It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (Oct 10, 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:
How Can You NOT Laugh at a Time Like This?: Reclaim Your Health with Humor, Creativity, and Grit  by Carla Ulbrich
The Kingdom of Childhood  by Rebecca Coleman
Love At Absolute Zero  by Christopher Meeks

Next Up:
The Last Blind Date  by Linda Yellin
Safe from the Sea  by Peter Geye

Audio Book:
A Discovery of Witches: A Novel  by Deborah Harkness

E-Book:
Ding Dong the Diva's Dead  by Cat Melodia

Next e-books up:
Forbidden (The Books of Mortals)  by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee
An Accidental Mother  by Katherine Anne Kindred

Bathroom Book:
Good Graces  by Lesley Kagen


Reviewed Since Last Post:
Hello, Hollywood! by Janice Thompson
Chosen by Denise Grover Swank
Spin the Plate by Donna Anastasi

Children's Books Reviewed:
The Story of Noah by Lori C. Froeb

Waiting for Reviews:
 The Place of Belonging by Jayne Pearson Faulkner
The Blackberry Bush by David Housholder
The Girl in the Green Raincoat by Laura Lippman
Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Airmail by Naomi Bulger
Pie Town by Lynne Hinton
Chasing the Red Car by Ellen Ruderman
Whistling In the Dark  by Lesley Kegan
Darkness, My Old Friend: A Novel by Lisa Unger
Atonement by Ian McEwan

E-books waiting for review:
Sudden Moves by Kelli Sue Landon
This World We Live In (The Last Survivors, Book 3) by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Children's Books waiting for review:
Pearl's Wisdom by Auntie LuLu
Bug Meets His Friend (Bug's Adventure Series) by K.M. Groshek
Multiply on the Fly by Suzanne Slade
Ten for Me by Barbara Mariconda
Animalogy by Marianne Berkes
Prairie Storms by Darcy Pattison

READY - SET - READ!

Readathon Wrapup

Time for my Frightful Fall Read-a-thon Wrapup!  I lost time this week due to some unexpected work time and a migraine that grounded me for about 48 hours, so even though I didn't really participate in any of the mini challenges, I was able to get some reading done.  I finished 3 1/2 books  - Spin the Plate, Chosen, and Hello, Hollywood! and am almost done with Love at Absolute Zero.  I hope to get through a good portion of The Kingdom of Childhood tonight and finish it up tomorrow.  This is more reading than I have done in awhile in one week (and am hoping that isn't what brought on the migraine!)  But it was fun and glad that I did it1  I hope to participate in more of these in the future as a more active participant!  Thanks Michelle for hosting!

My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody (Giveaway!)

My Life Undecided

by Jessica Brody

PLEASE READ THIS! MY LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!

Okay, maybe that was a bit melodramatic, but I’m sorry, I’m feeling a bit melodramatic at the moment.

Here’s the deal. My name is Brooklyn Pierce, I’m fifteen years old, and I am decisionally challenged. Seriously, I can’t remember the last good decision I made. I can remember plenty of crappy ones though. Including that party I threw when my parents were out of town that accidentally burned down a model home. Yeah, not my finest moment, for sure.

But see, that’s why I started a blog. To enlist readers to make my decisions for me. That’s right. I gave up. Threw in the towel. I let someone else be the one to decide which book I read for English. Or whether or not I accepted an invitation to join the debate team from that cute-in-a-dorky-sort-of-way guy who gave me the Heimlich Maneuver in the cafeteria. (Note to self: Chew the melon before swallowing it.) I even let them decide who I dated!

Well, it turns out there are some things in life you simply can’t choose or have chosen for you—like who you fall in love with. And now everything’s more screwed up than ever.

But don’t take my word for it, read the book and decide for yourself. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll scream in frustration. Or maybe that’s just me. After all, it’s my life.

Website with latest news, book excerpts, blog and the chance to win a signed copy:

http://www.jessicabrody.com/index.html

"My Life Undecided" website, inspired by the book:

Would you put your fate into the hands of blog readers? http://mylifeundecided.com/

See Jessica Brody on tour now:

https://www.facebook.com/penfataletour

MY GIVEAWAY!
Thanks to Zeitghost Media I have one copy of My Life Undecided to giveaway.  This giveaway is limited to U.S./Canada only.  To enter fill out the form below.  Following is not necessary (but can give you extra entries!)  This giveaway will end on Sunday, October 16, 8pm  CST.

Winner!

Congrats Crystal!  You are the winner of The Crown on Your Head! 

Winner has been emailed!

Mailbox Monday (Oct 10, 2011)

 Mailbox Monday's host for October is Savvy Verse and Wit. 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! 

 

 

 

Remembering Christmas

by Dan Walsh

 

Rick Denton lives his life on his terms.  He works hard, plays hard, and answers to no one.  So when his mother calls begging him to come home after his stepfather has an aneurysm, Rick is more than a little reluctant.  What was supposed to be just a couple days helping out at the family bookstore turns into weeks of cashing out old ladies and dealing with the homeless guy who keeps hanging around the store.  The one bright spot is the lovely and intriguing young woman who works at his side each day.

 

As Christmas nears, Rick's old life beckons, the hurts from his past loom large, and the decisions he makes will determine more than just where he spends Christmas Eve.

 

 

Skyjack: The Hunt for D.B. Cooper

by Geoffrey Gray

 

With exclusive access to confidential FBI files and new leads, Geoffrey Gray reopens one of the great unsolved criminal cases of the twentieth century:  the puzzling story of "D.B. Cooper," the only skyjacker never to be caught by authorities.

 

Called the Robin Hood of the Sky, Cooper hijacked and threatened to blow up a domestic airliner in the fall of 1971, extorted $200,000 and parachutes from its owner, Northwest Orient, then leaped from the airborne jet with more than twenty pounds of cash strapped to his body.  He was never seen again -- dead or alive. Four decades later, Cooper is the Bigfoot of law enforcement, evading one of the most extensive and costly American manhunts of the twentieth century   Over the years he (or was it she?) has developed an obsessive cult following.  Countless lives have been destroyed in the pursuit of the hijacker's identity, and those who get too close to the case claim it is cursed.

 

Now on the fortieth anniversary of Cooper's daring jump.  Skyjack separates myth from fact, and this definitive work and journey attempts to answer the question, once and for all:  Who was D.B. Cooper?

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Double Death on the Black Isle

by A.D. Scott

 

Two women, two murders. . . a stunning and suspenseful story of families, betrayal, and a community divided.

 

Nothing is ever quite at peace on Scotland's Black Isle -- the Traveling people are forever at odds with the locals, the fishermen have nothing in common with the farmers, and the villagers have no connection with the town.  But when two deaths occur on the same day, involving the same families from the same estate -- the Black Isle seems as forbidding as its name.

 

Joanne Ross, typist at the Highland Gazette, is torn whether to take on the plum task of reporting on these murders -- after all, the woman at the center of both crimes is one of her closest friends.  Joanne knows the story could be her big break, and for a woman in the mid-1950s -- a single mother, no less -- good work is hard to come by.

 

But the investigation by the staff on the Gazette reveals secrets that will forever change this quiet, remote part of the Highlands.  The ancient feudal order is crumbling, loyalties are tested, friendships torn apart, and the sublime beauty of the landscape will never seem peaceful again.

 

 

 

What books came home to you this week?

The God Girl Bible - Hayley DiMarco (Book Review)

Title: The God Girl Bible
from Hayley DiMarco
Publisher: Revell

Now the popular God Girl Bible is available in a fantastic new color! The perfect companion to the #1 CBA bestseller God Girl, the God Girl Bible merges GW with incredible new material that helps a girl become the woman she was meant to be. Jam-packed with special features created just for them, the God Girl Bible offers teen girls

• Book Intros: including quick facts about author, audience, themes, and more God Girl Stories: 26 full-page profiles of women in the Bible
• Know This Devotions: 200 half-page devotions on topics related to becoming a God Girl
• Ask Yourself: sidebars that encourage girls to consider how God's Word applies to their lives on a practical level
• Prayers: 40 timeless prayers rewritten in language today's teen girl understands
• Quick Relief: index of helpful verses on topics and issues teens face
• GodGirl.com: a site where girls can interact with Hayley and other God Girls diving even deeper into their Bible study

My daughter's thoughts: I like this Bible because it reads like someone is talking to you.  The version is translated into today's language - so easy to understand.  It lays out a plan how to start reading and gives a great glossary in the back so that you aren't clueless.  There is also a quick relief section in the back - has good stories about women and girls who love God and their profiles.

It helps explain to you what you are reading so that you can understand it - so I don't always have to go to my mom to have her help explain something. It is kind of like a text book in that it highlights the important terms, ideas and themes.  It explains these ideas and themes of each book before you read it, which helps with understanding. 

This Bible also is so soft to touch and is really pretty.  I haven't gotten to decorate mine yet, but plan to spend some time doing that.  I think any teenage girl would love this Bible.

~I received a complimentary copy of this Bible from Revell in exchange for my review.~

Available September 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

God Girl Bible Snow White/Pretty Pink, Tree Design Duravella
Publisher/Publication Date: Revell, Sept 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8007-2016-2
1520 pages

Hello Hollywood! by Janice Thompson (Book Review)

Title: Hello Hollywood!

Author: Janice Thompson
Publisher: Revell


About the Book: Athena Pappas is the head writer on Stars Collide, one of the most popular sitcoms in television history.  But when Vegas comedian Stephen Cosse is brought in to beef up the show's suddenly sagging ratings, she starts to worry about her job.  Sparks fly as the competition -- and attraction -- between the two writers heats up.  Athena has never had a problem writing the romances of her characters.  So why is her own love life so hard to script?


With humor and a Hollywood-insider viewpoint, Hello, Hollywood! delivers lots of laughs as Athena and Stephen discover that not being in control of the ploy of their lives might just be the best thing that ever happened to them.

My thoughts: This was a very lighthearted book and quick to read.  I believe it is the second in a series, but, as I have not read the first one, feels it reads well as a stand alone also.  I didn't feel as closely connected to these characters though, as I did with her characters in the Weddings by Bella series. 

Athena is the head writer on a sitcom, and even though she is head writer, she doubts her abilities.  When they bring on another writer for a new perspective, it makes her doubt herself even more.  In spite of this, she finds herself attracted to the new writer.  With her low self-esteem though, she doesn't feel he would want anything to do with her.  Though they can write humorous romance for the show, their own romance doesn't follow any script.

The story has a lot of secondary characters that fill out the ensemble, including her cowriters, her family, and even an adopted dog. Though it wasn't one of my favorites, I did enjoy the story and the unobtrusive message of faith that was intertwined.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell in exchange for my review.~

Available September 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
Hello, Hollywood!: A Novel (Backstage Pass)
Publisher/Publication Date: Revell, Sept 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8007-3346-9
278 pages

The Story of Noah's Ark by Lori C. Froeb (Book Review)

Title: The Story of Noah's Ark (Storybook and Wall Clings)

Author: Lori C. Froeb
Illustrater: Luana Rinaldo
Publisher: Kregel Kidzone

About the book:  The story of Noah and his ark is one of the most beloved stories in the Bible. With this deluxe set, kids can use the wall clings to recreate the awesome scene of all the animals boarding the ark. As they read about Noah and his adventure, children can stick the vinyl clings on any painted wall to retell the story. The clings peel right off, so kids can rearrange them however they choose--over and over again.


My thoughts:  This is a neat way to illustrate and tell the story of Noah's Ark.  The pictures in the book are very colorful and fun. The wall clings are also very colorful and surprisingly durable.  I expected the window clings that you find during holidays that tend to fold over on themselves and not be very adhesive.  These are very durable clings, thicker than the aforementioned window clings.  They stuck to everything I tried them on from windows to walls to refrigerator, but came off without peeling paint or leaving residue.  This book and clings would be great for homeschoolers, Sunday school classes and Vacation Bible Schools. 

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Kregel in exchange for my review.~

The Story of Noah's Ark: Storybook and Wall Clings
Publisher/Publication Date: Kregel Kidzone, July 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8254-5552-0
16 pages

Denise Grover Swank (author of Chosen) is visiting! (Guest Post, Book Review, Giveaway)

I am thrilled to have Denise Grover Swank as a guest on Books and Needlepoint today. She is touring with her book, Chosen, which was winner of The Beacon-- 2010 Unpublished Division, Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal category.

Write What You Know?  Nah, Just Google It

by Denise Grover Swank

The computer has revolutionized writing. Hundreds of years ago people scratched their thoughts onto parchment paper using squid ink and a quill. Now we tap, tap, tap on our keyboards. Not even those little bottles of White Out for us. Make an error? That’s what the delete key is for.


But an added benefit to the computer is research. Hello, Google. Years ago if you wanted to know about the Vietnam War, you had to go to the library and do a search in periodicals and texts—and hope that the library had the publication you were interested in. Now, all it takes it the entry Vietnam War into the search bar and a click. Instant gratification. (Although I suggest you narrow down your search a bit more. Talk about information overload.)


I couldn’t have written Chosen without my bestie Google. We had already become well acquainted with my previous, unpublishable novel. But suffice it to say, when it came to writing Chosen, I was out of my element. I knew nothing about guns. Street racing. Bullet proof glass. How to blow up a truck. My Google search engine worked overtime for several months finding articles and YouTube videos, and I’m sure put me on a government watch list. I’ve said many times that if I’m ever accused of a crime, they’ll throw me in jail based on my search engine history alone.


But the advent of Google takes write what you know and throws it out the window and onto its head. (Oh, look—there it goes rolling down the street.) I can assure you that I had no idea how to make your car do a 180 degree turn or how to fire a shotgun. I had no idea if bullets could penetrate a regular, unfortified car. (They can, by the way.) If I followed the write what you know philosophy, I wouldn’t have gotten past page two. And I would have been the poorer for it.


There’s a whole big world out there just waiting for me to Google about it.

Title: Chosen
Author: Denise Grover Swank
Publisher: Create Space


About the book: Everything Emma Thompson owns fits in a suitcase she moves from one roach infested motel to another. She and Jake, her five year old son who can see the future, are running from the men intent on taking him. Emma will do anything to protect him even when it means accepting the help of a stranger named Will. Jake insists she needs Will, but Emma’s never needed help before. And even though she’s learned to trust her son, it doesn’t mean she trusts Will.


Mercenary Will Davenport lives in the moment. Hauling Emma to South Dakota should have been an easy job, but his employer neglected to tell him about Emma’s freaky son and the gunmen hot on her trail. Instinct tells him this job is trouble, but nothing can prepare him for Jake’s proclamation that Will is The Chosen One, who must protect Emma from the men hunting her power. A power she doesn't know she has.


Will protects Emma and Jake on a cross-country chase from the men pursuing them, while struggling with memories from his past, his apprehension of Jake, and his growing attraction to Emma. Will’s overwhelming urge to protect Emma surprises him, especially since it has nothing to do with his paycheck and possibly everything to do with the tattoo Jake branded on his arm. Rich and powerful men are desperate to capture Emma, and Will must discover why before it's too late.

My thoughts:  This was one of the best books that I have read in awhile.  From the very first paragraph I was hooked.  Now, is this because I have a little boy named Jake just a little older than the one in the book? - Maybe, but the resemblance ends after the name and the age. 

I love thrillers and this one grabs you and holds on - and it contains elements of the paranormal as well.  Emma and Jake have been on the run for about 3 years.  All they know is that The Bad Men are after them and that Jake can see them when they are getting close.  Emma does not know why they are after them, just that she would protect her son at all costs. 

They have always been on their own, so when Will shows up and starts trying to protect them, Emma puts up a little bit of a fight.  She does not trust anyone, and only agrees to letting him go along because of her son. Will does have another agenda that he is keeping hidden from Emma, though.  I like the way that the dynamics among the three characters start to change when Will arrives.  The author blends these changes in so that the reader becomes aware of them as the characters in the book do also. 

I don't know how much more I can say without including spoilers - so just pick this up!  It is the first in a series and you can visit Denise's blog to find out more - and to see a trailer!

~I received a complimentary ebook from Bewitching Blog Tours in exchange for my review.~

GIVEAWAY!

Bewitching Blog Tours is giving away one ebook of Chosen to one of my readers!  This contest is open internationally!  Following not necessary but is appreciated! Please fill out form to enter.  This giveaway will end on Oct 21 at Midnight, CST.  Bonus entries are available!

Love at Absolute Zero by Christopher Meeks (Blog Tour and Giveaway!)

Love at Absolute Zero

by Christopher Meeks

Love at Absolute Zero is the story of Gunnar Gunderson, a 32-year-old star physicist at the University of Wisconsin.  The moment he's given tenure at teh university, he can think of only one thing: finding a wife.  His research falters into what happens to matter near absolute zero (-459.67 F), but he has an instant new plan.  To meet his soul mate within three days -- that's what he wants and all the time he can carve out -- he will use the Scientific Method.  His research team will help.  Can Gunnar survive his quest?  What happens if and when he goes to Denmark?

Please visit the remainder of the blogs on this tour:

Oct 6 -   The Book Addict (review)
Oct 7 -   The Book Addict (interview)
         -    Laurie's Thoughts and Reviews (review)
Oct 10 - Laurie's Thoughts and Reviews (interview and giveaway)
           - Gabriel Reads (review)
Oct 11 - Gabriel Reads (interview)
           - Dan's Journal (review)
Oct 12 - Dan's Journal (guest post)
            - Words I Write Crazy (review)
Oct 13 - Ramblings of a Daydreamer (review)
Oct 14 - Ramblings of a Daydreamer (review)
           - Drey's Library (review and giveaway)

I hope to have my review up later today.  You can get a bonus entry if you comment on it!

GIVEAWAY:

This giveaway is open internationally!  I have one copy of Love at Absolute Zero to giveaway.  If winner is international, they will receive a coupon for the ebook at Smashwords.  If the winner is from U.S. they will have a choice of a papercopy or the Smashwords coupon.  Giveaway is open until Midnight, Oct 19, CST.  Comments are appreciated, but must use form to enter giveaway.  Thanks!!

Spin the Plate by Donna Anastasi (Book Review)

Title: Spin the Plate

Author: Donna Anastasi
Publisher: Black Rose Writing

About the book: Spin the Plate is the story of Jo, a woman who has come through a traumatic childhood, not battered and broken, but powerful and enraged.  A tattoo artist by day, she roams the streets of Boston nightly to forgether past and feed her two passions: rescuing mistreated creatures and inflicting bodily harm on their perpetrators.  Unassuming and unafraid, Francis, a man harboring a secret of his own, is the one person Jo can't seem to scare off.  Right from the start, he sees clearly the caring soul buried deep within Jo's hard exterior and puts into motion a succession of life-altering happenings.


My thoughts: I wasn't quite sure what to think when I started reading this novel.  Jo, the main character, is a really tough woman, who was always looking for someone to either get into a mental/verbal fight with, or looking for someone who deserved to have their face smashed in. I wasn't sure that it was going to keep my interest, but I kept reading.

Francis was then introduced.  He was a quiet man who thinks he has dreamed about Jo, or someone like her, and starts to follow her around - trying to work up his nerve to ask her out. Even though Jo is brusque and dismissive with him, he hangs on and for reasons even she can't define, she accepts his offer of dinner.

They begin to form a friendship with Jo giving Frances a listening ear to his theories and stories about the world without bias, and Frances bringing a calming influence to Jo's life.  She slowly begins to trust him - and she has trusted no man because of her childhood abuse by her father.  (This was also the source of her rage).


This is a good story about hope after the survival of dire circumstances.  The coming together of two opposite individuals able to form something wonderful together that was unreachable when they were apart.  I ended up reading the entire book in one sitting.  I liked the way that my impression of Jo changed.  In the beginning of the book she is described like this:  ". . . very big, extremely strong, and surprisingly fast.  She was 257 pounds and stood 5' 11" in her Chippewa hikers. "  (p5)  You really don't get a physical description of her later in the book, but when seen through Frances eyes - "She looked exactly as he always imagined her: serene. He drank in her beauty and explored each nuance of her exquisite face." (p182)   As I progressed through the book, and Jo starts to trust and lose some of her rage, it seemed to transform her outward appearance as well.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Walker Author Tours in exchange for my review.~

To find out more about the book - please visit www.spintheplate.com.  You can also visit the other blogs on this tour:

October 3: Blog interview with Jennifer Walker
October 4: Blog interview with Suzanne Alicie, plus with Jennifer on the A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book BlogTalkRadio show at 3:30 Pacific Time.
October 5: Book review by Kristi Herbrand of Books and Needlepoint
October 6: Book Review at Joan of Shark
October 7: Book Review and guest post from Laurie at Reader Girls
October 8: Book review by Michelle Devon


Spin the Plate
Publisher/Publication Date: Black Rose Writing, May 2010
ISBN: 978-1-935605-39-3
198 pages

My Thoughts on Banned Book Week - guest post by Donna Anastasi

Banned book week occurs the last week in September as a celebration of our right to read whatever we damn well please. It took viewing only a very small sampling of items on the banned booked lists to see that my novel Spin the Plate is a prime candidate for inclusion. Spin the Plate is a fictional account of a woman who as a child had been systematically sexually abused by her father and has immerged from this traumatic childhood not battered and broken, but powerful and enraged. The book contains both profanity and sexually explicit content.


So, is “bad language” really needed in literary fiction? Absolutely. Using the s, f, and other four-five letter words
is how many real people really talk. Profanity is used to convey threats, anger, power structure, comradery, familiarity, humor, and sometimes social class. A tense situation can be escalated to the red zone in an instant with a single, well placed swear word. Crude language can be used as a powerful literary tool: in Spin the Plate it is used to show the main character letting down her guard and letting go of her anger and hate, as the frequency of vulgarities dissipates through the course of the novel.


As for sexually explicit materials, again, absolutely necessary. Despite the prevalence of incest in this country (and even more so in many others), the topic is rarely broached in school curriculum. What type of message does this omission send to a young person in such a situation? Certainly having a book such as “Push” (upon which the film Precious was based) be banned only serves to further deny the reality many children are living and silence the victims of this horrific and vastly under-reported crime.
One final thought - with very recent events including the movie Precious winning academy awards, the clergy sex abuse scandal being addressed right up to the top most level, Jaycee Dugard’s brave and candid account as a kidnapping survivor of child rape, and new anti-bullying laws in many states, I wonder if perhaps as a society we are ready to take on child abuse at the next level – sexual abuse being perpetrated by family members. A staggering 10 million people in the US alone are victims of incest, yet it is something that is not talked about. Perhaps now more than ever this is the time to fight against the banning of books about incest victims and survivors, and let their voices be heard.


Visit http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/ for ways to participate in this year’s banned book week, September 23-30, 2011.



Thanks Donna for visiting here today!


My review of Spin the Plate will be posted later today!