Theme Thursday - Animal

Here's fun meme, hosted by Reading Between Pages:

*A theme will be posted each week (on Thursdays)
*Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading. *Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
*It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word)

Mine is from page 17 of Beaglemania by Linda O Johnston:

Typically, in puppy mills, adult male and female purebred or designer dogs were bred over and over again, procreating as fast as nature allowed, until they could no longer reproduce, and then they were adopted out too. Or kicked out on the street. Or, much too often, they were in such bad shape that they had to be euthanized if taken to a vet or a shelter.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top 10 Tuesday time – a weekly bookish meme hosted over at The Broke & The Bookish. Today the topic is:

Top Ten Authors That Deserve More Recognition

It will be fun to read every one's list for this one. Here are the ones I managed to think of in no particular order:

*David McCullough : I've read two of his histories and find them very readable. I am not much of a reader of history, but he can keep my interest.

*Billie Letts: She writes a wonderful stories full of believable, sympathetic, and quirky characters . They are in situations that have you worrying about and pulling for the characters.

*Harold Bell Wright: His most famous book is "The Shepherd of the Hills" and is one of my all time favorites. He is well known as a "tale teller" whose stories were written to uplift and strengthen the reader. I have yet to see where anyone has read and reviewed anything of his and I hate that lots of folks are missing out on The Shepherd of the Hills.

*Elie Wiesel: His most famous work, Night, told his personal story of being held prisoner in the Auschwitz, Buna, and Buchenwald concentration camps. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 for speaking out against violence, repression, and racism. His many books include fiction as well as non-fiction.

*Ariana Franklin: I just started reading this author last year. Her historical mysteries are intriguing. I have really enjoyed them.

*Cecelia Ahern: Her stories are lots of fun to read. They are sweet, sad and funny. Her writing makes you feel as if you were right there in the situation.

*China Melville: What he writes is basically fantasy, but it is so much more. In the complex worlds he builds for his novels you can see problems that haunt us now.

*Dave Barry: This guy is one of the funniest writers I have ever read. My sister and I love to sit and read his collections together. He can find the absurd in most anything. His novel Big Trouble is the FUNNIEST book ever. Give him a try.

*Spencer Quinn: This is a fairly new author, at least to me. I've read three of his books, the Chet and Bernie series, and quite enjoyed them.His characters are delightfully quirky and his mysteries fun.

*Jennifer Crusie: I'm not much of a romance reader, but I've read several of hers and loved them. I think it is because the romance wasn't very heavy. The stories were all good.

Theme Thursday

Theme Thursdays, created by Kavyen @ Reading Between Pages, is a fun weekly event that will be open from one Thursday to the next. Anyone can participate in it.
The rules are simple:

A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday's)
-Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
-Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
-It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don't necessarily need to have the word)
Ex: If the theme is KISS; your sentence can have "They kissed so gently" or "Their lips touched each other" or "The smooch was so passionate"
This will give us a wonderful opportunity to explore and understand different writing styles and descriptive approaches adopted by authors.

This week my addition to Theme Thursday comes from page 5 of Beaglemania by Linda O. Johnston:

Following Officer Gibbons, I hurried out of the well-insulated backyard shed that appeared so inconsequential from the outside - a moderate-sized steel structure that looked like a rural barn's younger brother, complete with red sides resembling painted wood.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Top Ten Tuesday

Top 10 Tuesday time – a weekly bookish meme hosted over at

The Broke & The Bookish. Today the topic is:

Top Ten Bookish Pet Peeves

All those things that annoy you in a story,

with book covers, bookstores, etc.

This should be fun!

*Broken spines-I let a friend read one of my Stephen King books once. Her husband, being a fan, wanted to read it too. He bent the book back in several places and broke the back to pieces. I had to donate it to goodwill and purchase a new one. I don't guess I had to, but I couldn't stand it. Talk about ticked. I don't buy used books with broken spines either, paper or hard back.

*Dog eared pages - Please use a bookmark if you have one of my books. I actually lend them with a bookmark in them, just in case....

*Coffee cup rings - on book covers.

*Short Stories - I'm making myself read some short story collections this year. Usually I find that short stories just leave me - empty - wanting more.... especially if it is a good one.

*Books that are too long - with a lot of extra stuff thrown in just to make it long. I don't mind a long book if the story moves right along but please don't drag out scenes, add story lines that end up not adding anything to the main story......

*Modern slang in historical fiction - it's distracting

*Newest book in a series is hard back - when all the others have been paperback

*Bar code or other stickers - over prices on audio books or over the blurb.

*Books without a blurb - I want one even if it is a favorite author.

*The heroine who does stupid things - in the name of being strong and independent. Yikes!

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

A weekly event hosted by Sheila from Book Journey to discuss your reading week ~ the books you've read and those you plan on reading in the coming week. It is a great way to meet other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your wish list.

I just finished:
Glass Rainbow (audio) by James Lee Burke
Play Dead by John Levitt

I'm now listening to:
The Red Queen by Phillipa Gregory (in the truck)
Decision Points by George W. Bush (iPod)

I'm reading:
Beaglemania by Linda O. Johnston

Next up:
Hell's Corner by David Balducci (after Decision Points - iPod)
Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright (paperback)

Theme Thursdays (Crockery/Utensil)

Theme Thursdays, created by Kavyen @ Reading Between Pages, is a fun weekly event that will be open from one Thursday to the next. Anyone can participate in it.

The rules are simple:
*A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
*Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
*Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
*It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word)
Ex: If the theme is KISS; your sentence can have “They kissed so gently” or “Their lips touched each other” or “The smooch was so passionate”

My snippet is from Play Dead by John Levitt.

I was hungry, but the fridge didn't hold much of interest. I dug around and came up with some cheese, so I made a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches, the old-fashioned way, in a frying pan with a plate on top of them to provide the proper weight for grilling. (pg. 173)

Wordless Wednesday

Roxi

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Characters I'd Want As Family Members

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because she is particularly fond of lists. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!
This should be a fun list. It will take some thinking

*Flavia de Luce - I think this precocious child would be a lot of fun to have in the family. Never a dull moment with her around

*Biggie - from the Biggie series by Nancy Bell. What could be better than a rich, loving, smart Grandma?

* Enzo - (The Art of Racing in the Rain) ok, so he's a dog. I would just love to have him living with us!

*Dad Howitt (The Shepherd of the Hills) - a simple, wise man - what a great grandfather he'd make.

*Stephanie Plum - if she was in the family, I'd probably get to meet Ranger. :)

*Patricia Anne & Mary Alice from the Southern Sisters series by Anne George. These two would be wonderful sisters, lots of fun, adventerous & brave.

* Anna Pigeon from the series by Nevada Barr - What a great aunt or sister she would make. A caring person who is always moving to a new exciting place. YEA!

*Mr. Bennet from Pride and Prejudice - What a wonderful dad he'd make (if you actually needed one) or uncle. He loves his daughters, he doesn't expect them to bend to the rules for young ladies of the day and puts up with their mom with humor.

*Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - He has been my hero for years. It would be great to have your hero in your family. I would love for him to be my uncle.

*Joe Grey from The Joe Grey mystery series by Shirley Rousseau Murphy - Yep he's a cat. I have a dog on this list and now a cat. I think they would get along just fine and would liven up my life wonderfully.

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday was started by Marcia of The Printed Page. When Marcia was ready to move on from being the weekly host, she was kind enough to set up the Mailbox Monday Blog Tour, and this month, I’m Booking It is hosting!

I got in quite a few books this week one way or the other. It seems a pretty diverse group but I'm looking forward to them.

On my Nook:
*The Wrong Kind of Blood by Declan Hughes I saw this series reviewed on a blog and decided to try one. Set in Scotland, it is on the noir side of PI work.
*Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum
Another book I saw reviewed. This one concerns family secrets in two story lines that alternate between the present in America, and the past during World War II in Nazi Germany.

In the mail:

The Best American Short Stories 2007 edited by Stephen King

This year I've decided to give short stories a try. this is one of the books I decided to buy. It caught my eye because of the editor, one of my favorite authors.

*Play Dead by John Levitt

The fourth book in the Dog Days urban fantasy series I've been following.

*Beaglemania by Linda O. Johnston

The cover attracted me to this book. It sounds like a fun cozy mystery that hits a soft spot in my heart, pet rescue.

From the library:
Decision Points by George W. Bush

I've been wanting to read this one for a while. I borrowed it from the digital branch of my local library and I'm listening to it on my iPod. So far I'm liking it.

*Trouble Maker by Janet Evanovich

This is a graphic novel, book one in the Barnaby and Hooker series. This will be a fast read and i'm sure I'll enjoy it. Evanovich never fails to make me laugh.

The Ghost King by R.A. Salvatore

This is the third in a fantasy series. I read the first two several years ago and am just getting to this one. I've enjoyed many books by this author so expect to like this one as well.

From the used book store :
*Flowers for Algernon
by Daniel Keyes I read this one years ago then saw the movie, Charly. What a touching book. I will reread it soon.
*A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
I found this used and decided to read it for my personal reading challenge which includes a section for Oprah's Book Club books.

eReader Giveaway! YEA!

Bibliophilic Book Blog is giving away an eReader! Go there and check out the details on her blog. How much fun, a chance to win your choice of and eReader $200 or less. Don't miss out!! Be sure to mention I referred you (it's a question on the contest form).

Friday 56

Friday, March 11, 2011

The Friday 56
This is a fun meme to do hosted by Freda's Voice. If you'd like to join on the fun go to The Friday 56.

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it here.

It's that simple.

My line is from Unusual Suspects (a collection or mystery and fantasy short stories)

"The Duke's new house wizard tugged on his beard sagely."

Top Ten Tuesday: Dynamic Duos

The "Top Ten Tuesday" meme is hosted by
The Broke and The Bookish, and this week's topic is
Top Ten Dynamic Duos (those bff's, partners in crimes,

or powerful couples that you just can't forget about).

For this topic I've decided to stay away from the classics. Most of my fovorites will be touched on by others, Holmes & Watson, Scarlett & Rhett, Elizabeth & Darcy, Tom & Huck, Arthur & Guinevere......

1. Dave Robicheaux and Clete Purcell: from James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux series, one of my favorites. Both are damaged souls, violent, but at heart good guys.

2. Stephanie Plum & Ranger (or Morelli): from Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. Laugh out loud reading.

3. Chet and Bernie: from the Chet and Bernie mystery series by Spencer Quinn. This is a fun series with a great partnership. Chet is a dog and these are told from his point of view.

4.Precious Ramotswe and Grace Makutsi: The main characters of Alexander McCall Smith's The Ladies No. 1 Detective agency series. This is not a series of edge of your seat thrillers rather each story is low key, sometimes sad, sometimes sweet. Mma Ramotswe always approaches her cases with wisdom, intelligence, and patience. Mma Makutsi is her assistant.

5.Eve Dallas and Roarke: from the ......In Death series by J.D. Robbs. This series is set slightly in the future which is what attracted me to it in the first place. Each story I've read has been good.

6. Rachel Morgan and Jinks: from the Hollows series by Kim Harrison. This is one of my favorite urban fantasy series.

7. Adelia Aguilar and Sir Rowley Picot: From The Mistress of the Art of Death series by Ariana Franklin. This is a wonderful mystery series set in the time of King Henry II. These stories are addicting with great historical details.

8. Harry Dresden & Michael Carpenter: from The Dresden files series by Jim butcher. This series was actually my introduction to urban fantasy. I was hooked after I read the first book, Storm Front.

9. Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee: The Lord of the Rings :)

This was my first read in fantasy. It was such a great read.

10. Serge A. Storms and Coleman: The Serge Storms series by Tim Dorsey. The books in this series never fail to make me laugh. Serge is a serial killer who only kills bad guys and is obsessed with all things Florida.

In My Mailbox/Mailbox Monday

The in my mailbox meme is hosted by The Story Siren. This meme is were everyone tells about what books they received during the week.

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page. It is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. You can view the touring blog list at Mailbox Monday blog for the upcoming months

I made quite a haul this week, I'm very excited about all the great new books!

In the mail:
A Murderous Procession by Ariana Franklin
Rose in a Storm by Jon Katz
Gideon's Sword by Preston and Child

Used Book store:
Hood by Stephen Lawhead
Days of Infamy by Newt Gingrich & Willian R. Forstchen
Against Medical Advice by James Patterson & Hal Friedman (Non-Fiction book on CD)

Library:
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
Trouble Maker by Janet Evanovich & Alex Evanovich

February Wrap Up

I had another great reading month! I read 6 novels (only one was an ebook), listened to 5 novels, and read 3 picture books. One of the novels, The Regulators, worked for the Chunkster Challenge. I was excited to have finished the Twilight series. That makes 24 books for various challenges for the year and 6 picture books for the Read to Me Picture Book challenge.

Progress in all my challenges, as well as links to reviews can be viewed here.

Feburary
17. Little Bee by Chris Cleave
18. Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann (picture book)
19. I, Sniper by Stephen Hunter (audio)
20. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
21. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (audio)
22. The Regulators by Richard Bachman (Stephen King)
23. Luke Goes to Bat by Rachel Isadora (picture book)
24. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (audio)
25. Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers (eBook)
26. The End of the Road by Sue Henry
27. Ibis: A True whale Story by John Himmelman (picture book)
28. A Prisoner of Birth by Jeffery Archer (audio)
29. The Fourth Man by K.O. Dahl
30. A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley (audio)

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Just HAD to buy...

The "Top Ten Tuesday" meme is hosted by

The Broke and The Bookish, and this week's topic is:
Top Ten Books I Just HAD to Buy...

But Are Still Sitting on My Bookshelf

Oh my, that could be a lot of books. I'll weed it down, a lot...

My top ten:

1. Black, Red, White = three books by Ted Dekker

I'm listing these three as one entry because I wanted them enough that I bought them all three at one time.

2. Desperation by Stephen King

I bought this years ago at the same time I bought The Regulators by Richard Bachman (also known as Stephen King.) They are novels related to each other. I read The Regulators, finally, a couple of weeks ago so I am that much closer to reading this one.

3. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

I read the blurb on this one and just had to have it.....and there it sits.

4. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

I've read some about Edith Wharton and wanted to read some of her work. I purchased this to that end.

5. Black Order by James Rollins

I like reading Rollin's books, they are page turning thrillers. I bought this and why I haven't dived into it yet I can't tell you.

6. Phantom in the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon & Dianna Love

I bought this because it was by Sherrilyn Kenyon, I liked the cover, and it didn't seem to be part of a huge series. I haven't gotten back to it so I'm not sure about the series part.

7. When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin

I saw this one in someones list a couple of years ago when I was participating in a southern reading challenge. I'm now listening to another book by this author but haven't read this one.

8. Testimony by Anita Shreve

I've read several great reviews about this one so got it one time when I had the chance.

9. Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler

I bought this one right of the shelves at B&N as a new-to-me book and author. It will be a scary fun read I think. I have to get to it.

10. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson & David O. Relin

In an effort to read more non-fiction I've purchased several non-fiction books. This is one I have been wanting to read, is sounds so good. So...why is it still sitting there?