Sunday, December 19, 2010

Buy One Book and Read It Challenge 2011



January 1-December 31, 2011


Amy is hosting the Buy One Book and Read It Challenge again in 2011. She writes:


It's that time of year again! The time of year when I encourage you to pull out those wallets and buy a book...and then actually read it! The Buy One Book and Read It Challenge is back.

This challenge started when I read the depressing statistics that something like half of the adults in the United States wouldn't read a single book over the course of the year. Nothing plunges me into the depths of despair like that, so I decided to encourage people to read a book. When I also realized that bookstores and the publishing industry was suffering, I decided to add on the buying part.


There are two levels to this challenge:
1) Buy One Book and Read It.
This level is good for people who don't read often but think that would like to read more. It's also good for people who don't buy books. If you don't read much or don't buy many books, this is your level.
2) Level Two--Buy one book and read it every month
You don't have to buy a book in January and read it in January, but you must buy 12 books that you also go on to read during the year. This level is ideal for book bloggers notorious for the buying part, but not so much the reading part.


Rules
1) The book you read must be for pleasure. It cannot be a book you are reading to your children, for work, for research. This is all about fun.
2) The book(s) can be print or electronic. Unless you are unable to read print, audiobooks don't count towards this challenge.

Prizes: Everyone who completes the challenge at the level they signed up for will be entered into a drawing to win a ten dollar gift certificate from Gift Certificates.

To join, go to the Buy One Book and Read It Challenge.

Book Review -The Christmas List by Richard Paul Evans



Title: The Christmas List
Author: Richard Paul Evans
Genre: Holiday (Christmas), Romance

Challenges: 101 Books in 1001 Days Challenge, The Naming Convention Challenge, Book Around the States Challenge, Read and Review Challenge 2010, 2010 Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge, 100 + Reading Challenge, Romance Reading Challenge 2010, Audio Book Challenge 2010, Romance Challenge 2010, Pages Read 2010, Every Month is a Holiday 2010, A to Z challenge,

Rating: 5/5
No. of Pages: 352 (Audio)
Published: 2009

Back Cover: Wildly successful real estate mogul James Kier gets the shock of a lifetime when he opens the newspaper and discovers his own obituary has been mistakenly printed. Says the notice, “He was known as a fierce, oftentimes ruthless, businessman.” Kier’s initial anger soon melts with the realization that he’s been given a rare opportunity to face his own legacy. Confronting the mistakes he’s made, he creates a list of people he’s wronged and begins seeking atonement on a path strewn with surprises.

Mine: A wonderful story as usually by Mr. Evans – I love his holiday stories (The Christmas Box). James Kier is a ruthless businessman and mogal, but he wasn’t always. After seeing his premature obituary he decides to try to go back and see if he can rectify some of the deals he made.

Just like A Christmas Carol, he has his assistant make a list of the people that he has hurt the most with his business deals and tries to do right by them. Along the way he finds the old self of the humble beginnings. I think this should become a Christmas classic, since the true meaning of Christmas is always found in the end.

Book Review - The Christmas Blessing by Donna VanLiere




Title: The Christmas Blessing
Author: Donna VanLiere
Genre: Holiday (Christmas)

Challenges: To Be Continued…Challenge, 101 Books in 1001 Days Challenge, Book Around the States Challenge, Read and Review Challenge 2010, Read Your Own Books 2010, TBR Challenge 2010, Reading From My Shelves Project 2010, 100 + Reading Challenge, Romance Reading Challenge 2010, Audio Book Challenge 2010, Romance Challenge 2010, Pages Read 2010, Every Month is a Holiday 2010, Contemporary Romance Challenge in 2010

Rating: 5/5
No. of Pages: 224 (Audio)
Published: 2003

Back Cover: In The Christmas Shoes, young Nathan Andrews was a child who lost his mother to cancer. Now his deepest wish is to become a doctor. When a stranger named Robert gave him the money to buy his mother a pair of shoes for her last Christmas, both Robert and Nathan learned the deepest lessons of love and giving. Now a medical student in his third year, Nathan realizes there are still things to be learned about faith, blessings, and sacrifice. Lessons he will learn from Meghan Sullivan-a young woman born with a hole in her heart that has not kept her from becoming a champion runner. And lessons learned from a young boy named Charlie, who teaches how to live a life of true courage. Together, they will help guide Nathan through the darkest period in his life. The Christmas Blessing is an inspiring about hope existing in the darkest places, and love is always the greatest gift of all.

Mine: In the continuation of The Christmas Shoes, Nathan is now grown up and a medical student with a crisis of conscience (is he really cut out to be a doctor).

He runs into Robert (not knowingly at first) as he visits his mother at the cemetery as he leaves the shoes. Robert notices and tries to track him down.

Meghan Sullivan is a friend of Charlie’s and a patient that Nathan has to deal with. Meghan meets Nathan as she is looking for people to sponsor and participate in a charity race. Meghan and Charlie teach Nathan the meaning of Christmas and the gift of giving and faith again. Nathan thought that this was forever lost.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Freebie Friday - The Cat Who Knew the Cardinal by Lilian Jackson Braun (ends 12/24)




Back in Pickax, Jim Qwilleran expects to resume a quite life, but the people and animals of Pickax have other ideas. A noisy cardinal wakes him every morning Nosy neighbors drop by uninvited and the Siamese misbehave, even sneezing on guest. As if they weren't bad enough, Qwill's long-time companion acts as though she is in love - with another man. But worst of all, Qwill finds a body in his apple orchard. When Qwill's friend becomes the chief suspect, he embarks on a crusade to clear Dennis Hough's name and win back Polly Duncan's heart. Even Koko sniffs out a few clues. But will their efforts be too little too late? Not even Koko knows for sure in the quirky, engaging romp through Moose County.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Tuesday Link-Ups

Hope you will check out these blog hops and find some great new blogs to follow - some have some great giveaways.


BWS tips  button Photobucket Busy Mom's Tips Tuesday Blog Hop

Guest Blog & Giveaway- Sybil Baker - Talismans

Confessions of a Writer and English Professor
By Sybil Baker

When I look at a blog such as Books Books the Magical Fruit, I’m ashamed and inspired.

Inspired because as a writer and writing teacher, I always love to see places devoted to books and book lovers. I start to feel optimistic about the world again.

But I’m ashamed as well. For even though I’m a book lover (as a writer and reader),I don’t do much of my own reading for the sheer joy of it any more, especially during the university semesters. Don’t get me wrong—I read, a lot. But what I read is not of my choosing.

For example, this semester I spent much of my time reading and commenting on student short stories, reading assigned published short stories, reading writing blogs and magazines such as Poets and Writers to stay current in my field, and reading demanding texts for my humanities classes such as The Odyssey, The Inferno, and The Aeneid. On the one hand I can’t complain (I’m getting paid to read The Odyssey, how cool is that?), but on the other when I see someone at a coffee shop or in the library reading just because they want to, I feel a tinge of envy.

For even when I do have time to read what I want, I’m still reading with my own career as a writer and teacher in mind. For example, I’ve been working on a novel set in South Korea, and as a result have been reading novels and nonfiction by Korean Americans. In the spring I’ll be teaching a contemporary Southern literature class, and will be spending much of my winter break reading the novels I’ll be teaching. And as a creative writing teacher, I find it’s important to stay current with the latest short story collections so that I can pass that information on to my students.

Again, I’m not complaining. I love to read short stories, Southern literature and Korean American literature. Heck, I’d probably read much of it anyway even if I didn’t feel that I needed to. But I am ashamed that I don’t carve a space for books that I want to read just for me without any pay off or purpose except for the joy of reading a good story. That’s why a blog like this inspires me to make sure I leave time to read and discover books that I want to read for me and no one and nothing else.




Synopsis:
Elise understands her father—a Vietnam vet who abandoned her when she was an
infant—about as much as she does her church organist mother and the rest of their
suburban Virginian town. When even that thin thread of connection is suddenly
severed, Elise is flung across the world, to Southeast Asia. Tracing the steps her father took through the war, Elise searches for a connection —with his ghost, with other travelers, with the foreign culture and environment she experiences. In a series of linked short stories, Talismans follows Elise’s journey to learn what she must hold onto,and what she must leave behind




About the Author:
Sybil has always had wandering feet. First, she left her hometown in northern Virginia for Boulder where she completed her Master’s in English at the University of Colorado. She eventually moved back to Virginia but soon the wandering bug bit her again. This time she spent twelve years teaching English in South Korea and traveling the world. So far she has checked off over 30 countries, many in Asia. Her path did lead back to the United States where she received her MFA at The Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2005 and began teaching creative writing at the University of Tennessee in 2007. These days she satisfies her wanderlust by writing about exotic locales from the Chattanooga home she shares with her husband.

Author's Websites:

Sybil Baker’s website: http://sybilbaker.com/home.html
Sybil Baker’s Blogs: http://sybilbaker.blogspot.com/


Monday, December 13, 2010

What Are You Reading Monday? #23





Books I completed in the last week are:
*Reading a lot of children’s book – I’m going to make a challenge of the titles found in 1001 Children’s Books to Read before I Grow Up (just need help with a button)
The Christmas Blessing by Donna VanLiere (Audio) Sequeal to the Christmas Shoes


Bookmarks are still living in the middle of:
*Reading a lot of children’s book – I’m going to make a challenge of the titles found in 1001 Children’s Books to Read before I Grow Up (just need help with a button)
Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen
The Christmas List by Richard Evans(Audio)


Up Next:
Beachcombers by
The Wedding Girl by Madeleine Wickham
Kissing Christmas Goodbye by M.C. Beaton (Audio)
A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck (Audio)
Who’s that Knocking on Christmas Eve by Jan Brett

Reviews posted this week:

Author Guest Posts/Interviews:
Blog Tour - Sybil Baker Guest Blog – Talisman (December 14)
Virtual Blog Tour -Andrewa Nepa Review -Red in the Flower Bed: An Illustrated Children's Story about Interracial Adoption (December 18)
Book Tour - Review - Sandra J. Gerencher - Second Chance: How Adoption Saved a Boy with Autism & His Shelter Dog (January 18)

Special Blog Hop Giveaways
Midwinter's Eve Giveaway Hop (December 21 & 22)
Dreaming of Books Hop (January 14 – 17)

Books still needing to have reviews written (as opposed to the ones that are simply awaiting posting):
The Christmas Blessing by Donna VanLiere (Audio) Sequeal to the Christmas Shoes
Mrs. Miracle by Debbie Macomber
Cooking Up Murder by Miranda Bliss
The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber
Stick It! 99 DIY Duct Tape Projects
The Absent Author by Ron Roy (Audio)
The Bald Bandit by Ron Roy (Audio)
The Canary Caper by Ron Roy (Audio)
The Knight at Dawn (Magic Tree House #2) by Mary Pope Osborne
Indiana Caper by Dallas Relaford
Moon River and Me by Andy Williams (audio)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Audio) by J.K. Rowling
Disney At Dawn (Kingdom Keepers #2) by Ridley Pearson
Disney After Dark (Kingdom Keepers #1) by Ridley Pearson (my nephew likes me to read his books sometimes and then we discuss)
*Are You My Mother? By P. D. Eastman
*Corduroy by Dan Freeman
A Fatal Slip (Crime & Clay #3) by Melissa Glazer
Back on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber (Audio)
Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts
*Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (1001 Children’s Books)
Hero At Large by Janet Evanovich
Home: Memoir of my Early Years by Julie Andrews (Audio)
Let Them Eat Cake by Sandra Byrd(Audio)
The Year Mom Won the Pennant by Matt Christopher (my nephew likes me to read his books sometimes and then we discuss)
Miss Brooks Loves Books (and I don’t) by Barbara Bottner
Playing for Pizza by John Grisham (audio)
Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts


Giveaways on the blog this week:

Low Country by Ann Siddons (ends 12/17)

The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy (ends 12/10) – Jessica (mailed)

Friday, December 10, 2010

Freebie Friday - Low Country by Anne Rivers Siddons (ends 12/17)





Caroline Venable has everything her Southern heritage promised: money, prestige, a powerful husband—and a predictable routine of country-club luncheons, cocktail parties, and dinners hosting her husband's wealthy friends, clients, and associates in his successful land-developing conglomerate.

To escape her stifling routine, Caro drinks a little too much. But her true solace is the Lowcountry island her beloved Granddaddy left her—an oasis of breathtaking beauty that is home to a band of wild ponies. When Caro learns that her husband must develop the island or lose the business, she is devastated. The Lowcountry is her heritage—and what will happen to the ponies whose spirit and freedom have captivated her since childhood?

Saving the island could cost Caroline more than she ever imagined. To succeed, she must confront the part of herself numbed by alcohol and careful avoidance—and shatter long-held ideals about her role in society, her marriage, and ultimately, herself.



Monday, December 6, 2010

Monday Link- Ups

Photobucket

What Are You Reading Monday? #22





Books I completed in the last week are:
*Reading a lot of children’s book – I’m going to make a challenge of the titles found in 1001 Children’s Books to Read before I Grow Up (just need help with a button)


Bookmarks are still living in the middle of:
*Reading a lot of children’s book – I’m going to make a challenge of the titles found in 1001 Children’s Books to Read before I Grow Up (just need help with a button)
Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen
The Christmas Blessing by Donna VanLiere (Audio) Sequeal to the Christmas Shoes

Up Next:
Beachcombers by
The Wedding Girl by Madeleine Wickham


Reviews posted this week:

Author Guest Posts/Interviews:
Blog Tour - Sybil Baker Guest Blog – Talisman (December 14)
Virtual Blog Tour -Andrewa Nepa Review -Red in the Flower Bed: An Illustrated Children's Story about Interracial Adoption (December 18)
Book Tour - Review - Sandra J. Gerencher - Second Chance: How Adoption Saved a Boy with Autism & His Shelter Dog (January 18)

Special Blog Hop Giveaways
Midwinter's Eve Giveaway Hop (December 21 & 22)
Dreaming of Books Hop (January 14 – 17)

Books still needing to have reviews written (as opposed to the ones that are simply awaiting posting):
Mrs. Miracle by Debbie Macomber
Cooking Up Murder by Miranda Bliss
The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber
Stick It! 99 DIY Duct Tape Projects
The Absent Author by Ron Roy (Audio)
The Bald Bandit by Ron Roy (Audio)
The Canary Caper by Ron Roy (Audio)
The Knight at Dawn (Magic Tree House #2) by Mary Pope Osborne
Indiana Caper by Dallas Relaford
Moon River and Me by Andy Williams (audio)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Audio) by J.K. Rowling
Disney At Dawn (Kingdom Keepers #2) by Ridley Pearson
Disney After Dark (Kingdom Keepers #1) by Ridley Pearson (my nephew likes me to read his books sometimes and then we discuss)
*Are You My Mother? By P. D. Eastman
*Corduroy by Dan Freeman
A Fatal Slip (Crime & Clay #3) by Melissa Glazer
Back on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber (Audio)
Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts
*Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (1001 Children’s Books)
Hero At Large by Janet Evanovich
Home: Memoir of my Early Years by Julie Andrews (Audio)
Let Them Eat Cake by Sandra Byrd(Audio)
The Year Mom Won the Pennant by Matt Christopher (my nephew likes me to read his books sometimes and then we discuss)
Miss Brooks Loves Books (and I don’t) by Barbara Bottner
Playing for Pizza by John Grisham (audio)
Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts


Giveaways on the blog this week:


The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy (ends 12/10)

Thanksgiving by Janet Evanovich (ends 12/3) - Glenda Cates (Mailed)

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Freebie Friday - The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy (ends 12/10)




Pat Conroy has created a huge, brash thunderstorm of a novel, stinging with honesty and resounding with drama.

Spanning forty years, this is the story of turbulent Tom Wingo, his gifted and troubled twin sister, Savannah, and the dark and violent past of the extraordinary family to which they were born.

Filled with the vanishing beauty of the South Carolina lowcountry as well as the dusty glitter of New York City, The Prince Of Tides is Pat Conroy's most magnificent novel yet.

Monday, November 29, 2010

What Are You Reading Monday? #21





Books I completed in the last week are:
*Reading a lot of children’s book – I’m going to make a challenge of the titles found in 1001 Children’s Books to Read before I Grow Up (just need help with a button)
Cooking Up Murder by Miranda Bliss




Bookmarks are still living in the middle of:
*Reading a lot of children’s book – I’m going to make a challenge of the titles found in 1001 Children’s Books to Read before I Grow Up (just need help with a button)

Mrs. Miracle by Debbie Macomber (audio)

Up Next:
Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen
The Wedding Girl by Madeleine Wickham


Reviews posted this week:
Eddie Robinson by Denny Dressman
Big Girl by Danielle Steel

Author Guest Posts/Interviews:
Blog Tour - Sybil Baker Guest Blog – Talisman (December 14)
Virtual Blog Tour -Andrewa Nepa Review -Red in the Flower Bed: An Illustrated Children's Story about Interracial Adoption (December 18)

Books still needing to have reviews written (as opposed to the ones that are simply awaiting posting):
Cooking Up Murder by Miranda Bliss
The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber
Stick It! 99 DIY Duct Tape Projects
The Absent Author by Ron Roy (Audio)
The Bald Bandit by Ron Roy (Audio)
The Canary Caper by Ron Roy (Audio)
The Knight at Dawn (Magic Tree House #2) by Mary Pope Osborne
Indiana Caper by Dallas Relaford
Moon River and Me by Andy Williams (audio)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Audio) by J.K. Rowling
Disney At Dawn (Kingdom Keepers #2) by Ridley Pearson
Disney After Dark (Kingdom Keepers #1) by Ridley Pearson (my nephew likes me to read his books sometimes and then we discuss)
*Are You My Mother? By P. D. Eastman
*Corduroy by Dan Freeman
A Fatal Slip (Crime & Clay #3) by Melissa Glazer
Back on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber (Audio)
Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts
*Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (1001 Children’s Books)
Hero At Large by Janet Evanovich
Home: Memoir of my Early Years by Julie Andrews (Audio)
Let Them Eat Cake by Sandra Byrd(Audio)
The Year Mom Won the Pennant by Matt Christopher (my nephew likes me to read his books sometimes and then we discuss)
Miss Brooks Loves Books (and I don’t) by Barbara Bottner
Playing for Pizza by John Grisham (audio)
Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts


Giveaways on the blog this week:
Thanksgiving by Janet Evanovich (ends 12/3)

Chick Lit (ends 11/12)
Winners:
Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns - Lynda Samayoa (mailed )
Full Tilt by Janet Evanovich – Emma (Mailed )

Friday, November 26, 2010

Friday Link - Ups 11/26

Friend Finding FridaysPhotobucketSmart and Trendy Moms

Freebie Friday - Thanksgiving by Janet Evanovich - Ends 12/3




When Megan Murphy discovers a floppy-eared rabbit gnawing on the hem of her skirt, she means to give its careless owner a piece of her mind, but Dr. Patrick Hunter is too attractive to stay mad at for long.

As for Patrick, he wants nothing more than to play house with Maggie—and make Thanksgiving dinner for their families.

But Megan has wept over one failed love, and she's afraid to risk her heart again. Can the good doctor help heal her heart?