Michael by Aaron Patterson Blog Tour and Giveaway

Please comment and help me win a kindle for my sister!  Tomorrow is her big 5-0 Bday!

ONE DAY BLOG TOUR! 
MAY 17th!

Michael, book two in the Airel Saga, is live on Amazon TODAY ONLY for a discounted price!!

To promote Michael I’m helping host a contest where you can win a free copy of Airel and help me win a free Kindle Fire.

 To take advantage of this awesome deal, head to Amazon and check out the eBook version of Michael at its promotional price, then see below to enter the contest. Also, leave me a comment on this post. The blogger with the most comments will win the Kindle Fire! If I win, I’ll also get the chance to be part of a special giveaway in the next few months.

Michael

by Aaron Patterson

Michael did the unthinkable to save Airel from death, but now he must live with the choices he has made – both good and evil.  Tortured by his past and haunted by what he believes might be his future, Michael seeks redemption – but will the past prove to be too strong?  How can he break free of it and be the man he longs to be for Airel?  If only he had never. . .

Airel.  Michael’s one true love.  He had forced her to drink in new life only to find that old wounds and deep scars do not heal overnight.  Can she truly forgive Michael, can she truly love him?  And can he accept that forgiveness?  Or is it all for nothing, and has he gone too far already?  As the darkness of past choices closes in on them, chases them, intercepts them, coming at them from everywhere at once, how can their love possibly survive?

Aaron Patterson is the author of the best-selling WJA series, as well as two Digital Shorts: 19 and The Craigslist Killer. He was home-schooled and grew up in the west. Aaron loved to read as a small child and would often be found behind a book, reading one to three a day on average. This love drove him to want to write, but he never thought he had the talent. His wife Karissa prodded him to try it, and with this encouragement, he wrote Sweet Dreams, the first book in the WJA series, in 2008. Airel is his first teen series, and plans for more to come are already in the works. He lives in Boise, Idaho with his family, Soleil, Kale and Klayton. His daughter had an imaginary friend named She.


Chris White has an award for reading 750 books in one school year — from the 3rd grade. So yes, he’s more of a nerd than Aaron. Chris loves history, Sherlock Holmes, and anything that’s not virtual, like old motorcycles and mechanical typewriters. He also doesn’t get why we have these things called “smart phones” when all they do is make people dumber. Chris recently celebrated 10 years of marriage with his wife, April, and has two boys: Noah, age 8, and Jaden, age 3, who inspired the Great Jammy Adventure series; the OK-to-color-in picture books. Chris is working on a short story called The Marsburg Diary that will further explore the prologue to Airel, and he is finishing up his first novel, entitled K: phantasmagoria, due out in 2011. Chris has a major crush on Audrey Hepburn, who is now dead. His wife is okay with all of this.

My review of Airel: This was a very complex story - actually two stories.  The book opens in the present day in Idaho.  You begin to learn about a young girl named Airel, with all the typical teenage angst that is normal.  What is not normal is that seemingly overnight Airel's appearance is changing.  Her complexion is becoming flawless, her hair luxurious. Even though she sees the changes in the mirror, she still questions when the boy of her dreams, Michael, appears to be infatuated with her.  When she discovers that she has the ability to heal quickly, she wonders who or what she really is.

Read more: http://booksandneedlepoint.blogspot.com/search?q=airel#ixzz1v5YCVA1U

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

"Move over Twilight! Here comes Aaron Patterson!"
--Joshua Graham, bestselling author of Beyond Justice and Darkroom 

"I was surprised by how much I really, really liked this book. I have not jumped on the whole "fallen angel" bandwagon, just as I didn't jump on all of the vampire stories that came out after Twilight. This is not your typical fallen angel story. It is one that has left me breathlessly waiting for the next one in the series. Hurry up please!!!"--Sandra Stiles

"It takes rare talent for a man to write a novel from a male POV and have it published to great critical and commercial acclaim. But it takes a miracle for that same male, or in this case males, to write a novel from the POV of a teenage girl and have it turn out as incredibly as did the new StoneHouse YA by Aaron Patterson and Chris White, AIREL. From the first sentence, I felt compelled to dive into this young woman's story and just as importantly, I felt like I personally knew her, which means I laughed, stressed and cried right along with her. A beautifully written and crafted fiction about teenage innocence, faith, loss and love. A must read for teens and adults alike." 
--Vincent Zandri, International Bestselling Author of The Remains, The Innocent, and Concrete Pearl

"I am happy to say that this novel is one of my favorites of its kind. I never thought I could read a novel like this and be so swept away! I am always willing to try new books, but I usually steer clear of this kind of novel. Not anymore! Not when I can be so engrossed into the character's story, like I was with the beautiful AIREL, that before I know, it's over. I kept turning the pages , wanting to, no-NEEDING, to know what was going to happen next."--Molly Edwards, Willow Spring, NC

Love in Bloom Giveaway Hop!

Love in Bloom Giveaway Hop

Featuring Lighthearted/Contemporary Young Adult Romance

& Sweet, Clean Adult Romance

Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & Portrait of a Book

May 18th to 23rd

I am giving away your choice of one of the following books - the book will be shipping from The Book Depository - so as long as you live in a country that they ship free to - then you can enter this giveaway!

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

Sunrise Point by Robin Carr

The Wedding Dress by Rachel Hauck

Just Down the Road by Jodi Thomas

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
The Next Always by Nora Roberts

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winners!

Here are the winners of the last two hops!

Spring Fling was won by Tiff Pull

Childrens Book Week Giveaway was won by Melanie S.

Congrats winners!  Both winners have been notified by email!

The Get Yourself Organized Project by Kathi Lipp (Book Review)

Title: The Get Yourself Organized Project: 21 Steps to Less Mess and Stress
Author: Kathi Lipp
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers


About the book: Would you rather enjoy life than color-code your sock drawer?


Most organization books are written by organized people.  That's like buying a diet book from someone who's never weighed more than a hundred pounds.  If you want real-life solutions from someone who's lived in your mismatched shoes, this is the book for you.


You will discover:

• simple and manageable long-term solutions for organizing any room in your home (and keeping it that way)
• step-by-step direction to reduce your paper piles
• a realistic way to de-stress your overcrowded schedule
• strategies for efficient shopping, meal preparation, cleaning, and more

With Kathi's encouraging voice and easy-to-follow advice, The Get Yourself Organized Project is the girlfriends' guide you've been looking for.

My thoughts: This is my kind of organizational book.  She is realistic and takes things in small chunks.  Rather than organizing to her expectations, she guides you to actually think about how you live in your rooms, shows you what you should be looking for, and then has you organize in a way that fits your own life.  

In my experience, most organizational books focuses on the physical things in your life with a few focusing on your time.  In The Get Yourself Organized Project there are sections that deal with your home, your family, and your personal life.  She doesn't just want you to have a tidy home, she wants your entire life to be to the point where you can actually enjoy that tidy home.  

I have slowly began implementing some of her ideas on organizing and am planning on getting our bedroom in order this weekend, and have enlisted my dear husband to help out. 

I have also done a very small organizing project and organized my purse for National Clean Out Your Purse day!  You can see my post about that here and read about how you can win some of Kathi's books if you clean out your purse before Friday, May 18th.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention some of Kathi's other great books that I have had the opportunity to review. You can read my reviews of The Marriage Project and The What's for Dinner? Solution.

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

The Get Yourself Organized Project

Publisher/Publication Date: Harvest House Publishers, May 2012

ISBN: 978-0-7369-4385-7

224 pages

National Clean Out Your Purse Day is here!

Okay - let's be honest - how often do you actually clean out your purse?  I would have to say that I only clean it out after I get so much paper in it that it falls out when I am searching for my keys or my wallet. And what is even worse -- when I decide to change purses, I generally take out what I need and throw the purse I am no longer using in the closet with all the trash still in it!

So, in preparation for this day, I decided to start with the purses in my closet!  I pulled them all down and  my son helped me empty them all out into a shoebox.  I then managed to weed the purses and donated about six to goodwill.  Of course, everything is still in that shoebox - I haven't gotten far enough to actually put it all away!

This morning I "dumped" my purse out on the floor and started going through it

After removing a couple of tablets of paper, a lot of receipts and about 5 pens, it was much lighter!  I changed my purse out about a month ago, so it wasn't near as bad as it could have been!

  Probably the weirdest thing I found in my purse was an orange hourglass - I have no idea where it came from!

So now it is your turn!  Go dump those purses and see what you find.  Once you have completed your "dump" - go let Kathi Lipp know on her blog - If you like her author page on Facebook, you will also receive her free download “30 Ways to Save 30 Minutes in the Next 30 Days” to kick start your way to a more organized you!

You might want to pick up a copy of her book The Get Yourself Organized Project while you are at it!

Finally, an organizational book for women who have given up trying to be Martha Stewart but still desire some semblance of order in their lives.

Most organizational books are written by and for people who are naturally structured and orderly. For the woman who is more ADD than type A, the advice sounds terrific but seldom works. These women are looking for help that takes into account their free-spirited outlook while providing tips and tricks they can easily follow to live a more organized life.

Kathi Lipp, author of The Husband Project and other “project” books, is just the author to address this need. In her inimitable style, she offers

·        easy and effective ways women can restore peace to their everyday lives

·        simple and manageable long-term solutions for organizing any room in one’s home (and keeping it that way)

·        a realistic way to de-stress a busy schedule

·        strategies for efficient shopping, meal preparation, cleaning, and more

Full of helpful tips and abundant good humor, The Get Yourself Organized Project is for those who want to spend their time living and enjoying life rather than organizing their sock drawer.

It's Monday! What are you reading? (May 14, 2012)

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: 

Get Yourself Organized Project by Kathi Lipp

Playing Dead by Julia Heaberlin

Books I need to finish:  (I decided to add a new category for those books that seem to languish from week to week!)  I seem to keep starting books and not finishing them. . .   I need to get out of this trend!

The Priest and the Peaches by Larry Peterson

May the Road Rise Up to Meet You by Peter Troy

The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose

Blood Orchids by Toby Neal

Bloom: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected, A Memoir by Kelle Hampton

The Book Lover by MaryAnn McFadden

Upcoming books:
The Big Fun Sexy Sex Book by Lisa Rinni
The Body in the Boudoir by Katherine Hall Page

Bathroom Book:

My Third Husband Will be a Dog by Lisa Scottoline

Books read and reviewed since last week:

The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain

Love Thy Neighbor by Mark Gilleo

Books read but need to be reviewed:

Missing: The Secrets of Crittenden County, Book 1 by Shelley Shepard Gray

Until next week ----  Ready - Set - Read!

Love Thy Neighbor by Mark Gilleo (Book Review)

Title: Love thy Neighbor
Author: Mark Gilleo
Publisher: The Story Plant


About the book: CLARK HAYDEN is a graduate student trying to help his mother navigate through the loss of his father while she continues to live in their house near Washington DC. With his mother’s diminishing mental capacity becoming the norm, Clark expects a certain amount of craziness as he heads home for the holidays. What he couldn’t possibly anticipate, though, is that he would find himself catapulted into the middle of a terrorist operation. As the holiday festivities reach a crescendo, a terrorist cell – which happens to be across the street – is activated. Suddenly Clark is discovering things he never knew about deadly chemicals, secret government operations, suspiciously missing neighbors, and the intentions of a gorgeous IRS auditor. Clark’s quiet suburban neighborhood is about to become one of the most deadly places on the planet, and it’s up to Clark to prevent the loss of hundreds of thousands of innocent lives in the nation’s capital.


Fast, acerbic, wise and endlessly exciting, Love thy Neighbor marks the unforgettable debut of a startling new voice in suspense fiction.

My thoughts:  Clark is definitely somebody I would like living next door to me!  He is smart, loves his parents, and isn't afraid to stand up for what he knows is right -- even if it might cost him his life!  It is a series of "dumb luck" instances that begins to feed his growing suspicion that not everything is as it appears in his humble neighborhood.  He begins to follow his gut and it leads him on a journey from the IRS to the CIA to the FBI and from Washington, DC to the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia.  Stumbling over dead bodies and random misinformation, he starts to piece together what he believes to be terrorist activity that is being spearheaded by his next door neighbor -- who has seemingly disappeared.  He is desperate to find her, either to prove he is wrong -- or worse -- to prove he is right.


I generally don't read books that are  about terrorists or political involvement, but for some reason this one prompted me to take a look.  It then kept me riveted for the better part of two days as I dealt with a cold-induced headache and mother's day!  I am glad that I was able to finish it though as it took me for one heck of a ride.  If you like suspense, then you must read Love they Neighbor!    Please enjoy the excerpt below. 

~I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from Partners in Crime in exchange for my unbiased review.~

AUTHOR'S NOTE

(This part is true.)

 

In late 1999 a woman from Vienna, Virginia, a suburb ten miles from the White House as the crow flies, called the CIA. The woman, a fifty-something mother of three, phoned to report what she referred to as potential terrorists living across the street from her middle-class home. She went on to explain what she had been seeing in her otherwise quiet neighborhood: Strange men of seemingly Middle-Eastern descent using their cell phones in the yard. Meetings in the middle of the night with bumper-to-bumper curbside parking, expensive cars rubbing ends with vans and common Japanese imports. A constant flow of young men, some who seemed to stay for long periods of time without introducing themselves to anyone in the neighborhood. The construction of a six-foot wooden fence to hide the backyard from the street only made the property more suspicious.

 

Upon hearing a layperson’s description of suspicious behavior, the CIA promptly dismissed the woman and her phone call. (Ironically, the woman lived less than a quarter of a mile from a CIA installation, though it was not CIA headquarters as was later reported.)

 

In the days and weeks following 9/11, the intelligence community in the U.S. began to learn the identities of the nineteen hijackers who had flown the planes into the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon. In the process of their investigation they discovered that two of the hijackers, one on each of the planes that hit the World Trade Towers, had listed a particular house in Vienna, Virginia as a place of residence.

 

The FBI and various other agencies swooped in on the unassuming neighborhood and began knocking on doors. When they reached the house of a certain mother of three, she stopped them dead in their tracks. She was purported to have said, “I called the CIA two years ago to report that terrorists were living across the street and no one did anything.”

 

The CIA claimed to have no record of a phone call.

 

The news networks set up cameras and began broadcasting from the residential street. ABC, NBC, FOX. The FBI followed up with further inquiries. The woman’s story was later bounced around the various post 9/11 committees and intelligence hearings on Capitol Hill. (Incidentally, after 9/11, the CIA closed its multi-story facility in the neighborhood where the terrorist reportedly lived. In 2006 the empty building was finally torn down and, as of early 2011, was being replaced with another office building).

 

There has been much speculation about what the government should have or could have known prior to 9/11. The answer is not simple. There have been anecdotal stories of people in Florida and elsewhere who claimed to have reported similar “terrorist” type activities by suspicious people prior to 9/11. None of these stories have been proven.

 

What we do know is that with the exception of the flight school instructor in Minnesota who questioned the motive of a student who was interested in flying an aircraft without learning how to land, and an unheeded warning from actor James Woods who was on a plane from Boston with several of the purported terrorists while they were doing a trial run, the woman from Vienna, Virginia was the country’s best chance to prevent 9/11. To date, there has been no verification of any other pre-9/11 warnings from the general public so far in advance of that fateful day in September.

 

For me, there is no doubt as to the validity of the claims of the woman in Vienna.

 

She lived in the house where I grew up. She is my mother.

 

Mark Gilleo. October, 2011. Washington DC.

 

* * *

 

Ariana turned on the nightlight and closed the door to her daughter’s room.  She walked down the carpeted hall towards the light stretching out from the plastic chandelier over the dining room table.  Her husband’s chair was empty and she quietly called out his name.  No response.  As Ariana turned the corner to the kitchen and reached for the knob on the cabinet over the counter, eight hundred pages of advertising crashed into her rib cage, sucking the wind from her lungs.  As his wife doubled over, Nazim raised the thick Yellow Book with both hands and hit her on her back, driving her body to the floor.

 

“Don’t you ever disobey me in front of others again.”

 

Ariana coughed.  There was no blood.  This time.  She tried to speak but her lips only quivered.  Her thick-framed glasses rested on the floor, out of reach.  Her brain fought to make sense of what happened, what had set her husband off.  It could have been anything.  But every curse had its blessing, and for Ariana the blessing was the fact that Nazim didn’t hit her in front of Liana.  A blessing that the child didn’t see her mother being punched.  The reason was simple.  Nazim was afraid of his daughter.  Afraid of what she could say now that she could speak. 

 

The curse was that Ariana never knew when she had crossed the line.  She never knew when the next blow was coming.  She merely had to wait until they were alone to learn her fate for past indiscretions.

 

Ariana gasped slowly for air.  She didn’t cry.  The pain she felt in her side wasn’t bad enough to give her husband the satisfaction.

 

“When I say it is time to leave, it is time to leave.  There is no room for negotiation in this marriage.”

 

Ariana panted as her mind flashed back to the Christmas party.  She immediately realized her faux pas. “I didn’t want to be rude to Maria.  She spent days making dessert.  She is old.  Do we not respect our elders anymore?”

 

Nazim pushed his wife onto the floor with his knee, a reaction Ariana fully expected.  “You are my wife.  This is about you and me.  Our neighbor has nothing to do with it.”  Nazim looked down at Ariana sprawled on the linoleum and spit on her with more mock than saliva.

 

“Maria is my friend.”

 

“Well, her son is coming home and she doesn’t need you.”

 

Nazim dropped the yellow book on the counter with a thud and went to the basement.  Ariana gathered herself, pushing her body onto all fours and then pulling herself up by the front of the oven.  She looked at the Yellow Book and her blood boiled.  It was like getting hit by a cinderblock with soft edges. When it hit flush, it left very little bruising.  As her husband intended.   For a man of slight build, Nazim could generate power when a beating was needed.

 

Ariana took inventory of herself, one hand propping herself up on the counter.  She had been beaten worse.  Far worse.  By other men before she met her husband.  Her eyes moved beyond the Yellow Pages and settled on the knife set on the counter, the shiny German steel resting in its wooden block holder.  She grabbed the fillet knife, caressed the blade with her eyes, and then pushed the thought from her mind.

 

Her husband called her from the basement and she snapped out of her momentary daze.  “Coming,” she answered, putting the knife back in its designated slot in the wood.   She knew what was coming next.  It was always the same.  A physical assault followed by a sexual one.  She reached up her skirt and removed her panties.  There was no sense in having another pair ripped, even if robbing Nazim of the joy would cost her a punch or two.

 

Christmas, the season of giving, she thought as she made her way down the stairs into the chilly basement.

About the author:   Mark Gilleo holds a graduate degree in international business from the University of South Carolina and an undergraduate degree in business from George Mason University. He enjoys traveling, has lived and worked in Asia, and speaks fluent Japanese. A fourth-generation Washingtonian, he currently resides in the D.C. area. His two most recent novels were recognized as finalist and semifinalist, respectively, in the William Faulkner-Wisdom Creative writing competition. The Story Plant will publish his next novel, SWEAT in 2012.


You can connect with the author at  Love Thy Neighbor page    www.thestoryplant.com

 

Love Thy Neighbor
Publisher/Publication Date: The Story Plant, March 2012
ISBN: 978-1611880342
438 pages

Purchase - Amazon - Barnes and Noble

Cover Reveal: Deadly Secrets, Loving Lies by Cynthia Cooke

Deadly Secrets, Loving Lies

by Cynthia Cooke

Family secrets must be kept, and painful wounds must be ignored.

After an all-out assault by a vicious terrorist bent on destroying her entire family, a former government agent must break the strict rules she has always lived by when she emerges from hiding to reluctantly accept the help of her all-too-sexy ex-lover. Running a deadly race against time, they rush to rescue her kidnapped sister, find her missing father, and bring the notorious villain to justice. But nothing ever goes as planned. Bullets fly, danger abounds, and their passion reignites even faster than the lies are flowing. But their stubbornly held secrets just might spell the end of their rekindled love and hopes for the future...as well as their very lives.

Deadly Secrets, Loving Lies
Imprint: Dead Sexy
Release date: May 13, 2012






We all surround ourselves with armor protecting our hearts and our inner wounds forged in childhood. Learning to trust someone enough to let them inside the armor, to let them help you shed it to become your true self, unafraid and ready to take on the world is the greatest gift love can give you. And the gift Kyle gives to Genie.
~Cynthia Cooke

The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain (Book Review and Giveaway)

It is so exciting that this tour is ending with a live chat with the author!  I haven't looked far enough ahead to see if I will be at work or not, but if not, I know who I will be chatting with!

Title: The Good Father
Author: Diane Chamberlain
Publisher: MIRA

About the book: Four years ago, nineteen-year-old Travis Brown made a choice: to raise his newborn daughter on his own.  While most of his friends were out partying and meeting girls, Travis was at home, changing diapers and worrying about keeping food on the table.  But he's never regretted his decision.  Bella is the light of his life.  The reason behind every move he makes.  And so far, she is fed. Cared for. Safe.

But when Travis loses his construction job and his home, the security he's worked so hard to create for Bella begins to crumble. . .

Then a miracle.  A job in Raleigh has the power to turn their fortunes around.  It has to.  But when Travis arrives in Raleigh, there is no job, only an offer to participate in a onetime criminal act that promises quick money and no repercussions.

With nowhere else to turn, Travis must make another choice for his daughter's sake.

Even if it means he might lose her. 

Excerpt:

One of them smiled at me, then went red in the face and looked away. I hardly glanced at her. I only saw the thirty-something woman sitting in the leather chair. I felt like hugging her.

            "Hey," I said, like it was any other morning. "How's it going?"

My thoughts:  I have been wanting to read a book by Diane Chamberlain for awhile and jumped at the chance to review this one when it came along!  I am so glad that I did!  (I had to go back and adjust this statement as this is the SECOND book that I have read by Ms. Chamberlain!  The first was The Midwife's Confession which I also loved - click on the title to check out my review.)

The book is narrated by three people: Travis, Erin, and Robin.

Travis is Bella’s father and has been raising her with just the help of his mother since she was born.  But recently they have fallen on some hard times.  They lost their home, Travis lost his job, and his mother, pretty much all at once.  He is doing his best to find work, but without someone to care for Bella he is really struggling.  Through a friend he hears about an opportunity in Raleigh, so goes to check it out.  I think he is still in shock from losing his mom and isn’t thinking through each situation like he should.  He may be 23 and raising a child, but I think he depended a lot on his mom. 

In Raleigh at a little coffee shop Travis meets Erin, our next narrator.  Erin has recently lost a little girl about the same age as Bella.  In her grief she has been unable to work and unable to relate to her husband, so she has moved into her own apartment to give herself some space from him.  Erin is instantly taken with Bella, but doesn’t feel like she should be as she could be betraying her own daughter.  Travis makes the decision to leave Bella with Erin so he can complete the job opportunity that he heard about.  They have been living out of his van for a couple of days and he needs to get Bella somewhere more stable, so he has to do this job – even if he feels in his gut that it is wrong.

Meanwhile we meet Robin, Bella’s mother.  She almost lost her life carrying Bella, and was so sick after she was born, that thinking about raising a child was the last thing on her mind.  Her dad did everything in his power to keep her and Travis apart, meanwhile telling them both lies to further his plan of action.  Bella is now healthy, running a B and B, and engaged to the Mayor’s son, Dale.

I love all of these characters.  Travis made some bad decisions, but I think his heart was in the right place.  Erin steps up even in her grief to take care of Bella, even if she was left with her in a somewhat unorthodox fashion.  I even liked Robin, who you could tell was a good person and you know she would have kept her baby if the situation had been different.

The culmination of the three of them coming together with Bella is very suspenseful!  You just have to hope that they will all make the right choices this time – choices that will keep them safe and give them a chance at happiness. 

I loved this book and am sorry that it had to end!

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Meryl L. Moss Media in exchange for my unbiased review.~

And now for the giveaway!  First entry is easy - just leave your email address and click enter!  Giveaway is open to US/Canada only and will end at Midnight on May 18, 2012. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


The Good Father
Publisher/Publication Date: MIRA, April 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7783-1346-5
347 pages

April Challenge Update

So - here is the monthly update for all my reading challenges - completed challenges are in red.  I have deleted some of the challenges as the hosting bloggers are no longer blogging.

Miscellaneous Challenges:
Excellence in Reading  - 3 books (off of list of 60)
Speculative Fiction Challenge - 5/6
New Author Challenge - 19/15
Read to Me Picture Book challenge  -32/400

Library Centered Challenges:
Dewey Decimal Challenge 2/5
Non-Fiction (Non-Memoir) Challenge 2/5
Library Challenge 3/12
Around the Stacks Challenge 9/20 Genres

Location Specific Challenges:
Reading the Winter Olympics 3/15
Southern Literature Challenge 2/4
Where Are You Reading Challenge 14/50 states

Title and Cover Specific Challenges:
Antonym Reading Challenge
Find the Cover/Coversuch 15/17
Read Your Name Challenge 0/8
What's in a Name Challenge 2/6
Color Coded Reading Challenge 1/9
Rainbow Reading Challenge 3/12
A to Z Reading Challenge 18/26

Prizewinners or Lists Reading Challenges:
1001 Books to Read 1/5
Alex Awards Challenge 0/3
Reading the Awards 0/5
That's What You Think Challenge 1/6

Cozy, Mystery and Suspense Reading Challenges:
Cruisin Thru the Cozies 5/6
Cozy Mystery Challenge 5/6
Mystery and Suspense challenge 14/12

YA Reading Challenges:
YA Contemporary Challenge 2/
YA Audiobook Challenge 0/12
Just Contemporary Reading Challenge 2/6
Completely Contemp Challenge 1/3

Dystopian and Paranormal challenges:
Vampire Reading Challenge 0/5
Paranormal Romance Reading Challenge 3/5
Paranormal (No Vamps) Reading Challenge 5/5
Witches and Witchcraft 1/5
Immortal Challenge 2/?
Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic 0/12
Read Dystopia Challenge 0/3
The Dystopia Challenge 0/5

Series Reading Challenges:
TV Addict Reading Challenge 0/4
1st in a Series Challenge 6/6
Welcome to Cedar Cove Challenge 0/12
The Dark Tower Reading Challenge 0/8
Stephani Plum Reading Challenge 1/?
Sookie Stackhouse Challenge 0/4
Rizzoli and Isles Reading Challenge 0/9
Kinsey Millhone Reading Challenge 0/?
Dean Koontz Reading Challenge 0/3

TBR Reading Challenges:
Mount TBR Challenge 1/12
Unread Book Challenge 2/?
TBR Pile Challenge 2/10
Read Your Own Books Challenge 1/5
Off the Shelf Challenge 2/5
Free Reads Challenge 28/5
Ebook Challenge 10/10
Books Won Challenge 0/3
ARC Reading Challenge (So Many Precious Books) 27/24

Romance Reading Challenges:
Speculative Romance Challenge 3/6
Romance Reading Challenge (the bookworm) 11/5
Reading Romances Challenge 8/?
Harlequin Silhoutte Reading Challenge 1/6

It's Monday! What are you reading? (5/7/12)

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! 

 I know, I am late posting again - but I missed it completely last week!

Currently reading: 

The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain

Books I need to finish:  (I decided to add a new category for those books that seem to languish from week to week!)  I seem to keep starting books and not finishing them. . .   I need to get out of this trend!

The Priest and the Peaches by Larry Peterson

May the Road Rise Up to Meet You by Peter Troy

The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose

Blood Orchids by Toby Neal

Bloom: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected, A Memoir by Kelle Hampton

The Book Lover by MaryAnn McFadden

Upcoming books:
Love They Neighbor by Mark Gilleo
The Big Fun Sexy Sex Book by Lisa Rinni

Bathroom Book:

My Third Husband Will be a Dog by Lisa Scottoline

Books read and reviewed since last week:

Night Sky by Jolene Perry

Paskagankee by Allan Leverone

Books read but need to be reviewed:

Missing: The Secrets of Crittenden County, Book 1 by Shelley Shepard Gray

Until next week ----  Ready - Set - Read!

The Arrivals - Out in Paperback Today!

The Arrivals 

by Meg Mitchell Moore

 Paperback May 8th (EW book pick and Target book pick)

It’s early summer when Ginny and William’s peaceful life in Burlington, Vermont, comes to an abrupt halt. First, their daughter Lillian arrives, two children in tow, to escape her crumbling marriage. Next, their son Stephen and his pregnant wife Jane show up for a weekend visit, which extends indefinitely. When their youngest daughter Rachel appears, fleeing her difficult life in New York, Ginny and William find themselves consumed again by the chaos of parenthood—only this time around, their children are facing adult problems. By summer’s end, the family gains new ideas of loyalty and responsibility, exposing the challenges of surviving the modern family. And the old adage, once a parent, always a parent, has never rung so true.

I had the opportunity to review this novel back in August, 2011:

My thoughts:  This is a debut novel for Mrs. Moore and I for one, cannot wait to see what else she has in store.  I enjoyed the interaction this family shared and how they all came home one by one.  While we know why they are there, it is revealed to other members of the family slowly.  All of the children are wrapped up in their own problems, but at the same time they are able to come to realize that supporting their siblings is important as well.  

Read more: http://booksandneedlepoint.blogspot.com/search?q=meg+mitchell+moore#ixzz1uEvINfp4

And now - I get to review her next one as well!  

So Far Away is due out May 29!  

You can read about the book in my Mailbox Monday post this week!  

Watch for my review June 10th!