tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23818648124987802762024-03-13T06:30:15.747-07:00A Circle of BooksTonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.comBlogger320125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381864812498780276.post-33650052190203690722014-07-14T16:00:00.003-07:002014-07-14T16:00:53.322-07:00PASSWORD RECOVERED!!!Hello to all!<br />
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I have struggled for months and months to get my password associated with this blog. In the end I lost. I am now blogging, rather leisurely at www.thesoapyviolinist.blogspot.com. Because I make soap and play the violin now.<br />
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I really hope to see some of my good ole blog friends at the new site and get reacquainted with you all.<br />
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I am actually starting to read again... solo and with a group. I have stacks of books to review and enjoy. Focus on the Enjoy part!<br />
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As of this day... I cracked the code for this blog and my hound dog Blog! I am a bit excited to say the least!<br />
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I hope soon to update the Hound Dog Blog.<br />
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If all was easy.. I'd combine this blog and my followers from here and just have one nice long blog from the past.. but it is not easy (for me) As of now it seems I have two Google Plus accounts.. (as if I can even understand that whole process... )<br />
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Well I have to say it was cozy to log into my old stomping ground. It was hard to let go and start that other blog and just sort of write into no where land, but it seems hard to go back to the past. I don't read a lot of book reviews now or review a lot of books. I suppose a change has come. It came along time ago, just when I will get used to it? I am not quite sure about that.<br />
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The older I get the more slow to accept change, even though it is happening, and there isn't a thing I can do to stop it. <br />
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I like to cook, garden and I am still knitting and updating my life as a new musician and soap maker on the other blog. Please feel free to visit me, I miss you all.<br />
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Thanks for reading.<br />
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Love and Sunshine,<br />
ToniTonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381864812498780276.post-68787610851441546302012-07-23T16:00:00.001-07:002012-07-23T16:00:03.031-07:00New Books -Summer 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Summer brings good opportunities for reading and I have been remiss to post some great new reads I received to review. Still on an on and off reading drought. <br />
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<b>Reading News:</b><br />
I finished the<b><i> Hunger Games Series </i></b>and was pleased. I didn't post a review on the final on because it would just spoil it even to mention who is in the book. Interesting series. Every now and again I can get caught up with the end of the world and the survival of different groups of people. It is thought provoking, but a little depressing. <br />
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I am in the middle of Sidney Sheldon's <i><b>Angel of Darkness.</b></i> It is good. A little scary for me, but it is good and they are on the killers trail. So I need to finish it. I might have paused on this on because I figured it out early....but you never know!<br />
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<b>Violin news!</b><br />
Yes, it is true when I am not knitting or reading I am playing the violin. I am into it 7 months and I am truly enjoying it. I had my first recital. Yes, you heard that... all the little ones and OLD me. It was terrifying but fun, but terrifying, but motivating, and did I mention terrifying? <br />
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<b>Dexter News!</b><br />
My best pal and Editor friend Dex is doing great. He is approaching four years old and he is just the best dog ever. <br />
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That is about as much as an update as I have for now. <br />
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Thanks to Penguin, and Harper Collins for the books to review. <br />
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<br />Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381864812498780276.post-29751128806060933092012-04-17T10:06:00.003-07:002012-04-19T14:11:01.500-07:00Half a Life, a memoir, by Darin Strauss - A review by Toni<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xH-_edDFYnM/T42PZ63As8I/AAAAAAAABXw/yklRZYMnuSw/s1600/halfalifepaperback.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xH-_edDFYnM/T42PZ63As8I/AAAAAAAABXw/yklRZYMnuSw/s320/halfalifepaperback.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>I sat down and read this book a week ago, on a Thursday. I read the book in one sitting. The writing style is magnificent and resonates as sincere and honest. The memoir is articulated in a very deep, and moving way. "Half my life ago, I killed a girl." When Darin Strauss is 18, he is driving with friends in a car and a girl on a bike swerves across two lanes into his car and she dies. The book is about a half a life of thoughts, actions, and memories all connected to a single life altering instance in this young man's life. It is powerful and emotionally rich. It is one of the best bits of honest prose that I have read in a long time. You can open up the book on any given page and find a piece of incredible soulful writing.<br />
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I received this advanced readers edition of the book a year ago from Random House.<br />
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*** photo taken from the <a href="http://www.darinstrauss.com/">Author's Website.</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i>edited for a correct link and grammar.. sheesh!</i></b></span>Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381864812498780276.post-47864042538386242592012-04-03T09:24:00.001-07:002012-04-03T09:43:48.330-07:00Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins - A Review by Toni<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oMkZAaTSgkM/T3shmwiC5pI/AAAAAAAABXo/AqJjHv3v0Wg/s1600/200px-Catching_fire.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oMkZAaTSgkM/T3shmwiC5pI/AAAAAAAABXo/AqJjHv3v0Wg/s1600/200px-Catching_fire.JPG" /></a></div>This is the second book in The Hunger Games Series. As the story opened up, I did not have any idea where the story was going to go. I did not have any clue what was going to happen in this book at all! And I am not going to spoil it now that I do know. Once the book got going, it was a complete page turner until the end. There were a lot of "wow" moments, tons of action, and quite a cliffhanger ending. It was great reading. I really enjoyed it. This book should translate well onto the big screen. I had planned to take a break and read something else, but Mockingjay is already loaded on my Ipad and I started it last night. I have no idea what the next book holds, but I am very excited to read on.<br />
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Thanks for stopping by!<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: magenta;">Toni</span></i></span>Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381864812498780276.post-11000014282955943282012-03-31T10:16:00.000-07:002012-03-31T10:16:13.092-07:00The Hunger Games - a review by ToniThe Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.<br />
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I enjoyed this book. I have been in a reading slump for quite sometime. This book really got me reading and turning pages fast. Reading this book actually was in competition for my knitting and violin playing. At first I was in a bit of an alarm, thinking that it might be too graphic or too unimaginably horrific to read. I quickly warmed up to the characters and the main theme. I enjoyed a lot of the aspects of the book. The survivalist parts of the book were compelling also. I am thankful that the book was not overly graphic in any way as I would not have been able to read. So at the end of the book, I had only one option left. And that was to quickly download Catching Fire!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Mjq0JNJ9a44/T3c7l9vPaOI/AAAAAAAABXU/zTIKMubqrZU/s1600/200px-Hunger_games.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Mjq0JNJ9a44/T3c7l9vPaOI/AAAAAAAABXU/zTIKMubqrZU/s1600/200px-Hunger_games.jpg" /></a></div>Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381864812498780276.post-13965984233464338552012-03-27T16:27:00.000-07:002012-03-27T16:27:47.887-07:00Twilight reread and New Books- Algonquin - 3/27/2012Hello!<br />
I rarely reread books. Let alone YA fiction...let alone... vampire books. However, this past week I decided to delve into <b>Twilight </b>about 3 years later to see what I thought now. I had picked up a Valentines Day special $2.99 Kindle edition book. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L-K-xiw8mOQ/T3JLIN6w7KI/AAAAAAAABXM/p2gbEuDPjXo/s1600/Twilight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L-K-xiw8mOQ/T3JLIN6w7KI/AAAAAAAABXM/p2gbEuDPjXo/s1600/Twilight.jpg" /></a></div>I won't go into full review detail again, but there were parts that I had forgotten and I liked it! Parts that were left out in the movie, were very good in the book. (I am sure I have watched the movie 10 times or so) To note a few: How Dr. Cullen came into existence was left out of the movie; also the key part of the story that links Alice's change into a vampire that really spurned on Jame's obsession with killing Bella. I read it slowly and took the time to note the vocabulary and characters. <br />
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I think the book is a fine young adult book. I would recommend it as a young adult read. I think aside from the plot there are great references to classical music, literature, and history. Not bad for a sappy vampire love story. <br />
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I will not be rereading the other books. Twilight was my favorite read from the series and I enjoy the movie too. I loved all the direct quotes from the book that were inculcated into the movie. The movies that follow in the series seem to have less of that, which is okay, because I believe the other books needed sprucing up. I was glad the writing for the big screen took liberties with the stories. <br />
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I am looking for a series to read, and true to my character, always years behind everyone else, I just downloaded <b>Hunger Games.</b> I know absolutely nothing about the books, series or movies. All the blogging reviews from a few years ago is a distant memory, except, where there is smoke there is fire, so I am expecting good things from the series. <br />
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And then I'd like to note that a few books arrived at my house. Thank you<a href="http://www.workman.com/"> Algonquin.</a><br />
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The Aleppo Codex by Matti Friedman<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RaVQ3CRyUKA/T3JHfC-IZfI/AAAAAAAABW8/63CvPc9beSo/s1600/The+Aleppo+Codex.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RaVQ3CRyUKA/T3JHfC-IZfI/AAAAAAAABW8/63CvPc9beSo/s1600/The+Aleppo+Codex.jpg" /></a></div>Coming May 15th. For Details<a href="http://www.workman.com/products/9781616200404/unpublished_endorsement.html"> click on this Link</a>.<br />
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And<br />
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The Coldest Night, Robert Olmstead<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h2DgilKhoJY/T3JISAMiZtI/AAAAAAAABXE/36kYapBPFQU/s1600/The+Coldest+Night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h2DgilKhoJY/T3JISAMiZtI/AAAAAAAABXE/36kYapBPFQU/s1600/The+Coldest+Night.jpg" /></a></div><a href="http://www.workman.com/products/9781616200435/">Here</a> is the link about this book. <br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Thanks for stopping by.</span><br />
<i style="color: magenta;"><span style="font-size: large;">Toni</span></i>Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381864812498780276.post-18256588686213508632012-02-17T13:03:00.000-08:002012-02-17T13:03:08.023-08:00New Books - AlgonquinI have had nice selection of books arrive in my mailbox to keep me busy reading this Spring. Thank you <a href="http://www.workman.com/algonquin/">Algonquin</a>.<br />
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One that was especially exciting for me is:<br />
<a href="http://www.workman.com/products/9781611747638/"><b><i>Heading Out to Wonderful </i>by Robert Goolrick.</b></a> (remember A Reliable Wife?) I already started this one and it starts out interesting and it holds great promise as a good read. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GpnaF7gjsGc/Tz686Baer6I/AAAAAAAABV8/w0kLt2rLA9M/s1600/Heading+out+to+wonderful.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GpnaF7gjsGc/Tz686Baer6I/AAAAAAAABV8/w0kLt2rLA9M/s1600/Heading+out+to+wonderful.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<b><i>And here are the others I received.</i></b><br />
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<b><a href="http://www.algonquinbooksblog.com/tag/until-the-next-time/"><i>Until the Next Time</i>, by Kevin Fox</a></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mZ-yjqZGDwE/Tz69fQ-ktDI/AAAAAAAABWE/ttvLLuskbGA/s1600/Until+the+next+time.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mZ-yjqZGDwE/Tz69fQ-ktDI/AAAAAAAABWE/ttvLLuskbGA/s1600/Until+the+next+time.jpg" /></a></div><a href="http://www.workman.com/products/9781616200428/"><b><i>Running the Rift</i>, by Naomi Benaron</b></a><br />
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<a href="http://janetgroth.com/bookjacket.html"><b><i>The Receptionist,</i> Janet Groth</b></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ozUiGI7z7uo/Tz6-tF8ACNI/AAAAAAAABWU/66iNb7CdvWQ/s1600/The+Receptionist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ozUiGI7z7uo/Tz6-tF8ACNI/AAAAAAAABWU/66iNb7CdvWQ/s320/The+Receptionist.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />
<a href="http://www.workman.com/products/9781616201302/"><b><i>A Wedding in Haiti</i>, Julia Alvarez</b></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KgL0KD9NqhI/Tz6-9c-8KXI/AAAAAAAABWc/lC0hX0nlkVM/s1600/A+wedding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KgL0KD9NqhI/Tz6-9c-8KXI/AAAAAAAABWc/lC0hX0nlkVM/s1600/A+wedding.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.algonquinbooksblog.com/blog/west-of-here-now-in-paperback/"><b><i>West of Here,</i> by Jonathan Evision</b> </a>(Paperback). My son gave this book a five star rating.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ftqsJi_2Q3o/Tz6_afgIjUI/AAAAAAAABWk/gwLHLrD2ZZ4/s1600/West+of+Here.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ftqsJi_2Q3o/Tz6_afgIjUI/AAAAAAAABWk/gwLHLrD2ZZ4/s320/West+of+Here.jpg" width="211" /></a></i></div><a href="http://www.workman.com/products/9781616200770/"><b><i>All Woman and Springtime</i> by Brandon W. Jones</b></a><br />
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Happy February and Spring to all. I am still looking forward to catching up on blogs and books. Thanks for popping in!<br />
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ToniTonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381864812498780276.post-32216554096403094382012-01-26T11:56:00.000-08:002012-01-26T11:56:50.156-08:00Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen - Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SMwiWZQm4YQ/TyGsKWrng5I/AAAAAAAABV0/b6MbR9-yNlU/s1600/Water_for_elephants.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SMwiWZQm4YQ/TyGsKWrng5I/AAAAAAAABV0/b6MbR9-yNlU/s1600/Water_for_elephants.jpg" /></a></div>I finished reading this book after the first of this year. I really enjoyed this book. GREAT storytelling, and a few adorable characters made the book one of my favorites in a long time. I adored the book. There are heartbreaking parts in the story, and I had a hard time as I grimaced through the animal abuse. But it added a validity and realness to the story. It was a beautiful story.<br />
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I give this book five stars. And I have to note that I watched the movie within a week or so of finishing the book. It was wonderful. Almost as good as the book. The circus essence of the story was not lost in the movie. The book, however, had a special message about aging that was not presented in the movie.<br />
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Happy New Year to all. <br />
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2012 is here!!!! I am still reading, knitting, spinning and now learning to play the violin. (so very exciting)<br />
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I have some books to announce and I hope to host a few giveaways. I am still out here, ever so quietly.<br />
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Cheers!!!<br />
ToniTonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381864812498780276.post-54222776673270997262011-11-21T19:39:00.001-08:002011-11-21T19:39:01.582-08:00Maine by J. Courtney SullivanI bought this and read it on my IPad. I enjoyed this book tremendously. To talk out it in detail is to spoil. There are not many big reveal plots in the story, it is just life. The life of women in a family. Three generations, four different woman.<br /><br />It is a great book club read or girlfriend, mother-sister read. Guys might like it too, I just don't know any that would so I hasten to recommend. But I do not feel this was "chick lit."<br /><br />It filled my need to read and veg and "visit" another family and "get away."<br /><br />Think it would be a good summer read. Enjoy!<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/11/21/2975.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/11/21/s_2975.jpg' border='0' width='187' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />- Posted from my iPad<br />Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381864812498780276.post-81467011763482087862011-08-10T19:09:00.000-07:002011-08-10T19:09:40.604-07:00When She Woke by Hillary Jordan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KakalcKjtJE/TkM3VHovuUI/AAAAAAAABUs/4sU5v-20QOI/s1600/when+she+woke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KakalcKjtJE/TkM3VHovuUI/AAAAAAAABUs/4sU5v-20QOI/s320/when+she+woke.jpg" width="211" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I got this book on my doorstep the other day and I opened it up and absolutely could not wait to start reading it. I just wanted to put everything down and go read. I am over half way through and I am completely enticed and riveted with the story and the characters. Food for thought? oh yes!!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Thank you Algonquin Books for sending this Advanced Reader Copy to me. This book comes out in stores October 4th. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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From the author whose international bestseller, <em><a href="http://www.workman.com/products/9781565126770/">Mudbound</a>,</em> so hauntingly re-created America’s past comes a stunning creation of America in the near future, where faith, love, and sexuality have fallen prey to politics.<br />
Hannah Payne’s life has been devoted to church and family, but after her arrest, she awakens to a nightmare: she is lying on a table in a bare room, covered only by a paper gown, and cameras are broadcasting her every move to millions at home, for home observing new Chromes<em>—</em>criminals whose skin color has been genetically altered to match the class of their crime<em>—</em>is a new and sinister form of entertainment. Hannah is a Red; her crime is murder. The victim, says the state of Texas, was her unborn child, and Hannah is determined to protect the identity of the father<em>—</em>a public figure with whom she’s shared a fierce and forbidden love.<br />
<em>When She Woke </em> is a stunning story about a stigmatized woman struggling to navigate an America of a not-too-distant future, where the line between church and state has been eradicated and convicted felons are released back into the population after being “chromed.” In seeking a path to safety in an alien and hostile world, Hannah unknowingly embarks on a path of self-discovery that forces her to question the values she has held true and the righteousness of a country that politicizes the personal.<br />
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<strong>Praise from Booksellers<br />
</strong><br />
“I can’t wait to put <em>When She Woke</em> into everybody’s hands. Bravo to Hilary Jordan. “<strong> —Roberta Rubin, The Bookstall at Chestnut Court, Winnetka, IL<br />
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“<em>When She Woke</em> is a masterpiece . . . It is powerful, compelling, sensitive, and poignant. I read it in one sitting.”<strong> —Bill Cusumano, Nicola’s Books, Ann Arbor, MI</strong><br />
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“Be prepared to lose sleep over the too-close-to-reality aspects of this beautifully written novel. Hillary Jordan’s <em>When She Woke</em> delves and connects and exposes in profound ways.”<strong> —Dana Brigham, Brookline Booksmith, Brookline, MA</strong><br />
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“A novel that will inspire a provocative discussion among readers.” —<strong>Michele Filgate, McNally Jackson Books, New York, NY</strong><br />
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“<em>When She Woke</em> is a page turner. Just as Jordan so beautifully wrote about the injustice and tragedies of racism in America in her last novel, <em>Mudbound</em>, she now artfully exposes the injustices and heartbreak caused by religious extremism that, as she demonstrates in <em>When She Woke</em>, can arise from any rigid doctrine, even in heartland America.”<strong> —Cathy Langer, Tattered Cover Book Store, Denver, CO</strong><br />
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“Wow! What a read! <em>When She Woke</em> has everything good and delicious that one wants in a book: great characters, steady plotting, and a thought-provoking, heart-wrenching, compelling, and unsettling story.” <strong>—Melinda Powers, Capitola Book Café, Capitola, CA</strong><br />
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“I’m gobsmacked! <em>When She Woke</em> is riveting from page one.” —<strong>Emily Crowe, The Odyssey Bookshop, South Hadley, MA</strong><br />
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“There’s no doubt that <em>When She Woke</em> is an intense book!” —<strong>Jenn Northington, Word, Brooklyn, NY</strong><br />
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“Put this one on your book club list, because everyone is going to want to discuss it.” —<strong>Valerie Koehler, Blue Willow Bookshop, Houston, TX</strong><br />
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“<em>When She Woke</em> reads like a really good movie. It’s a transformational, awakening story disguised as a fast-paced thriller.” <strong>—Debra Linn, Books & Books, Bal Harbour, FL</strong><br />
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“I found myself telling everyone I met about <em>When She Woke</em>—the story is that compelling.” <strong>—Christie Olson Day, Gallery Bookshop, Mendocino, CA</strong><br />
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“Hillary Jordan is one of our most important political writers, and <em>When She Woke</em> is a very brave work.” <strong>—Lucy Kogler, Talking Leaves Books, Buffalo, NY</strong>Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381864812498780276.post-2056354491075668082011-07-13T18:53:00.000-07:002011-07-13T18:53:56.646-07:00A Stolen Life, By Jaycee Dugard<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ClI_AHBCNAA/Th5ILslf2vI/AAAAAAAABUo/aWyeHwNQhCU/s1600/Jaycee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ClI_AHBCNAA/Th5ILslf2vI/AAAAAAAABUo/aWyeHwNQhCU/s1600/Jaycee.jpg" /></a></div>I read this book Yesterday. I just wanted to say it was not as hard to read as I thought it would be. I am glad I saw the special with Diane Sawyer first. Even when that came on, I was tentative whether I could bear to stay in the room to watch. But during that interview Jaycee put me at ease and told her story. Diane Sawyer was awesome and allowed her to tell it without jumping all over her with the next question.<br />
<br />
I knew I wanted to read the book. I am glad I read the book. I am usually too sensitive to read this and I would never read a fictional Story about something of this nature. But for me the story was one that needed telling, and I am thankful for Jaycee Dugard's bravery to tell it. <br />
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I am not going to review the book or give details. I just want to say that this is a horror story with a happy ending so far and I wish her the best life possible. Not near enough praise can be uttered, or written for Officers Allison (Ally) Jacobs and Lisa Campbell, true heroes and good citizens doing their jobs by caring for other humans on the earth enough to speak up and make a world of difference.<br />
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I am inspired by bravery and courage as I reflect on this book.Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381864812498780276.post-86247853684308680042011-06-23T18:44:00.000-07:002011-06-23T18:44:44.473-07:00Books and Books and Books oh My!I have received some wonderful books lately. I would love to take a moment to say thank you and post about them. I have not been reading lately but I am all set to end the reading drought that is for sure. I was about to put this blog on hiatus, but I came here twice to do it and could not. Too many good times. I just have some figuring out to do.<br />
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In the meantime.. on to the books that I have received...they all seem a little bit perfect!! <br />
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The Watery Part of the World, By Michael Parker <a href="http://www.michaelfparker.com/about-the-book/">(author's website) </a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1SeCpEKqV1s/TgPpnjMaSdI/AAAAAAAABUQ/zXWPqgzFnD4/s1600/the+Watery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1SeCpEKqV1s/TgPpnjMaSdI/AAAAAAAABUQ/zXWPqgzFnD4/s1600/the+Watery.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, I Am My Mother After All! by Susan Kane-Ronning, Ph.D.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iKdAzQ9ByAQ/TgPpuaFc7-I/AAAAAAAABUc/fzEBMJ149To/s1600/Mirror.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iKdAzQ9ByAQ/TgPpuaFc7-I/AAAAAAAABUc/fzEBMJ149To/s1600/Mirror.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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Mrs Darcy and the Blue-Eyed Stranger by Lee Smith<a href="http://www.leesmith.com/works/darcy.php"> (author's web-site)</a> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i1lbx9opxls/TgPpgJn9zpI/AAAAAAAABUI/HXvStt3tiLE/s1600/darcy_stranger_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i1lbx9opxls/TgPpgJn9zpI/AAAAAAAABUI/HXvStt3tiLE/s1600/darcy_stranger_cover.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RGdxMzwtDMc/TgPpkkqcJ8I/AAAAAAAABUM/B6e0QGYGPQA/s1600/Darcy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RGdxMzwtDMc/TgPpkkqcJ8I/AAAAAAAABUM/B6e0QGYGPQA/s200/Darcy.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
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The Frozen Rabbi, by Steve Stern<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vTmgWTLYnk0/TgPprcKBrjI/AAAAAAAABUY/nNfVveehKvU/s1600/frozen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vTmgWTLYnk0/TgPprcKBrjI/AAAAAAAABUY/nNfVveehKvU/s1600/frozen.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EPz4nDcsNEI/TgPpp-cBHDI/AAAAAAAABUU/-XRbYI8JEIk/s1600/the+frozen+Rabi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EPz4nDcsNEI/TgPpp-cBHDI/AAAAAAAABUU/-XRbYI8JEIk/s1600/the+frozen+Rabi.jpg" /></a></div><div class="title"><b>About Steve Stern:</b></div>Steve Stern, winner of the National Jewish Book Award, is the author of several previous novels and novellas. He teaches at Skidmore College in upstate New York.<br />
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Thank you <a href="http://www.workman.com/algonquin/">Algonquin</a> and <a href="http://www.bookmasters.com/atlasbooks/">Atlas Books</a>!Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381864812498780276.post-64078703077096734022011-04-15T13:54:00.000-07:002011-04-15T13:54:52.875-07:00Summer Reading Plans!!!!<div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hello there.. Did I really say summer? I do look forward to summer reading. Some new options have arrived that I'd like to share. They all look amazing!</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">(Thank you<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/"> Random House </a>and <a href="http://us.penguingroup.com/">Penguin</a>) </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i></i><b><i>To Be Queen</i>. A Novel of the Early Life of Eleanor of Aquitaine. </b></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>by Christy English.</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1VM3rCvDYr4/Taiq8W5w-5I/AAAAAAAABTQ/8HZa-lG1axc/s1600/to+be+queen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1VM3rCvDYr4/Taiq8W5w-5I/AAAAAAAABTQ/8HZa-lG1axc/s320/to+be+queen.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><span style="font-size: small;"> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0451232305?ie=UTF8&tag=christyenglish-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0451232305">(From Amazon Website)</a></span></div><div class="productDescriptionWrapper" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The author of <i>The Queen's Pawn</i> delves into the early life of the legendary Eleanor of Aquitaine in her new historical novel. <br />
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After her father's sudden death, fifteen-year-old Eleanor is quickly crowned Duchess of Aquitaine and betrothed to King Louis VII. When her new husband cannot pronounce her given name, Alienor becomes Eleanor, Queen of France. <br />
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Although Louis is enamored of his bride, the newly crowned king is easily manipulated by the church and a God that Eleanor doesn't believe in. Now, if she can find the strength to fight for what she wants, Eleanor may finally find the passion she has longed for, and the means to fulfill her legacy as Queen. </span> </div><div class="productDescriptionWrapper" style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Christy English</b> has a bachelor's degree in history from Duke University. She lives in New York City. </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>My Fair Lady. </i> A memoir.</b></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>By Jen Lancaster</b></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gJggeiNatKY/TaisXTr8LdI/AAAAAAAABTU/RCfm8RbDMj4/s1600/my+fair+lady.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gJggeiNatKY/TaisXTr8LdI/AAAAAAAABTU/RCfm8RbDMj4/s320/my+fair+lady.JPG" width="208" /></a></span></div><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/My-Fair-Lazy/Jen-Lancaster/e/9780451229861">(from the Barnes and Noble Website)</a></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>It's a JENaissance! The <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author of <i>Pretty in Plaid</i> gets her culture on. </b></span> </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Readers have followed Jen Lancaster through job loss, sucky city living, weight loss attempts, and 1980s nostalgia. Now Jen chronicles her efforts to achieve cultural enlightenment, with some hilarious missteps and genuine moments of inspiration along the way. And she does so by any means necessary: reading canonical literature, viewing classic films, attending the opera, researching artisan cheeses, and even enrolling in etiquette classes to improve her social graces. </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">In Jen's corner is a crack team of experts, including Page Six socialites, gourmet chefs, an opera aficionado, and a master sommelier. She may discover that well-regarded, high-priced stinky cheese tastes exactly as bad as it smells, and that her love for Kraft American Singles is forever. But one thing's for certain: Eliza Doolittle's got nothing on Jen Lancaster-and failure <i>is</i> an option.</span></div><h3 style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Half a Life.</i> A memoir</span></b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">, by Darin Strauss</span></b></span></h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lUX3UOx1qKg/TaitZtSlD5I/AAAAAAAABTY/TTUGFKqFEW8/s1600/halfalife.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lUX3UOx1qKg/TaitZtSlD5I/AAAAAAAABTY/TTUGFKqFEW8/s320/halfalife.jpg" width="207" /></a></span></div><h5 style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">about this book <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/acmart/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780812982534">(from Random House</a>)</span></h5><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Winner, National Book Critics Circle Award (Autobiography)</b></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">In this powerful, unforgettable memoir, acclaimed novelist Darin Strauss recounts a tragedy and its aftermath. In the last month of his high school career, just after turning eighteen, Strauss is behind the wheel of his father’s Oldsmobile, driving with friends, having “thoughts of mini-golf, another thought of maybe just going to the beach.” Then out of the blue: a collision that results in the death of a bicycling classmate and that shadows the rest of his life. In haunting, penetrating prose, Darin Strauss explores loss and guilt, maturity and accountability, hope and acceptance. The result is a staggering, uplifting tour de force.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"></div>Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381864812498780276.post-22031646495372905902011-03-15T03:00:00.000-07:002011-03-15T03:00:05.508-07:00A Murderous Procession, Ariana Franklin<div class="head1"> <span class="p"><a href="http://berkleysignetmysteries.com/author350"><br />
</a></span> </div><i><b>First Time in Paperback - trade edition</b></i><br />
<b>Tess Garritsen calls this one “my favorite book of the year!”</b><br />
<b> </b> <br />
<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-I3Baqy7JZDI/TXqnZNGuRMI/AAAAAAAABTM/bdOTX0t1fuM/s1600/murderous.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-I3Baqy7JZDI/TXqnZNGuRMI/AAAAAAAABTM/bdOTX0t1fuM/s320/murderous.jpeg" width="196" /></a> In 1176, King Henry II sends his daughter Joanna to Palermo to marry his cousin, the king of Sicily. Henry chooses Adelia Aguilar to travel with the princess and safeguard her health. But when people in the wedding procession are murdered, Adelia and Rowley must discover the killer’s identity, and whether he is stalking the princess or Adelia herself.<br />
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Thank you<a href="http://berkleysignetmysteries.com/"> Berkley Books.</a>Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381864812498780276.post-89105125190696688462011-03-14T03:00:00.000-07:002011-03-14T03:00:01.180-07:00Something for Nothing by David Anthony<h3 class="section-heading"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">More Spring reading! I can't wait. Thank you<a href="http://www.workman.com/algonquin/"> Algonquin.</a></span></span></h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-tjQ0eYa4KUA/TXqkLUfZtZI/AAAAAAAABTI/Y2Cp2_1C_GM/s1600/Somthing+for+Nothing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-tjQ0eYa4KUA/TXqkLUfZtZI/AAAAAAAABTI/Y2Cp2_1C_GM/s1600/Somthing+for+Nothing.jpg" /></a></div><h3 class="section-heading">About Something for Nothing </h3>Martin Anderson has a racehorse, a deep-sea fishing boat, a vacation home in Tahoe, and a Caddy in the garage. But his life is in freefall. It’s the 1970s, and with the arrival of the oil crisis and gas rationing, his small aircraft business is tanking, as is his extravagant suburban lifestyle. Martin keeps many secrets from his wife, such as his mounting debt and his penchant for sneaking into neighborhood homes and making off with small keepsakes. So when he’s given the opportunity to clear his debt by using one of his planes to make a few drug runs between California and Mexico, Martin doesn’t think twice . . . or at all, for that matter.<br />
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Things quickly spiral out of control when Martin’s simple plan lands him in the midst of gun-toting Mexican thugs. After a narcotics agent arrives on his doorstep, he becomes increasingly paranoid, both about the police and about his associates in the drug world—a feeling that seems justified when he stumbles upon the scene of a brutal double murder. Martin wants out, but he wants his money, too.<br />
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Deeply funny and suspenseful, David Anthony’s novel is a perfect snapshot of the excesses of American culture.<br />
<a href="http://www.workman.com/authors/david_anthony/"><img align="left" alt="photo of David Anthony" border="0" class="author" src="http://www.workman.com/is/small/authors/Anthony.jpg" title="photo of David Anthony" /></a> <h3 class="section-heading">about David Anthony</h3>David Anthony grew up in the Bay Area. He is an associate professor of early American literature in the Department of English at SIU-Carbondale. This is his first novel.Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381864812498780276.post-12353187098624963712011-03-13T03:00:00.000-07:002011-03-13T03:00:09.541-07:00What you see in the Dark, by Manuel MunozHere is another ARC that I received and I am thrilled to read it.<br />
<a href="http://www.workman.com/algonquin/">Thank you Algonquin. </a><br />
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<h3 class="section-heading"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-eFMHiGG86aI/TXqjeRgi0YI/AAAAAAAABTE/i3g_uJQ8dbM/s1600/what+you+see+in+the+dark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-eFMHiGG86aI/TXqjeRgi0YI/AAAAAAAABTE/i3g_uJQ8dbM/s1600/what+you+see+in+the+dark.jpg" /></a> About What You See in the Dark </h3>Bakersfield, California, in the late 1950s is a dusty, quiet town too far from Los Angeles to share that city’s energy yet close enough to Hollywood to fill its citizens with the kinds of dreams they discover in the darkness of the movie theater. For Teresa, a young, aspiring singer who works at a shoe store, dreams lie in the music her mother shared with her, plaintive songs of love and longing. In Dan Watson, the most desirable young man in Bakersfield, she believes she has found someone to help her realize those dreams.<br />
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When a famous actress arrives from Hollywood with a great and already legendary director, local gossip about Teresa and Dan gives way to speculation about the celebrated visitors, there to work on what will become an iconic, groundbreaking film of madness and murder at a roadside motel. No one anticipates how the ill-fated love affair between Dan and Teresa will soon rival anything the director could ever put on the screen.<br />
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This thoroughly original work is intense and fascinating in its juxtapositions of tenderness and menace, violence and regret, played out in a town on the brink of change.<br />
<a href="http://www.workman.com/authors/manuel_munoz/"><img align="left" alt="photo of Manuel Munoz" border="0" class="author" src="http://www.workman.com/is/small/authors/images/munoz_manuel.jpg" title="photo of Manuel Munoz" /></a> <br />
<h3 class="section-heading">about Manuel Munoz</h3>Manuel Muñoz is the author of two short story collections, the most recent of which, <i>The Faith Healer of Olive Avenue</i>, was a finalist for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. He teaches creative writing at the university of Arizona in Tucson, is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts literature fellowship, and in 2008 was awarded the prestigious Whiting Writers’ Award. Find him online at www.manuel-munoz.com.Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381864812498780276.post-21392826867092217182011-03-12T03:00:00.000-08:002011-03-12T03:00:10.405-08:00When Tito Loved Clara, by Jon MichaudI have been a bit remiss in posting the books coming in for review. I am excited to say that I will be busy reading this summer. This sounds especially good. Great title, great cover.<br />
Thank you <a href="http://www.workman.com/algonquin/">Algonquin. </a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b> When Tito Loved Clara </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ykkPaDt6f8I/TXqinzphDLI/AAAAAAAABTA/b4Y53Ua3QSc/s1600/when+Tito+loved+Clara.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ykkPaDt6f8I/TXqinzphDLI/AAAAAAAABTA/b4Y53Ua3QSc/s320/when+Tito+loved+Clara.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<h3 class="section-heading">About When Tito Loved Clara </h3>Clara Lugo grew up in a home that would have rattled the most grounded of children. Through brains and determination, she has long since slipped the bonds of her confining Dominican neighborhood in the northern reaches of Manhattan. Now she tries to live a settled professional life with her American husband and son in the suburbs of New Jersey—often thwarted by her constellation of relatives who don’t understand her <i>gringa </i>ways.<br />
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Her mostly happy life is disrupted, however, when Tito, a former boyfriend from fifteen years earlier, reappears. Something has impeded his passage into adulthood. His mother calls him an Unfinished Man. He still carries a torch for Clara; and she harbors a secret from their past. Their reacquaintance sets in motion an unraveling of both of their lives and reveals what the cost of assimilation—or the absence of it—has meant for each of them.<br />
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This immensely entertaining novel—filled with wit and compassion—marks the debut of a fine writer.<br />
<a href="http://www.workman.com/authors/jon_michaud/"><img align="left" alt="photo of Jon Michaud" border="0" class="author" src="http://www.workman.com/is/small/authors/Michaud_Jon_1.jpg" title="photo of Jon Michaud" /></a> <br />
<h3 class="section-heading">about Jon Michaud</h3>Jon Michaud is the head librarian at The New Yorker magazine and a regular contributor to newyorker.com. His short stories have been published in <i>North American Review</i>, <i>Denver Quarterly</i>, <i>Fawlt</i>, and other journals. He lives in Maplewood, New Jersey with his wife (also a librarian) and their two sons.Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381864812498780276.post-29805802779943656912011-03-11T14:20:00.000-08:002011-03-11T14:20:59.114-08:00West of Here by Jonathan Evison<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e5Nc3Y1mYBs/TXqems6CPKI/AAAAAAAABS0/nfHtP6QZBQs/s1600/DSC00773.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e5Nc3Y1mYBs/TXqems6CPKI/AAAAAAAABS0/nfHtP6QZBQs/s320/DSC00773.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Hello! Nothing but good stuff in the mail. Thank you Algonquin Books.<br />
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<b>About the book:</b><br />
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Set in the fictional town of Port Bonita, on Washington State’s rugged Pacific coast, <i>West of Here</i> is propelled by a story that both re-creates and celebrates the American experience—it is storytelling on the grandest scale. With one segment of the narrative focused on the town’s founders circa 1890 and another showing the lives of their descendants in 2006, the novel develops as a kind of conversation between two epochs, one rushing blindly toward the future and the other struggling to undo the damage of the past. <br />
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An exposition on the effects of time, on how something said or done in one generation keeps echoing through all the years that follow, and how mistakes keep happening and people keep on trying to be strong and brave and, most important, just and right, <i>West of Here</i> harks back to the work of such masters of Americana as Bret Harte, Edna Ferber, and Larry McMurtry, writers whose fiction turned history into myth and myth into a nation’s shared experience. It is a bold novel by a writer destined to become a major force in American literature. <a href="http://www.workman.com/authors/jonathan_evison/"><img align="left" alt="photo of Jonathan Evison" border="0" class="author" src="http://www.workman.com/is/small/authors/evisonLR.jpg" title="photo of Jonathan Evison" /></a> <h3 class="section-heading">about Jonathan Evison</h3>Jonathan Evison is the author of <i>All About Lulu</i>, which won the Washington State Book Award. In 2009, he was the recipient of a Richard Buckley Fellowship from the Christopher Isherwood Foundation. He lives on an island in Western Washington.<br />
<a href="http://www.workman.com/authors/jonathan_evison/"><u></u></a> <br />
And a nice book tote to celebrate and announce Algonquins Book Club Series. Check it out <a href="http://www.algonquinbooksblog.com/bookclub/">here!</a><br />
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I can't wait to dig in. I have a little day trip coming up and I will be on a train...this is what is coming with me!<br />
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Have a great weekend.Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381864812498780276.post-74672127315159746572011-02-08T13:21:00.000-08:002011-02-08T13:21:43.548-08:00Exciting Incoming BooksI am thrilled to be reading these books in 2011. It was like they were hand picked just for me! Thank you Michael Taeckens, <a href="http://www.workman.com/algonquin/">Algonquin Books </a><br />
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<a href="http://www.workman.com/products/9781565126312/">Pictures of You</a>, Caroline Leavitt<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TVGyW5jBcQI/AAAAAAAABSo/gZu9IK6VFy8/s1600/pictures-of-you.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TVGyW5jBcQI/AAAAAAAABSo/gZu9IK6VFy8/s1600/pictures-of-you.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<a href="http://www.workman.com/products/9781616200152/">The Girl Who Fell From the Sky</a>, Heidi W. Durrow<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TVGyZ_tVGBI/AAAAAAAABSs/_WUGpt4HjcU/s1600/girl-who-fell-cover-pb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TVGyZ_tVGBI/AAAAAAAABSs/_WUGpt4HjcU/s320/girl-who-fell-cover-pb.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br />
<a href="http://www.workman.com/products/9781565129535/">Paris Was Ours,</a> Penelope Rowlands<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TVGydOm_jtI/AAAAAAAABSw/oeJmURG4fqo/s1600/Paris%252BWas%252BOurs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TVGydOm_jtI/AAAAAAAABSw/oeJmURG4fqo/s1600/Paris%252BWas%252BOurs.jpg" /></a></div>Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381864812498780276.post-40039415657176582092011-02-08T13:06:00.000-08:002011-02-08T13:06:08.916-08:00Pale Rose of England, By Sandra Worth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TVGv-jy2IxI/AAAAAAAABSc/DXkbLDp_JuE/s1600/lrgpaleroseofengland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TVGv-jy2IxI/AAAAAAAABSc/DXkbLDp_JuE/s320/lrgpaleroseofengland.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>I was thrilled to receive this in the mail last week. I can't wait to get reading. It sounds wonderful.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; line-height: 19px;"><span class="strong" style="font-weight: 600;"><big>Synopsis</big></span> (From Author's website)<br />
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<b><i>From the award-winning author of The King's Daughter comes a story of love and defiance during the War of the Roses.</i></b><br />
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It is 1497. The news of the survival of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, has thundered across Europe, setting royal houses ablaze with intrigue and rocking the fledgling Tudor dynasty. Stepping finally onto English soil, Catherine arrives at the island of Saint Michael’s Mount, along with her husband and young son Dickon, their second child already on the way. With the keen support of Scotland’s King James IV, Richard—known in England as Perkin Warbeck—has come to reclaim his rightful crown from Henry Tudor. Based on a prophecy given Catherine by a seer that she would be loved by a king, she has no doubt Richard will succeed in his quest. But rather than assuming the throne she believed was their destiny, Catherine would soon be prisoner of King Henry VII, and her beloved husband would, unimaginably, be stamped as an imposter.<br />
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Nothing could shake Catherine’s belief in Richard and her loyalty to the man she loved. She became a favored lady-in-waiting to the queen, Elizabeth of York, but her dazzling beauty only brought her unwanted affections from a jealous king and enmeshed her in a terrifying royal love triangle. With her husband facing execution for treason, Catherine, alone in the glittering but deadly Tudor Court, finds the courage to spurn a cruel monarch and shape her own destiny, winning the admiration of a nation.<br />
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<b>About the Author:</b><br />
Sandra Worth is the acclaimed author of five historical novels chronicling the Wars of the Roses. Each is the recipient of multiple awards and prizes, including three Reviewers Chloice Awards and a Best Books of 2009 nomination.</span><br />
<a href="http://www.sandraworth.com/index.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Author's Website</span></a>Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381864812498780276.post-35979003673405311542011-01-25T10:11:00.000-08:002011-01-25T10:13:51.168-08:00The Tapestry of LoveThank You Rosy Thornton. She sent me a copy of her book The Tapestry of Love. It has a beautiful cover. I can't wait to sink my teeth into this book.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TT8RNkx1twI/AAAAAAAABSU/zd0SnMprzpM/s1600/The-Tapestry-of-Love4C1067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TT8RNkx1twI/AAAAAAAABSU/zd0SnMprzpM/s320/The-Tapestry-of-Love4C1067.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px;"><h3 class="productDescriptionSource" style="clear: both; color: #333333; font-size: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 0.375em; margin-left: -15px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Book Description</h3><div class="productDescriptionWrapper" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div><div>A rural idyll: that's what Catherine is seeking when she sells her house in England and moves to a tiny hamlet in the Cévennes mountains. With her divorce in the past and her children grown, she is free to make a new start, and her dream is to set up in business as a seamstress. But this is a harsh and lonely place when you're no longer just here on holiday. There is French bureaucracy to contend with, not to mention the mountain weather, and the reserve of her neighbors, including the intriguing Patrick Castagnol. And that's before the arrival of Catherine's sister, Bryony.</div></div><div class="emptyClear" style="clear: both; font-size: 0px; height: 0px;"></div></div><h3 class="productDescriptionSource" style="clear: both; color: #333333; font-size: 1.23em; margin-bottom: 0.375em; margin-left: -15px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.75em;"> About the Author</h3><div class="productDescriptionWrapper" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div><div><b>Rosy Thornton</b> teaches at Cambridge University.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TT8Qp7NdYNI/AAAAAAAABSQ/cXUJxHAn8hg/s1600/e6dd29bace740ad8986cd6.L._V192640001_SL290_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TT8Qp7NdYNI/AAAAAAAABSQ/cXUJxHAn8hg/s1600/e6dd29bace740ad8986cd6.L._V192640001_SL290_.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div><br />
</div><div>Happy New Year Bloggers and readers.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I have received a few more lovely books that I will post this week. I am not reading a lot of book reviews these days. I like to browse the book store and be a little surprised. But I will be stopping by blogs to comment and say hi more often. Have a great week. Thank you again to author Rosy Thornton for sending me this lovely book.</div></div></div></span>Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381864812498780276.post-43763355718635652692010-12-21T09:34:00.000-08:002010-12-21T09:34:22.318-08:00Chosen, A Novel, by Chaundra Hoffman - ReviewColor me happy, I read a book!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TRDcUji2UTI/AAAAAAAABSI/3WipWwjZLYY/s1600/The+Chosen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TRDcUji2UTI/AAAAAAAABSI/3WipWwjZLYY/s1600/The+Chosen.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Thank you Jocelyn @ Kelly and Hall. I really enjoyed this book. I read it in a week or so. I looked forward to reading it each night. It is about Chloe who works for an adoption agency placing newborns with adoptive parents. It is an interesting book with a bit of drama when a child ends up missing. It gives a glimpse into the lives of the adoptive parents, the birth parent(s), and the life of Chloe in the middle of it all. It read a little bit like a Jodi Piccoult novel, and I say that loosely because I don't think the writing was the same. But the writing was enjoyable and flowed well. I would recommend the book and the author. I found the characters real to life and I enjoyed the Portland, Oregon setting. I enjoyed the drama without tears. I also was happy the book was a quick read and wasn't cluttered up with a bunch of writing for the sake of writing. If you know what I mean.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Hope you have a chance to check this one out.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div>Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381864812498780276.post-78955420088527391652010-11-14T10:23:00.000-08:002010-11-14T10:23:14.016-08:00The Peanuts Collection<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TOAjuzuKiSI/AAAAAAAABSA/2lp8GkJk4gA/s1600/The-Peanuts-Collection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TOAjuzuKiSI/AAAAAAAABSA/2lp8GkJk4gA/s320/The-Peanuts-Collection.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Treasures from the world's most beloved comic strip, Nat Gertler<br />
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<div class="rotator about_the_book" style="position: static; top: -50001px;"> <h2>Full Description</h2>This fully authorized, one-of-a-kind illustrated book celebrates the 60th anniversary of the world's most beloved comic strip characters. A compendium of rare materials from the Charles M. Schulz Museum and family archives, The Peanuts Collection comes in a sturdy slipcase and features high-quality reproductions of original sketches, comics, and photographs from the world of Peanuts. Removable film cels, stickers, and booklets are included, as well as reproduction prints of Peanuts artwork ready for framing.<br />
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<b>My Review:</b><br />
This book's title does not lie. It is a treasure of treasures! I thought it was going to be a kind of cute picture book and I would review it in a night or two. Not true! It has provided night after night of reading and enjoying the whole book. From the moment I opened the book, I was enchanted. Page after page is loaded with surprise after surprise. It is the best collection of history, and artifacts of the Peanuts Gang that I have seen. I adored it. I could tell you all little perks and details, but to do so would wreck the complete euphoric treats that are bestowed upon discovering the contents. As I opened the book and squealed with each surprise, my husband came over to the sofa and joined me on this wonderful journey into the history of Peanuts. We slowly turned pages and examined the artifacts. It is an exquisite collection of artistically presented gems for all Peanuts junkies. Fans everywhere will be delighted. It is the perfect gift. I can't part with mine but will keep it in mind for gift giving this holiday season.<br />
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Thank you Anna from<a href="http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/index.aspx"> Hachette Books</a>.<br />
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<div class="rotator author_info" style="position: static; top: -50001px;"> <h2>About Author</h2>Nat Gertler is the founder and author of Aaugh.com, a comprehensive resource for Peanuts collectors and fans. Gertler has written for Speed Racer, Flintstones, and NASCAR Adventures. He has authored horror works for Pocket Books, written a number of titles in the Complete Idiot's Guide series, contributes regularly to Hogan's Alley, a comics-related magazine, and is the founder and publisher of packager About Comics.<br />
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<a href="http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/publishing_little-brown-and-company.aspx"> <img alt="Little Brown and Company" src="http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/_assets/publishers/LB_159.png" /> </a><br />
<dl><dt>Category:COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS</dt>
<dt>Format:HARDCOVER BOOK</dt>
<dt>Publish Date:10/25/2010</dt>
<dt>Price:$35.00/$43.00</dt>
<dt>ISBN:9780316086103</dt>
<dt>Pages:64</dt>
<dt>Size:11-3/4" x 10-1/4"</dt>
<dt> </dt>
<dt><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TOAoBagaCDI/AAAAAAAABSE/OeAKYjDdLG0/s1600/DSC00389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TOAoBagaCDI/AAAAAAAABSE/OeAKYjDdLG0/s320/DSC00389.JPG" width="320" /></a>I will say the first photo doesn't do the book justice. The book is large and thick and really quite a beauty for the coffee table. It comes encased in a nice hard cover that slips over the book. Oh what the heck. I will show you one photo. </dt>
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<dt>Cheers!</dt>
</dl></div></div>Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381864812498780276.post-32287850175936504752010-11-03T22:57:00.001-07:002010-11-03T22:57:30.606-07:00Giants<br />Just had to send out a post.... Dexter says "congrats Giants!!!!!!"<br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/03/2752.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/03/s_2752.jpg' border='0' width='171' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad<br />Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2381864812498780276.post-56369431274432413632010-10-10T10:35:00.000-07:002010-10-10T10:35:41.356-07:00Mailbox Monday October 11th<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TLHyAFF_dGI/AAAAAAAABRw/xjDGq9QofqM/s1600/mailbox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TLHyAFF_dGI/AAAAAAAABRw/xjDGq9QofqM/s1600/mailbox.jpg" /></a></div> Mailbox Monday- Welcome. This is a weekly event that was created from Marcia from <a href="http://printedpage.us/">The Printed Page. </a> It is being hosted in the month of October by<a href="http://shereadsandreads.blogspot.com/"> She Reads and Reads.</a> What came in your mailbox, book bag or into your library this week? Here is what I accumulated over a the last three weeks.<br />
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My most long awaited book was the reprint of <b> Aran Knitting by Alice Starmore.</b> (A treat from myself). It is the history of Aran Knitting AND a bunch of patterns that I have been dying to make for a few years now. It will reside in my most cherished libraries of knitting books. I haven't read it all but I have made a good dent in it and it exceeds my wildest expectations.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TLHyB4iob_I/AAAAAAAABR0/b4b8l7WQLgM/s1600/Aran+Knitting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TLHyB4iob_I/AAAAAAAABR0/b4b8l7WQLgM/s1600/Aran+Knitting.jpg" /></a></div> I received <b>Chosen by Chandra Hoffman</b> from Jocelyn @ Kelly and Hall (thank you)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TLHyJbJjEII/AAAAAAAABR4/4D6v1aoZ5YY/s1600/The+Chosen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TLHyJbJjEII/AAAAAAAABR4/4D6v1aoZ5YY/s320/The+Chosen.jpg" width="210" /></a></b></div><b>A bit about the book:</b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">A young caseworker increasingly entangled in the lives of adoptive and birth parents faces life-altering choices when an extortion attempt goes horribly wrong in <i>Chosen</i>. Written in the spirit of Jodi Picoult and Anna Quindlen, <i>Chosen </i>is an extraordinary debut novel from Chandra Hoffman that deals with the controversial subject of adoption while providing a riveting read that will equally ensnare lovers of suspense, domestic drama, and literary fiction.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">I also received<b> Missing Lucile by Suzanne Berne,</b> from Algonquin (Thank You). </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TLHyKyqoxMI/AAAAAAAABR8/9tO2r8fAkvg/s1600/Missing+Lucile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_opEPN0XFgbA/TLHyKyqoxMI/AAAAAAAABR8/9tO2r8fAkvg/s320/Missing+Lucile.jpg" width="212" /></a></b></div><b>A Bit about the book:</b><br />
Even as a child, Suzanne Berne understood the source of her father’s terrible melancholy: he’d lost his mother when he was a little boy. Decades later, with her father now elderly and ailing, she decides to try to uncover the woman who continues to haunt him. <br />
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Every family has a missing person, someone who died young or disappeared, leaving a legacy of loss. Aided by vintage photographs and a box of old keepsakes, Berne sets out to fill in her grandmother’s silhouette and along the way uncovers her own foothold in American history. <br />
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Lucile Berne, née Kroger, was a daughter of Bernard Henry Kroger, the archetypal American self-made man, who at twenty-three established what is today’s $76 billion grocery enterprise. From her turn-of-the-century Cincinnati childhood to her college years at Wellesley, her tenure as treasurer of her father’s huge company, her stint as a relief worker in devastated France, her marriage to a professional singer, and the elusive, unhappy wealthy young matron she became, Lucile both illustrates and contradicts her times. <br />
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In the process of creating this portrait, Berne discovers the function of family history: “to explain what is essentially inexplicable—how we came to be ourselves.”<br />
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<div style="color: purple;">Hellos from Me!!</div><div style="color: purple;">I am busy as heck. I get around to pop in on blogs but I don't always leave a comment. I got an IPAD and I think this is going to help keep up with all the lovely blog reading. I am still trying to get through a few books. I love my books just as much as ever,, but I am sure I got a bit burned out somehow. I started reading more blogs than books. (well you know what I mean). </div><div style="color: purple;"><br />
</div><div style="color: purple;"> This year has been about blog balance and I don't feel blog stress anymore! Yahoo!!! I still do have some reading and blogging goals that I'd like to maintain. Middle ground sort of evades me at the moment...and it needs to be about middle ground for me. It has been over two years now since I started this book blog. I love it here, I love the books and all the bloggy folks. </div><div style="color: purple;"><br />
</div><div style="color: purple;">I don't know that I can keep up with all the reviews that I want to do, but I do want to feature new books and stay connected. I want to reward those who read with giveaways and I do want to participate in some of the blogging events and activities that everyone enjoys.</div><div style="color: purple;"><br />
</div><div style="color: purple;">Thanks for everyone who stops by and if you leave me a comment know that it is always as special for me now as it was from the start. </div><div style="color: purple;"><br />
</div><span style="color: purple;">Have a great week!</span>Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09583701020058927481noreply@blogger.com15