At Least Ten Left to Read!

I received a new book this week , The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Settington.   Can not wait to read it, but I have works in progress.   My Facebook book club is reading Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.  I don’t recall having read it in high school and so far so good.  I try to read fifty pages a day or thereabouts.   Then my night reading is Jessica Shirvington’s Embrace, which it looks like maybe I will fly through it with no  effort at all.!  As I get nearer the end, I am sure I will be pulling an all nighter to finish it.   Sometimes it is very nice to have the time to rearrange my schedule for reading.  (I’m an insomniac since 2009).

Today is Sunday and it’s time to announce the TBR list from this week:

Keeper of the Light by Diane Chamberlain

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

The Stranger You Seek by Amanda Kyle Williams

Blue Monday by Nicci French

Always so much I want to read!   I have determined though that until I get my children’s book published I am only going to purchase only one book a month.   At that rate I should be able to catch up on my reading in no time!  Looking forward to that!

Happy Reading my friends; it’s a good thing to do!

Tall Blondes by Lynn Sherr...a Review

I love animals; in particular, I love horses, dogs, cats and giraffes.  They all have in common beautiful expressive eyes.    This is the second book I have read about giraffes recently and I’ll not read another.   This was a factual account and again there was a lot of history reported, but the most interesting chapter was the first where it listed quick facts.   A giraffe’s tongue is approximately 18” long.   The male reaches a height of 18’ and weighs in at 1.5 tons.   Females are usually around 16’ tall and weigh approximately .5 ton.   They live up to age 30.   Calves are born after a 15 month gestation period and stand 6 ft at birth.   They are also born with horns.  The female usually has two horns, males three and some even have as many as five.   They are gentle giants and do not fight amongst themselves and threaten no other animal, although their hooves can and do become a violent and deadly weapon when fending off an enemy.  They do not have tear ducts, although they have been seen shedding a tear.  There are nine different color patterns.   Although I found the writing dry, I enjoyed the full color pictures.

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh Review

Her name was Victoria and she had been a troubled, misunderstood child- raised in the foster system and rejected from family to family and group home to group home.   We meet her on her eighteenth birthday when she is emancipated from the “system”.   Her story is told from the current day and reverting back to her past.   She was always angry, didn’t want touched, and did not trust anyone or anything they said.   Even when there was a glimmer of hope for the future, Victoria blew it and knew she was unrepairable, a lost cause, and no one would be able to love her.

Elizabeth truly loved this angry rag muffin of a girl. She wanted Victoria to be her daughter.   She taught her everything she knew about the language of flowers.  As life would have it,  with human frailty, doubts and misunderstandings, that was not to be .   With a one word lie, Victoria was ripped from Elizabeth’s heart and sent to a group home.

This is a heart rending story of a girl coming to terms with supporting herself once she is emancipated, finding love despite the terror she is overwhelmed with.   She must face her fears and her failures if she is ever to find the acceptance and love she so craves.   It is an excellent novel….one I found difficult to deal with at first, but I felt like I grew right along with Victoria as she matured and faced those ghosts of her past.                             

Today, a Poll

Scholastic came out with a list of 100 books for kids, but I thought I’d see if I could answer them for myself.   If you want to try it, leave a comment below and we’ll compare notes!   Have fun!

Best bedtime book— No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

Best read aloud--  I Got Two Dogs by Robert Neubecker and John Lithgow

Favorite Fantastic Setting— Harry Potter series by J K Rowling

Most Beautifully Illustrated—Burfur’s Great Adventure by Beth Cutwright(coming soon)

Most Exquisite Style--   Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin

Most Exciting Ending— Harry Potter by J K Rowling

Most Eye Catching Cover—The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Most Heart Warming Story—Burfur’s Great Adventure by Beth Cutwright(coming soon)

Most Relatable Character— Grandma Mazur in the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich

Most Side Splitting Hilarious—Any Stephanie Plum book by Janet Evanovich

Now, I know adding my own children’s book when it hasn’t been published yet is a little on the unfair side of things, but I just couldn’t resist!  Happy reading!

How to Open a New Book

I learned this same thing years ago when I was in school....too many moons to mention. But as with all unused knowledge, I had forgotten it. I was in possession of my grandsons Harry Potter book, the first one to increase in size and I tried to open the thick book as I thought I remembered. And then I dropped it, accidentally of course, and the book fell apart.

It was like mourning a family member, with confession to my grandson first on my agenda. He was horrified. He has learned the value of books and he takes great care of his books. How could Grandma do this to his beloved HP book? I immediately ordered a new copy to replace his copy. It was the right thing to do. I told him to read the broken book when he read it for himself. Grandma was forgiven.

Then I happened across this which I am making into a book mark so I never forget again. I will hopefully never murder another book again!!

May you always hold your books tight; may books make your life bright!

A Trip to the Book Store

Isn't this picture adorable? It reminds me of those weekly trips into town and either visiting the library or the bookstore and trying to leave either with an armful of books. Easier to retrieve an armful from the library than asking the farmer's wife, (mom), to make an armful purchase. The picture is compliments of Barbara Fisher's blog at: http://marchhousebookscom.blogspot.com/ Thank you Barbara.

This week I'm adding four books to my TBR list. All four selections should broaden my horizons. I'm beginning to think I have no specific genre or category of book that I favor. I will read anything, but I want to explore newer authors at the moment and then again I want to read some oldies that I may have missed in high school & college.

TBR: Embrace by Jessica Shirvington

The Keeper of the Light by Diane Chamberlain

The Hollows by Amanda Hocking

Flowers of Algernon by Daniel Keyes

A good novel tells us the truth about it’s hero, but a bad novel tells us the truth about it’s author.

G. K. Chesterton

Cover Reveal....TASTE

Cover Reveal:Taste by Kate Evangelista

A beautiful cover for sure!

Taste by Kate Evangelista

Crescent Moon Press

Coming soon in 2012

At Barinkoff Academy, there's only one rule: no students on campus after curfew. Phoenix McKay soon finds out why when she is left behind at sunset. A group calling themselves night students threaten to taste her flesh until she is saved by a mysterious, alluring boy. With his pale skin, dark eyes, and mesmerizing voice, Demitri is both irresistible and impenetrable. He warns her to stay away from his dangerous world of flesh eaters. Unfortunately, the gorgeous and playful Luka has other plans.

When Phoenix is caught between her physical and her emotional attraction, she becomes the keeper of a deadly secret that will rock the foundations of an ancient civilization living beneath Barinkoff Academy. Phoenix doesn’t realize until it is too late that the closer she gets to both Demitri and Luka the more she is plunging them all into a centuries old feud.

To read an excerpt click here

Find Kate Evangelista at:
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This was copied and pasted from http://far-past-midnight.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/cover-revealtaste-by-kate-evangelista.html