in areas where great books were written and land marks are just a few steps away and totally unaware…. (oblivious seems harsh right?) I wander my own way.

For the new breed of vacationer who craves meaningful trips and unusual locales, the combination of reading and travel can be a heady mix—especially if you happen to be checking into Hemingway’s favorite hotel in Sun Valley, or strolling about Bath’s Royal Crescent while entertaining fantasies of Lizzie Bennett and her Mr. Darcy! Cue National Geographic’s Novel Destinations—a guide for bibliophiles to more than 500 literary sites across the United States and Europe.

I just love book on books. I have one that lists the top 100 books that I should be reading. Uh yeah… good luck with that when all these new ones keep calling me like shiny new cars….

One I use frequently is The Book Club Companion. This one was a life saver as my book club grew large and I was struggling to figure out how to run a successful meeting. This book gives not only great reads to discuss… but fun themes for the group, recipes to try, questions to ask, what to do if there is no leader.. etc. LOVE this book.

Apparently I am in a very Bookie mood this morning. I need to do some research today on how to run an online book club…. haven’t done that before, but with a group already created (Word Shakers) and a plan to review The Help. I had best get a good grasp on how to do this. Any advice? 🙂

In My Mailbox

Published on October 4, 2009October 4, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)20 Comments

I had a great reading week…I actually finished all the books I had hoped to this past week with the exception of what I have left to read for Pride and Prejudice – but hey, the day isn’t over yet! 🙂

My Mailbox was actually a little mellow this week and that is ok… I have plenty of reading to do – however I do have the delight of sharing with you what has now entered the reading Room this past week:

The Love Revolution by Joyce Meyer is one I will be interested in reviewing. Just this past year I have read my first Joyce Meyer books – one non fiction, one fiction audio and enjoyed them. This one interests me as I have a feeling it is going to be on the same style as the Love Dare… which, I have yet to complete the actual dare part. *Sigh* Oh and with this review – comes giveaways….. yeah baby! Giveaways!

The four books pictured are four of the five for the Hispanic Month Giveaway…. which ends Oct 15. Don’t miss that – you can win all 5 books! Dama’s, Drama’s and Ana Ruis I have already read and reviewed so that one is going in the prize box for giveaway. Zumba I am excited to read as this is about working out to dance and I am all about that! Maybe that review will have to be vlog….LOL – just kidding!!! The other two, Evenings At The Argentina Club and AMiGOLAND I do not really know about.

Take Your Best Shot by Austen Gutwein looks soooooo good! This book is about making a difference and how a God sized idea raised over a million dollars for Aids Relief in Zambia. Can’t wait to jump into this one!

Children of Dust is another one that I am looking forward to reading. This is a memoir of Pakistan. This book is about the authors coming of age in Pakistan and the cultural shock of moving to the U.S.

A worthy Legacy is a gift to me from a reader of my blog, Rebecca Cox. She seen this book on my wish tab and emailed me to say she had a copy she would gladly send me. When I emailed her back to tell her how wonderful that was and to thank her, her response was, “No problem. You blogger guys work so hard and give away so many books, the least I can do is send you one”.

Seriously – Rebecca thank you. I have met just the nicest people through this book blog enperience! 🙂

Messy Tessy is a book sent by the author. I really enjoy these childrens reads and while I do not have any young children in my home any more, I someday believe I will have grand children and I will be able to share with them these wonderful books that I was given the opportunity to review. (Shhh! Dont tell my boys – I dont want grandchildren too soon! LOL)

French Women For All Seasons I found at a book sale. The price was so good, the book looks interesting. I couldn’t pass it up. And yeah – I bought two. So one goes in the prize box. We shall see…. get it? We? That’s French….

The two Anne George Cozy Mysteries are also from that same book sale. Murder Makes Waves and Murder Shoots The Bull…. I cant explain this purchase other than I am just inthe mood for mystery. I think it is the weather….

Sins Of A Shaker Summer by Deborah Woodworth…. still in the mystery mode. This one too came from that sale. It sounds good!

Another One from the sale, Jan Karon is just a sweet author and she writes these lite little books that can be wonderful when you are in the mood for something not so heavy. A Common Life sounds like what she usually writes and again, for the great price…. I knew I could squeeze this one some space in the Reading Room.

Barabara Delinsky’s Three Wishes is an incredible read that I read many years ago. I found it at a great price and I am all about sharing great reads so this one too is for the prize box.

Once Upon A Quinceanera is a purchase mainly because 1) the price. 2) After reading Dama’s Dramas, and Ana Ruis a few months back and realizing that I had actually experienced a Quinceanera in Honduras and had not known thats what it was… I now am interested in knowing more about this tradition.

Last but not least is this gorgeous book, Dark Angels, also purchased at the book sale. This book is really a thing of beauty. Besides the cover… which I cant stop looking at… it is written by the author of Through A Glass darkly which I have not read but have heard wonderful things about. This one is mine to look at and to read.

So that’s the haul this week. I hope to have another great week of reading and keep moving steadilly through the TBR pile. Share what you have brought into your home this week by linking on to this wonderful meme over at Story Siren’s Blog. It is a lot of fun!

VIOLA in Reel Life by Adriana Trigiani

Published on October 4, 2009October 4, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)12 Comments

The voice that comes alive in Viola’s character is one that spoke to the 14 year old me. I was carried back into a time of awkward moments of adolescence, dances you remember forever, and breathtaking first kisses… ~ Sheila

Synopsis

I’m marooned.

Abandoned.

Left to rot in boarding school . . .

Viola doesn’t want to go to boarding school, but somehow she ends up at an all-girls school in South Bend, Indiana, far, far away from her home in Brooklyn, New York. Now Viola is stuck for a whole year in the sherbet-colored sweater capital of the world.

Ick.

There’s no way Viola’s going to survive the year—especially since she has to replace her best friend Andrew with three new roommates who, disturbingly, actually seem to like it there. She resorts to viewing the world (and hiding) behind the lens of her video camera.

Boarding school, though, and her roommates and even the Midwest are nothing like she thought they would be, and soon Viola realizes she may be in for the most incredible year of her life.

But first she has to put the camera down and let the world in.

My Thoughts:

OMG! LOL! Really and truly I adored this book! I enjoyed this book from the first sentence, “YOU WOULD NOT WANT TO BE ME.” I loved the dramatic voice of our fourteen year old Viola. I remember those days when the world was going to end because things did not go the way you wanted. Life was so…. intense. So here I am deeply engrossed in a book all about Viola and her wonderful BFFAA (Best Friend Forever And Always) Andrew, her three new roommates in boarding school who seen to have already pegged her from hour one, and the possibility of a new relationship with a boy who’s love is calculated by the number of IM’s, and texts, four kisses, one hand holding, one date, one cookie and one book.

Ahhhh… first love. ♥

Tie all that in a hip and happening Grandma (Grand) who has a back ground in acting, two adoring but at this time anyway distant parents… and you have the making of one great read.

I have to thank Jennifer at BookClubGirl who introduced me to this book and then sent me a copy to read and be part of the live chat with the author Adriana Trigiani on Wednesday of this past week. I didn’t get to say a lot during the live chat as I had to run Chance to Youth Group in the middle of it but it was fun to participate and see the conversation roll out.

A great YA…. I applaud Adriana Trigiani for this youthful book and I plan on looking into more of what she has written.

ADRIANA TRIGIANI is beloved by millions of readers around the world for her hilarious and heartwarming novels. Adriana was raised in a small coal mining town in southwest Virginia in a big Italian family. She chose her hometown for the setting and title of her debut novel, the critically acclaimed and bestselling Big Stone Gap, followed by the sequels Big Cherry Holler, Milk Glass Moon, and the fall 2006 release Home to Big Stone Gap. Lucia, Lucia, The Queen of the Big Time, Rococo and Very Valentine were all instant New York Times bestsellers. Adriana also teamed up with her family for Cooking With My Sisters, which was co-authored by her sister Mary, with contributions from their sisters and mom; the cookbook-memoir features recipes and stories dating back a hundred years from both sides of their Italian-American family. Adriana’s novels have been translated and sold in over 30 countries around the world.

You can listen to the Live Chat here

Banned Book Week Winners

Published on October 4, 2009October 21, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)3 Comments

It is time to announce the winners from The Banned Book Week Giveaway! We had 68 comments so I have 6 winners. Thank you everyone for sharing the banned books you have read!

The winners are:

Drum roll please…

Wordlilly

Barbara S

Julie H

Ebony

Hailey Miller

Zia

Congratulations! All winners have been notified by email and have choice out of the prize box!

A Royal Spotlight!

Published on October 4, 2009October 4, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)21 Comments

I am so excited! I logged on this morning to discover that the Spotlight Interview I completed with Amy at Park-Avenue Princess is on her beautiful blog today! Color me *Giddy*!

I love interviewing other book bloggers and hearing their stories and it was fun to share mine with Amy. If you go over and read the Spotlight post I am offering up an Amazon Gift for her to give away – and who doesn’t like gift cards? Amy’s giveaway is open international so everyone click your way over to Park-Avenue Princess.

In honor of this great guest spot that Amy has given me, I too want to offer up a $10 Amazon gift card here as well. To qualify here is what you can do:

1. You must leave a comment on the Spotlight post over at Park Avenue Princess

2. For an additional entry – come back here and comment on one thing you learned about me from the spotlight interview

That’s it! 🙂 This giveaway is open internationally as well and I will end this on the same day that Amy is, on October 30th (mine will end in the morning however as that is the day I leave for Honduras).