It's Monday! What are you reading? (May 9, 2011)

What are you reading on Mondays is hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey - You can hook up with the Mr. Linky there with your own post - but be sure and let me know what you are reading too!


Currently Reading:
The Fitting Room: Putting on the Character of Christ by Kelly Minter


Next Up:
Dead of Wynter by Spencer Seidel


E-Book:
Sudden Moves: A Young Adult Mystery by Kelli Sue Landon
Katrina, The Beginning (Royal Blood Chronicles) by Elizabeth Loraine


Next E-Books up:
The Witches Lottery (Enchanted Island Series) by Krystal McLaughlin
Life From Scratch by Melissa Ford
Deadly Errors by Allen Wyler


Bathroom Book:
Darkness Follows by Mike Dellosso


Waiting for Reviews:
Wither (The Chemical Garden Trilogy)by Lauren DeStefano
Flavors by Emily Sue Harvey
Reading Lips: A Memoir of Kisses by Claudia Sternbach
The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain
Surrender the Dark by L.A. Banks


Children's Books waiting for review:
Little Star by Anthony DeStefano
Pearl's Wisdom by Auntie LuLu
Bug Meets His Friend (Bug's Adventure Series) by K.M. Groshek
Good Night, Little Sea Otter by Janet Halfmann


Upcoming giveaways:
Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
The Girl in the Green Raincoat by Laura Lippman
Redeemer by Jeffrey S. Williams
Daddy's Little Squirrel by Kayla Shurley Davidson

READY - SET - READ!

WINNERS!

Here are the lastest round of winners:

Song of the Silk Road was won by Swedish (confirmed)

In Zanesville was won by margie and Maureen (confirmed)

Texas Blue was won by Jen B and I decided to throw in my copy as part of the giveaway and it is going to Cheryl F.

Battlefield of the Mind was won by susanmoaks and Kelly F.

All winners have been notified!

CONGRATS WINNERS!  I should have some new giveaways up this week. 

Mailbox Monday (May 9, 2011)

 Mailbox Monday's host for May is Mari at Mari Reads. In My Mailbox is hosted Sundays at The Story Siren. Please visit these posts and take a look at what packages everybody else got this week! 

Here, Home, Hope

by Kaira Rouda

Desperate Housewives meets Kelly Corrigan's The Middle Place in this absorbing, witty story about one suburban mother's journey from midlife crisis to reinvention.

An appetite for more forces 39-year-old Kelly Mills Johnson to take stock of her ordinary middle-American existence and her neighbors' seemingly perfect lives.  Her marriage to a successful attorney has settled into a comfortable routine, and being the mother of two adorable sons has been rewarding but exhausting.  Kelly's own passions lie wasted.  She eyes with envy the lives of her two best friends -- both beautiful, successful businesswomen who seem to have it all.

Kelly's witty reflections, self-deprecating humor, and clever tactics in executing a midlife makeover plan -- with the help of Post-it notes -- will have readers laughing out loud.  Kelly's commitment to a sullen anorexic teenager left on her doorstep tries her patience and soon she's deflecting the boozy advances of a divorced neighbor.  Emotions collide as Kelly repairs the damage she inflicted on a high school friend; realizes how deeply her husband understands and loves her; and ultimately grows into a woman empowered by her own blend of home and career.

Here, Home, Hope will appeal to women's fiction readers who are ready to transition into something new in their own lives.

When You Can't Find God

by Linda Evans Shepherd

You can find hope and peace -- no matter what.

The storms of life visit us all, and at times we find ourselves ill-prepared to weather them.  Where is God when everything comes crashing down?  Where is He when a job is lost?  When a child goes astray?  When the diagnosis is cancer?  Does he even care?

In When You Can't Find God, Linda Evans Shepherd teaches you how to see God in any circumstance, even when it's hard.  With compassion born from her own experiences with tragedy, Shepherd offers you practical strategies for surviving difficult times, giving your troubles to God, praying through the pain, and finding peace, hope, and joy once more.  She also shows you how to use the tough times as a tool to draw nearer to God.

No one is exempt from pain and trials.  But there is always hope.

I also received this ebook:

In the Belly of Jonah

by Sandra Brannan

In the Belly of Jonah is a fast-paced mystery with a likable protagonist and an intricately woven narrative brimming with bizarre yet believable twists. The first in a series, the book expertly lays the groundwork for Liv Bergen, amateur sleuth, and her love interest, FBI Agent Streeter Pierce.


Liv becomes involved in the investigation of the murder of Jill Brannigan, a summer intern at the limestone mine Liv manages near Fort Collins, Colorado (a breathtaking setting that unwittingly becomes an accessory to crime). In doing so, she inadvertently puts her friends, her family, and herself at risk of being swallowed in the belly of a madman bloated with perverse appetites for women, surrealistic art, and renown.


Perhaps a bit too daring (and at times irreverent) for her own good, ''Boots,'' as Liv's eight siblings call her, soon realizes she has a knack for outsmarting and tracking down the Venus de Milo murderer--and she enjoys it! As the gripping plot of In the Belly of Jonah unfolds, Liv Bergen takes her place alongside the best female crime-solvers as a woman with smarts, self-confidence, and intuitive savvy.



Twice a Spy

by Keith Thomson

(I won this one at www.amusingreviews.com)

In the tradition of Robert Ludlum, Thomson's novel featuring a former spy and his son poses the question: What happens when a CIA agent can no longer trust his own mind?

Retired CIA operations officer Drummond Clark and his son, Charlie, are on the lam in Switzerland, along with NSA operative Alice Rutherford.  While Charlie helps Drummond undergo an experimental treatment for Alzheimer's, Alice works to exonerate them from criminal charges against them in the United States.  That is, until she is renditioned -- or, in lay language, kidnapped.

To get her back, the father-son duo must travel to Martinique and plumb Drummond's damaged memory to locate a hidden cache of weapons.  All the while, the Clarks are tracked by a formidable CIA case officer and his team.

What books came home to you last week?



Friday Finds (May 6, 2011)

Friday Finds is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading.

The Scent of Rain and Lightning

by Nancy Pickard

One beautiful summer afternoon, from her bedroom window on the second floor, Jody Linder is unnerved to see her three uncles parking their pickups in front of her parents’ house—or what she calls her parents’ house, even though Jay and Laurie Jo Linder have been gone almost all of Jody’s life. “What is this fearsome thing I see?” the young high school English teacher whispers, mimicking Shakespeare. Polished boots, pressed jeans, fresh white shirts, Stetsons—her uncles’ suspiciously clean visiting clothes are a disturbing sign.


The three bring shocking news: The man convicted of murdering Jody’s father is being released from prison and returning to the small town of Rose, Kansas. It has been twenty-six years since that stormy night when, as baby Jody lay asleep in her crib, her father was shot and killed and her mother disappeared, presumed dead. Neither the protective embrace of Jody’s uncles nor the safe haven of her grandparents’ ranch could erase the pain caused by Billy Crosby on that catastrophic night.


Now Billy Crosby has been granted a new trial, thanks in large part to the efforts of his son, Collin, a lawyer who has spent most of his life trying to prove his father’s innocence. As Jody lives only a few doors down from the Crosbys, she knows that sooner or later she’ll come face-to-face with the man who she believes destroyed her family.


What she doesn’t expect are the heated exchanges with Collin. Having grown up practically side by side in this very small town, Jody and Collin have had a long history of carefully avoiding each other’s eyes. Now Jody discovers that underneath their antagonism is a shared sense of loss that no one else could possibly understand. As she revisits old wounds, startling revelations compel her to uncover the dangerous truth about her family’s tragic past.


Engrossing, lyrical, and suspenseful, The Scent of Rain and Lightning captures the essence of small-town America—its heartfelt intimacy and its darkest secrets—where through struggle and hardship people still dare to hope for a better future. For Jody Linder, maybe even love.

The House on Olive Street

by Robyn Carr

The loss of their close friend draws four women together. And a summer spent sorting through personal effects offers the perfect challenge—and the perfect escape.


Sable—her bestselling novels have made her a star, but the woman who has everything, in fact, has nothing but a past she is desperate to hide


Elly—the intellectual who has hidden herself within the walls of academia, afraid to admit she is tired of being alone


Barbara Ann—the talent behind twenty-six romance novels wakes up one day to discover she's lost control of her career, her sanity and her family


Beth—her popular mysteries have become the only way she can fight against the secret tyranny of an abusive husband


In the house on Olive Street, away from their troubles, the four women discover something marvelous: themselves. And along the way they realize a dream. For, in telling the story of a remarkable woman, their own lives begin to change.

Book Beginnings on Friday (May 6, 2011)

How to participate: Share the first line (or two) of the book you are currently reading on your blog or in the comments. Include the title and the author so we know what you're reading. Then, if you would like, let us know what your first impressions were based on that first line, and let us know if you liked or did not like the sentence. The link-up will be at A Few More Pages every Friday and will be open for the entire week.

I just started this one last night - Here is the first couple of sentences:

(1863)

Captain Samuel Whiting removed his gloves and sat on the cot in his tent.  It had been a long, grueling day of battle, and his clothes were soaked through with sweat.

(from Darkness Follows byMike Dellosso)

These first two lines are from the Prologue and so I don't think they give a good feel for the book.  I want to include the first couple of sentences from the first chapter also:

(Present day)

Sam Travis awoke in the middle of the night, cold and terrified.  The dream had come again.  His brother.  The shot.

These sentences I think represent the book more - they definitely intrigued me more!  Seems like there is going to be a mystery of some kind and notice the first name of both characters - Samuel and Sam - wondering what the relationship there is.  This book will be reviewed here on May 10 - so be sure to come back and see my final impressions!



WoW Weekly 100 Words (5-4-2011)

WoW Weekly 100 Words is a Wednesday Blog Hop hosted by Ruthi Reads. (Just click on the picture to take you there).   Weekly 100 Words shares exactly 100 words from your current read.  You should then go post your URL at the linky at Ruthi Reads!

I cannot tell you how many years I have lived trying to tame a swirling mind and quell a churning stomach as a result of fear, guilt, anger, or sometimes just too much coffee.  I'm fundamentally wired a little tight and anxious, but I'll tell you that the vast majority of my internal unrest had little to do with my DNA and much  more to do with a waning trust in God while indulging myself down paths of my own choosing.  Sometimes my anxiety had to do with wounds that lie open with no balm. But no matter the source, . . .

(p 117, The Fitting Room by Kelly Minter)

You can use The Word Count Tool to count your excerpt.  Just type in the box and when you have 100 words you can cut and paste!

Waiting on Wednesday: 11/22/63

This week's pre-publication can't wait to read selection is:

11/22/63

by Stephen King

Publication Date: November 8, 2011

On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? Stephen King’s heart-stoppingly dramatic new novel is about a man who travels back in time to prevent the JFK assassination—a thousand page tour de force.

Following his massively successful novel Under the Dome, King sweeps readers back in time to another moment—a real life moment—when everything went wrong: the JFK assassination. And he introduces readers to a character who has the power to change the course of history.

Jake Epping is a thirty-five-year-old high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching adults in the GED program. He receives an essay from one of the students—a gruesome, harrowing first person story about the night 50 years ago when Harry Dunning’s father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a hammer. Harry escaped with a smashed leg, as evidenced by his crooked walk.

Not much later, Jake’s friend Al, who runs the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to 1958. He enlists Jake on an insane—and insanely possible—mission to try to prevent the Kennedy assassination. So begins Jake’s new life as George Amberson and his new world of Elvis and JFK, of big American cars and sock hops, of a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and a beautiful high school librarian named Sadie Dunhill, who becomes the love of Jake’s life—a life that transgresses all the normal rules of time.


A tribute to a simpler era and a devastating exercise in escalating suspense, 11/22/63 is Stephen King at his epic best.


Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

WWW Wednesdays (May 4, 2011)

WWW Wednesdays is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.  To play along just answer the following three questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'll read next?

Currently reading:



Recently finished:
















Reading Next:

Teaser Tuesday (May 3, 2011)

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 and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
• Then visit MizB and add your link!

The moment he said that I felt my smile disappear. There was something I needed to tell him. I'd planned to wait until tomorrow so that tonight we could both relax and unwind.  Suddenly, though, I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep my mouth shut. (p69, The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain)

It's Monday! What are you reading?

What are you reading on Mondays is hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey - You can hook up with the Mr. Linky there with your own post - but be sure and let me know what you are reading too! 


Boy, I had a lousy reading week - just can't seem to concentrate on anything right now.  Even after signing up for the week long readathon, still couldn't read for more than a little bit at a time.  I didn't even write any reviews last week and they are really starting to pile up.

Currently Reading:  
The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain

Quit Reading:
Demons Are a Girl's Best Friend by Linda Wisdom - This was a good book, and one that I think I will like, I am just really burnt out on paranormal right now - that seems like all I have been reading lately.


Next Up:
The Silenced: A Novel by Brett Battles
The Fitting Room: Putting On the Character of Christ by Kelly Minter

E-Book:
Sudden Moves: A Young Adult Mystery by Kelli Sue Landon
Katrina, The Beginning (Royal Blood Chronicles) by Elizabeth Loraine

Next E-Books up:
The Witches Lottery (Enchanted Island Series) by Krystal McLaughlin
Life From Scratch by Melissa Ford
Deadly Errors by Allen Wyler


Bathroom Book:
Surrender the Dark by L.A. Banks - almost done with this one - should have a new bathroom book this week


Audio Book
One for the Money (Stephanie Plum, No. 1) by Janet Evanovich

Reviewed Last Week:

Children's Books Reviewed Last Week:


Waiting for Reviews:Wither (The Chemical Garden Trilogy)by Lauren DeStefanoFlavors by Emily Sue HarveyReading Lips: A Memoir of Kisses by Emily Sue HarveyChildren's Books waiting for Review:
Little Star by Anthony DeStefano
Pearl's Wisdom by Auntie LuLu
Bug Meets His Friend (Bug's Adventure Series) by K.M. Groshek
Good Night, Little Sea Otter by Janet Halfmann

GIVEAWAYS:
Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer - ends May 7
Texas Blue by Jodi Thomas - ends May 7

Upcoming giveaways:
Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
The Girl in the Green Raincoat by Laura Lippman
Redeemer by Jeffrey S. Williams
Daddy's Little Squirrel by Kayla Shurley Davidson

READY - SET - READ!