Saturday, July 30, 2011

Book Recap for July

Below is my list of reads for July.  There is a chance that I will finish Doc by Mary Doria Russell too.  My favorite was Olive Kitteridge and my least favorite was Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen, but don't be misled.  Rise and Shine is not a bad read.  It was however just ok. 


 Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
 Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
 Hush by  Kate White
 Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 
The Thief of Always by  Barker Clive 
Smokin' Seventeen by Janet  Evanovich 
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
Black and Blue by  Anna Quindlen
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout 
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
The Inn at Eagle Point by Sherryl  Woods

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Booking Through Thursday



What’s the latest you’ve ever stayed up reading a book? Is staying up late reading a usual thing for you?


When I read Mirror Images by Sandra Brown, I stayed up until 3 AM, went to bed, and then got up at 6 AM and finished the book.  I just could not put it down but I knew I had to go to work and teach active 9th graders! I highly recommend this book for a "grab you by the seat of the pants" read!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

W...W...W...

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

I just started reading Doc by Mary Doria Russell
I just finished The Inn at Eagle Point by Sherryl Woods
Next up is A Real Basket Case by Beth Groundwater (I think....I have several books going and even more from the library).

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Teaser Tuesday

Grab your current read
Let the book fall open to a random page
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
From...Miz B of Should be Reading...
"I've never seen him this bad.  Lord knows....she sniffed....things couldn't get much worse for the both of you than they are right now." page 190
Songs in Ordinary Time by Mary McGarry Morris

The Inn At Eagle Point

The Inn At Eagle Point (Chesapeake Shores #1)The Inn At Eagle Point by Sherryl Woods

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I am not a fan of romances, but this was a big surprise. Usually, the "heroine" is a strong, intelligent female in all ways but love. There she is a mish-mash of weepy indecision. Not so with Abby O'Brien Winters. She is smart in business, family, and love. She was never overpowered by the men in her life although there were references to her past. The "hero" is usually strong, powerful, and oozing with testosterone. Again, not so with Trace Riley. He has a good sense in business, family and love. They are a perfect match.

When Abby is called home to settle a family crisis brought on by her sister Jess's mismanagement of an investment, Abby and Trace are thrown together after ten years of separation. Abby struggles to smooth over Jess's mistakes as well as her own.

I picked up Inn at Eagle Point after reading a short blurb in a Literary Guild magazine. I wasn't sure but I am so glad I did. I will add the other books to my tbr list.




View all my reviews

Monday, July 25, 2011

Library Haul

I am amazed at the effect the computer has on my reading.  I belong to several online groups and good reads both of which provide endless suggestions.  In addition, it is so easy to reserve books at the library while sitting at home in my "jammies."

So today, I picked up the most recent arrivals for me at the South Coastal Library in Bethany Beach, DE.

A Real Basket Case by Beth Groundwater
Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthey
Life Sentences by Laura Lippman
Doc by Mary Doria Russell
The Inn at Eagle Point by Sherryl Woods

I started reading The Inn at Eagle Point.  How could I resist a Chesapeake Shores book..well a book about the Chesapeake area real or ficticious.  Now, if the electricity holds during the storm that seems to be brewing, I will be a happy reading camper!

My 52-52-52

I have decided to take the 52-52-52 challenge.  52 pounds 52 books in 52 weeks.   I am late signing up so my challenge will run from July 25, 2011 to July 30, 2012 (Monday to Monday!).  I will post my statistics every Monday for the previous week.  That should keep me on track.

I have copied the following information directly from Mandaland blog.  Amanda is hosting the challenge.  For all of her information click on the picture on the right.  This is her information.  I am not plagiarizing, just trying to avoid confusion.


The goal of the challenge is simple. It will go from June 1st, 2011 to June 1st, 2012 – 52 weeks. In those 52 weeks, challenge participants will try to 1) read one book each week and 2) lose one pound a week. If all goes well, a year’s challenge will lead to 52 books read and 52 pounds lost in 52 weeks. It’s that simple!

Five important notes on the challenge:

1..You don’t have to be a book blogger to join, or even a blogger at all. This challenge is open to anyone. Of course, having a blog or tumblr or any other place to write about your journey, while not required, is definitely helpful, both to you and to us all!

2.  I know many book bloggers naturally read well over 52 books every year. You can always choose to challenge yourself to read two books a week, or three, or whatever works for your level. Make the challenge work for you! There are also book bloggers out there who struggle to read a book a week, though, so hopefully this will make a good challenge for them!

3.  If you don’t have 52 pounds to lose, then you are free to adjust the challenge to work with your health needs. If you need to lose 10 or 20 pounds, great! Go for that! If you don’t need to lose weight at all and instead want to work for a specific health and fitness goal, that’s fine too! The main point of the goal is to help us all get healthier.

4.  If you don’t lose a pound one week, that doesn’t mean you’ve failed the challenge or should give up! Even if you don’t lose as quickly, you can still lose. If, at the end of the challenge, you’ve lost 10 pounds instead of 52, you’ve still done something wonderful for your body. The pound-per-week is just something to try for, not a do-it-or-fail clause in this challenge.

5.  You may join the challenge at any time. Of course, if you join next March, you can’t expect to lose 52 pounds by June 1st. The focus is instead on one book and one pound per week for the duration of the challenge.