Books and Needlepoint

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Awards

Shared by Kristi

I received this from Kristina over at Kristina's Favorites.

Your Blog is Enchanting Award from Marie at The Burton Review

Lovely Blog Award was received from Kristina at Kristina's Favorites,
Suzanne at Chick with Books
and from The Book Muncher

Zombie Chicken Award was received from Jessica Marie at Books Love Jessica Marie.

Sisterhood Award was received from Myza at Books and So Many More Books

Splash Award was received from Jennifer at Jennifer's Book Blog
and Rebecca at Lost In Books

Lemonade Stand Award was received from Jennie at A Bookish Mom
from Wendy at Wendy's Minding Spot from Jennifer at Just Jennifer Reading and from Kim at Page after Page.

I Love Your Blog was received from Mo at Unmainstream Mom Reads

Your blog is fabulous was received from Rebecca at Lost In Books,
Tonya at Storytime with Tonya,
and Sharon and Sharon Loves Books and Cats

Friends Award was received from Rann at This, That and the Other Thing
Audra at Seriously?,
and Vanessa at Today's Adventure

Well-worth Watching Blog Award was received from J.Kaye of J.Kayes Book Blog

Butterfly Award was received from Kim at Cloud 9
and Audra at Seriously?

Premio Dardas Award was received from Alyce at At Home With Books

I received the Heartfelt Award from Amy at Park Avenue Princess.

Please excuse some of the "extraneous" posts that you might see in the next few days. I am creating them for tabs across the top to try to clean up my side bars. As soon as the dust clears I am hoping that you will get a page that is easier to access with quicker load time! I will also be trying to spotlight more books as soon as they come in and not necessarily do big posts once a week. As the changes occur, I would enjoy any feedback as to what you like and dislike!

Much Thanks!

My Book Challenges

Shared by Kristi

Teaser Tuesday 5-12-2009

Shared by Kristi

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
Please avoid spoilers!

She's asleep in her bed, just don't wake up. I grab her arm; it's like a tray of ice. She's dead.* (p352 The Four Corners of the Sky)

As you can see, I am reading The Four Corners of the Sky by Michael Malone. I am liking it so far, though it has a lot of what seems like unnecessary information at this point. I am hoping that as the story comes together, I will see the reason for everything. As for the quote above, I am not there yet, so I have no idea to what it is referring. It is a teaser for me as well! Is anyone else reading this book - which is being released today?

Teaser Tuesday is hosted at Should be Reading. Come on over and share your teaser, too!

(*This quote is from an Advanced Reader's Copy - final copy may differ.)

Monday, May 11, 2009

Winner - Winner - Winner

Shared by Kristi

Webfetti.com

My Mother's Day giveaway ended last night at midnight and I have winners!

mj.coward won Mama's Got a Fake I.D.

bellasnovella won Enduring Justice

roylsue won Dear Mom

The winners have all been emailed and have until Friday 7AM to get me their addresses. Congrats winners!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Mailbox Monday 5-11-2009

Shared by Kristi

Mailbox Monday hosted at The Printed Page or In Your Mailbox at The Story Siren. Please stop by those posts and take a look at what packages everybody else got this week! Don't forget to check out my giveaways!

Dark Hunger (Book 2 in The Demonborn Series)

by Rita Herron

Telepath Quinton Valtrez wants nothing from Annabelle Armstrong except her luscious body. One peek into her mind, however, and he knows that that this CNN reporter has uncovered his identity as a government assassin and is determined to expose all of his dark secrets, one by one. He'll never let that happen, his uncontrollable hunger for her be damned. But when a bomber strikes as they're both in range, killing hundreds, Annabelle devotes herself entirely to the story. Thrown together by danger and desperate to stop the violence, Quinton and Annabelle uncover that the serial bomber is a supernatural attack, perpetrated by an evil force that exerts mind control over people and turns them into killers. But when the forces of evil unite to overpower them, targeting Annabelle in order to ensnare him, Quinton must face his own destiny as one of the Demonborn and join forces with his brother Vincent (from Insatiable Desire) to save Annabelle and fight the evil threatening to overtake them. (from Barnesandnoble.com)

How to Tame a Modern Rogue

by Diana Holquist

Ally Giordano is at the end of her rope. Her beloved grandmother believes that she's living in her favorite Regency romance novel and Ally doesn't have the heart to set her straight. But even worse, Granny Donny is now convinced that she's found the perfect "Duke" to rescue Ally from spinsterhood and she won't rest until this modern-day rogue escorts them both to her country retreat.

Commitment-phobic Sam Carson is attracted to naughty, not nice. But one stolen kiss from Ally and he's hell-bent on stripping away her good girl ways and teaching her the art of being bad. Love isn't in the stars for this rake - he has no interest in being tamed by a woman, no matter how soft her skin or sharp her wit. But as the country beckons, Sam can't resist the charms of Ally or her dotty Granny. Has this playboy met his match? (from the book cover)

Seduce Me

by Robyn DeHart

Fielding Grey is a treasure seeker with a taste for danger and experienced women. His latest mission: wrest Pandora's fabled box from a notorious criminal mastermind. Not in the job description: save an innocent damsel in distress.

A bookish miss, Esme Worthington has favored dusty tomes over society balls, and thrilling tales over flirtations. But when two scoundrels break into her home, she is thrust into a real-life adventure. Pursued and suddenly possessing the forbidden box, Esme can't resist peeking inside. Under the spell of Pandora's seductive curse, she's soon offering herself to Fielding - body and soul. With her reluctant rescuer determined to resist her charms, can the two outwit an enemy who will stop at nothing to seize their precious prize? (from the book cover)

So Into You

by Sandra Hill

She's been a nun, poker champion, treasure hunter, and folk healer. Redhead Grace O'Brien is always up for anything - until her hunky friend Angel Sabato suddenly declares his love for her. That's one adventure she'll never want a part of, not if she's going to keep her past a secret forever.

With heartbroken Angel hightailing it out of town, Grace makes herself busy working with Tante Lulu. Together they decide to help a poor teenage girl who's trying to raise her siblings after Katrina. All they have to do is avoid social services - which would separate the orphans - while building a new house for these kids. And the matchmaking Tante Lulu knows the perfect home-builder for the job: Angel!

Down in Cajun country, love's thunder sometimes comes with a lightning bolt of trouble - the kind that could jolt Grace into heartbreak. . .or straight into Angel's arms. (from the back cover)

Afraid
by Jack Kilborn

ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK? YOU WILL BE . . .

Welcome to Safe Haven, Wisconsin. Miles from everything, with one road in and out, this peaceful town has never needed a full-time police force. Until now . . .

A helicopter has crashed near Safe Haven and unleashed something horrifying. Now this merciless force is about to do what it does best. Isolate. Terrorize. Annihilate. As residents begin dying in a storm of gory violence, Safe Haven's only chance for survival will rest with an aging county sheriff, a firefighter, and a single mom. And each will have this harrowing thought: Maybe death hasn't come to their town by accident . . . (from the back cover)

Living a Charmed Life:

Your Guide to Finding Magic in Every Moment of Every Day
by Victoria Moran

Bestselling author Victoria Moran's Living a Charmed Life presents fifty action-inspiring essays that show us how to custom craft our very own blessed lives. Covering topics such as living richly, staying close to what makes you come alive, and being completely, utterly yourself, Moran emphasizes that this kind of happiness is possible for anyone of any age in any circumstance.

Living a charmed life is your birthright, one that you can start to claim as soon as you take to heart—and put into action—the practical and spiritual tips you'll find here. These lucky charms, honed from Victoria's own life experiences, will elevate your attitude, change the way you see yourself, and help you to improve every aspect of your life including your health, relationships, finances, and peace of mind—even in challenging times.

In this fresh, inspiring book, Victoria Moran gives you the tools and techniques you need to start living your own charmed life now. (from the book jacket)

who made you a princess?
by Shelley Adina

Shani Hanna returns to SpencerAcademy for her senior year after an amazing summer spent with her friends Lissa, Gillian, and Carly. But the best part about summer was meeting Danyel Johnstone. Danyel is cute, smart, cool, and super nice. All Shani has to do is get him to see her as more than just one of the gang.
But when the girls return to school, they find a new addition to the distinguished student body: Prince Rashid al Amir of Yasir, an oil-rich desert kingdom in the Middle East. Prince Rashid moved to California to prepare for an eventual MBA at Stanford . . . and to romance his future wife: Shani Hanna!
It turns out, Shani's family and the prince's go back for generations, entwined in tradition, obligation, and family honor. In each generation, members of the two families have expanded their business interests through arranged marriage. Will Shani put aside her feelings for Danyel to pursue her family's wishes? Or will God answer her prayers for an intervention? (from Barnesandnoble.com)

Annie's Ghosts: A Journey into a Family Secret

by Steve Luxenberg

Beth Luxenberg was an only child. Everyone knew it: her grown children, her friends, even people she'd only recently met. So when her secret emerged, her son Steve Luxenberg was bewildered. He was certain that his mother had no siblings, just as he knew that her name was Beth, and that she had raised her children, above all, to tell the truth.

By then, Beth was nearly eighty, and in fragile health. While seeing a new doctor, she had casually mentioned a disabled sister, sent away at age two. For what reason? Was she physically disabled? Mentally ill? The questions were dizzying, the answers out of reach. Beth had said she knew nothing of her sister's fate.

Six months after Beth's death in 1999, the secret surfaced once more. This time, it had a name: Annie.

Steve Luxenberg began digging. As he dug, he uncovered more and more. His mother's name wasn't Beth. His aunt hadn't been two when she'd been hospitalized. She'd been twenty-one; his mother had been twenty-three. The sisters had grown up together. Annie had spent the rest of her life in a mental institution, while Beth had set out to hide her sister's existence. Why?

Employing his skills as a journalist while struggling to maintain his empathy as a son, Luxenberg pieces together the story of his mother's motivations, his aunt's unknown life, and the times in which they had lived. His search takes him to imperial Russia and Depression-era Detroit, through the Holocaust in Ukraine and the Philippine war zone, and back to the hospitals where Annie and many others were lost to memory.

Combining the power of reportage with the intrigue of mystery, Annie's Ghosts explores the nature of self-deception and self-preservation. The result is equal parts memoir, social history, and riveting detective story.(from the book jacket)

Secrets to Happiness
by Sarah Dunn

Holly Frick has just endured the worst kind of breakup: the kind where you're still in love with the person leaving you. While her wounds are still dangerously close to the surface, her happily married best friend confesses over a bottle of wine that she is this close to having an affair. And another woman comes to Holly for advice about her love life--with Holly's ex!

Holly decides that if everyone around her can take pleasure wherever they find it, so will she. As any self-respecting 30ish New York woman would do, she brings two males into her life: a flawed but endearing dog, and a good natured, much younger lover. She's soon entangled in a web of emails, chance meetings, and misguided good intentions and must forge an entirely new path to Nirvana.

From the author of The Big Love, Secrets to Happiness is a big-hearted, knife-sharp, and hilariously entertaining story about the perils of love and friendship, sex and betrayal--and a thoroughly modern take on our struggle to be happy. (from the book jacket)

Beach Trip: A Novel

by Cathy Holton

For four college friends, a beach trip promises a chance to reconnect and reminisce. Having traveled distinct and diverse paths since the early 1980s and their freshman days at a small Southern women's college, the quartet-now in their forties-reunites for the first time in North Carolina's Outer Banks. Over the course of a week they eat, drink, laugh, and cry. But one by one each reveals the hardship and heartache she's hidden from the others. And one secret threatens to change their lives, and their bond, forever. (from inside the book)

Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption

by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and Ronald COtton with Erin Torneo

Jennifer Thompson was raped at knifepoint by a man who broke into her apartment while she slept. She was able to escape, and eventually positively identified Ronald Cotton as her attacker. Ronald insisted that she was mistaken - but Jennifer's positive identification was the compelling evidence that put him behind bars. After eleven years, Ronald was allowed to take a DNA test that proved his innocence. He was released after serving more than a decade in prison for a crime he never committed. Two years later, Jennifer and Ronald met face-to-face --and forged an unlikely friendship that changed both of their lives.

In their own words, Jennifer and Ronald unfold the harrowing details of their tragedy, and challenge our ideas of memory and judgment while demonstrating the profound nature of human grace and the healing power of forgiveness. (from the book jacket)

What did you get this week?

Saturday, May 9, 2009

The Lake That Stole Children by Douglas Glenn Clark (Book Review)

Shared by Kristi

Title: The Lake That Stole Children
Author: Douglas Glenn Clark
Publisher: CreateSpace
Available: Now
ISBN-13: 978-1438243580
Genre: YA
This ARC was provided to me by the author and Bostick Communications.

First sentence: The fisherman led his small son and daughter to the river's edge and handed each a fishing pole for their first lesson.

This was a short story/book (only 40 pages) written very much like a fairy tale. It would be a good story to read to an elementary age child or to be read alone.

My take on the story was this: A fisherman's family was living very disconnected - without much feeling for themselves or each other. They were referred to in the beginning of the book as the fisherman, the fisherman's wife, son, and daughter. They all seemed to be living their own lives and the son was especially sad. The sadness enveloped him - in this case as a large glass fish which took him down to the bottom of the lake.

This seems to bring the family to action - and as they become alive and actually "feel" - their names also become known. The father battles against his son's sadness to bring him and all the other sad children home.

This story had a good message and was simple to read and easy to understand. It was very descriptive - like the following example. This is were I interpreted that the girl was finally "feeling."

The girl was so afraid she couldn't move. She thought of running home for her mother. But home seemed too far away. She felt sick about disobeying her father again. But then her bones began to hum and fill her with an unfamiliar song - a song that made body tremble and caused a flutter in her chest that felt like the soft wings of a bird trying to escape. (p28)