Book Journey

My Advice…. Dream and go BIG

Published on March 22, 2016March 26, 2016 by Sheila (Book Journey)16 Comments

Over the past few weeks (ok months really) I have been chatting here or there about the idea of a Gatsby event in our home town. It stuck in my head a couple of years back when I heard that the Roseville Library in the Cities had such an event. To quote Harry Potter just because I want to I thought the idea was brilliant.

The author of The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a Minnesota author. Gatsby, set in the 20’s has a lot of appeal right now with swing dance lessons being popular, the clothing styles, and just the ability to dress up in fun and gorgeous costumes.

When our Friends board decided to give it a go our main draw was to attract a new group of people beyond those that come to our Wine and Words event. We knew there would be some overlap of attendees to both events, but felt this might appeal to the 20’s to 40’s age group (which it did…. and then some!)

In a book I recently read… the question was presented…

Do you think it is better to fail at something worthwhile, or succeed at something meaningless?

I dreamed for Gatsby to be worthwhile.

From the start, I had a vision in mind of a jazz band, dancers, a photographer, awards, and 20’s style drinks to try. It slowly came together. The Brainerd High School jazz band said yes to using volunteer community hours to play for us. My good friend and photographer Joey Halverson offered to be our event photographer, a local lady who knew my mom made our trophies and donated the printing which brought our cost way down, and the venue we used, Arrowwood Lodge was willing to work with us on providing a drink option called The Bee’s Knees and a Mary Pickford.

Our goal was 100 guests. We closed out 2 days prior to the event at 191. If we would have been able to keep selling tickets we would have been over 200. Most amazingly, almost everyone of those people dressed up. I would say close to 98%. People really got into it. But you don’t have to take my word for it…

Besides the great 20’s look, amazing photos, excellent jazz music, food, drinks, and dancing – the local newspaper also came and took a ton of pictures for the paper as well as made an amazing video of the event. Not only did we attract a younger age group, we had an amazing diverse mix of ages which was an awesome bonus. We would call this a wonderful success.

You can see all the pictures on our website page. You can see the fun short video here.

I will add this to Saturday Snapshot this week…. a walk back in the 20’s that is what I have been up to.

Next up… Wine and Words.

Morning Meanderings… The Gatsby Connection

Published on March 19, 2016 by Sheila (Book Journey)13 Comments

We did it.

Month s of planning, little details to put together, A WHOLE LOT OF amazing people stepping up and in to places from check in, to champagne and fascinator sales, to set up, to taking it all down…

Gatsby in Brainerd Minnesota was a HUGE SUCCESS.

Our goal for this event was 100 people. I think for first year events that 100 people is enough to show there is an interest. We closed up ticket sales at 191. If we had not had to stop selling tickets a couple of days out, we would have easily cleared 200.

See, I am not the only one that likes to dress up. 😉

For today’s Saturday Snapshot, here are a few pictures from last nights Friends Of The Library Fund Raiser. There are mostly from my phone so they are not awesome, but by next week I should have better pictures from our photographer to show.

My camera for the most part took blurry pics so I can not wait to see everyone elses! For the full effect watch this great short video that our local paper took of the event. I seen this today and it made me cry. We did it. Oh my gosh, we did it. Link to video

Today I have a board meeting in St. Cloud and then I am unplugging from much of the outside world for the next month. We are so close to a year since Justin’s accident here and I need time just to be and work my way through that. This Gatsby event was something he and I had talked about and I know if he could have been, he would have been here right beside cheering me on as he always did. Perhaps, in a way, he was.

Nightfall by Jake Halpern and Peter Kujawinski and Read by Nicholas Guy Smith

Published on March 16, 2016 by Sheila (Book Journey)5 Comments

Bliss Island is a place where daylight lasts for fourteen years, followed by fourteen years of darkness. As the years of darkness approach, the inhabitants of Marin’s Island work diligently to make everything spotless and then leave the island on awaiting ships that will sail south with the tide and they will not return until daylight comes again.

For Marin, her twin brother Kana and their friend Line, this will be the first time they will be leaving the island and they are curious about what strange things will happen while they are away. Their parents seen usually frantic, scrubbing all surfaces, taking locks off the doors, setting tables and arranging furniture. When the teenagers ask about this bizarre preparation they are met with looks but no answers.

On the day the boats are set to launch, Line goes missing. The twins set out to find him knowing they have to get to the boats before they leave the island. Yet night, is upon them…. and the island…. is changing.

Cover, synopsis, what is not to love? This creepy tale caught me up from the start. I had to know more about a place that stays light for 14 years! Nightfall is just as creepy as described in a good spine tingling YA way. Suspending any hopes of realism is a must, this is a read you need to let sink into your bones and marinate. There’s something about things in the woods that always gets my heart beating a little faster.

While I personally found the story line to be good, the best part of this book was the narration. Nicholas Guy Smith has this gravely accented voice that was perfect for this book. Like someone telling a tale of old… I loved it. I wish I could find a way to describe the narration better…. perfect. Delectable.

Overall, I think older MG (Middle Grade) and Younger YA (Young Adults) would find this an enjoyable listen or read.

Listening Length: 10 hours and 15 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Listening Library
Audible.com Release Date: September 22, 2015

Morning Meanderings… The Gatsby Trials

Published on March 15, 2016 by Sheila (Book Journey)4 Comments

Talk about hitting the ground running…

Over this past weekend we completed the Spring Friends of the Library book sale. Yesterday I jumped into full Gatsby mode – picking up the materials we need to make the fascinators, a planning meeting, trivia questions prepped, promoting, props for the photo station, and then last night a few of us met at the library to sew and put together the fascinators.

When I call this the Gatsby trials… I do not mean “a formal examination of evidence before a judge, and typically before a jury, in order to decide guilt in a case of criminal or civil proceedings”. What I mean is: test (something, especially a new product) to assess its suitability or performance. We are seeing if this event is a good fit for our community and worth our time and efforts as a non profit. Our goal is to reach out beyond our current influence and I think by the names I have seen on the guest list…. we are doing just that!

This week… is all detail work. Finalizing volunteers, talking with all of those involved, and making sure we are ready to roll….or I guess swing, would be the more appropriate word. We need to be ready to swing. 🙂

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading/Listening To?

Published on March 13, 2016 by Sheila (Book Journey)28 Comments

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever-growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog from 2006 -2009 and then was taken up by me here at Book Journey from Feb 2009 – Fall 2015 and then I passed it to Kathryn at the Book Date. We have worked to keep the torch of It’s Monday burning! 🙂

As it tends to be in my life, I have to say “Thank God For Audio!” or I would not be reading much. I have been bouncing around the book sale this week for the Friends Of The Library, and now I am heading into the Gatsby event…. there is little time to sit down and enjoy a book but I have been able to put on an audio as I drive around or work on things in the house.

This week I posted:

Level Up. Beyond The Turning Of A Page.

The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson (AUDIO!)

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer (AUDIO!)

The EX by Alafair Burke (this is a great example of my reading time, I have been reading this one for three weeks!)

For this week I have planned:

For My Ears

Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon – the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him “the bitter neighbor from hell”. But behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations.

I just started this one this morning and really enjoying it to far! Narrated by George Newbern

Becky is on a major rescue mission! Her father has vanished from Los Angeles on a mysterious quest with her best friend’s husband. Becky’s mum is hysterical; her best friend, Suze, is desperate. Worse, Becky must tolerate an enemy along for the ride, who she’s convinced is up to no good.

Determined to get to the bottom of why her dad has disappeared, help Suze, contain Alicia, and reunite her fractured family, Becky knows she must marshal all her trademark ingenuity. The result: her most outrageous and daring plan yet!

But just when her family needs her more than ever, can Becky pull it off?

I started this one in the car a couple of days ago and the narration by Clare Corbett is excellent!

I Wasn’t Strong Like This When I Started Out, a collection of true narratives, reflects the dynamism and diversity of nurses who provide the first vital line of patient care. Here, nurses remember their first “sticks”, first births, and first deaths and reflect on what gets them though long, demanding shifts and keeps them in the profession.

The stories reveal many voices from nurses at different stages of their careers: One nurse-in-training longs to be trusted with more “important” procedures while another questions her ability to care for nursing home residents. An efficient young emergency room nurse finds his life and career irrevocably changed by a car accident. A nurse practitioner wonders whether she has violated professional boundaries in her care for a homeless man with AIDS. And a home-care case manager is the sole attendee at a funeral for one of her patients.

Looking forward to starting this one later this week!

For My Eyes

They always say that high school is the best time of your life.

Peter, the star basketball player at his school, is worried “they” might actually be right. Meanwhile Eliza can’t wait to escape Seattle—and her reputation—and perfect-on-paper Anita wonders if admission to Princeton is worth the price of abandoning her real dreams. Andy, for his part, doesn’t understand all the fuss about college and career—the future can wait.

Or can it? Because it turns out the future is hurtling through space with the potential to wipe out life on Earth. As these four seniors—along with the rest of the planet—wait to see what damage an asteroid will cause, they must abandon all thoughts of the future and decide how they’re going to spend what remains of the present.

Hmmmmm? Sounds good right? Found this recently at a book store!

That’s it for me. Hope everyone has a great week!

The EX by Alafair Burke

Published on March 13, 2016 by Sheila (Book Journey)11 Comments

Jack Harris has avoided even thinking about dating ever since his wife Molly was shot and killed by a teenage boy three years ago. Yet, one early morning while jogging he comes across a bare foot beautiful woman wearing a party dress sitting in the grass drinking champagne right out of the bottle and reading a book. She holds the bottle up in a cheers motion, as he jogs by. Unable to get the image out of his head, Jack shares this experience with his best friend who posts about it on-line hoping someone would be able to know who this woman is and connect her to Jack. Days later, the mysterious woman responds to the on-line post, and a meet up with Jack is planned.

Olivia Randall is a Defense Lawyer. When she hears that her former fiance Jack Harris has been arrested for triple murder she knows there is no way that Jack could be guilty of such a crime. Clearly Jack has been set up. But by who? And why?

Olivia chooses to represent Jack to make up for the way things had ended between them so many years ago. Yet as the evidence comes out, there is more and more that looks like Jack may have committed this crime. Is Olivia able to defend Jack if she is starting to have her doubts? And if he did do it, did she ever really know him at all?

The EX was full of surprises for me. I liked the synopsis and the set up of the mystery woman in a party dress in the early morning hours. The book held my interest as it reveals the history between him and Olivia and what had happened three years before when his wife was killed. For myself, I honestly did not have a clue how it was going to end or who was the murderer. The story line was fast paced and for me, time well spent.

I recommend The EX. It was a good book to sink into. An excellent legal thriller.

Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Harper (January 26, 2016)

Morning Meanderings…. Don’t Ever Tell Me That Real Books Are A Thing Of The Past

Published on March 13, 2016 by Sheila (Book Journey)11 Comments

Oh Sunday! It was so nice to get up this morning and not have to run out the door. This past week has been crazy busy with the spring book sale for the library. We moved it to a local mall this time that had a large unrented space that used to be a book store. It was perfect! We get so many book donations that our room at the library just gets too crowded.

On day one I arrived at 6:30 am with lawn chairs, per tradition. The sale opens at 9 am however years a go a friend and I thought it would be funny to show up hours early like book groupies. It became a trend. Now at the sale at the library I need to show up around 4:30 am to be first in line. Its a ~~little~~ lot crazy, but a lot of fun too.

Amy and I took our traditional picture.

By the time the sale opened at 9 am we had an incredible amount of people waiting to get in. I recorded the line on my phone, and spent a lot of time yesterday trying to put that video here on the blog with no luck. It is on Facebook and its only 40 seconds so please check it out if you have not seen it yet. Here it is.

Usually I shop the sale with everyone else but this year I was so emotional seeing all of these book lovers rushing in to pick up second hand books for 50 cents that I started to cry. Instead I took a few pictures and then went right to work helping people check out.

We had a record setting day. Usually our first day sales are around $1700.00. On Thursday, the first day of the sale we made $4200.00. That is a lot of 50 cent books!

Due to my not shopping, by the time I did get a chance to look at books I walked away with my smallest pile ever from the sale:

As for books that made their way into my home this week (not by book sale):

Some pretty exciting titles there!

Today other than a quick commitment to go pick up around the sale area for an hour or so, I am laying low. Listening to a little audio ( The Dorito Effect) and maybe I will read a bit too. Friday is our Gatsby event and it will be a busy week of preparing for that so today – I am slowing it down to a crawl.

Just for today.

Morning Meanderings….. OH! What A Night!

Published on March 9, 2016 by Sheila (Book Journey)22 Comments

Good Morning!

I feel tired and energized all at the same time. What is that??? 😛

Yesterday I helped to continue setting up the book sale. It is looking so good. Today will be detail work…. hanging signs, prepping the Friends Of The Library table… I am excited for the sale to start tomorrow morning.

Yesterday evening, we had book club at my house. We had decided to do soups and I was running around straightening the living room, chilling the wine, vacuuming the carpet, mopping the kitchen, and setting up chairs and little tables to set soup bowls on. I made two soups – Chicken wild Rice to go with the book…. ha ha and a Squash soup because it looked YUMMY. Lori in our group brought Chicken Tortilla soup. mmmmmmm

It was a fun night. While the book was not what we expected (more on that later) we always have such a good time together. This next month we are reading A Man Called Ove and I am excited for this one. We used the book in the bag program from the library but I am thinking I may go audio…. I listened to a sample and I liked it! It is also always fun to give an audio report on a book at the discussions.

Speaking of Audio, I signed up for the Audio Book Blogger of The Year which the winner will be able to attend the 2016 Audie Awards Gala in Chicago on May 11th. I will be there for the Book Expo this year so thought I would throw my hat (ear?) into the ring. I think it would be a BLAST!

So today, off to the book sale set up again, but should be home early today which makes me sooooo happy as I work the sale the next 4 days from open to close. I may rent ROOM to watch tonight…. I have been excited to see how it is.

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer Narrated by Philip Franklin

Published on March 8, 2016March 9, 2016 by Sheila (Book Journey)15 Comments

In 1996, Jon Krakauer along with a team of climbers including two company climbing leaders and their team, set out to climb Mount Everest. For Jon, this was going to be a first hand story of the appeal to climb for the magazine he worked for at the time, Outside Magazine. Rob Hall was the Guide for Krakauer’s group and knew what a positive story about the climb would do for his business.

On average, from 1920 when groups started climbing Everest, one climber would die for every four who gave the mountain a try. There were no promises made of your success to the top, or even coming back. At the time of Krakauer’s climb, the cost for this experience was a whopping $65,000 per person.

Unfortunately, this climb would become the deadliest in history. After a storm hits on May 10th, 8 of this groups will die on the mountain….

Into Thin Air, is the story of this fateful trip.

Recently, my husband and I rented and watched the movie Everest. It was, fantastic. While watching the details of this event, the name Jon Krakauer kept ringing a bell. I told my husband, I think he is an author. Crazily enough, I had forgotten that Jon Krakauer was not only an author, but the author of Into Thin Air, the book about this event and this movie we were currently watching. I had completely forgotten that this author was actually on this guided climb that took the lives of many.

I know at some point I had read Into Thin Air. Looking through this site, I discovered it was prior to my blogging days. Suddenly I wanted to listen to it on audio, knowing the first time around I had read the book. I am so glad I did.

Obviously the whole story in remarkable and sad. Narrated by Philip Franklin, he was as impressive as a narrator as those I find my favorites for non fiction listens. Fully engrossing, his voice steadily unfolded the story.

While the movie Everest is the loosely inspired by this book, it has its differences and a few that have upset author Jon Krakauer. I wont give anything away, I encourage you to see the movie and of course read or listen to this amazing book.

What drives a person to spend that amount of money? What is within some that makes a goal of reaching the top of a mountain known to take the lives of many so appealing?

Highly recommended – the audio is fantastic and so is the book.

Listening Length: 9 hours and 8 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Books on Tape
Audible.com Release Date: December 15, 1999

The Opposite Of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson

Published on March 7, 2016March 8, 2016 by Sheila (Book Journey)13 Comments

Paula Voss was born in Alabama to a free-spirited woman, Kai, who had a love for Hindu Mythology to point of extreme. Paula’s birth name, Kali Jai had deep meaning in Hindu legend, but this was a name that Paula gave up when she put her mother in jail. A move that put Paula in foster care.

Now, years later, with a messy trail of life wrongs behind her, Paula is a divorce Lawyer to be reckoned with. What she lacks in size, she makes up for in ingenuity and on again off again help from an easy on the eyes man called Birdwine. Paula has not seen or heard from her mother in 15 years and in many ways, Paula thinks that is for the best.

Until one day a letter comes…

“I am going on a journey, Kali. I am going back to my beginning; death is not the end. You will be the end. We will meet again, and there will be new stories. You know how Karma works.”

Shortly after the letter, another surprise shows up at Paula’s door. Perhaps, Kai’s largest secret of all and all that Paula thought she knew, thought was true, starts to crumble away.

Paula’s past of dealing with wrecked families has helped her become who she is today, but now – with new information, she steps back to where it all began to figure out what brought her to here and not that she was here, what to do about it.

Note: While I was sent the book for review, due to time restraints I finished this book on audio. This review reflects both book and audio

Joshilyn Jackson pulls another one out the park. Wow. I have enjoyed her southern fiction with a twist in the past, but Joshilyn pulls out a little something extra here. The mix of Hindu mythology was a unique way to go and one that at first puzzled me and then I got into.

The story line of Paula’s past is deeply real feeling, a look into the foster care system and what it takes for someone to hold their own, especially when you do not look like everyone else.

I did listen to part of this book on audio which is narrated by Joshilyn Jackson impressively. Who better to capture the quirky characters of such a read than the author herself? My only teeny bump in the road with her narration was the voive of Paula’s brother who was 23. The voice came off much younger to me, sounding more like a curious 15-16 year old. Having boys in their 20’s, this didn’t come off as sounding right to me. The narration in all other instances of its southern glory is spot on. Kudos multi-talented Joshilyn Jackson!

I enjoyed this book so much. Joshilyn has a way of bringing a story to life that leaves you in the end, wanting more.