Where I share my love of books with reviews, features, giveaways and memes. Family and needlepoint are thrown in from time to time.

Monday, August 8, 2011

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!

Currently Reading:
Summer in the South by Cathy Holton
Captivity by Deborah Noyes


Reading to become "Literary Genius":
Animal Farm by George Orwell - haven't gotten very far on this one - so much for becoming a Literary Genius - lol

Next Up:
Route 66 by Krish Kandiah

Reading with Daughter:
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - with school starting in a little over a week - I don't think we will get to finish this!

E-Book:
Singular by David Porteous
The Five Love Languages of Teenagers by Gary Chapman
Reversible Skirt by Laura McHale Holland

Bathroom Book:
The Book Thief by Markus - Almost done!  Will be finished by the end of today!

Reviewed Since Last Post:
In the Heat of the Bite by Lydia Dare
52 Ways to Wow Your Husband by Pam Farrell
Past Midnight by Mara Purnhagen
Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Children's Books Reviewed Since Last Post:



Waiting for Reviews:
The Arrivals: A Novel by Meg Mitchell Moore
 White Sleeper by David R. Fett and Stephen Langford
Graveminder by Melissa Marr
The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain
The Place of Belonging by Jayne Pearson Faulkner
The Blackberry Bush by David Housholder
The Girl in the Green Raincoat by Laura Lippman
Following Polly by Karen Bergreen


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




READY - SET - READ!

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Mailbox Monday (Aug 8, 2011)


 Mailbox Monday's host for August is Staci at Life in the Thumb. 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! 

I always forget about the ebooks that I receive, so I have tried to catch them all up with this post.


The Stranger You Seek
by Amanda Kyle Williams


This electrifying thriller debut introduces a brash, flawed, unforgettable heroine -- ex-FBI profiler Keye Street -- in a novel that combines sharp investigative plotting, sly humor, a sultry Southern atmosphere, and a killer who will haunt your dreams.

You've either concluded that I am a braggart as well as a sadist or that I have a deep and driving need to be caught and punished.  And you must be wondering if I am, in fact, the stranger you seek.  Shall I convince you?

A serial killer is tormenting Atlanta, writing letters to the media, promising to slay again.  Under pressure before another victim dies, the Atlanta Police Department turns to Keye Street, a disgraced FBI profiler who is now chasing down bail jumpers, doing some (very) odd detective work, and trying to stay off the bottle.  While Keye tries to make the elusive connection between the victims and one of the South's grisliest, most skillful serial killers, the stranger she seeks may be far closer than she realizes.

Chasing the Red Car
by Ellen Ruderman

Transplanted from her home in the Bronx to the burgeoning San Fernando Valley of 1947, Kim Lebow is faced with trouble on every side.  Her home life is rocky and emotionally unpredictable, while the McCarthy era communist witch hunts strike all around, threatening Kim's father and even reaching into her high school.
The political struggles and personal cataclysms that follow change Kim from an open and caring young girl into a political activist and educator, while leaving emotional scars that only time, and the return of the great love of her life, are able to heal.
Drawing parallels between the political repression of the 1950s and the abuses of executive power after 9/11, Chasing the Red Car reminds us that all politics is personal, and that the truth of George Santayana's maxim about history repeating itself can be seen all around us every day.



A Black Girl's Poetry for the World
by Kimberly LaRocca
Kimberly LaRocca knows all about challenges, the ones we can’t control, and those we create. She also knows about standing tall and staying proud, no matter what.
A teenage mother who had her first child at age 17, LaRocca didn’t allow her situation to define her, or let her to fall into societal stereotypes. She graduated with her high school class and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree. Author of the new book of poems, A Black Girl’s Poetry for the World, LaRocca boasts an unshakeable belief in the power of pride, self-determination, and fulfilling personal potential.
“I believe in karma, and my approach to life is straightforward yet powerful: I treat others the way I want to be treated,” says LaRocca. “I could have let myself be defined by what others think, but I simply refused to let that happen. I surely created my own challenges in my life, but I refused to stop believing in myself.”
While celebrating self-determination and human pride, A Black Girl’s Poetry for the World also presents insightful poems exploring all aspects of the human experience. From lost loves, strained relationships and the difficulty of forgiveness to raw anger and intense sexual desire, LaRocca ‘tells it like it is’ and literally bares her soul in her poetry.
“I find writing and poetry cathartic and empowering,” adds LaRocca. “I understand my style may be subject to literary criticism, but I also believe others will find valuable meaning to which they can relate. Poetry is beautiful because no one can deny your words, thoughts, dreams, and fears.”
 

My So-Called Life as a Proverbs 31 Wife
by Sara Horn

Sara Horn always admired the Proverbs 31 wife. . . from afar.  But when she became a busy writer and mom, that image began to look like an impossible ideal.
Or was it?
With humility and humor, Sara set out to immerse herself in all things domestic just to see if the Proverbs 31 woman could exist in the twenty-first century.  But when her family's situation changes and she must return to a full-time job, she's forced to look at the Proverbs 31 woman from a whole new viewpoint.  Through cooking experiments, Cub Scout campouts, failed attempts at knitting, and other household challenges, she discovers:
  • a new way to define being a godly woman, wife, and mom
  • how investing in family and faith brings surprising (and happy!) results
  • how mistakes are opportunities for growth. . . and laughter
Join Sara as she offers you full access into her one-year domestic experiment to see if this biblical model can be embraced by a modern woman -- even one who can't sew.


That Day in September
by Artie Van Why

We all have our stories to tell of where we were the morning of September 11, 2001.  This is one of them.  In That Day in September Artie Van Why gives an eyewitness account of that fateful morning.  From the moment he heard  "a loud boom" in his office across from the World Trade Center, to stepping out onto the street, Artie vividly transports the reader back to the day that changed our lives and our country forever.  That Day in September takes you beyond the events of that morning.  By sharing his thoughts, fears, and hopes, Artie expresses what it was like to be in New York City in the weeks and months following.  The reader comes away from That Day in September with not only a more intimate understanding of the events of that day, but also with a personal glimpse of how one person's life was dramatically changed forever.

 

The following are all Ebooks that I have received recently:


Disrupted Lives
by Brendal Youngerman

A name does not make a person, a person makes a name.
Such is the theme of Disrupted Lives, the story of how one adopted child touches and intersects with many lives, but ends up destroying one family name, while building another family's legacy.
Darren and Amelia Kane were high school sweethearts torn apart by war. They reunite and discover that they both must put their nightmares behind them to build a life together. Betrayed by her parents, Amelia was earlier forced to give up their child.
Fiona Porter and Sterling Lake are thrown together as part of a business proposition. They end up surprising both their families by enriching the Lake empire and family name. The Lakes become synonymous with society, power and money, and their children must carry that torch forward at all cost. When an adopted grandchild is brought into the family, he questions the definition of "family."


Colin Preston Rocked and Rolled
by Bert Murray

Meet Colin Preston.
19 years old and a student at Elerby University in upstate New York.
He drinks too much.
Lives for the Beatles, John Lennon and classic rock.
Falls for the most beautiful sophomore on campus.
His life is about to change forever.
Funny. Moving. Honest. Raw.
An entertaining coming of age novel about friendship,
music, first love and betrayal.


 

Ding Dong the Diva's Dead
by Cat Melodia

Deborah de Lille is an opera singer-in the least grand sense. Debbie doesn't foresee a future beyond Handel Messiahs and low-budget tours ... until her agent finagles her a minor role with a small-town company. The artists assembled for this production of Offenbach's spooky opera, Tales of Hoffmann, have more than opera on their minds. Their games of love are not for the faint of heart, and the cutthroat atmosphere may have become literal. How far are they willing to go to advance their careers and even the score? The singer Debbie replaced died under suspicious circumstances, and after another minor player bows out suddenly, she is also given her role. Now she has two small roles that no one in their right mind would kill for. So, either someone isn't in their right mind, or the close calls threatening Debbie's safety are all unlucky coincidences. Add to the mix three preening tenors, a sexy lesbian director, a vengeful conductor, an obscenely rich and Hollywood-handsome general director, a fading Italian pop star, a trio of bitchy leading sopranos, an ambitious understudy, countless attention-starved underlings, an anti-opera terrorist group, a resident ghost, and Debbie's kooky and dysfunctional friends and family, and you have an opening night that promises to genuinely thrill and chill.



Forbidden
(The Book of Mortals #1)
by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee
New York Times bestselling author Ted Dekker teams with Tosca Lee to create this gripping thriller set in a desolate future.

A terrible truth has been revealed to one man: the entire human race has been drained of every emotion except one— fear. To bring life back to the world, Rom must embark on a journey that will end either in his own demise or a reawkening of humanity. But to bring love and passion back into existence will also threaten the powers of the world with the revolution and anarchy that had nearly destroyed them previously.

After happening upon a journal through strange circumstance, Rom's world is shattered. He learns that humanity long ago ceased to "live," that it exists today in a living death of emotions. In a terrible risk, Rom exposes himself to the vial of blood folded into the old leather of the journal. His change is fearful and fraught with mind-bending emotion. A once-pious observer of the Order's passionless statues, he is filled with uncontrollable impulses. He is filled with love.

He is undone, terrified, and alone in the desolate world.


Drowned in the Grenadine
by Dan Gilvezan

Fancy cars, a loving wife, a designer home in the Hollywood Hills. Nathan Lindeman had it all, lost it all, and now he’s desperate to get it back. They say there are no second acts in show business, but they just may be wrong. There’s a new TV sitcom being cast that’s virtually guaranteed to go to series, and Nathan has a shot at snagging one of the lead roles. If, that is, he can survive the perils and pitfalls that threaten to derail him along the way.

Follow Nathan on his journey, and learn the way things really work behind the scenes of the Hollywood dream machine, as he deals with teenage casting directors, soulless network execs, egomaniacal fellow performers, hucksters and thieves, a cast of characters so bizarre and otherworldly they could only be based in reality.
By turns funny, sad, heartbreaking and heartfelt, Drowned in the Grenadine explores America’s fascination with celebrity, the nature of success and what it means to be both a father and a son.


Rippler
(The Ripple Series #1)
by Cidney Swanson

Samantha Ruiz has a freak gene that makes her turn invisible, or ripple. She can’t control it, and it’s getting worse. Afraid of becoming a lab-rat, Sam keeps her ability secret, until fellow runner Will Baker sees her vanish into thin air. Will promises secrecy and help, and Sam begins to fall in love. Together, the two discover there are worse things than being a scientific curiosity. Someone’s been killing people who possess Sam's gene. A mysterious man from France sends letters that offer hope for safety, but also reveal a sinister connection with Nazi experiments. The more time Sam spends with Will, the less she can imagine life without him. When Sam uncovers secrets from her past, she must choose between keeping Will in her life or keeping Will safe.

 


Vampyre Kisses
(The Last Witch #1)
by Elizabeth J. Kolodziej
 
Vampyre Kisses is an enthralling story about a young woman named Faith, who seems content with her life, but deep down craves more excitement. Then a mysterious man named Trent enters her world and everything changes. Surprising to Faith, Trent is a green-eyed vampire from Ireland. She is even more amazed to find out that she is a witch, and the last of her kind.

Faith learns that she is destined to restore her witch line and becomes more powerful as she gains confidence and knowledge, but danger lurks everywhere -- especially when unknown assailants steal the most important gems from the vampire master and werewolf royalty.

Now surrounded by a world filled with mystifying vampires and werewolves, can Faith gain enough power to help her friends and rescue the stolen gems?
   


Werewolf Descent
 (The Last Witch #2)
by Elizabeth J. Kolodziej

Last witch in the world, Faith Scott, and her Irish vampire boyfriend Trent have just come back from fighting for their lives to recover the Vampiric Blood gem and Werewolf Moon gem. Thinking they could finally relax and work on the romance growing between them, they now meet a mysterious psychic vampire named Vincent who has his heart set on being with Faith.

Soon bizarre killings of Zou Tai's werewolf pack begin, with rumors of an alchemist possessing the famed philosophers stone being the assailant; which, causes Faith to turn to Vincent for help in figuring out why the werewolves are being murdered.
It isn't long before all those around them test Trent and Faith's love, along with their abilities, once again. It is all Trent can do to keep Faith safe by his side while both go up against a deadly alchemist, deceptive gods, and having to rescue the werewolf prince; yet, after a deal with the God of Werewolves will Trent be able to save himself too?



An Accidental Mother
by Katherine Anne Kindred

After her divorce, Kate Kindred decided that she would live her life without children. But then she fell in love with Jim, a handsome, caring man who had custody of his young son, Michael. And she fell in love with the boy, too. During the six years they all lived together, Kate learned the deep joys of motherhood that was the gift that Michael gave her. But when her relationship with Jim ended, he denied her any contact with Michael. And her heart was broken. An Accidental Mother beautifully describes the joys of mothering a young boy through complicated times. With sweet simple anecdotes and complex emotions, Kate Kindred marks every page with tears, including those that the most loving laughter can bring to any parent.


Reversible Skirt
by Laura McHale Holland

When the mother of three little girls commits suicide, their father wants more than anything to keep his family together. He remarries in haste and tells his daughters his new wife is their mother. The youngest, Laura, believes her mother must have gone through a kind of magical transformation.

Reversible Skirt is written from Laura's perspective as a child sifting through remnants of her mother's existence and struggling to fit into a community where her family's strict rules are not the norm. When Laura's father dies, her stepmother grows increasingly abusive, which propels Laura and her sisters into a lasting alliance. Their father's wish that they stay together comes true, although not in the way he'd imagined.

What books came home to you last week?

Friday, August 5, 2011

Friday Finds (Aug 5, 2011)


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

Delirium
by Lauren Oliver

They say that the cure for love will make me happy and safe forever. And I've always believed them.

Until now.

Now everything has changed.  I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years smothered by a lie.




Unsaid
by Neil Abramson


UNSAID is told from the perspective of Helena Colden, a veterinarian who has just died of breast cancer. Helena is forced to witness the rapid emotional deterioration of her husband David. With Helena's passing, David, a successful Manhattan attorney, loses the only connection that made his life full. He tries to carry on the life that Helena had created for them, but he is too grief-stricken, too angry, and too quickly reabsorbed into the demands of his career. Helena's animals likewise struggle with the loss of their understanding and compassionate human companion. Because of Helena, David becomes involved in a court case to save the life of a chimpanzee that may hold the key to unlocking the mysteries of animals consciousness. Through this case all the threads of Helena's life entwine and explode - unexpectedly, painfully, beautifully. 





A Small Hotel
by Robert Olen Butler




Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Olen Butler has written fiction about farranging topics including hell, extraterrestrials, and the Vietnam War. With A Small Hotel, his twelfth novel, he has turned his attention to a new topic—the complexities of a male-female relationship—and delivers a beautifully told story of love, loss, and redemption.

Set in contemporary New Orleans but working its way back in time, A Small Hotel chronicles the relationship between Michael and Kelly Hayes, who have decided to separate after twenty years of marriage. The book begins on the day that the Hays are to finalize their divorce. Kelly is due to be in court, but instead she drives from her home in Pensacola, Florida, across the panhandle to New Orleans and checks into Room 303 at the Olivier House in the city’s French Quarter—the hotel where she and Michael fell in love some twenty years earlier and where she now finds herself about to make a decision that will forever affect her, Michael, and their nineteen-year-old daughter, Samantha.

Butler masterfully weaves scenes of the present with memories from both the viewpoint of Michael and Kelly—scenes that span twenty years, taking the reader back to critical moments in the couple’s relationship and showing two people deeply in love but also struggling with their own insecurities and inabilities to express this love.

An intelligent, deeply moving, and remarkably written portrait of a relationship that reads as a cross between a romance novel and a literary page turner, A Small Hotel is a masterful story that will remind readers once again why Robert Olen Butler has been called the “best living American writer” (Jeff Guinn, Fort Worth Star-Telegram).

Did you find anything good this week?

Wither by Lauren DeStefano (Book Review)

Title: Wither (The Chemical Garden Trilogy)
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing

In the not-too-distant future, because of genetic engineering, every human is a ticking time bomb - males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty.  To keep the population from dying out, girls are kidnapped and sold into polygamous marriages.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine is taken, she enters a world of wealth and privilege that both entices and terrifies her.  She has everything she ever wanted -- except freedom.  With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to escape before it is too late.

My thoughts: This was a super dystopian novel that I had a hard time putting down.  Rhine shares her world with two sister wives, Cicely (younger) and Jenna (older).  The three of them are "married" too Linden - son of the wealthy and devious man.  There is no love in the marriages though.  Linden only loved his childhood friend Rose who makes a brief appearance in the beginning of the book.  He is married to these three by his (evil) father in hopes of procreating. 

The girls in this time period are not given any choices.  They are rounded up by the wealthy and either shot or sold depending on their looks and health.  Rhine is kidnapped and leaves behind a brother who has no idea what has happened to her.  She is not happy with her marriage but is doing the best she can to cope.  She meets Gabriel, a servant in the mansion and they become friends. He is the one thing that she looks forward too.

Though the story is mainly about Rhine, Jenna and Cicely are also well-rounded characters.  I particularly liked Cicely.  For some reason I pictured her as the Kirsten Dunst character in Interview with the Vampire.  A grown-up - albeit a spoiled one - in a child's body. 

I don't think of myself as a fan of dystopian - but every one that I have read I have really enjoyed.  I think that I am going to have to start searching them out more! There is a rating of 14 and older for this book, and because of the subject matter that it deals with, I think I would have to agree with that. 


Wither (The Chemical Garden Trilogy)
Publisher/Publication Date: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
ISBN: 9781442418646
358 pages


Thursday, August 4, 2011

Chasing the Red Car by Ellen Ruderman - Giveaway!


Chasing the Red Car
by Ellen Ruderman

Transplanted from her home in the Bronx to the burgeoning San Fernando valley of 1947, Kim Lebow is faced with trouble on every side.  Her home life is rocky and emotionally unpredictable, while the McCarthy era communist witch hunts strike all around, threatening Kim's father and even reaching into her high school.

The political struggles and personal cataclysms that follow change Kim from an open and caring young girl into a political activist and educator, while leaving emotional scars that only time, and the return of the great love of her life, are able to heal.

Drawing parallels between the political repression of the 1950s and the abuses of executive power after 9/11, Chasing the Red Car reminds us that all politics is personal, and that the truth of George Santayana's maxim about history repeating itself can be seen all around us every day.

About the author: Ellen G. Ruderman, PhD, is a psychoanalyst and mental health consultant who has published numerous books and articles about the
challenges of women's quest for autonomy in professional and familial
relationships. CHASING THE RED CAR is her first novel. She holds a
private practice in Encino, CA. Please visit www.chasingtheredcar.com
for more info.
Thanks to Julia Drake PR and the author, I have one copy of this book to giveaway.  To enter, please fill out the entry form - links will be checked, so please be sure to leave them.

Past Midnight by Mara Purnhagen (Book Review)

Title: Past Midnight
Author: Mara Purnhagen
Publisher: Harlequin Teen

About the book: Let me set the record straight. My name is Charlotte Silver and I'm not one of those paranormal-obsessed freaks you see on TV…no, those would be my parents, who have their own ghost-hunting reality show. And while I'm usually roped into the behind-the-scenes work, it turns out that I haven't gone unnoticed. Something happened on my parents' research trip in Charleston—and now I'm being stalked by some truly frightening other beings. Trying to fit into a new school and keeping my parents' creepy occupation a secret from my friends—and potential boyfriends—is hard enough without having angry spirits whispering in my ear. All I ever wanted was to be normal, but with ghosts of my past and present colliding, now I just want to make it out of high school alive….


My thoughts: This was a very quick and fun read.  Charlotte's character is very likable - she is a young girl just trying to fit in.  Because she has been a little ostracized all her life, she is very accepting of other people.

Her older sister Annalise has roped her parents into settling down for Charlotte's senior year of high school.  This is both good and bad for Charlotte.  It is good because she is finally able to live in a "new" house and not a gothic or victorian haunted house.  She is also able to start to fit in and make friends at school.  However, when her parents appear on the cover of the local tv schedule publication, she will have to face what she feels is their "weird" celebrity status.

Charlotte has some good friends in Avery - her next door neighbor and Noah, a boy from her AV class.  I liked the way that secrets were revealed throughout the book among them.

You also get to learn about how paranormal activity is recorded with heat sensing monitors and EMF (electro magnetic field) readers and microphones to catch electronic voice phenomena or EVP's.

I have already read the next book - or novella in the series - Raising the Dead.

~My daughter received a complimentary copy of this book from Harlequin Teen - She liked it probably more than I did!~

Past Midnight (Harlequin Teen)
Publisher/Publication Date: Harlequin Teen, Sept 2010
ISBN: 978-0373210206
224 pages

First Wild Card Tour: 52 Ways to Wow Your Husband by Pam Farrell

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

My thoughts: I have been reading this book for the last week, while trying to keep it hidden from my husband, which I was able to do successfully.  Then tonight, I sit down to write this post with the book beside me and my husband comes over and picks it up and says "Have you read this yet?"  with a big smile.  He then told me I wow him everyday . .    :)  I just couldn't believe that after I had hid it all week he see's it tonight!  But anyway - let me tell you about the book.

This book has 52 chapters - (52 weeks) - with a different idea for something special you can do to "wow" your husband.   You can get a better idea of this by reading the first chapter below.  For me, the book just opened my eyes  to how little I know about certain areas of my husband's life.  I remember doing all sorts of fun stuff outside the house before our youngest son came along and how quickly our together time has been squashed for family time.  Family time is important - but we need to be strong together before we can be strong together as a family.  I am going to be spending the next few weeks really paying attention to what my husband does in his free time, what he does to relax, what some of his favorites are - and then I am going to be preparing some "wow" dates.  I have already started devising some things I can do in October - as that is the month that we started dating.  This book definitely has the ability to draw us closer together, and I am looking forward to it!

Today's Wild Card author is:


and the book:

Harvest House Publishers (August 1, 2011)
***Special thanks to Catherine Miller, Marketing Assistant, Harvest House Publishers for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Pam Farrel and her husband, Bill, are cofounders and codirectors of Masterful Living, an organization that provides practical insights for personal relationships. The Farrels are also regular relationship columnists. As coauthors their books include Men Are Like Waffles—Women Are Like Spaghetti, The 10 Best Decisions Every Parent Can Make, and Red-Hot Monogamy. In addition Pam has written Fantastic After 40! and The 10 Best Decisions a Woman Can Make. The Farrels have been married more than 30 years and have three children and a daughter-in-law.

Visit the author's website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:



With her trademark humor and godly wisdom, bestselling author Pam Farrel inspires women to add the wow-factor to their marriages and lives through 52 clever ideas for dates, meals, getaways, and daily expressions of love. A spark of fun and refreshment for newlyweds, married with kids, or empty nesters.




Love Wise Intro from Bill & Pam Farrel on Vimeo.


Product Details:

List Price: $10.99
Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers (August 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0736937803
ISBN-13: 978-0736937801

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

WOW 1

The Recharger Box


What a man finds romantic is a woman who will lower his stress! In Men Are Like Waffles—Women Are Like Spaghetti, I explain that men go to their favorite easy boxes to rest and recharge. God helped us women recognize these easy boxes in that most of them are shaped like boxes—the TV screen, the newspaper, the garage, the Xbox, the computer screen, the football field, the baseball diamond, the basketball court, the refrigerator, and the bed. The bed box (also known as the sex box) is a husband’s favorite box to go to when he is stressed out. This box or square is kind of like the center square on a bingo card, and a man can get to that box from every other square on his waffle.

Wow Assignment

Find out your man’s favorite easy box he goes to for recharging. Here are some ways to discover this vital information:

If given thirty minutes of dead time, what does he do?
If he were given a day off, where would he like to go?
What does he do now when stressed?
What does he watch on TV when relaxing? (Sports? Movies? Adventures? Fix-it shows?)
Kendra Smiley and her husband, John, wrote Do Your Kids a Favor…Love Your Spouse. John was wowed unexpectedly by Kendra with his all-time favorite box:

I’ve been a Green Bay Packers fan for years and transferred that enthusiasm to our three teenage sons. I never imagined I would actually be able to see a game at Lambeau Field because legend has it that the only way to get tickets is to inherit them when someone dies. But legends don’t stop Kendra! She called the ticket office, asking about the purchase of five tickets for the last home game of the season. After the laughter died down (I guess there was some truth to the legend), they referred her to an agency offering “Weekend Packages.” She knew we couldn’t afford all the extras of a package, and somehow she managed to convince the woman at that office to simply sell her five tickets. She gave me a gift that took her time, her effort, and a little bit of her charming persuasion. What a great model for our kids!

My man’s favorite easy box is: ________________________

Wow Wisdom

Pray and thank God for your husband. Often we women push, push, push our spouse to be more productive or work on our “honey-do” list even on his day off. If you keep pushing, he might begin to see you as a mother or a boss, not a wife and lover. A husband who gets pushed to do too many things he doesn’t enjoy will exhaust himself emotionally and grow distant from his wife. Think about how much better your life is when you are connected with your lover!

Instead of resenting your “waffleman” for needing to recharge, thank God he has a box to recharge in so he can maintain the energy to keep up with you! As Paul reminds us, “In everything give thanks” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 nasb).

Wow Date

Make him breakfast in bed and serve waffles. Give him a note for one free day off to do whatever he wants—to enjoy his favorite “waffle box(es).” Include a gift card for something that helps him recharge. While you’re there in bed, why not enjoy some “bingo”? Remember, for most men, bingo is the number one recharger box.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

eBook Deals this week from Sourcebook

Here are some ebook deals running until 8/8 from Sourcebooks.  The first two on the list I can personally tell you are very good - you should check them out!



In honor of The Vampire Next Door, book 3 in the sassy paranormal romance series by Ashlyn Chase, book 1, STRANGE NEIGHBORS will be available for FREE from 8/2/11-8/8/11! How can a who is witch afraid of the dark and a vampire who can’t survive in sunlight find a way to be together?












Jeanette Baker is a beloved romance author, and Sourcebooks Casablanca is proud to be bringing her books back in print! With Catriona, a captivating tale of love, danger, and a passion that endures across the boundaries of time, heading back into stores this month, LEGACY will be available for FREE from 8/2/11-8/8/11!!













Are you looking for an adventurous book full of goblins, pixies, fairies and more? Book 2 by Jennifer A. Nielsen, Elliot and the Pixie Plot, hits stores this month but you can start the series from the beginning for FREE this week only (8/2/11-8/8/11) by reading ELLIOT AND THE GOBLIN WAR.











Would you like to brush up on your vocab skills? Or perhaps you know a high school graduate or current student getting ready to head back to school… Download these two reference/study aids to have the best conversation skills in town—not to mention it helps out with testing and college admissions! Fiske 250 Words Every High School Graduate Needs to Know and Fiske 250 Words Every High School Freshman Needs to Know will both be available for $1.99 for two weeks, 8/2/11-8/15/11!

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

RETRIBUTION - Book Trailer and Giveaway (Closed)


by Sherrilyn Kenyon

"...Harm no human…

A hired gunslinger, William Jessup Brady lived his life with one foot in the grave. He believed that every life had a price. Until the day when he finally found a reason to live. In one single act of brutal betrayal, he lost everything, including his life. Brought back by a Greek goddess to be one of her Dark-Hunters, he gave his immortal soul for vengeance and swore he’d spend eternity protecting the humans he’d once considered prey.

Orphaned as a toddler, Abigail Yager was taken in by a family of vampires and raised on one belief- Dark-Hunters are the evil who prey on both their people and mankind, and they must all be destroyed. While protecting her adoptive race, she has spent her life eliminating the Dark-Hunters..."







This giveaway is now closed.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Reality

Well, if you have been reading my blog for any amount of time, you will have realized that my posting has gone down in the last six months to just the bare minimum.  I wanted to take a minute of your time to let you know what was going on in our lives (and ask for prayer - if you are the praying type).

In April, we found out that our 16 year old daughter was pregnant.  It definitely threw our family for a loop.  Pretty much sucked the air out of any energy I had for reading/blogging.  At first, she was very adamant about keeping the child (a girl) and raising her, finishing high school, going to college.  We didn't feel that we could discourage her one way or the other, as we didn't want her to resent us for making her give up the baby/or keep the baby.  This needed to be her decision.

As time has passed though, our daughter has decided to enter into an open adoption with my sister and BIL.  They have been trying to have a baby for years, and had even tried to adopt a baby from Haiti, but with no luck. She has realized that with school and work, that her baby would be spending more time with caregivers than with her and so feels this would be the best thing for the baby.

My emotions have been all over the place. (and we won't even talk about how my husband has been feeling)  Once I had accepted the fact that she was actually pregnant (well - still haven't fully accepted that. . .) and that she wanted to raise the baby I tried to come to terms with what my role was going to be in this child's life.  I knew that even though I said that SHE was going to be the baby's mother, that a lot of the child's care was going to fall to me.  Made me realize that I really did not want to have another baby.   Then when she decided to pursue the adoption, it took me awhile to accept the fact that the baby was NOT going to be here.  Because she is being adopted by my sister though, I still get to be a grandma (as well as an aunt. . .) 

I know that the closer her due date comes (10/29) the harder everything is going to become.  I am not sure how much of a support system that I am going to be for my daughter after the baby is born and goes home with my sister - as I cry at kleenex commercials.   Her first day of school is coming up in a couple of weeks - she will be starting her junior year of h.s. - and she is a little worried how people are going to act around her/with her.  She wasn't really showing when school ended last year, and she is definitely showing now.  I don't think she realizes how much bigger she is going to get in the next 3 months.  So please just keep us in your prayers.

So, as to blogging - my reading has been picking up, but I have been very slow with reviews.  I hope to begin to get caught up on reviews this month and my goal is to be fully functioning blogwise again by Sept 1.  So, if you have stuck with me through this hiatus - thank you so much, and if you have just recently started reading my blog - please stay tuned! 

Ignore the date in the picture - finally figured out how to change my camera!  Here is a pic of my daughter as we waited for a boat last week on vacation to take us to Shell Key. (We were in St. Pete's, FL)

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