Sunday Salon - February Wrap Up!

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

It's hard to believe but February is just about over and spring is going to be here before we know it. I figured I would do my February wrap up today since I seriously doubt I'm going to complete another book by tomorrow.

Here's what I read this month:

Kiss the Girls by James Patterson (4/5)
Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris (audio) (3/5)
The Wishing Hour by Jewel Adams (5/5)
All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris (audio) (3/5)
Stir Until Thoroughly Confused by Heather Wardell (4/5)
Capable of Murder by Brian Kavanagh (5/5)
Three Sisters by Helen Smith (4/5) - This is a short story (70 printed pages, does that count as one book?)
Indefensible by Pamela Callow (I'm going to be hosting a blog tour on March 7th for this one and that's when I'll post my review.)

On March 7th I'll be hosting a blog tour, along with my review, Q&A with the author and a book giveaway of Indefensible. So, be on the lookout for it!

I've been doing pretty well with my challenges. I'm almost finished with two of them - TBR Lite and the Romance Reading Challenge.

Don't forget my What an Animal Reading Challenge IV begins on Tuesday, March 1st. So, if you're interested, head over there and sign up.

Hope everyone has a great week!



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Anything Goes on Saturday - Why Blog?

This is a new meme called "Anything Goes on Saturday". It's a chance to choose any topic you want and talk about it on Saturday - it can be about a book, TV show, movie, a recipe or just an update on your week. Whatever you choose.

If you'd like to join in, take the button above and blog about it. Use the linky below to post your direct link to your post. Then, go and visit other blogs and see what's on everyone's minds this week. Enjoy!

This week I'm wondering why does everyone blog? What makes us all do this?

The thing I like is that I'm able to meet people with similar interests to mine and I can discuss them with others. I don't know many people in my "real life" who read and enjoy it as much as I do. Plus I have other interests like cats, movies, TV and blogging gives me a chance to meet others with these interests.

I love meeting new people and reading about everyone's lives and places where they live and travel. It's an exciting world out there and I love reading about it.

Blogging has given me a chance to meet wonderful new people (yes, I'm talking to you!!! LOL). This has been a fun experience and hopefully it continues for many more years to come.








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Book Blogger Hop - February 25th - 28th

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

This week's question comes from Jen B. who blogs at I Read Banned Books:

"Do you ever wish you would have named your blog something different?"

My answer...

No, I'm happy with the name I picked. Socrates is one of my cats and, although sometimes I feel bad for not using all three names (just to be fair), that would have sounded silly. Besides, the real Socrates was a philosopher and that fits in with the book world :)



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The Friday 56

This is a fun meme to do hosted by Freda's Voice. If you'd like to join on the fun go to The Friday 56.

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it here.

It's that simple.

This week I'm reading...



A sentence from page 56 of the paperback...

And he had reduced her to a woman that she despised. She hated that he could do that to her.

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.


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Booking through Thursday - New or Used Books?

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



This week's question...

All other things being equal–do you prefer used books? Or new books? (The physical speciman, that is, not the title.) Does your preference differentiate between a standard kind of used book, and a pristine, leather-bound copy?

My answer...

I always prefer new books, but cost can be prohibitive and I'll get a used book. My only problem with used books are that some people just don't treat their books very kindly and some can be almost disgusting to touch. That's why I prefer the new books (plus I love the 'new book' smell). If I do get used books, mine are contemporary paperbacks so they are never leather-bound or first edition collectible types.


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Theme Thursday - Touch

This is a new meme hosted by kavyen at Reading between Pages.. “Theme Thursdays” will be open from one thursday to the next and anyone can post it. The rules are simple:

* A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
* Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
* Post it and don’t forget to mention the author and the title of the book
* Since we may take a few days to finish a book, this event is open for one whole week

This will give us a wonderful opportunity to explore and understand different writing styles and descriptive approaches adopted by authors.

This week’s theme is – Touch (any body contact)

This week I'm reading...



She tensed. He buried his face in her neck. His breath was moist on her skin. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She pulled his face up to hers. Her lips grazed his jaw. "Keep going."

Cat Thursday - February 24th

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! Enjoy! This fun meme is hosted by The True Book Addict. Go over to her site to join in the fun.


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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?

What are you currently reading?



and listening to on audio...



What did you recently finish reading?



and finished listening to...



What do you think you'll read next?






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Contest Winner!

The ebook giveaway for "The Innocent" by Vincent Zandri is over and a winner has been selected using List Randomizer.

The winner is....

Tea

Congratulations, Tea! Enjoy the book!

Thanks to everyone who participated!

Cover Poll for Sedona O'Hala Mystery Series

Maria Schneider is about to release the latest book in the Sedona O'Hala mystery series: Executive Sick Days! Once again, she's turning to her readers to help her pick the final cover. Vote for your favorite over on her blog: www.BearMountainBooks.com .

Here's a little bit about the book:

Steve Huntington had a way of offering jobs that were too good to be true. Mark Huntington made offers too good to turn down. Sedona had a habit of being caught in the middle; somewhere in the proximity of bad guys with guns and family members she was trying to avoid.

Good thing the latest case involved a hospital. Then again, not all hospital personnel were interested in the lasting health of the patients.or that of their co-workers.

Book 1: Executive Lunch
Book 2: Executive Retention

Teaser Tuesdays - February 22nd

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!



There was a remote chance - a very remote chance, she was assured by her doctors - that she could be infected with the fatal illness. The type of CJD they believed Craig Peters had contracted was not believed to be transmitted through blood infection. But no one knew for sure.

Three Sisters (The Emily Castles Mysteries) by Helen Smith

Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Tyger Books
Release Date: February 2011
Format: EBook

Emily Castles is grieving the loss of her beloved dog, Jessie. She’s feeling quite emotional and all alone in the world. Emily is invited to a neighborhood bonfire party by her new neighbors. This isn’t your typical party and one thing Emily never expects is to witness a murder.

Readers are treated to a crazy evening complete with an eccentric group of performers who give Emily a run for her money. She’s sure one of them has been murdered, but who could have done it? To make matters even more confusing, there’s no dead body and she begins to wonder if anyone really died.

This is a short story, approximately 70 printed pages and a very quick read. Talk about leaving readers wanting more. This is the first of a series of Emily Castles mysteries set in London. It’s fast-paced, funny, and mysterious all at the same time. I’ve never read anything by Helen Smith before, but she’s a new-to-me author that I will be looking for in the future. I can’t wait to see what Emily’s next adventure will be.

All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris

Genre: Paranormal
Publisher: Recorded Books
Release Date: May 2007
Format: Audio

Synopsis from Fantastic Fiction:

Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse has her hands full dealing with every sort of undead and paranormal creature imaginable. And after being betrayed by her longtime vampire love, Sookie must not only deal with a new man in her life-the shapeshifter Quinn-but also contend with the long-planned vampire summit.

The summit is a tense situation. The vampire queen of Louisiana is in a precarious position, her power base weakened by hurricane damage to New Orleans. And there are some vamps who would like to finish what nature started. Soon, Sookie must decide what side she'll stand with. And her choice may mean the difference between survival and all-out catastrophe.

My thoughts...

As I have said previously, I do enjoy this series but I'm afraid I keep comparing it to the TV series "True Blood". I want to see more of the characters I love on True Blood. With the books, each one has new characters (along with some old ones). I guess my biggest complaint is there isn't enough of Bill and Eric. I'm not thrilled that Sookie has a new boyfriend either. LOL But, it really is a fun series and I'm going to continue on with it.

What an Animal Reading Challenge IV

The What an Animal Reading Challenge III ends next week on February 28th. Our new challenge will begin on March 1, 2011 and end on February 29, 2012. The rules are really simple...


1. Read at least 6 books that have any of the following requirements:


a. there is an animal in the title of the book

b. there is an animal on the cover of the book

c. an animal plays a major role in the book

d. a main character is (or turns into) an animal (define that however you'd like).

2. The animal can be any type of animal (real or fictitious)--dog, cat, monkey, wolf, snake, insect, hedgehog, aardvark...dragon, mermaid, centaur, vampire, werewolf...you get the idea...


3. Challenge runs from March 1, 2011 to February 28, 2012. That’s a full year to read at least 6 books (you can read more if you’d like). You can still sign up after March 1st as long as you can get 6 books read by February 29, 2012).


4. Books can be fiction or nonfiction.


5. You may make a list of books at the beginning of the challenge or you can just list them as you find them.


6. Book titles may be swapped out at anytime (assuming you made a list to begin with).


7. Crossovers with other challenges are permitted and encouraged.


8. You don't have to have a blog or write a review, but you can if you want to.
 If you don't have a blog, just post in the comment section that you'd like to join. You can post your books in there.

9. Books can be in any format of your choice (print, audio, ebooks)

If you'd like to sign up, please use Mr. Linky below!

I will list my six books here, as well as listing them on Mr. Linky.

1. Curiosity Thrilled the Cat by Sofie Kelly Click for review
2. The Cat, The Professor and The Poison by Leann Sweeney Click for review
3. Tempest in the Tea Leaves by Kari Lee Townsend Click for review
4. A Dog Named Slugger by Leigh Brill Click for review
5. Dog On It by Spencer Quinn Click for review
6. Thereby Hangs A Tail by Spencer Quinn Click for review



Please post the url that links directly to your blog post about this challenge - not to your blog home page.



Please use the Mr. Linky below for your completed reviews. Please Use this format:

Name: Your Name (Title of book)
URL: The direct link to the post about the specific book you read.



Please use the Mr. Linky below for your wrap up posts once you complete the challenge.

Capable of Murder by Brian Kavanagh

Genre: Mystery
Publisher: BeWrite Books
Release Date: December 2010
Format: EBook

Belinda Lawrence is summoned to England by her great aunt Jane. Leaving her home in Australia behind, Belinda heads to the small English village but she is shocked beyond belief to discover her aunt’s dead body. The police insist it was an accident, but Belinda isn’t buying it. She’s convinced someone murdered her aunt and she intends to find out who that person is.

When Belinda learns she is the sole heir to Jane’s home and belongings, she suddenly finds herself in danger. First, the home she inherits from her aunt is broken into and vandalized, then her own life is threatened. She also finds herself involved with two very handsome men, but she doubts their motives. Are they truly interested in her or are they more interested in her inheritance?

This is the perfect cozy mystery. It has everything from a curious heroine, to a small English village, to a mysterious old house and two men trying to be heroes to our heroine. This is the first Belinda Lawrence and hopefully there are many more to come. Three others have already been written and I will eventually be reviewing those as well.

I loved that this was set in a small English village. It’s been a long time since I read one with this setting and it made me feel like I was right there in that village. It was a warm, cozy feeling.

The author gave us an amazing cast of characters. Belinda is the type of heroine that will be beloved and leave readers wondering what’s happening to her next. I know I will be.

This book had the feel of a mystery along the lines of Agatha Christie. There were many twists and turns leaving readers guessing right along with Belinda. It was fast-paced leaving me wanting more.

Since I loved this so much and it reminded me so much of older beloved mysteries that I'm giving it a Socrates' Great Book Alert Award.








For reading challenges:

A-Z Reading Challenge
A-Z Mystery Reading Challenge
Cruisin' Thru The Cozies Reading Challenge
ARC Reading Challenge
EBook Reading Challenge

Stir Until Thoroughly Confused by Heather Wardell

Genre: Romance
Publisher: Smashwords
Release Date: December 2010
Format: EBook

Talk about being down on your luck – Mary is going through a difficult divorce and has no job. The one thing Mary always wanted to do was be a chef, but she was looking for the perfect opportunity. She’s sure she found it when the owner of a popular restaurant is opening a new one and is searching for the right person to be their chef. After the job interview is over, Mary is sure she’s going to get the job. Disappointment fills her when the owner, Kegan Underwood, informs her that his plans have changed and he won’t be opening the restaurant after all. He advises her to come back in three months when his plans might change.

Mary doesn’t accept this decision and proceeds to camp out in front of Kegan’s restaurant, determined to win him over and get him to change his mind. She succeeds, but when outside forces get in the way, she wonders just what she’s gotten herself into. Not to mention that sparks fly all over the place between Kegan and Mary. Can a romance with her controlling boss really work? When Mary is faced with the choice between the man she loves or the career she loves, she’s completely torn.

The chemistry between Mary and Kegan sizzles, add a dash of mystery to the recipe and you have a fun story with an excellent cast of characters. Even the secondary ones make their presence known. Several characters from Heather’s previous book “Go Small or Go Home” make an appearance in this book. It is not necessary to read them both (although you will want to – they are both wonderful stories). Each book stands alone, but it’s fun to see returning characters and find out how they are doing after their story ended.

I really enjoy Heather’s writing style. Go Small or Go Home was the first book of hers that I read and I loved it, this one is no different. I’ve already added some of her other books to my Nook. She’s a wonderful storyteller. Check out the interview I did with Heather back in January.



For reading challenges…

ARC Reading Challenge
EBook Reading Challenge
Contemporary Romance Reading Challenge
Romance Reading Challenge

Anything Goes on Saturday - Bookstores

This is a new meme called "Anything Goes on Saturday". It's a chance to choose any topic you want and talk about it on Saturday - it can be about a book, TV show, movie, a recipe or just an update on your week. Whatever you choose.

If you'd like to join in, take the button above and blog about it. Use the linky below to post your direct link to your post. Then, go and visit other blogs and see what's on everyone's minds this week. Enjoy!

My topic this week is bookstores and how they seem to be a dying breed. It was announced this week that Borders was going to file for Chapter 11 and close many of their stores. That's terribly sad. I do alot of downloading ebooks these days but that's just in recent months. Before that, I bought tons of books from both Borders and Barnes & Noble. We, also, used to have a Waldens and B. Dalton in our local mall, but those both closed awhile ago.

I know alot of us order online - let's face it, sometimes it's just easier than rushing to the store and some people don't live near bookstores and have no choice but to use places like Amazon or Borders/B&N's online stores.

The other thing is - I also used to buy a lot from stores like WalMart and Target. Honestly, their prices couldn't be beat by the major bookstores, but I couldn't always find what I was looking for from them either. The discount stores didn't carry cozies around here and those are a favorite genre of mine so I had to get them from the major bookstore chains.

Now, since I'm downloading ebooks - I get those from B&N, Kobo, Fictionwise, etc. I do go to B&N on my lunch hour everyday (since it's right across the street and is a huge superstore) and read my Nook (I'm usually downloading books in the store, too, so I am spending money there - just not waiting on line to do it).

It seems as if the economy is hurting the book industry. I'm guessing alot of people can't afford to spend alot on books and use places like the library, used bookstores and sites like PaperbackSwap. We all have to do what is best for our own pocket.

So, where do you get your books? Are you even living near a bookstore? Or has online (print or ebooks) been the way you go?




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The Friday 56

This is a fun meme to do hosted by Freda's Voice. If you'd like to join on the fun go to The Friday 56.

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it here.

It's that simple.

This week I'm reading...



From page 56 in the ebook version...

Mr. Munro's letter, which had awaited her arrival, confirmed that all the legal documents had been completed and Belinda was now the legal owner of the property.

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.


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Enquiring Minds Want to Know - Week 25

This is a fun meme hosted by Dollycas's Thoughts.


This feature will be open from Thursday at 12:01 A.M. and close on Monday at 11:59 P.M. to allow those that want to participate over the weekend the opportunity to do so when they have more time. So you may want to check back on Tuesday or check the previous week's link on Thursday to view everyone's answers.

WEEK 25 QUESTIONS

1. Do you take a daily multi-vitamin or supplement?

I should, but I don't.



2. You're snacking - popcorn - pretzels - potato chips or peanuts?

Potato chips, but I wouldn't turn down the others either.




3. Waffles, Pancakes or French Toast?

I'll take a stack of any of these, but I'll choose...