Happy New Year 2012

Year-End 2011 Reading Challenges Update

Challenges signed up for: 53
Challenges Completed: 13 (25%)
Will be cutting back for next year. I came close on some but just couldn’t finish the books. I’m hoping now that I’ve discovered ebooks that I can read on my iPad that it will help for next year.
2011 Challenges
100+ Reading Challenge (Jan – Dec 2011) 94/100
2011 Audiobook Challenge (Jan – Dec 2011) 21/12 – COMPLETED

2011 Chick Lit Challenge (Jan – Dec 2011) 1/12
2011 E-Book Reading Challenge (Jan – Dec 2011) 15/12 – COMPLETED
2011 Foodies Reading Challenge (Jan – Dec 2011) 1/3
2011 Read-n-Review (Jan – Dec 2011) 53/100
2011 Romance Reading Challenge (Jan – Dec 2011) 6/12
2011 Romantic Suspense Reading Challenge (Jan – Dec 2011) 0/12
2011 Sexy Reading Challenge (Jan – Dec 2011) 12/12
2011 Show Me The Free Reading Challenge (Jan – Dec 2011) 8/12
2011 Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge (Jan – Dec 2011) 46/50
2011 War Through the Generations Challenge: U.S. Civil War (Jan – Dec 2011) 2/5
2011 YA Romance Challenge (Jan – Dec 2011) 0/12
50 States Challenge in 2011 (Jan – Dec 2011) 12/50
A to Z challenge (Jan-Dec 2011) 21/26
A-Z Mystery Author Challenge (A-I) (Jan – Dec 2011) 3/12
Books Won Challenge 2011 (Jan-Dec 2011) 0/??
Buy One Book and Read It Challenge 2011 (Jan-Dec 2011) 3/1

Celebrate the Author (Jan-Dec 2011) 0/12
Comicbook Challenge (Jan-Dec 2011) 2/15
Contemporary Romance Reading Challenge 2011 (Jan – Dec 2011) 13/12 COMPLETED
Cruisin' thru the Cozies (Jan – Dec 2011) 5/12
Harlequin/Silhouette 2011 Reading Challenge (Jan – Dec 2011) 0/12
Just For Fun Reading Challenge (Jan – Dec 2011) 7/12
Memorable Memoirs Reading Challenge, 2011 Edition (Jan – Dec 2011) 2/1 COMPLETED
Nicholas Sparks Reading Challenge (Jan-Dec 2011) 1/4
Off Your Shelf Challenge (Jan – Dec 2011) 0/5
Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge 2011 (Jan-Dec 2011) 13/6 (more than 81)
Pages Read Challenge (Jan – Dec 2011) 10,657/20,000
Reading from My Shelves Project 2011 (Jan – Dec 2011) 6/12
Romance Reading Challenge (Jan – Dec 2011) 3/5
Series Challenge Season 5 (Jan – Dec 2011) 2/3
The Page to Screen Reading Challenge (Jan – Dec 2011) 3/5
Whats In a Name Challenge 4 (Jan – Dec 2011) 0/6
Whisper In My Ears Audio Challenge (Jan – Dec 2011) 30/12 COMPLETED
Young Readers Challenge (Jan – Dec 2011) 13/12


2010 – 2011 Cross Over Challenges
What An Animal III Challenge (March 1, 2010 to February 28, 2011) 13/12 - COMPLETED
Read, Remember, Recommend for Teens Challenge - EXPIRED

Read, Remember, Recommend Fiction Challenge – EXPIRED



Perpetual
To Be Continued…Challenge (October 20, 2008 – April 10, 2011) 66/52 COMPLETED
Book Around the States Challenge (October 22, 2008 - ????) 25/50
US Presidents Reading Project (November 5, 2008 - ???) 5/44
1001 Childrens book Before I Grow Up (June 1, 2010 - ???) 43/1001
101 Books in 1001 Days Challenge (September 28, 2010 – June 23, 2013) 97/101
The Naming Convention Challenge (October 20, 2008 - ???) 5/9


OnThePorchSwing (Yahoo Group)
1. Read a book with a one word title (if it has The or A in it), leave that out and just count the one word after it.... Wrecked by Carol Higgins Clark
2. Read a book with a number in the title.
3. Read a young adult book FROM the science fiction genre.
4. Read a mystery by an author whose last name starts with a "K"
5. Read a book with orange or pink in the title
For a fun extra - pick a book on a subject in history you are interested in, or a travel book on a place you have always wanted to visit, or an artist you are interested in, and share your experience with us.
MysteryReaderCafe (YahooGroup)
1. Read a mystery set in your state (one you live in now or one where you are originally from)
2. Read a mystery where the amateur sleuth has a craft or a hobby or a specific type of job (like working in a shop of some sort) – The Chocolate Snowman Murder by JoAnna Carl(Chocolate Shop)
3. Read a mystery with the word dark or black in the title
4. Read a mystery from the young adult section of your library
5. Read a mystery by an author whose last name starts with "M"
For a fun extra, read a mystery whose title has the first letter of your first and last name in it - like for me - I would have to have read one that had an L and an H in it (in either order) - like the Last Hollow of the Dark, or Hateful Crimes of the Lowlands (I made these titles up..

Excellence In Reading 2012 Challenge

January 1,2012 – December 31,2012

Woohoo! We are quickly approaching a new year...2012! That means we are starting out fresh with a brand new children's reading challenge. I am so excited! This year our challenge is called Excellence In Reading.

To join our club, please Grab Our Button. The html code is located on the top right hand side of this page. Let's spread the word and see how many will join us.


This is the reading list we will be following. Keep in mind, this is recommended for children in grades K-3. If you have older children you can find a more age appropriate list at National Endowment for the Humanities. We encourage children of all ages and their parents to join us in reading. Note to parents: You may read aloud to your children, it will still count towards the goal.
1. Aardema, Verna. Who's in Rabbit's House?.
2. Aesop. Fables.
3. Atwater, Richard and Florence. Mr. Popper’s Penguins.
4. Bemelmans, Ludwig. Madeline.
5. Benchley, Nathaniel. Sam the Minuteman.
6. Blume, Judy. Freckle Juice.
7. Brown, Marcia. Stone Soup.
8. Brown, Margaret Wise. Goodnight Moon.
9. Brunhoff, Jean de. The Story of Babar.
10. Burton, Virginia Lee. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel.
11. Carroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
12. Cleary, Beverly. The Mouse and the Motorcycle.
13. Collodi, Carlo. Adventures of Pinocchio.
14. Crews, Donald. Freight Train.
15. Daugherty, James. Andy and the Lion.
16. dePaola, Tomie. Strega Nona.
17. Flack, Marjorie. The Angus series.
18. Freeman, Don. Corduroy.
19. Fritz, Jean. The Cabin Faced West.
20. Gag, Wanda. Millions of Cats.
21. Galdone, Paul. The Three Little Pigs.
22. Goble, Paul. The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses.
23. Grahame, Kenneth. The Reluctant Dragon.
24. Gramatky, Hardie. Little Toot.
25. Hoban, Russell. Bedtime for Frances.
26. Johnson, Crockett. Harold and the Purple Crayon.
27. Keats, Ezra Jack. The Snowy Day
28. Kraus, Robert. Leo the Late Bloomer.
29. Krauss, Ruth. The Carrot Seed.
30. Leaf, Munro. The Story of Ferdinand.
31. Lear, Edward. A Book of Nonsense.
32. Levison, Riki. Watch the Stars Come Out.
33. Lionni, Leo. Frederick.
34. Lobel, Arnold. Frog and Toad Are Friends.
35. Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Paul Revere's Ride.
36. Lopshire, Robert. Put Me in the Zoo.
37. Marshall, James. George and Martha.
38. McCloskey, Robert. Make Way for Ducklings.
39. McDermott, Gerald. Anansi the Spider.
40. Milne, A.A. Winnie-the-Pooh.
41. Parish, Peggy. Amelia Bedelia.
42. Piper, Watty. The Little Engine That Could.
43. Potter, Beatrix. The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
44. Rey, H.A. Curious George.
45. Selden, George. The Cricket in Times Square.
46. Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are.
47. Seuss, Dr. The Cat in the Hat.
48. Slobodkina, Esphyr. Caps for Sale.
49. Steig, William. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble.
50. Stevenson, Robert Louis. A Child’s Garden of Verses
51. Taylor, Sydney. All-of-a-Kind Family.
52. Thurber, James. Many Moons.
53. Udry, Janice May. A Tree is Nice.
54. Van Allsburg, Chris. The Garden of Abdul Gasazi.
55. Viorst, Judith. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
56. Ward, Lynd. The Biggest Bear.
57. White, E.B. Charlotte’s Web.
58. Yashima, Taro. Crow Boy.
59. Zion, Gene. Harry the Dirty Dog.
60. Zolotow, Charlotte. William’s Doll.

After the new year begins, I will place a linky each week so all you excellent readers can share which books you have finished. This should be great fun!

December 2011 Monthly Recap

Books Read: 10
YTD: 94

Posted in December
Reviews: What Do Penguins Want for Christmas? By Casey Crayne (ebook),
Carrot Cake's Chistmas Book by MK Bashlor (ebook),
Summer Island by Kristin Hannah (Audio),
Six Weeks to Yehidah by Melissa Studdard
Discussion Posts:
Author Interviews: Six Weeks to Yehidah by Melissa Studdard,
Night Series #2 by Lisa Kessler, Touch by Jus Accardo, Busted in Bollywood by Nicola Marsh , Hellsbane by Paige Cuccaro , The Last Beginning by Rachel Firasek , Under the Moon by Natalie Damschroder
Author Guest Posts: Use Journaling to Get Motivated by Mari McCarthy (Dark Chockolate for the Journaler’s Soul), Do Clothes Make the Man (or Woman)? By Inara Scott (Radiant Desire)
What’s coming in January?

Dreaming of Books Hop (January 13 – 18, 2012)


Young Adult Giveaway Hop (January 27 – 31, 2012)

Most Recent Winners

Midwnter Eve Blog Hop

The Winter Lodge by Susan Wiggs - Mary Ann Brady
Snowbird by Stef Ann Holm - Cindy Gates

Gift Card Giveaway Hop

$10 B&N Gift Card - Anna Sindt

The Last Beginning by Rachel Firasek(ebook) - Pamela Rosensteel

Hellsbane by Paige Cuccaro (ebook) - Linda Sorstokke

Touch by Jus Accardo (ebook) - Alison Fees


Books and Gift Cards have been sent out.

For those of you that won ebooks they will be coming from the publisher

Texas Statehood Giveaway - Texasville by Larry McMurtry(ends 1/5/2012)

In honor of the Statehood of Texas I will be giving away a copy of Texasville by arry McMurtry.

With Texasville, Larry McMurtry returns to the unforgettable Texas town and characters of one of his best-loved books, The Last Picture Show. This is a Texas-sized story brimming with home truths of the heart, and men and women we recognize, believe in, and care about deeply. Set in the post-oil-boom 1980s, Texasville brings us up to date with Duane, who's got an adoring dog, a sassy wife, a twelve-million-dollar debt, and a hot tub by the pool; Jacy, who's finished playing "Jungla" in Italian movies and who's returned to Thalia; and Sonny -- Duane's teenage rival for Jacy's affections -- who owns the car wash, the Kwik-Sackstore, and the video arcade.

One of Larry McMurtry's funniest and most touching contemporary novels.


I'm trying using Rafflecopter for the first time so hope this works. Thanks for playing and good luck.

2012 Women's Murder Club Reading Challenge

January 1 - December 31, 2012

Challenge details:

1. This challenge will run from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012.

2. You can join the challenge at any time, whether you haven't yet started the series or are already halfway through. All books read in 2012 count for the challenge, regardless of when you sign up.

3. This challenge can cross-over to your other reading challenges.

4. You do not need a blog to participate! If you are not a blogger, you can post your reviews at Goodreads, Shelfari, or LibraryThing and link them up here.

5. All formats of books are acceptable: Bound copies, e-books, and audiobooks (as long as they are unabridged).

6. There are four levels for the challenge:

a. Level 1: Read 1-3 books in the series.
b. Level 2: Read 4-6 books in the series.
c. Level 3: Read 7-9 books in the series.
d. Level 4: Read 10-11 books in the series.

7. When you write your sign-up post, you must choose your level. You can go up, but you cannot go down!

8. There will be link-ups for your reviews on a quarterly basis, which will be posted on THIS page.

9. There will be a link for your wrap-up post at the end of the year.

10. Create a sign-up post and link back to this post. Sign up with Mister Linky below! Be sure to use the direct url to your sign-up post and not the url to your blog.

9. Grab the challenge button and post it in your sidebar. Copy and paste this HTML code into an HTML gadget for your sidebar:

For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Global Reading Challenge 2012

January 1,2012 – December 31,2012


As in the past, the Global Reading Challenge (GRC) challenges you to expand your reading boundaries, go where you haven't been before, move a little outside your comfort zone.
You may read any genre so long as the books are fiction.
Decide which level you will attempt, although you can change that later if you wish.
Use the Mr Linky to sign up with your name, the level you intend to attempt, and your blog URL.
Feel free to include the logo in your blog posts or on your blog (with a link to this page)
Your reading will take place in the calendar year 2012.
Return to this page to add the books you have read into the relevant Mr Linky - see the sections below
You may like to consult Global Reading Challenges for 2011 and 2010 for suggestions of books.
If you need to make a comment please do so here
The Easy Challenge
Read one novel from each of these continents in the course of 2012:
Africa
Asia
Australasia/Oceania
Europe
North America
South America (please include Central America where it is most convenient for you)
The Seventh Continent (here you can either choose Antarctica or your own ´seventh´ setting, eg the sea, the space, a supernatural/paranormal world, history, the future – you name it).
From your own continent: try to find a country, state or author that is new to you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Medium Challenge
Read two novels from each of these continents in the course of 2012:
Africa
Asia
Australasia
Europe
North America
South America (please include Central America where it is most convenient for you)
The Seventh Continent
Try to find novels from fourteen different countries or states.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Expert Challenge
Read three novels from each of these continents in the course of 2012:
Africa
Asia
Australasia
Europe
North America
South America (please include Central America where it is most convenient for you)
The Seventh Continent


For more information go here

What Are You Reading Monday? #34

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)


Flowerbed of State ( A White House Gardener Mystery #1) by Dorothy St. James
Froggy Boots Go With Everything by Jill Martin





Up Next:


Mary & Penny’s Christmas Wish (ebook)
A Camp Edison Christmas by Cynthia Davis (ebook)
Snowed Under: A Christmas Short Story by Jude Ryan (ebook)
The North Pole Challenge by Kevin George (ebook)
The Path to Christmas by Ruth Ann Nordin (ebook)
The Santa Diaries: A New Fangles Christmas Book One by Betsy Haynes (ebook)

Reviews posted this week:




Author Guest Posts/Interviews:


Guest Blog/Giveaway – Breeana Puttroff (Seeds of Discovery) (Jan 8)


Special Blog Hop Giveaways



Gift Card Giveaway Hop (December 9 – 13, 2011) Winner –
Midwinters Eve (December 21 – 27, 2011)
Dreaming of Books Hop (January 13 – 18, 2012)
Follower Love Hop (February 7 – 13, 2012)

Books still needing to have reviews written (as opposed to the ones that are simply awaiting posting):




Giveaways on the blog this week and in coming weeks:





Texas Statehood Giveaway - Texasville by Larry McMurtry (Dec 29)

Merry Christmas

Read Your Name Challenge 2012

January 1 - December 31, 2012


Hi, I am Victoria and this is the first challenge & only challenge I have ever hosted/probably will host. (It's a lot of work!) I have hosted this challenge in the past (2010), but in 2011, I chose not to host it. But here it is again for 2012!

Anyhoo, the challenge is to read your name in book title first letters, ultimately spelling out your name. That means:

Using your first name, or blogger name, or your pets name, or even your favorite literary character's name; whichever you like, choose books with first title letters that spell out your name. Such as my name: Victoria. the first book's title would start with the letter V, then the next book title begins with I, etc. Make sense? (I hope so!)


Rules/Guidelines:
Whenever you have finished a book for this challenge: If you have a blog, come back here and leave your review link in the Mr. Linky that will be up; for the book you've read & reviewed. If you do not have a blog, please just leave your progress in a comment. :)

The challenge runs from Jan. 1st 2012, to Dec. 31st 2012. You may join at any time between Jan 1st and Nov 30th.
Last but not least, be sure to sign up using Mister Linky Below! & If you want to, leave a comment with what name you're going to use and where it came from. :) Oh, and don't forget to link back (with the above button, top of this post) to the challenge from your blog to show you're participating! (If Mr. Linky does not appear to be working, then please just leave a comment with your info!)

Other (minor) Details:
NAMES ONLY PLEASE! You DO NOT have to use your whole name; just your first name if you want, & initials are okay. No words like: water, book, blue, etc. please, just regular old official NAMES.

Books read before 1/1/12 do not count. Audio books and eBooks are okay. & Crossovers with other challenges are also okay.

You could read the books in any order you wish, I certainly can't show up at your door threatening to banish you from the challenge if you don't! But then what is the point of READING YOUR NAME out in book title first-letters if you're not going to do it in order? You're basically just re-arranging a bunch of letters to spell out your name, and that's not really the point of this challenge, lol. :)


For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.



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Stephanie Plum Reading Challenge (Perpetual)

Perpetual Reading Challenge


Rules:


1. This is a perpetual challenge, which means there is no end date. You will finish the challenge whenever you finish the series! Take as much time as you need.

2. The challenge will begin on January 1, 2012. You can join the challenge at any time, whether you haven't yet started the series or are already halfway through.

3. This challenge can cross-over to your other reading challenges.

4. You do not need a blog to participate! If you are not a blogger, you can post your reviews at Goodreads, Shelfari, or LibraryThing and link them up here.

5. All formats of books are acceptable: Bound copies, e-books, and audiobooks (as long as they are unabridged).

6. There will be link-ups for your reviews on a quarterly basis, which will be posted on THIS page.

7. There will be a link for your wrap-up post at the end of the year.

8. Create a sign-up post and link back to this post. Sign up with Mister Linky below! Be sure to use the direct url to your sign-up post and not the url to your blog.

9. Grab the challenge button and post it in your sidebar.

Sign up here

Virtural Book Tour/Review/Author Intervew/Giveaway - Six Weeks to Yehidah by Melissa Studdard

Title: Six Weeks to Yehidah
Author: Melissa Studdard
Publisher: All Things That Matter Press
ISBN: 9780984651702
Release Date: August 2nd 2011
Pages: 170
Genre: Young Adult
Format: ebook
Source: Tourz de Codex for review

GoodReads:
Move over, C.S. Lewis; Melissa Studdard is here! Annalise of the Verdant Hills is one of the most delightful protagonists to skip through the pages of literature since Dorothy landed in Oz. Join Annalise and her two walking, talking wondersheep as they travel to ever more outlandish places and meet outrageous and enlightening folk on their journey to discover interconnectedness in a seemingly disconnected world. Discover with them how just one person can be the start of the change we all strive for. A book for all ages, for all time: wonderful, wacky, and bursting with truth!

Mine:
It is a can’t put down book and I did finish quite quickly.

Six Weeks to Yehidah is the story of Annalise, a young girl who enters a wondrous dreamscape. What a magical trip for all to take, it’s a true journey of life that will make you think about your own. It makes you think about what goes on around you. It should be must read for the young and young at heart. It's amazing to see how a child sees the world without judgement.

Author Interview

Describe your book in five words or less.
Magical, Mythical, Mystical

How did the ideas for your books come to you?
I get ideas so many different ways – from talking to people, observing the world, and reading other books. My favorite and most frequent way is through dreams . For a long time, I’ve been fascinated by the mechanisms of the unconscious mind, and in the years preceding the composition of Six Weeks to Yehidah I’d done an intensive study of dreams, meditation, visualization, and so forth. I kept a dream journal and meditated regularly. I listened to guided meditations, which are rich with imagery. In the end, it was a combination of dreaming and waking imagination that birthed the scenes in this book

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Six Weeks to Yehidah is about love, tolerance, acceptance of ourselves and others, and finding purpose in life. I want readers to understand that to a large extent we create our own realities and circumstances and that we can all live magical, meaningful lives if we approach them with mindfulness, authenticity, and love.

What is the hardest part of writing for you? What's the easiest?
I wear a lot of hats. I’m a single mom, an editor, a radio show host, a professor. Finding time has to be the hardest part. If I could, I would write several hours a day, at least five days a week. Right now, my life doesn’t allow for that. That kills me because I feel ideas slip by, and I fear sometimes I’ll never get them back.
The easiest part is making things up. I love making things up. Thank goodness I’m a writer. Otherwise I might be a pathological liar. Haha.

What's next for you? Are you currently working on or have plans for future projects?
I’m currently putting together a book based on the radio interview program, Tiferet Talk, which I host for the literary journal Tiferet. The publisher, Donna Baier Stein, has started a press associated with the journal, and the first book will be a compilation of the first year of Tiferet Talk interviews. It’s filled with insight and wisdom about spirituality and writing. I was fortunate enough to interview people such as Julia Cameron, Robert Pinsky, Marc Allen, and Jeffrey Davis. They had so much to share. I can’t wait to see it all collected together as one book!

Why did you choose to write for specific genre?
I write in many genres, but I think the genre for this particular book chose me. I was in a wonderful critique and writing group in which we took turns assigning prompts each month. One woman asked us to read The Oxford Book of Modern Fairy Tales and write our own short tale. It turned out that I was so compelled by the voice and characters I’d created that I kept writing and writing until I realized I was actually writing a novel.

What's it like hearing that readers are eagerly awaiting your book's release date?
Lovely. The positive response to Six Weeks to Yehidah has been overwhelming, and I wake up filled with gratitude every single day.

What is one question that you've always wanted to be asked in an interview? How would you answer that question?
What a wonderful question. Earlier, you asked me if there was a message I wanted readers to grasp (another wonderful question), and I’d like to elaborate on that a bit and discuss what the book can do for the reader. Sure I wrote it to be fun, exciting, entertaining, and so forth, but I also had a deeper purpose beyond entertainment and beyond even the message. That purpose was to inspire people—especially children—to create lives of meaning, connection, purpose, love, and joy. Six Weeks to Yehidah models the potential for this kind of life through the adventures and choices of the main character, Annalise. The companion book, My Yehidah, directly engages readers’ own experiences, feelings, thoughts, and dreams by asking them to journal about the themes most prevalent in the novel and in their own lives.

What was your road to publications like?
Surprisingly, it wasn’t that difficult. Rather than flooding the industry with submissions of my book, I chose a few presses that I admired, and which I knew were publishing books like the one I had written. The research – finding the right places to send it – was the hardest part. Once I targeted a specific small group and got my book to the right people, the acceptance came rather quickly.


Author Bio:
I'm a professor, a book reviewer at-large for The National Poetry Review, a contributing editor for both Tiferet Journal and The Criterion, and the host of the radio interview program Tiferet Talk. As well, I am a member of many literary organizations, including the National Book Critics Circle and the Society of Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators. I am the author of the bestselling novel Six Weeks to Yehidah, which also won the Forward National Literature Award for Middle Grade Chapter Books, and the newly released My Yehidah.

I love anything related to writing and reading, whether it's sitting alone with a book and a cup of hot tea, or attending a large poetry reading or literary festival. I also love travelling, meditating, going for walks, bicycling, practicing yoga, and spending time with family.

I currently reside in Texas with my wonderful daughter and our four sweet but mischievous cats.


Author Website

Please leave a comment or questions on this post in appreciation of the author

Midwinters Eve Hop (December 21 - 27)

It's time for the second annual Mid-winter's Eve Giveaway Hop.


Dates for this year's hop are Dec. 21st to 27th.


Thanks to Jessie Harrell from Oasis For YA & The Daily Harrell for co-hosting.


I will be giving away 2 different book. Please choose one of them. The Winter Lodge by Susan Wiggs or Snowbird by Stef Ann Holm

Barnes & Noble Review
Susan Wiggs follows up her first book in the Lakeshore Chronicles (Summer at Willow Lake) with another satisfying installment set in the small town of Avalon, New York. The main story belongs to two 30-something locals, Jenny Majesky and Rourke McKnight. She runs the Sky River Bakery, founded by her grandparents, and writes a weekly newspaper column; he is the town's chief of police. They are longtime friends with a complicated history and a passion set on simmer. When Jenny's house burns down, Rourke insists on her bunking with him, even though he's a notorious bachelor. The new proximity entices the two to confront old hurts and dreams deferred, before their romance can blossom. There's a wonderful secondary plot involving teenage Daisy Bellamy, her friends, and a mystery that's solved in the snow. Thoughtfully, Wiggs includes Jenny's favorite recipes from the bakery. Ginger Curwen(less)

A stunning Western romance about a lone woman living a man's life--and the one man who could set her passion free. "A thrill-a-minute Western romance that is a delight to read!"--Jill Marie Landis, bestselling author of Past Promises.




Please check out the others bloggers offerings:

Author Guest Post/Giveaway - Dark Chocolate for the Journaler's Soul by Mari McCarthy (WOW)

Use Journaling to Get Motivated

Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/denverjeffrey/4094607471/



Winning a football game takes more than brute strength, brilliant strategy, and iron resolve; it also requires fans.

The cheers and adoration of fans provide an essential ingredient of success: motivation.

You know, the old get up and go. The force that's irrefutable. Without it we wouldn't get anything accomplished.

No matter what your plans and dreams, it can be brutally difficult to whip up the motivation to actually start something. We tend to wallow in inertia, procrastinating, unwilling to make any kind of change.

There's a definite breakdown between the thought of something and the doing of it. Once you do manage to get started, momentum keeps you going. It's the moment of actually beginning that is so hard. We so often come to the brink of action, and then find some excuse to put it off.

Much of the time, there may be deep-seated reasons why you're avoiding the project or behavior. But a small percent of your dreams persist, returning to tug at your heart. How can you finally get on board with aspirations that haunt you?

The answer is simple: come at your target tangentially.

• Instead of wanting to start an exercise routine and never doing it, create a journal in which you talk about your interest in exercising and all aspects of your perceptions around being physically fit.

• Instead of fantasizing about being a writer, use a journal to mosey around in your writer's soul.

• Instead of complaining about your job and sending out a million applications that are for the most part ignored, try journaling about who you are, what you are grateful for, and how you can best serve yourself and others.

Journaling about and around any topic that's sensitive for you opens up that area in your life and paves the way for change and growth.

Cheerleaders work hard to get us in the mood, so that the requisite level of fan enthusiasm can be achieved, so that the players can win the game. Similarly, journal writing focuses your mind and energies so that actual doing becomes far more possible. It's almost as though you trick yourself into getting started.

Maybe you want to write a YA novel, for instance, but never seem to find the time to get started. Then one day you find a cool notebook. You already have a clutch of your favorite kind of pen. At the top of the first page you write, "I don't know why I want to write a novel for young people." Then you keep writing.

A few weeks later, after you've written just about every day, relentlessly exploring the topic, you feel the urge to go back over some of your writings. Your progress/change readily becomes apparent. You thought you were spinning wheels, but you see that's untrue. You grow, evolve, and constantly change.

Change is not difficult; it is natural. It happens moment by moment.

Are you serious about that new habit, that new course of study or way of handling your responses in certain situations? Instead of browbeating yourself for procrastinating, try journaling.

And then, please tell me how you're progressing. I'm collecting success stories!
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Mari L. McCarthy, journaling therapy specialist and author, owns Create Write Now, a website dedicated to all things journaling. The site includes hundreds of journaling prompts, personal journaling stories, interviews, a blog, and many other resources. Mari has published nine books to date. For more on ways that journaling brings self-knowledge, see Who Are You? How to Use Journaling Therapy to Know and Grow Your Life.

Please leave a comment or questions on this post in appreciation of the author