its monday what are you reading – Page 19

It’s Monday! What are You Reading?

Published on October 30, 2011October 30, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)74 Comments

Hello and welcome to another fun addition of It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! As part of this weekly meme I love to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme. I offer a weekly contest for those who visit 10 or more of the Monday Meme participants and leave a comment telling me how many you visited. **You do not have to have a blog to participate! You receive one entry for every 10 comments, just come back here and tell me how many in the comment area.

Last weeks winner:

Sharon from Sharon’s Garden Of Books!

WOO HOO!!!! Please choose an item out of the Reading Cafe Grab Shelves and email me your choice with your mailing address as well! journeythroughbooks@gmail.com

This week… was a hard week. Probably the hardest I have had in a long long time and I am still recovering. If you have been here this week… you know what I am talking about. Here are the posts that I put up this past week:

Sleepers Run by Henry Mosquera (book review)

Water For Elephants DVD Release!

My Heart Is Broken Over The Loss of A Dear Friend. 😦

The Night Strangers by Chris Bojalian (audio review)

We The Animals by Justin Torres (audio review)

Halloween Giveaway – Laura Child’s book – Skeleton Letters, personally signed hard cover copies!

Reading went out the door after Monday and with all the happenings this week I pretty much shut down other than audio. This weekend however at the cabin led me back to Monsters Of Men by Patrick Ness which actually felt good to read and let go of all the pain.

This week I leave for the Cities on Friday afternoon and to Honduras Saturday morning. I will be gone until the following Friday. Yes, It’s Monday is planned to go on while I am away and yes, if I can get my head together here there will be posts while I am away. As for the reading plan…

Yes… yes, I am still reading. BUT – I will finish this week and I am LOVING it (and seriously need the distraction).

Frank W. Abagnale, alias Frank Williams, Robert Conrad, Frank Adams, and Robert Monjo, was one of the most daring conmen, forgers, imposters, and escape artists in history. In his brief but notorious criminal career, Abagnale donned a pilot’s uniform and copiloted a Pan Am jet, masqueraded as the supervising resident of a hospital, practiced law without a license, passed himself off as a college sociology professor, and cashed over $2.5 million in forged checks, all before he was 21. Known by the police of 26 foreign countries and all 50 states as “The Skywayman,” Abagnale lived a sumptuous life on the lam – until the law caught up with him. Now recognized as the nation’s leading authority on financial foul play, Abagnale is a charming rogue whose hilarious, stranger-than-fiction international escapades and ingenious escapes – including one from an airplane – make Catch Me If You Can an irresistible tale of deceit.

I seen the movie, found the audio on sale and I am LOVING this!

Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn’t live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead. There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod’s family . . .

Still in a bit of creepy October spooky mood, this one should be just the fix… plus I have always wanted to read Gaiman.

Tuesday watch for my fun audio review of Snow Flower and The Secret Fan as well as a movie review and giveaway!

That is all I am going to plan for this week as I suspect as Friday ekes closer I will be busy planning and prepping.

What are you reading this week? I am excited to see so please add your Monday What Are You Reading post to the linky below where it says Click here.

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on October 16, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)103 Comments

Hello and welcome to another fun addition of It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

Last weeks winner:

Kristin from Always With A Book!

WOO HOO!!!! Please choose an item out of the Reading Cafe Grab Shelves and email me your choice with your mailing address as well! journeythroughbooks@gmail.com

I don’t know why I thought this past week was going to be a lighter one as I was so so WRONG. Last Monday I had a busy day working and cleaning, Tuesday was book club Wednesday was a long long day as I stayed late at work to get finished up with projects and went right from work to a volunteer position with students and arrived home around 8:30 pm EXHAUSTED. Thursday got up at 5 am – packed, fueled car, bought groceries, went to the post office, the re-store, the library and left town at 10″30 am for the cabin arriving back home from a crafting girls weekend at 9 pm on Saturday, Sunday morning church, prepped for a baby shower, helped with the shower, ran to pick up hoggie buns for dinner at our small groups home, went to the group and came back home at 8:00 pm to watch Amazing Race and write this post.

That said – here is what I managed for this past week:

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (audio review)

Click on the pic for the Bookies Book Club Classic Month dress up and Pride and Prejudice review

Click on the pic to see what we did girls weekend

That is it. That was my week. Just this afternoon I finished Night Circus and will review in the next day, and I can not seem to find my copy of Monsters Of Men… so frustrating! 😯

I plan to work on this week:

Rather than a devastatingly beautiful femme fatale, Cleopatra, according to Schiff, was a shrewd power broker who knew how to use her manifold gifts—wealth, power, and intelligence—to negotiate advantageous political deals and military alliances. Though long on facts and short on myth, this stellar biography is still a page-turner; in fact, because this portrait is grounded so thoroughly in historical context, it is even more extraordinary than the more fanciful legend. Cleopatra emerges as a groundbreaking female leader, relying on her wits, determination, and political acumen rather than sex appeal to astutely wield her power in order to get the job done.

*My book club chose this book for our November read. I will be in Honduras during our next review so I want to get a head start on this one so I can leave my thoughts with them. 😀

The witches of Bethel, New Hampshire are decidedly of the sinister variety—albeit more likely to sell real estate and wear stylish leather skirts than fly around on brooms and don pointy hats. Beneath the town’s charming rural surface of gingerbread Victorians, maple sugar houses, and fiery foliage lurks a conspiracy of evil reminiscent of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown.” How evil? Suffice it to say that when somebody drops by to welcome newcomers to the neighborhood with a plate of vegan brownies, they should think twice before taking the first bite.

*I am in the mood for a spooky read and this one entered today!

Lily at 80 reflects on her life, beginning with her daughter days in 19th-century rural China. Foot-binding was practiced by all but the poorest families, and the graphic descriptions of it are not for the fainthearted. Yet women had nu shu, their own secret language. At the instigation of a matchmaker, Lily and Snow Flower, a girl from a larger town and supposedly from a well-connected, wealthy family, become laotong, bound together for life. Even after Lily learns that Snow Flower is not from a better family, even when Lily marries above her and Snow Flower beneath her, they remain close, exchanging nu shu written on a fan. When war comes, Lily is separated from her husband and children. She survives the winter helped by Snow Flower’s husband, a lowly butcher, until she is reunited with her family. As the years pass, the women’s relationship changes; Lily grows more powerful in her community, bitter, and harder, until at last she breaks her bond with Snow Flower. They are not reunited until Lily tries to make the dying Snow Flower’s last days comfortable.

*I have never read See’s writing but have heard great things… I was excited to find this one on sale on Amazon!

In the spring of 1865, the bloody saga of America’s Civil War finally comes to an end after a series of increasingly harrowing battles. President Abraham Lincoln’s generous terms for Robert E. Lee’s surrender are devised to fulfill Lincoln’s dream of healing a divided nation, with the former Confederates allowed to reintegrate into American society. But one man and his band of murderous accomplices, perhaps reaching into the highest ranks of the U.S. government, are not appeased.In the midst of the patriotic celebrations in Washington D.C., John Wilkes Booth—charismatic ladies’ man and impenitent racist—murders Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre. A furious manhunt ensues and Booth immediately becomes the country’s most wanted fugitive. Lafayette C. Baker, a smart but shifty New York detective and former Union spy, unravels the string of clues leading to Booth, while federal forces track his accomplices. The thrilling chase ends in a fiery shootout and a series of court-ordered executions—including that of the first woman ever executed by the U.S. government, Mary Surratt.

*I have always been fascinated with Abraham Lincoln, but have not really read a lot about him. I am excited to try this audio.

And of course if I could only find Monsters Of Men….

That’s my week…. all three of my audio should be turning over this week that’s why I have the line up for new audio. I am now excited to see what you are reading! Please add your What Are You Reading Link to the linky below where it says click here:

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on October 9, 2011October 9, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)80 Comments

Hello and welcome to another fun addition of It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

Last weeks winner:

Chris and Nerfreader

WOO HOO!!!! Please choose an item out of the Reading Cafe Grab Shelves and email me your choice with your mailing address as well! journeythroughbooks@gmail.com

So my week was crazy and you are probably thinking, “Wow Sheila what else is new?” Well… lots of things but more on that later this week. 😛

This past week around bonus craziness I did get a few things done…

In The Woods by Tana French (audio review – my first Tana French and I have a complaint…)

Robin Hood by David Coe (audio review)

Reclaiming Lily by Patti Lacy ( a book tour review)

Weekend cooking with Pride and Prejudice

They Are Creepy And They Are Spooky – what are you reading for Halloween month?

Considering my week… that’s not too bad. I have two more audio close to being done, and Night Circus (on audio) should be done late this week as well I think.

I am finishing up Pride and Prejudice for book club on Tuesday and Monsters of Men from last week is on the hit list after that. 😀

I have a girls weekend this weekend so I will not get a lot of reading done – but in the event I get some time this week to add a little more I hope to read:

Is nothing sacred? The last thing Carmela Bertrand and her friend Ava expected to bear witness to in St. Tristan’s Church was a crime. But now a beloved member of their scrapbooking circle lies lifeless next to a smashed statue of St. Sebastien-and a mysterious hooded figure has absconded with an antique crucifix.

As Carmela and Ava are drawn deeper into New Orleans’ French Quarter in search of the missing crucifix, they may need the help of more than a few patron saints. Because this is one killer they don’t want to cross…

In a dusty corner of a basement in a rambling Victorian house in northern New Hampshire, a door has long been sealed shut with 39 six-inch-long carriage bolts.

The home’s new owners are Chip and Emily Linton and their twin ten-year-old daughters. Together they hope to rebuild their lives there after Chip, an airline pilot, has to ditch his 70-seat regional jet in Lake Champlain after double engine failure. Unlike the Miracle on the Hudson, however, most of the passengers aboard Flight 1611 die on impact or drown. The body count? Thirty-nine – a coincidence not lost on Chip when he discovers the number of bolts in that basement door. Meanwhile, Emily finds herself wondering about the women in this sparsely populated White Mountain village – self-proclaimed herbalists – and their interest in her fifth-grade daughters. Are the women mad? Or is it her husband, in the wake of the tragedy, whose grip on sanity has become desperately tenuous?

I am super excited to have received the Water For Elephants movie for a pre screening prior to the DVD release on November 1. I have not seen the movie yet so am watching it tonight. Review will go live the end of October.

I hope to get around to see what you are reading this week! Be sure to add your link to your own What Are You Reading post below where it says click here:

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on September 25, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)81 Comments

Hello and welcome to another fun addition of It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

Last weeks winner:

Julie at My Book Retreat

WOO HOO!!!! Please choose an item out of the Reading Cafe Grab Shelves and email me your choice with your mailing address as well! journeythroughbooks@gmail.com

Oh welcome! Excuse the mess around here.. I am participating in Banned Book Week and we are right in the middle of it. If you haven’t been around here in the last week I highly recommend you check out the fun going on… there is a BIG giveaway happening and there are clues towards the grand prize given out each day (check that out here)

Anyway… here is what the past week looked like:

Night by Eli Wiesel – BANNED BOOK – but I did not know it when I listened to this on audio

The Ask and The Answer by Patrick Ness (oh wow wow wow!!!!)

Forbidden by Ted Dekker with a GIVEAWAY COPY!!!

A little info about Banned Books and what is happening around here Sept 24 – Oct 1

Charlotte’s Wed by E B White – BANNED BOOK (yup… you got that right… click the title and see why it is banned!)

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf – BANNED BOOK (no worries… Mrs. Dalloway and I will not be doing coffee together any time soon…

The Banned Book Week GRAND PRIZE event (I hope you join in we are having so much fun!)

As you can see… I have not really been idle this past week 😛

Now for this week. Banned Books week runs through this coming Saturday so most of my week is dedicated to banned books… here is my current plan:

Click on the cover for description

Click on cover for description

Of course I still have my three audio still going and the one I am MOST excited about is:

SO there it is… my week. I have an extra day off this week and a pretty clear weekend so reading is definitely on the agenda! 😀 I am really excited to see what you are reading this week!

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on September 18, 2011September 18, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)98 Comments

Hello and welcome to another fun addition of It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

Last weeks winner:

Literary Lindsey

WOO HOO!!!! Please choose an item out of the Reading Cafe Grab Shelves and email me your choice with your mailing address as well! journeythroughbooks@gmail.com

This past week was BBAW (Book Blogger Appreciation Week). This is a great week to celebrate those of us who chat books and review books doing this crazy blog thing 😛 I truly had a BLAST this week but between work, BBAW, and evening commitments almost every night…. by the end of the week I had not posted one book review ( however a book discussion), and hardly read a thing. 😯

Here is what was posted last week:

My BBAW Interview Swap with the awesome and amazing Lu from Regular Rumination

BBAW Post: How Do I DO Community? (You may have asked how I do so much in life and still find time to blog… here is my response 😀

BBAW Post: Advice on what works… and what I would like to try

Bookies Review Of The Postmistress by Sarah Blake and the food we served

with it

Back by popular demand… the Word Shakers on line read a long has beentweaked, and updated and a book has been chosen!

Banned Books Weeks is coming!!! Jump On The Banned Wagon With Me!!!

So as you see…. my week was very BBAW. 😀

As for this week… I think I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. After a HUGE start to September at work, it looks like these next two weeks will slow down a bit. I currently have in too many hours for the month so I am taking an extra day off each of the next two weeks to get my hours back where they should be… this means… I get to get my exercise back on track,and my reading and reviewing. AHHHHH…. feels so good…

I am not going to give myself a heavy week as I have much to catch up on from the past couple of weeks… but, always the optimist…. here is what I hope to touch on:

Click on the book cover for synopsis

Yes, yes, yes… I have been talking about this book for weeks and yes… it has been in my home since the first week of June….. so this is what I would call a PRIORITY READ this week. (I also just picked it up on audio so I may listen to it, depending on which way my time frame goes… 😛

This one was given to me by my friend Millie (*waves*). She knows me sooo well…. this type of book is right up my alley as I have such a heart for kids in crisis.

Click on the book cover for synopsis

I recently read a review on this book, entered a contest, and then won the book. It arrived at my house yesterday. Normally a book does not have this amazingly quick turn around but I loved the review and 9-11 is still pretty fresh in my mind from the anniversary last week.

Click on the book cover for synopsis

I am currently in the second book in this series and LOVING IT! If all goes as I hope… I will have this series finished out by the end of this week and will be dancing around to tell you about it.

I think I am good with audio this week as I have one finishing up in the jeep, but have another waiting that I has started and need to finish, the one in the house I started today and my IPOD still has a bit to go with In The Woods.

Now I really want to know what you are reading this week! Please add your Monday What Are You Reading post to the link below where it says Click Here.

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on September 11, 2011September 11, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)76 Comments

Hello and welcome to another fun addition of It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

Last weeks winner:

Anne – My Head Is Full Of Books

WOO HOO!!!! Please choose an item out of the Reading Cafe Grab Shelves and email me your choice with your mailing address as well! journeythroughbooks@gmail.com

Yes, things look a bit different over here this week… I have been itching for some blog look changes and last night stayed up way later than I should working out a color scheme that I really like and learning how to put a texture background in. 😀

And yes… I did do a few other things this past week too such as:

Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath (an awesome book for finding your natural strengths and how to utilize them at home, at work, and in life)

I need a Christmas/holiday read for a magazine review I am doing in October. Suggestions needed! 😀

The Knife Of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (OH WOW! Best book I have read in a while!!!)

The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood (Audio Review)

I am planning a fun week for Banned Book Week which comes up the last week of September. I am looking for Book Bloggers to join me with Banned Book Posts and a fun giveaway. See here for details.

***A BIG note – as many of you know, this meme was short listed for Best Book Blog Meme (which is so exciting!), but what you may not know is that there was a glitch in the voting form and all votes were lost as of 9/9/11 and a new form has been submitted and all voted must be recast. I would love it if you would take moment and cast a vote for which Book Blog Meme you enjoy the most, there are some wonderful choices on the form. Click here to vote.

I would have liked to have read more this week but seems like my days got away from me… Wed, Thurs, Fri, and Sat I wound up with evening plans that left me tired and unfocused when I got home.

That said…here is what is on the “plan” this week:

Click on picture for synopsis

An unconventional girl in India… whats not interesting about this beginning to a trilogy? Next up for me on audio!

Click on picture for book synopsis

Yes yes yes… I am back with Patterson in apparently another murder story in New York. I know, I know.. but I can not help it. The man does great audio!

Reading for our Faith ‘N Fiction group and already behind on this one!

Honestly… I am still working on The Ask and The Answer by Patrick Ness, and if I get done with that I want to move on and finish up the series with Monsters Of Men.

In other upcoming news…. this week kicks off BBAW (Book Blogger Appreciation Week) and I plan to participate full heartedly! Let me just say now to all of you that I love our book community – if you are bloggers or not, I enjoy reading your comments, chatting books, and just sharing in this together. Thank you each and every one of you for reading my rambles and spending time with me. YOU are what makes Book Blogging special to me.

Leave your link to your own Monday What Are You Reading and I will be by with coffee and scones to see what you are reading this week. 😀

See you on the blogesphere! 😀

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