Sunday Salon - Planning My 2011 Reading

If you'd like to participate with The Sunday Salon, just click the button above.

So, it's that time of the year when I start getting anal about what I'm going to read and what challenges I'm going to join for 2011. I don't know why I do that since any plans I make now are never the ones I end up following in the next year. I think I just like organizing my books. LOL

Anyway....for 2011, I've already signed up for these challenges...

What's in a Name 4
Nicholas Sparks Reading Challenge

I'm hosting...

The 2011 Harlequin/Silhouette Reading Challenge

And these challenges I host are continuing into part of 2011...

James Patterson Reading Challenge
Alex Cross Reading Challenge
What an Animal III Challenge

I'm pretty sure I won't be hosting anymore challenges than I already have, but I can't guarantee I won't be joining others. In fact, I already know there are a couple more I'll be joining when they are announced.

The key is for me not to stress over these things. I do love joining the challenges and I'm going to try and go with the idea of "I'll do what I can, if not than so be it." Last year I joined 15 challenges and only completed 5. I guess that's better than not completing any. Besides, this is supposed to be fun, not a chore. That's my goal...to make this fun and not take it too seriously.

This week has been a weird one with the holidays making it a short work week. I did manage to watch a great movie "The Blind Side" with Sandra Bullock. I can see why she won her Oscar Award. This was a great movie.

I hope everyone had a great week and have a great one next week!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Nicholas Sparks reading Challenge 2011

I had to join this one - I love Nicholas Sparks' books and I nearly started a challenge of my own for his books last year. So, I was excited to see that someone started one this year. Thank you Book Vixen! If you'd like to join up, click the button above.

Details:

* Runs January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011(books read prior to 1/1/11 do not count towards the challenge). You can join at anytime – Sign up on The Book Vixen’s blog.
* The goal is to read or re-read as many Nicholas Sparks novels as you’d like. See the different levels below and pick the one that works best for you. Nothing is set in stone; you can change levels at any time during the challenge.
* Books can be any format (bound, eBook, audio).
* Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are fine.
* You can list your books in advance or list them as you read them. It is not required that you review the books you read for this challenge but feel free to do so.
* Post this reading challenge on your blog so you can keep a list of the books you’ve read for this challenge. Please include a link back to this post so readers can join the challenge too.
* You do not have to be a book blogger to participate. You can keep tabs on books you’ve read for this challenge on Goodreads or LibraryThing if you’d like (maybe make a shelf for “Nicholas Sparks Reading Challenge”). If you are not on either of those sites then you can list the books you read for this challenge in the comments on my wrap-up post, which will be up at the end of 2011.



Levels:

First Date – Read 1–4 Nicholas Sparks novels
Going Steady – Read 5–8 Nicholas Sparks novels
Engaged – Read 9–12 Nicholas Sparks novels
Married – Read 13–16 Nicholas Sparks novels


List of Nicholas Sparks novels:

The Notebook
Message in a Bottle
A Walk to Remember
The Rescue
A Bend in the Road
Nights in Rodanthe
The Wedding
The Guardian
Three Weeks With My Brother
True Believer (read this first, before At First Sight)
At First Sight (read this after True Believer)
The Choice
Dear John
The Lucky One
The Last Song
Safe Haven


I'm going to sign up for First Date - Read 1-4 books. These are the books I plan to read...

1. Dear John
2. The Lucky One
3. The Last Song
4. The Rescue

What's in a Name 4

Beth F is hosting this challenge. I joined for the last two years and haven't completed it yet, but I'm determined to give it another try. If you'd like to sign up, click the button above.

Here's How It Works

Between January 1 and December 31, 2011, read one book in each of the following categories:

1. A book with a number in the title: First to Die, Seven Up, Thirteen Reasons Why
2. A book with jewelry or a gem in the title: Diamond Ruby, Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Opal Deception
3. A book with a size in the title: Wide Sargasso Sea, Small Wars, Little Bee
4. A book with travel or movement in the title: Dead Witch Walking, Crawling with Zombies, Time Traveler's Wife
5. A book with evil in the title: Bad Marie, Fallen, Wicked Lovely
6. A book with a life stage in the title: No Country for Old Men, Brideshead Revisited, Bog Child

Here are my choices, which could change later in the year...

1. Dewey Nine Lives by Vicki Myron (A book with a number in the title) Click for review
2. Opal Fire by Barbra Annino (A Book with jewelry or a gem in the title) Click for review
3. A Little Consequence by Amy Knupp (A book with a size in the title)
4. Dancing in the Moonlight by RaeAnne Thayne (A book with travel or movement in the title)
5. The Bad Widow by Barbara Elsborg (A book with evil in the title)
6. Baby Bonanza by Maureen Child (A book with a life stage in the title)

The Harlequin/Silhouette 2011 Reading Challenge

It's that time of year again when we end one year's challenge and begin the next. Traditionally, I go crazy and join a million of them but I don't think I'll be going overboard this year. I did awful this year with my challenges, but hopefully next year will be a better one for me. I'm going to be a bit more choosy about which ones I join.

My first one is the Harlequin/Silhouette Reading Challenge. Of course I have to join this one since I host it. LOL You can join by clicking on the button above.

Here's the info:

Rules:

1) Challenge is from Jan 1, 2011 to Dec 31, 2011.

2) All of the books must be from the Harlequin family of imprints (includes Mira books as well)

3) Read one book for each of these requirements:

1. A relationship in the title (mother, father, brother, sister, etc.)
2. A weather condition in the title (rain, snow, storm, etc.)
3. An occupation in the title (cop, nurse, doctor, etc.)
4. A book with the author's first or last name beginning with "C"
5. A name in the title (Mary, Sam, etc.)

Here are my choices:

1. Firefighter Daddy by Lee McKenzie (A relationship in the title)
2. The Snow-Kissed Bride by Linda Goodnight (A weather condition in the title)
3. What the Librarian Did by Karina Bliss (An occupation in the title)
4. Private Sessions by Tori Carrington (A book with the author's first or last name beginning with "C")
5. With Victoria's Blessing by Mary Nichols (A name in the title) Click for review

Follow Friday 40 and Over

This a fun blog hop hosted by Java at Never Growing Old. It's for all bloggers over 40. Here are the rules...

1. Grab the button
2. Add your link to the list
3. Visit as many other blogs as you can
4. Follow the ones you like (and comment on their blog to say that you are following)

Sign up at Never Growing Old.

Book Blogger Hop - November 26th - 29th

>

The blog hop is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books

This week's question comes from Sarah who blogs at Writer, Reader, Dreamer:

"What is your favorite book cover?"

This is a hard question because I've seen alot of lovely book covers over the years and my mind is a blank at the moment. I can't remember anything these days. LOL However, I love Debbie Macomber's covers. Her books always make me feel calm, cozy, peaceful...they are so soothing. So, I'm choosing her covers...here are a few...

Happy Thanksgiving!

MySpace Comments: Chromaluna.com




MySpace Comments: Chromaluna.com

The Postcard Killers by James Patterson and Liza Marklund

Genre: Suspense, Thriller
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Hachette Books
Release Date: August 2010

Young couples are being brutally murdered all over Europe. It appears the killings are at the hands of a young couple traveling through Europe. NYPD detective Jack Karon is hot on their trail, but he has a personal stake in this. His daughter and her fiancé were murdered by this serial killing couple and he wants justice, but whether or not he can handle this case objectively remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, Swedish reporter Dessie Larsson receives a postcard from the killers and now she finds herself in the middle of the whole investigation. She fears what this could do to her career, but mostly she fears the strong attraction she has for Jack. She desperately tries to put aside her feelings for the sake of stopping these vicious murderers.

As everyone knows, I love James Patterson’s writing. This book was a good one, too. Not my favorite, but still a well thought out storyline. The killers are known to the reader right from the beginning, but this story is not that simple and there were still many twists and turns along the way.

I would have liked to see the characters of Dessie and Jack more developed though. Their romance seemed to lack for something. I can’t really put my finger on it, but I would have liked to read more about them. The killers were truly evil and I was just hoping for a satisfying ending.

Although many of Patterson’s books are a part of a series, this is a standalone book and only took me two days to read – that’s amazing for me.

I give this one a four cat rating.




For reading challenge:

James Patterson Reading Challenge

Petchy Maligula by Stan Carter

Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Science Fiction
Format: EBook
Publisher: Gypsy Shadow Publishing
Release Date: August 2010

Petchy Maligula, a private investigator, is hired to find missing TV archaeologist – Faladan Pala. Faladan is the host of the popular TV series “I Dig the Past” and well loved by millions, including Petchy herself. In fact, Petchy has a huge crush on the TV star and has a personal interest in finding him. Much to her surprise, she finds there are quite a few people who would like to get rid of the popular star.

She believes a cult has kidnapped Faladan and planning to use him as a sacrifice. There’s no way she can let this happen. She tries desperately to put a stop to this and even uses a couple of ghost spies along the way to help her. Petchy is beyond shocked when she learns the true reason behind the TV host’s disappearance.

The story is set in Betroit, Mechigan. At first I thought there were quite a few typos in this book, but then I realized it’s a parallel universe. The main character, Petchy, is a tough, larger than life character who can hold her own, but occasionally needs help from some of her friends who have more supernatural powers than she does. This book kept me on my toes and I loved every minute of it. This was a fun, quirky and intriguing read.

Solid by Shelley Workinger

Genre: Young Adult
Format: EBook
Publisher: CreateSpace
Release: July 2010-11-13

A group of teenagers discover they have been genetically altered before birth. They are invited to a place where they would be tested for “super abilities”. Away from their families and friends, they begin to form a close friendship with each other. It is not long before they develop a tight bond.

One of the teens, Calliope “Clio” Kaid, lost her father many years ago. One of the people in charge happens to have been a close friend of her father’s, but she questions the coincidence of running into him now and wonders if her father’s death was truly an accident. When she can’t reach her mother, she becomes even more suspicious of what is happening.

Clio stumbles upon information that could be dangerous to her and her new friends. She shares her information with them and together they search for the truth and expose a conspiracy that could destroy them all.

This book has a nice mix of mystery, suspense, thrills, and even a bit of romance. I don’t usually read young adult books, but the premise of this book intrigued me and I’m glad I read it. The characters are all realistic and their motivation is believable. The story moves at a fast-paced and the characters come to life in a way that will have readers caring about them. I devoured this book in just a couple of days.

A side note, this is the first book in the “Solid” series. To read more about these books, go to Shelley Workinger’s website http://solidnovel.com/

Book Blogger Hop - November 12th - 15th

>

The blog hop is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books

This week's question comes from Christina who blogs at All About YA Books:

"If you find a book that looks interesting but is part of a series, do you always start with the first title?"

My answer...

Absolutely! Yes, definitely! There have been times when I bought a book without realizing it was part of a series and had to go back and get the first book before I'd read it. The story itself usually stands alone, but it's the best way to really see the characters develop. Their actions in a later book don't always make sense, unless you know where they are coming from to start.

I've always loved series books, but I wish publishers would make it clear on the covers if a book is #1, #2, etc. etc. Often I'm searching on the internet to see the correct order of a series. It's not always in the book or on the cover. Personally, I think the easiest and clearest thing is to mark each book cover.


Friday MySpace Comments

Follow Friday 40 and Over

I had never been part of a blog hop until last week and I had fun with it, so I'm back again :) This one is hosted by Java at Never Growing Old. It's for all bloggers over 40. Here are the rules...

1. Grab the button
2. Add your link to the list
3. Visit as many other blogs as you can
4. Follow the ones you like (and comment on their blog to say that you are following)

Sign up at Never Growing Old.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Under Witch Moon by Maria E. Schneider

Genre: Paranormal
Format: EBook
Publisher: Bear Mountain Books

Adriel is a witch providing different types of spells to anyone who needs them. She provides one of her clients with a spell to protect her from a werewolf, but what Adriel doesn’t know is her customer intends to use it to trap the werewolf. When the woman is found dead, the first person the authorities turn to is Adriel.

Adriel quickly learns that her customer isn’t the only woman to be killed. The local police detective, White Feather, insists upon questioning her. This isn’t a hardship since he’s quite a sexy man.

With the help of her teenage assistant, Lynx, they set off to find who is responsible for the murders and to clear any suspicion from Adriel.

This story has it all – witches, warlocks, shape shifters, werewolves and vampires. They are all mixed into one exciting story with some explosive scenes to captivate readers. This is the beginning of a new series “Moon Shadow Series” and it’s an excellent beginning. We meet all the characters and immediately fall in love with Adriel, White Feather and Linx – not to mention the rest of this crazy cast. It’s a fast-paced book you won’t want to put down.

I haven’t been into the paranormal genre has much has I used to be and this one has re-hooked me and now I want more! If a book can do that, it gets my Socrates Great Book Alert Award.







Under Witch Moon at Smashwords

Booking through Thursday - War Books

If you'd like to join in on Booking Through Thursday, just click the button above.



This week's question...

It is November 11th, known here in the U.S. as Veteran’s Day, formerly Armistice Day to remember the end of WWI but expanded to honor all veterans who have fought for their country, so …

Do you read war stories? Fictional ones? Histories?

My answer...

Not really. I'm not big on reading historical type of books either non-fiction or fiction. Although there have been some fictional books set around WWI or WWII that I've enjoyed. Usually they are books by Dorothy Garlock.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures

WWW Wednesdays

If you'd like to play along with WWW Wednesdays, just click the button above.


To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

* What are you currently reading?
* What did you recently finish reading?
* What do you think you’ll read next?

My answers...

What are you currently reading?



What did you recently finish reading?



What do you think you’ll read next?

or or

Barnes & Noble Giftcard Giveaway

Anyone who regularly reads my blog knows that I'm addicted to my beloved Nook ereader. Well, the Nookboard is having a giveaway for a Barnes & Noble giftcard. The giveaway ends November 12th, so hurry up!

Here's the link Nookboard Giveaway

Musing Mondays - Readers' Spending On Books

If you'd like to play along on Musing Mondays, just click the button above to join in.


This week’s musing asks…

Today’s musing is a sort of “read and respond”…

A blog I frequent suggested I check out several articles of interest… one of them which happened to be this one: “Trendspotting: Readers’ Spending On Books“. So — being the avid reader & book junkie that I am — I couldn’t help but click over and read the short piece about readers’ current spending habits.

My questions for today are ones that are asked at the end of this particular article: What are your responses to this report? Does it match with what you –as a reader– have observed? With your own buying habits? When was the last time you bought a book? What did you buy and why?


My Response...

Interesting article...I seem to fit right in with the trends...I'm trendy! LOL

First, hardcovers...I don't particularly like them in the first place both because of price and they are too heavy to lug around. There had been only two authors that I bought in hardcover immediately - James Patterson's Women's Murder Club series and Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. Although I still read those series, I don't bother with hardcovers anymore. I found I didn't actually read the books until they came out in paperback anyway.

I no longer buy print books, but that's because I've switched over to Ebooks. I get many of the Ebooks from the library, Barnes and Noble and other online Ebook outlets. I've mentioned before on my blog that I'm at B&N everyday but that's only because it's across the street from where I work. So, I go there to read my Nook. I still do like to browse the aisles, though.

As for the other point in the article about non-fiction books, I was never a non-fiction reader unless there was a memoir by someone I was interested in or a topic I wanted to read up on. These days I can get all the information I need by googling. I don't need to buy a non-fiction book, sad to say but that's how I feel these days.

So, what are your habits?


see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Sunday Salon - Wrapping up my Week!

If you'd like to participate with The Sunday Salon, just click the button above.

Well, sometimes the unexpected happens and messes up your life...even if it's temporary. I feed stray cats that hang around my house and one scratched me giving me an infection in my foot. My foot blew up and I was running a high fever. The fever is down and, I think, the swelling might be down too but the pain is horrible. So, that's why I've been MIA for the past few days. I'll be blogging sporadically, but I haven't even felt like reading or doing anything. So, I've been behind on just about everything.

I'm still reading Under Witch Moon by Maria E. Schneider which was supposed to be my Halloween read, but thanks to the injury, it's taking longer than I would have liked (although it's an excellent book). I pretty much just lay around and watch TV these days.

Anyway, that's my week in review...such as it is...

WWW Wednesdays

If you'd like to play along with WWW Wednesdays, just click the button above.


To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

* What are you currently reading?



* What did you recently finish reading?



* What do you think you’ll read next?



or



My answers...

What are you currently reading?

Teaser Tuesdays - November 2nd

If you'd like to play along on Teaser Tuesdays, just click the button above.


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week I'm reading



The scene in front of me was unpleasant, but for a panicked wolf, surprisingly lacking in blood. He had killed her, but crushed her throat rather than ripped it to shreds.



Smashwords