Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading and it asks us to...

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here's my teaser this week:

"The police came," Taviana says. They accused your family of keeping me - a runaway - here against my will.

Sister Wife - Shelley Hrdlitschka pg. 70

Mailbox Monday & What Are You Reading

This is a weekly meme hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page. Join the fun and post what you got in your mailbox last week!

Yup I added a few more to my collection yet again this week.







1) A Great and Terrible Beauty - Libba Bray















2) Strange Angels - Lili St. Crow




















3) Wild Magic - Tamora Pierce














It's Monday! What are you reading this week? is a weekly event hosted by J. Kaye of J. Kaye's Book Blog to list the books completed last week, the books currently being read, and the books to be finished this week.









Books I finished last week:
Skin Trade - Laurell K. Hamilton
The Chosen One - Carol lynch Williams

Currently Reading:
Sister Wife - Shelley Hrdlitschka

Books to Finish this Week:
Sister Wife - Shelley Hrdlitschka


How about you? Why not join in with what you've read, are reading or planning to finish this week or share with me in a comment.

Weekend Roundup

Well this past week has been busy and not always great so I am glad to say it is over. My daughter had swimming lessons we had to work our schedule around all week. She did awesome! Every summer she keeps getting better and better.

Wednesday I had Jury Duty and I'm grateful I didn't have to serve on the panel I was brought up in. Lets just say it was a case that would have taken too much of an emotional toll on me. I was very honest with the defense attorney and told him this much. I think that's why I along with 25ish people were excused. Then my poor honey got a letter the day before calling him in for a special jury panel for a murder charge! He can't even defer out, he has to go no matter what. Thankfully his work pays for jury service. I feel so bad for him, I couldn't decide some one's fate like that. I'm not sure he could either. That's just not who either one of us are.

Friday I attended the funeral of a childhood friend. Someone I knew as a child and then knew again as a teenager. It was a sad day for me and many, many people. I had lost touch with him over the years but he was one of those people you find yourself often wondering how they are doing and wished you could touch base and meet his family and such.

So by Saturday I was ready to get the hell out of dodge and go camping for the night and that is just what we did. We had a really good time, hanging out with friends down at the river and playing baseball etc.

It all went by too fast and now I am back home spending a relaxing Sunday playing catch up and maybe getting some more reading done. Sun is shining bright and I'm thinking of taking a book outside and enjoying the day.

Waiting on Wednesday

Sponsored by "Breaking the Spine". This weeks can't wait to read selection is:








Out July 7, 2009

Alyson's Noël's bestselling Immortals series has been hailed as "addictive" "beautiful" "haunting" and "mesmerizing." In the second installment, Ever has a chance to bring her family back from the dead—but only if she's willing to sacrifice the guy she loves more than life itself.

Just as Ever is learning everything she can about her new abilities as an immortal, initiated into the dark, seductive world by her beloved Damen, something terrible is happening to him. As Ever's powers are increasing, Damen's are fading—stricken by a mysterious illness that threatens his memory, his identity, his life.

Desperate to save him, Ever travels to the mystical dimension of Summerland, uncovering not only the secrets of Damen's past—the brutal, tortured history he hoped to keep hidden—but also an ancient text revealing the workings of time. With the approaching blue moon heralding her only window for travel, Ever is forced to decide between turning back the clock and saving her family from the accident that claimed them—or staying in the present and saving Damen, who grows weaker each day...

I really can't wait to read this one. I enjoyed the first one immensely.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading and it asks us to...

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here's my teaser this week.

Noise overhead made Daine look up as she put an arrow on the string. A monstrous spider hurtled down at them. She shot it before she even knew what she fired at.

Wild Magic - Tamora Pierce pg.63

Soul Survivor Giveaway

Thanks to Kelly Leonard O'Keefe of Hachette Books, I have 5 copies of this book up for grabs.

BOOK INFORMATION:
This is the story of James Leininger, who-- a little more than two weeks after his second birthday-- began having blood-curdling nightmares that just would not stop. When James began screaming out recurring phrases like, "Plane on fire! Little man can't get out!" the Leiningers finally admitted that they truly had to take notice.

When details of planes and war tragedies no two-year-old boy could know continued-- even in stark daylight-- Bruce and Andrea Leininger began to realize that this was an incredible situation. SOUL SURVIVOR is the story of how the Leiningers pieced together what their son was communicating and eventually discovered that he was reliving the past life of World War II fighter pilot James Huston. As Bruce Leininger struggled to understand what was happening to his son, he also uncovered details of James Huston's life-- and death-- as a pilot that will fascinate military buffs everywhere.

In SOUL SURVIVOR, readers are taken for a gripping ride as the Leiningers' belief system is shaken to the core, and both of these families come to know a little boy who, against all odds and even in the face of true skeptics, harbors the soul of this man who died long ago.


Given customs and mailing restrictions, the book offerings are only available to residents of the United States and Canada (no P.O. Boxes please). To our international readers, we regret we cannot ship books overseas.

The rules are pretty simple:

• +1 Comment and leave a valid email address
• +1 if follow my blog/already follow. Just let me know in your comment

I will use Random.org to choose the winners.

Contest runs from June 23rd - July 6th 6PM PST. I will announce and contact the winners by email on July 7th.

Mailbox Monday and What Are You Reading

This is a weekly meme hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page. Join the fun and post what you got in your mailbox last week!

I got a few more books to add to my ever growing collection.






Twilight of Avalon


Bringing out the Dead an ARC I picked up at a local second hand store.


Necessary Madness another ARC I picked up at the second hand store.




It's Monday! What are you reading this week? is a weekly event hosted by J. Kaye of J. Kaye's Book Blog to list the books completed last week, the books currently being read, and the books to be finished this week.

Books I finished last week:
Carpe Corpus (Morganville Vampires Book 6) - Rachel Caine

Currently Reading:
Skin Trade - Laurell K. Hamilton

Books to Finish this Week:
Skin Trade - Laurell K. Hamilton. I might actually get this accomplished this week.

How about you? Why not join in with what you've read, are reading or planning to finish this week or share with me in a comment.

Weekend Roundup

This weekend has been pretty uneventful. Did some shopping on Friday to take up to camp on Saturday. We took off up to camp on Saturday morning to spend the night. We had a pretty good time as a family this weekend.

Hung out with a couple friends for a few hours in the afternoon and then took off to play some HORSE at the basketball hoops with the kids. Played some tether ball with them too. We then decided we'd play some baseball of sorts. There's only 4 of us so we had a hitter, pitcher, fielder and catcher. The field out at camp is not to safe to be running like madmen so it was mostly just hitting the ball and one or two fetching them. We had a lot of fun tho. I actually hit the ball! More than once too! I think doing this will become a regular thing now when we go camping. All four of us really enjoyed it. After that we went back to camp to make a fire, eat and then we all took turns teaching the kids to play rummy.

Sunday has been pretty uneventful for the most part. My day started off a bit rocky and something I messed up I won't be able to tell for sure until Tuesday whether or not an order I was making happened. Oh well worst case scenario I have to redo my order on Wednesday no big deal really. Was just a bit stressing at the time. I've since relaxed the stress off and moved forward to doing other, more relaxing things today, like blogging!

So my plan for the rest of the day is just relaxing and hopefully get a little bit of reading done too.

Summer Reading Challenge 2009

My very first reading challenge!

Challenge: Summer Reading Challenge 2009

Start date: June 21, 2009

Finish date: September 21, 2009

Hosted By: A Southern Daydreamer Reads

Rules:

1. Make a list of books you want to read this summer.
2. Write a post with your list on your blog. (You can add to or change this list at any time during the challenge)
3. Please post the direct link to your Summer Reading Challenge 2009 post. (so that other participants can visit and see what you are reading)
4. You can write another post in September to let everyone know how you did.

Here is my list for this summer:

1. Skin Trade - Laurell K. Hamilton - Finished 6/25/2009
   
2. Hunted - P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast - Finished 8/18/2009
   
3. Blue Moon - Alyson Noel - Finished 7/12/2009
   
4. The Chosen One - Carol Lynch Williams - Finished 6/26/2009
   
5. Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater - Finished 8/9/2009
   
6. Sister Wife - Shelley Hrdlitschka - Finished 6/29/2009
7. If I Should Die Before I Wake - Han Nolan - Finished 7/9/2009
8. A Break With Charity - Ann Rinaldi - Finished 7/6/2009
9. Twenty Boy Summer - Sarah Ockler - Finished 7/14/2009
10. Hush, Hush - Becca Fitzpatrick - Finished 9/1/2009
    

Waiting on Wednesday

Sponsored by "Breaking the Spine". This weeks can't wait to read selection is:


Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. This book looks so good and I am anxious for it's release in August.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading and it asks us to...

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here's my teaser this week:

I could feel Cannibal's hands in mine, and I could open my eyes, look at him, see the now. Through gritted teeth, I said, "Stop this."

Page 52 - Skin Trade Laurell K. Hamilton

Monday's Goodies

It's Monday! What are you reading this week? is a weekly event hosted by J. Kaye of J. Kaye's Book Blog to list the books completed last week, the books currently being read, and the books to be finished this week.

Books I finished last week:
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane - Katherine Howe

Currently Reading:
Carpe Corpus (Morganville Vampires Book 6) - Rachel Caine

Books to Finish this Week:
Skin Trade - Laurell K. Hamilton

How about you? Why not join in with what you've read, are reading or planning to finish this week or share with me in a comment.




Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

This was a slow week for me and I didn't receive any books.

Weekend Roundup

Well this week has been fairly uneventful, normal week for me. My youngest child is out of school now and next year will be entering the world of Middle School. Boy do I feel old!

We had some wicked thunderstorms Friday night/early Saturday. Woke me up about 1 am shaking the whole house and the noise was amazing. Then you add all the hail that was pelting the windows. Needless to say we didn't sleep much that night.

Saturday we did some deep cleaning of the kitchen and bathroom. Man they needed it bad. Once you get my honey going the man can clean! He did the kitchen while I cleaned the bathroom. Today I'm working on the dog blankets that reek like dogs. Trying desperately to get rid of the smell. Those that don't smell clean when I finish, will be thrown out. Tired of the stench.

I'm planning on going to a local park today to take a nice afternoon walk with my oldest child. It's been a year or so since we've gone there and I've heard they have done a lot of paving and building an amphitheater there. I want to go see how it looks now.

An Award!

Ladybug@Escape in a book awarded me with this lovely Lemonade award.



Here are the rules:
1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

Having only been around the scene for a month or so, just about every blog I read is new to me, and believe me I have a list a mile long. Here are those that I would like to pass the award onto:

1. Katrina@Stone soup
   
2. Amy@Chic Book Chick
   
3. Marie@The Burton Review
   
4. Melissa@Shhh I'm Reading
5. Isalys & Vanessa@BookSoulmates
   
6. Carrie@Carrie's YA Bookshelf
7. Teddy@So Many Precious Books, So Little Time
   
8. MizB@Should Be Reading
   
9. Kim@The Book Butterfly
   
10. Serena@Savvy, Verse, & Wit
    

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane

Just finished the ARC copy I have and I only have one thing to say... I loved it!! That is all.

Booking Thru Thursday

There are certain types of books that I more or less assume all readers read. (Novels, for example.)

But then there are books that only YOU read. Instructional manuals for fly-fishing. How-to books for spinning yarn. How to cook the perfect souffle. Rebuilding car engines in three easy steps. Dog training for dummies. Rewiring your house without electrocuting yourself. Tips on how to build a NASCAR course in your backyard. Stuff like that.

What niche books do YOU read?

I had a harder time with this question, I'm not sure I really have a niche. I'll stop at browse at anything that grabs my eye but usually just stick to my normal reading genre. There are some books I can't resist but wouldn't necessarily think they are a niche.

Books with images of photography/art. I just love reading these, mostly it's just looking. I seldom am able to walk by this section of the store without stopping to look through at least a few. I also love how to draw books. I stink at drawing and they always catch my eye. Haven't bought any yet tho. One day maybe...

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.





I have been seeing this around on blogs and it's got my interest. Looking forward to reading it when it comes out.

Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink due out in August.

An ancient prophecy divides two sisters-


One good...


One evil...


Who will prevail?


Twin sisters Lia and Alice Milthorpe have just become orphans. They have also become enemies. As they discover their roles in a prophecy that has turned generations of sisters against each other, the girls find themselves entangled in a mystery that involves a tattoo-like mark, their parents' deaths, a boy, a book, and a lifetime of secrets.


Lia and Alice don't know whom they can trust.


They just know they can't trust each other.

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

As Connie turned to leave, the young librarian, seating herself at her desk and reaching again for her needlepoint, brightly repeated, "I'm sure that you will find it." And for some reason, Connie believed her.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane - Page 203

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

This week has been a busy week for books. I had a couple that released on Tuesday that I picked up and some come in the mail during the week.









I picked up Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton on Tuesday.

















I also picked up the new Morganville Vampires Book, Carpe Corpus by Rachel Caine.
















I received The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe a giveaway win from Allison and Holly over at Hollys book notes.















I also received Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch on Tuesday, a win from Serena over at Savvy, Verse & Wit.

















On Friday I received Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen from Paperback Swap.

Weekend Roundup

So Thursday we had this wicked thunderstorm here in Oregon. Not totally out of the ordinary but rare indeed. We were actually under a tornado warning for about 45 min at one point. There were even a couple funnel clouds floating around, thankfully none of them produced anything other than thunder and lightning oh and a good amount of wind. Anyhow I was really worried our camp would be messed up really bad. We planned on going up for the weekend anyhow.

So Friday night I went up to get a few last minute items and ended up having a display of 2 liters stacked 4 high fall on my back and backside of my legs and ankles. It was not a pleasant feeling at all and I have a bruised ankle and a gnarly bruise on the back of my other calf. I'm fine just bruised from the whole ordeal. By this time I'm a neurotic mess and really afraid of what we'll find once we get to camp. My honey gets home and we take off to camp. What comes next was a surprise to all even my honey I think.

We got to camp and it seemed as if the storm didn't even hit the area, and we know it did. Nothing was amiss at all and even our tarp was still in place. We both thought for sure that would have been torn down in all the wind that went on. It was awesome!

So we had a relaxing night by the fire and I got some pictures taken by the lantern light. I got a couple really nice one including the mushroom in my post and one of a moth that decided my book was a good resting spot. Oddly enough it blended in well with the cover.

Saturday we had to run back to town to grab a few things I forgot in my stress induced state and check on the animals at home. Camp is only 30 min from home so running home on occasion is no real big deal. We spend the day up at camp with our friends up there and came home first thing this morning.

Today I went on my weekly walk with friends. That's always my highlight for Sunday's. I really enjoy the time I get to spend with them and the walk makes me feel good. The rest of the day I plan on catching up on blogs and laundry, mostly just relaxing before I start my work week tomorrow.

Sticky

I saw this over at Shelley’s, and thought it sounded like a great question for all of you:

“This can be a quick one. Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you’ve read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.”

1. It - Stephen King
2. Insomnia - Stephen King
3. The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield
4. The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova
5. The Gargoyle - Andrew Davidson
6. A Time To Kill - John Grisham
7. Twilight Saga - Stephenie Meyer
8. Interview with a Vampire - Anne Rice
9. Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
10. Harry Potter series - J.K. Rowling
11. Mists of Avalon - Marion Zimmer Bradley
12. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
13. Thirteen Reason Why - Jay Asher
14. Savages - Shirley Conran
15. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

I loved this topic. It was a lot of fun working out this list.

Waiting On Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted here, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

After just finishing Some Girls Bite, I am now anxiously waiting on book 2 to be released.



FRIDAY NIGHT BITES
Chicagoland Vampires: Book Two
NAL/Penguin - October 6, 2009

Vamps in Chicago!

You'd think headlines like that would have provoked the fine citizens of the Windy City to take up arms against us bloodsucking fiends. Instead, ten months later, we're enjoying a celebrity status reserved for the Hollywood elite—fending off paparazzi only slightly less dangerous than cross and stake-wielding slayers. Don't get me wrong, Joe Public isn't exactly thrilled to be living side-by-side with the undead, but at least they haven't stormed the castle yet.

But all that will change once they learn about the Raves—mass feeding parties where vampires round up humans like cattle and drink themselves silly. Most civilized vampires frown on this behavior, putting mere mortals at ease with their policy of asking a person's consent before taking a big gulp of the red stuff. However, that doesn't make good copy for a first time reporter looking to impress his high society family.

So now my "master," the centuries old, yet gorgeously well-preserved Ethan Sullivan, wants me to reconnect with my own upper class family and act as liaison between humans and vampires—and keep the more unsavory aspects of our existence out of the media. But someone doesn't want people and vamps to play nicey-nice—someone with an ancient grudge.

Wonderous Words Wednesday

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading. Feel free to join in the fun.

Obstreperous - –adjective

1.	resisting control or restraint in a difficult manner; unruly.

2.	noisy, clamorous, or boisterous: obstreperous children.

Succinct - –adjective

1.	expressed in few words; concise; terse.

2.	characterized by conciseness or verbal brevity.

3.	compressed into a small area, scope, or compass.

4.	Archaic. a. drawn up, as by a girdle. b. close-fitting. c. encircled, as by a girdle.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Well being in between books at the moment I just grabbed one from my shelf that I haven't read yet, but is next in line.

The book I grabbed is Midnighters by Scott Westerfeld.

Jessica pushed at the front door, anxious for a moment. Then she pushed it open.

Page 18.

Some Girls Bite A Review Of Sorts

Let me start with a big Thank You to Chloe Neill for gifting me this book.

Also I have never reviewed a book before and have no real clue as to what I am doing. So this review will be rough at best but I'm going to give it a shot anyhow.

Okay now that we have gotten that out of the way let's move on. I had heard great reviews about this book before I got it and let me say I was not disappointed at all.

I loved the main character Merit. She's strong willed, stubborn and feisty. I related well to the character Chloe created and that could very easily be what grabbed me right from the start. Although I admit the story started off catchy too, it was the actual character that grabbed me. The supporting characters are all well written and unique in each of their own ways. Gives the world she created more depth. I look forward to getting to know the other characters and Merit more in books to come.

The story was easy to follow and kept me wanting to read longer than I had time too, always a plus in my book, and by the end of the book I was wishing there was more for me to read.
Needless to say I am anxiously awaiting book 2 to come out now.

All in all I give the book a big two thumbs up and would recommend it to anyone who has a soft spot for vampires and the other creatures of the night.

Mailbox Monday

This is a weekly meme hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page. Join the fun and post what you got in your mailbox last week!

This week I received just one book. Next week will be a bit busier. I have a few coming in the mail and a few I'll be picking up on Tuesday.



This week I received Made in the U.S.A. by Billie Letts from Vanessa over at Today's Adventure.


Luttie McFee's history has taught her to avoid attachments...to people, to places, and to almost everything. With her mother long dead and her father long gone to find his fortune in Las Vegas, 15-year-old Luttie lives in the god-forsaken town of Yankton, South Dakota with her nine-year-old brother, Fate, and Floy Satterfield, the 300-pound ex-girlfriend of her father. While Lutie shoplifts for kicks, Fate spends most of his time reading, watching weird TV shows and worrying about global warming and the endangerment of pandas. As if their life is not dismal enough, one day, while shopping in their local Wal-Mart, Floy keels over and the two motherless kids are suddenly faced with the choice of becoming wards of the state or hightailing it out of town in Floy's old Pontiac. Choosing the latter, they head off to Las Vegas in search of a father who has no known address, no phone number and, clearly, no interest in the kids he left behind.