The Space Between

Winter's Respite Read-a-thon - Jan 23 - 29 2012

2012-01-22T19:46:00.016-06:00

It's time for the Winter's Respite Read-a-thon hosted by Michelle @ The True Book Addict! I'm going to post all of my updates here in this post.

Goal

*750 pages

Progress:

	Lover Unleashed by J R Ward Start - Day 1: page 208 EOD1: page 212 EOD2: page 350 EOD4: page 489 - finished
	Girl Vs. Ghost by Kate McMurry and Marie August Start - Day 1: page 1 EOD1: page 100 EOD3: page 207 - finished
	Marrying Mozart by Stephanie Cowell Start Day 5: Page 1 EOD5: page 45 EOD6: page 160 EOD7: page 263

Good Luck Everyone!

Current Page Count: 751
Avg. pages per day so far: 107
Pages per remaining days needed to reach goal: 0 -goal achieved!
Books Finished: 2.35 if I add up all the parts!

February 2012 Read-a-thons

2012-01-16T22:26:00.005-06:00

The Wicked Winter Read-a-thon, February 3-5, 2012, hosted by Kindle Fever. Signup and Details So far this is the only February read-a-thon I know of, if you know of any others, please let me know, because I might want to join in!

I belong to Bookobsessed, which is a group formed of Bookcrossers, and we're going to have our own group read-a-thon from February 10 - 12. I'm very excited about this because as I've joined so many others, I think it would be a lot of fun to host a read-a-thon, but I don't have a big enough blog following to probably get much interest, not to mention I know it's a lot of work, so this will give me some practice on a small scale!

Built for Adventure

2012-01-14T14:17:00.004-06:00

I was so excited to win a copy of Built for Adventure from Book Trib! I have been a Clive Cussler fan for a long time, I love Dirk Pitt, and his love of classic cars is part of who he is as a character, and a well known facet of the author.

Quite by accident I discovered the existence of the Cussler Car Museum while looking for different things to do on a vacation to Denver. While I'm not a classic car enthusiast, my husband was quite interested, and I was too from being a fan of the Dirk Pitt series. I highly recommend anyone visit this collection, they are absolutely beautiful, sparkling chrome, bright body colors, amazing to see even to someone who really knows nothing about what they're looking at, which is where I fit in! You're in the presence of history while touring these cars, and it's a treat! It's really not necessary to know anything about Cussler as an author, or the Dirk Pitt series, while that is a fun addition to those of us who are, to have little asides about which car Dirk was driving in which book, it is in no way necessary to enjoy the spectacle.

On to the book! This is a photographic coffee table style book and is gorgeous! The photos are many and beautiful, and I recognized quite a few of the cars we saw from the museum, but also some that were not on display at the time. Cussler gives personal history for how he obtained each one as well as factual information on each, but in a way that is not boring or overwhelming. There are some great anecdotes! I found it to be an enjoyable momento of that unexpected gem my husband and I discovered in Arvada, Colorado.

Thank you so much for sharing your collection with us Clive!

The Joy of Books

2012-01-10T16:12:00.002-06:00

Totally cool bookstore video! Now we know what they do at night on their own!

Bout of Books 3.0 Read-a-thon - Jan 9th - 15th

2012-01-08T21:08:00.018-06:00

It's time for the Bout of Books Read-a-thon 3.0! I'm going to post all of my updates here in this post.

Goals

I owe a few books out to friends, so I'm going to start in on a couple of those, and they will probably be all I get through as they are both pretty hefty for me, 400+ pages each.

*2 books
*843 pages - approx. 120 pages per day

Progress:

	Inked, an anthology by Karen Chance, Marjorie M. Liu, Yasmine Galenorn and Eileen Wilks Start - Day 1: page 1 EOD1: page 31 EOD2: page 128 - first story finished "Skin Deep" - loved it! Looking forward to more by Karen Chance! EOD3: page 219 EOD4: page 304 EOD5: page 416 EOD6: page 437 - finished!
	Enemies by Lee Hogan Start - Day 1: page 1 EOD3: page 16 EOD6: page 170 EOD7: page 316

Good Luck Everyone!

Current Page Count: 753
Avg. Pages per day so far: 107 - didn't reach my goal, but this is still a respectable finish for me!
Pages per remaining days needed to reach goal: 90 - missed it by this much!
Books Finished: 1 3/4

Thank you to Amanda @ On a Book Bender for putting this together for us, and to all of the challenge co-hosts! I'll be looking forward to the next one!

2012 Mystery & Suspense Challenge

2012-01-03T21:17:00.002-06:00

This was actually the only challenge I did get all the books read for in 2011, though I didn't get reviews posted on them all. I'm in again at the 12 books level for 2012.

I will keep track of my accomplishments here: My Progress on the Mystery & Suspense Challenge

2012 Speculative Romance Challenge

2012-01-02T18:49:00.004-06:00

I'm joining Book Chick City's 2012 Speculative Romance Challenge! Like the Speculative Fiction it's a large umbrella that encompasses many of my likes, with the Romance theme as the common thread. This challenge takes place from January 1 - December 31st 2012. Click the button above to check out the sign up and details.

I will declare the Two Sexy Werewolves level, which is 12 books. Audiobooks do not count, but all other formats are okay.

I will keep track of my accomplishments here: My Speculative Romance Progress

Marvelous Middle Grade Read-a-thon Jan 2 - 8, 2012

2012-01-02T00:49:00.014-06:00

It's time for the Marvelous Middle Grade Read-a-thon hosted by Just Deb! Here are the Signup and details. It will take place January 2 - 8, 2012.

Since I'm still awake and it's now Monday morning where I live, I might just get started! I'll do all my updates here in this post.

	I'm starting with The Boggart by Susan Cooper Start Day 1: page 1 EOD1: page 196 - finished! Thoughts: Very cute! I'd definitely recommend. Look closely at the cover, I completely missed seeing the Boggart himself, hubby pointed him out to me!
	Next up is The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau Started Day 2: page 1 EOD2: page 101 EOD3: page 212 EOD4: 270 - finished Thoughts: Kept my attention all the way through, I couldn't wait to find out if they made it and what was outside! Definitely recommend and will be looking for the next one!
	I read #1 long ago, have seen the movie, and have the Wii game, so I think it's time I continue reading the books, don't you? Guardians of Ga'Hoole #2: The Journey by Kathryn Lasky Started Day 4: page 1 EOD4: page 75 EOD5: page 150 EOD6: page 180 EOD7: page 244 - finished

Total Pages Read: 710
Books Finished: 3

All done! I'm pleased with my reading, I managed an average of 101 pages a day over 7 days, and enjoyed all the books I chose. Thanks to our hostess Deb, and I'll be looking forward to joining in again sometime!

2012 Speculative Fiction Challenge

2012-01-01T14:04:00.004-06:00

The 2012 Speculative Fiction reading challenge is being hosted by Adventures of 2.0 and will run from January 1 - December 31st, 2012. Signup and Rules

This challenge encompasses so many of my likes, from Science Fiction to High Fantasy to Urban Fantasy and everything in between, or out in left field! Check out the sign up post for a list of what is included under the umbrella of "Speculative". I'm going to declare the In Nirvana level, which is 24 books, since so many different things are included in this area.

I will keep track of my accomplishments here: My Speculative Fiction Progress

Exercise Challenge for 2012

2012-01-01T02:35:00.004-06:00

I've decided to set myself a little exercise challenge in 2012. I'm going to try and walk 5,000 steps a day. During the work sponsored 10,000 steps a day challenge I realized how little I really move around in a day. I managed 10,000 steps probably a little more than 50% of the time during that challenge, but I was exhausted, so I think I'll start at 5,000 and see how it goes. That's still more than I get from a normal day's activity. I've made myself a ticker to track my progress. There will be days I'll do less and days I'll do more, but my goal is 1,830,000 steps in a year. Sounds like a lot, doesn't it? The scary thing to me is that a work friend of mine who is in the warehouse and so filling orders all day generally clocks around 20,000 steps every work day, just in the normal course of what he does. I'm sure you can guess who is skinnier! ;)

2012 E-Book Reading Challenge

2011-12-28T21:21:00.005-06:00

The 2012 E-Book reading challenge is being hosted by Workaday Reads and will run from January 1 - December 31st, 2012. Signup and Rules

My E-Books are starting to pile up as well, and since they aren't taking up room anywhere, it's easy to forget about them, so I think this is a great challenge for me!

I read about 20 e-books/novellas this year so I'm going to declare the DVD level which is 25.

I will keep track of my accomplishments here: My E-Book Progress

2012 Mount TBR Reading Challenge

2011-12-28T20:13:00.005-06:00

The Mount TBR Challenge is hosted by My Reader's Block and will run from Jan. 1 - Dec. 31, 2012. Sign up and rules

I not only have a Mount TBR, I have a TBR Mountain Range! I'm not trying to brag, it's more that I look around and start to think that maybe I have a problem... My husband says no, but I'm not so sure! At any rate, this is a great challenge for me!

I'm going to declare the El Toro level, which is 75 books. I was about to declare Mt. Everest, but realized that of the about 110 books I've read in 2011, almost 45 of them were audiobooks and e-books, which I'm not going to count since they're not taking up space, and that's my goal here is to work on the books that are taking up room!

I will keep track of my books here: My Mount TBR Progress

January 2012 Read-a-thons

2011-12-27T14:22:00.009-06:00

Just Deb is hosting the Marvelous Middle Grade Read-a-thon, here are the Signup and details. It will take place January 2 - 8, 2012

Bout of Books 3.0 Read-a-thon takes place January 9th-15th, here is the Sign-up.

The Winter Mini Readathon hosted by Sarah Says Read is a one day event on January 22, 2012. Signup and details

A Winter's Respite Read-a-thon hosted by The True Book Addict takes place January 23-29th 2012, Signup and details, we will use Twitter hashtag #WintersRespite

Christmas Spirit Challenge - The Day After Christmas

2011-12-26T22:44:00.006-06:00

It's the day after Christmas, which is my favorite time if I'm lucky enough to take the day off because that means all the before work is done, all the presents are open, and it's time to play and relax! My favorite online game, Guild Wars always hosts a Holiday event where they have special missions, holiday drops from monsters and festival hats and costumes for your characters to wear. The towns are always decorated too. Here are a couple pictures from the game:

Since my last update we have also been to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert which has sort of become a tradition for us at this time of year. If you don't know who they are you should really check them out, you may have heard some of their music being used in synchronized Christmas light displays. Here is a video of one of their more well-known songs.

Neither of those count for our challenge of course, but in the interest of sharing all things Christmas, I decided to report in!

Today I watched Snow with Tom Cavanaugh, very cute and I recommend it as a fun holiday movie. Tom starred as Ed Stevens on the TV series Ed. In Snow, Tom plays Nick Snowden who has inherited the role of Santa Claus from his father. Buck, the villain has captured one of Nick's younger reindeer who has not yet learned to fly, and is hiding him at the local zoo, where Sandy works. Nick must get Buddy the reindeer back in time for Christmas because he's not able to pull the sleigh with only 7 reindeer. He tracks Buddy down at the zoo and has to try and get him back safely. In the meantime he falls in love with Sandy and tries several times to let her know who he really is but the timing is never quite right. Buck finally brings his own plan to fruition, which was to sell Buddy to a rich hunter as a premium game experience since he's able to jump very high, though not yet fly. It's during the rescue attempt that Nick is finally able to show Sandy who he is as they escape from Buck themselves. Of course is must end happily, so Buddy takes care of escaping himself, getting the best of Buck, and learns to fly at the last minute, saving Christmas. I had actually watched the sequel Snow 2: Brain Freeze first, in which Nick has amnesia and Sandy must help him to regain his memory of being Santa Claus. I really enjoyed them both, they were ABC Family titles.

As for reading, I did finish A Dixie Christmas, which was two novellas by Sandra Hill. The rating on Goodreads isn't too high, but I enjoyed them both, they were light and humorous. In Blue Suede Suites a rich business man falls (quite literally) for a farm girl and finds out what is really important in life. This one sports an Elvis theme, and I can only imagine the nativity scene that is described there! In Jinx Christmas a NASCAR driver gets the help of a matchmaker to win his ex-wife's love back and ends up as the star of a bad boy strip show. I picked this up free for Kindle, though I think it's not on the free list anymore.

I'm not sure what holiday read I'll settle on next, I'm reading for the Wrap Up 2011 Read-a-thon right now, trying to finish a non-holiday book, so I'll check in later on that!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday!

Wrapping Up 2011 Read-a-thon

2011-12-22T22:16:00.020-06:00

It's time for the Wrapping Up 2011 Read-a-thon hosted by Jessie's Remarkable Reads This read-a-thon lasts from December 22nd - January 1st. There is also a Twitter Hashtag to use: #WU2011R

I will do all my updating in this post.

	First up is Lessons in French by Laura Kinsale, one of my absolute favorite romance authors! Start: page 60 EOD1: page 113 EOD2: page 184 EOD3: page 240 EOD4: page 264 EOD5: page 373 EOD6: page 447 - finished
	Start Day 6: page 1 EOD6: page 13 EOD7: page 92 EOD8: page 109 EOD9: page 165 - finished
	Start Day 6: page 1 EOD6: page 35 EOD7: page 66 EOD10: page 128

Total Pages: 680
Books Finished: 2.5

And we're done! You would think I could have done better in 10 days! I managed a fairly typical 68 pages per day. At least I wasn't a lot worse than normal, and considering we had a major holiday in there, I think I did pretty well!

Thanks for hosting Jessie! I'll definitely look forward to future read-a-thon's!

2012 Reading Challenges

2011-12-18T23:30:00.002-06:00

What to do, what to do? I did miserably on my reading challenges this year, my own and all the others I signed up for, even though they were for the type of books I read all the time! The only one I finished was the Mystery and Suspense Challenge hosted by Book Chick City, and that probably doesn't really count because while I read the books, I haven't gotten reviews for all of them posted. I know, there's technically still time, but the likelihood that I'll get them done is slim to none, especially this time of year!

Even so, I get that little thrill of excitement at the idea of NEW challenges for a NEW year, getting to start all over with a clean slate! I tell myself that I shouldn't join, that it's too much pressure etc., but then I think, okay, but if I don't, then I have to wait another whole year before I can join again! The whole point is to keep you reading, right? Right!

Here are the ones I'm considering, and I'll do formal posts later if I decide for sure:

Book Chick City has a bunch:
The Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
The Mystery and Suspense Challenge
The Speculative Romance Challenge
There are others, so be sure to check out the right hand sidebar when you visit!

Workaday Reads is hosting the 2012 E-book Challenge

BaffledBooks/Adventures of 2.0 is hosting the 2012 Speculative Fiction Reading Challenge

Bitten by Paranormal Romance is hosting the 2012 Paranormal Romance Challenge

Romance Book Junkies is hosting the 2012 Historical Romance Challenge

Literary Escapism is hosting the 2012 New Authors Challenge

The Eclectic Bookshelf is hosting the 2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge

Luckily a lot of these will overlap. I'm going to mull it over for a few more days before committing!

Christmas Spirit Challenge - Week 3 1/2

2011-12-14T19:25:00.007-06:00

I'm a little late reporting in for the Christmas Spirit Challenge this week, but my excuse is that I was putting up the rest of my outside decorations on Sunday.

I finished up We Three Dragons, an anthology of 3 holiday stories centered around dragons. I was thrilled to get a hold of this one when I saw it offered up in a Bookcrossing trade box because you just don't see many holiday themed fantasy novels. I enjoyed all three stories, but the last and longest of the three was basically a dragon centered version of A Christmas Carol, where a mean old dragon is re-awakened to the joys of love. I've already passed it along to Bookcrossing friend and hope she enjoys it too!

I've next started reading A Dixie Christmas by Sandra Hill, two novellas packaged together. The first one is very funny so far, the Elvis themed Nativity Scene was a hilarious idea! It's just the kind of light and humorous story I wanted!

I did watch Santa Claus Conquers the Martians from 1964, and it was bad, but fun, honestly a lot more enjoyable than the Santa Claus movie with the devil wandering around. The theme song was pretty catchy too. It definitely had that 60's feel to it! The Martian suits were very silly, and the polar bear was great too, in a cheesy but fun kind of way. The premise is that all the Martian children are watching Earth television and becoming obsessed with the idea of Santa Claus. In order to make their children happy, they go and kidnap and couple of children and Santa Claus and bring them back to Mars, where they intend to keep them forever. Of course there are good Martians and bad Martians, and there is sabotage, but good triumphs, and everyone parts as friends, Santa and the human children going home to Earth, and one of the Martians taking up the reins of the Santa role on Mars. It was fun, and bad, but definitely worth a laugh, even if you don't watch it all the way through.

Believe it or not, I had never seen more than the most famous bank scene of It's a Wonderful Life starring Jimmy Stewart. We watched that this past weekend while visiting friends and playing cards. I have to admit I wasn't watching it closely, but at least I have seen more of it than I did before! I should probably watch it again when I'm actually paying attention!

We also watched a Barry Manilow Christmas special Barry Manilow: Happy Holiday from 2009. It was a smaller audience setting where he was taking requests, and there were definitely some superfans there! He's just got such a wonderful voice, and along with John Denver, he was one of my favorites as a child.

I hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas reading and watching! I need to get around and visit!

Snow Days Read-a-thon Dec. 5 - 7, 2011

2011-12-05T07:00:00.006-06:00

Next up we have the first time Snowy Days Read-a-thon Dec. 5th - 7th (Mon - Wed) hosted by Turning the Pages. We'll be using the Twitter Hashtag #SDRAT. I will post my starting line and updates here, all in the same post.

Starting line - Dec. 5th - Monday

	Starting point Day 1: page 142 EOD1: page 163 EOD2: page 202 EOD3: page 240
	Starting point Day 1: Page 110 EOD1: page 126 EOD2: 184 - finished
	Starting Point Day 1: 0:0:0 EOD1: 0:41:00 EOD2: 1:20:00 EOD3: 2:02:00

Day 1 Stats

Pages read: 37
Time listened: 0:41:00
Books Finished: 0

Day 2 Stats

Pages read: 97
Time listened: 0:39:00
Books Finished: 1

Day 3 Stats

Pages read: 38
Time listened: 0:42:00
Books Finished: 0

Totals

Total pages read: 172
Total time listened: 2:02:00
Books Finished: 1

Not my best ever, but every page read is a page farther along! ;)

Christmas Spirit Challenge - Week 2

2011-12-04T21:44:00.005-06:00

I participated in a Holiday Readathon this weekend, which helped me to finish up An Enchanted Season, which I really enjoyed.

This is a collection of 4 short stories by Nalini Singh, Maggie Shayne, Erin McCarthy and Jean Johnson, all known for Paranormal Romances.

In Melting Frosty Matt and Holly both suffered the loss of their parents, but it affected each very differently. Holly keeps Christmas traditions alive to honor her Mother, while Matt tries to avoid Christmas altogether if he can because memories of his father, and the loss of a keepsake hat are too painful. The grow to care for each other when they are stuck together in Holly's old house during a snow storm. They both receive a few unmistakable signs that they are meant to be together.

In Charlotte's Web Charlotte has long been in love with her best friend Will, but doesn't think he returns her feelings. Though her sister insists they are witches, Charlotte has never believed it to be so, until her powers awaken quite humorously. She then goes along with her sister's idea of casting a lust spell on Will, but then she is left wondering if his actions are because of the spell, or because he really feels for her.

Beat of Temptation was my favorite of the collection as it dealt with characters I had read about before in Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series. Tamsyn returns from medical school for Christmas, to a mate who believes she is too young to handle his true feelings, so he forces them back. Tamsyn needs to make him understand that though she is young, she's more than ready to take him on, and wants nothing more than for them to be together as true mates should.

Gifts of the Magi is another story where a group of people thrown together in a snowstorm learn about themselves and each other, guided by a group of magical travelers from out of town.

I really enjoyed all of these short stories and highly recommend this as a Christmas read! The paranormal aspect, while important, is fairly light in all stories except Beat of Temptation, and they focus more on relationships, and the magic of cherishing another.

I'm currently reading We Three Dragons, which is another anthology of 3 holiday stories centered around dragons, something you just don't see too much of! Fantasy and Sci-Fi rarely have holiday based stories in the way that romance and mystery do. I do recommend Orson Scott Card's A War of Gifts if you're looking for a Sci-fi holiday read, it was excellent!

I've only seen part of a movie this week, and I don't think I'll be finishing it! LOL! When I saw the following cover on Netflix, I had to give it a try, wouldn't you?

It's just called Santa Claus, here's the synopsis from Netflix: José Elías Moreno stars as Santa Claus in this decidedly dark take on the Christmas season, a bizarre tale involving the devil, a demon named Pitch (José Luis Aguirre "Trotsky") and a plot to derail yuletide cheer with pure, unadulterated evil. But there's another big twist worth mentioning: This Santa Claus lives in outer space, and his only hope for saving Christmas lies in the hands of Merlin the Magician (Armando Arriola).

I do not recommend this one, unless you just like really bad sci-fi-esque older films (it's from 1959), because that's exactly what it is! (My husband is nodding in agreement, it was really bad!) Just in case you want to judge for yourself, it's available for instant watching on Netflix.

I have another one that I just can't resist trying out, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians from 1964, I expect this one will be bad as well, but with a title like that, I have to check it out!

I'll report in again next week!

2nd Annual Holiday Read-a-thon Dec. 2 - 4, 2011

2011-12-02T18:12:00.017-06:00

It's time for the Second Annual Holiday #Readathon hosted by WhoRuBlog. This one runs from Dec. 2nd - 4th (Fri - Sun). We'll be using Twitter Hashtag #readathon for this one. I will post my starting line and updates here, all in the same post.

Starting line - Dec. 2nd - Friday

I'm in the middle of 3 books right now, so I'm going to keep going on those and try to finish them up!

	Starting point Day 1: page 153 EOD1: page 264 EOD2: page 330 - finished
	Starting point Day 1: Page 117 EOD1: Page 125 EOD2: page 142
	Starting point Day 1: 5:15:32 EOD1: 6:31:37 EOD2: 8:52:34 - finished
	Starting point Day 2: Page 1 EOD2: page 47 EOD3: page 110

Day 1 Stats

Pages read: 119
Time listened: 1:16:05
Books Finished: 0

Day 2 Stats

Pages read: 130 (so much for my big boast of reading a lot more today! lol!)
Time listened: 2:20:57
Books Finished: 2

Day 3 Stats

Pages read: 63 (not so good today, but it was still a great read-a-thon!)
Time listened: none

Total pages read: 312
Total time listened: 3:37:02
Books Finished: 2

3 December Read-a-thons

2011-12-01T12:09:00.007-06:00

I've found 3 read-a-thons in December so far that I'm going to participate in! It's typically a pretty busy month with the holidays, so I don't expect to get a lot done, but I do enjoy the read-a-thon vibe.

The first one is the Second Annual Holiday #Readathon hosted by WhoRuBlog. This one runs from Dec. 2nd - 4th (Fri - Sun) so it starts tomorrow! There is a charity component to this one, so what I'm going to do is donate for all three read-a-thons, to make my donation better, and I've chosen Wayside Waifs, a local no-kill animal shelter, as my charity of choice for this month! I will pledge $5 for each book I finish during these three read-a-thon's. We'll be using Twitter Hashtag #readathon for this one.

Next up we have the first time Snowy Days Read-a-thon Dec. 5th - 7th (Mon - Wed) hosted by Turning the Pages. We'll be using the Twitter Hashtag #SDRAT. I'm hoping we don't get any snow, since I have to work anyway, but if we do that's okay! ;)

I've posted about this one once already but wanted to include it again. This is the Wrapping Up 2011 Read-a-thon hosted by Jessie's Remarkable Reads It's her first time hosting, so lets make it a great one so she'll keep on doing it! The read-a-thon lasts from December 22nd - January 1st. There is also a Twitter Hashtag to use: #WU2011R

So there we go! Come join us for some reading in December! Maybe it will help you finish up those reading challenges! Not me, I'm way too far behind for that!

Christmas Spirit Challenge - Week 1

2011-11-27T20:12:00.009-06:00

I haven't gotten much reading done yet on the Challenge, but I have managed to catch some Christmas movies this week. Check out ABC Family because they are showing a bunch right now!

So far I have seen:

Santa Buddies was cute and definitely for kids. Puppy Paws, the son of Santa Paws, Santa's dog conterpart, wants to learn how to be a normal puppy and gets the "Buddies" a group of Golden Retriever puppies, in all kinds of trouble. Meanwhile the magic of Christmas is waning the longer Puppy Paws is gone from the North Pole. Finally they locate Puppy Paws, and with the help of the "Buddies" get him back to the North Pole where he is able to save Christmas.

The Muppet Christmas Carol is a classic. Michael Caine stars as Scrooge, with Gonzo narrating in the part of Dickens. All our favorite Muppets are there, it has catchy songs and it's just wonderful!

Snow 2: Brain Freeze stars Tom Cavanaugh, so if you were a fan of the TV series Ed, you should definitely watch! I need to go back and watch the first one where he becomes Santa. In Snow 2, he loses his memory, and so his wife Sandy must find him and help him to remember who he is in time to save Christmas.

All three of these were fun, and I definitely recommend them to help you get in the mood!

The first book I'm working on right now is Enchanted Season by Maggie Shayne, Nalini Singh, Erin McCarthy and Jean Johnson and is an anthology of paranormal romances. I enjoyed the first one so far and I've read all but one of these authors before, so I think I'll like the rest as well!

I hope to start getting my decorations up this week, I bought a few more spiral trees for my poor light up animals, so they don't feel so exposed! ;)

Vampire Crush by A. M. Robinson

2011-11-25T21:30:00.006-06:00

I received my copy of Vampire Crush through Goodreads First Reads giveaways.

Sophie McGee is ready to start the new school year, she is determined to be the Editor-in-Chief of the school paper and thinks she has a great shot at it with her investigative skills. Her teacher tasks Sophie and her Editor in Chief rival with interviewing the new kids at school, and a strange bunch they are. The new students are as odd as their names, and before long Sophie has realized that there is something off about them. Vlad especially seems to get whatever he wants from whomever he wants. The foursome don't keep up their charade of being new high school students very well, and Sophie puts her investigative skills to work to find out why they're really there.

Another mystery is that the house next door that has been empty for awhile, is now reoccupied. Sophie's friend James who used to live there has returned, but alone after his parents died, and he doesn't want anyone to know he's back. Predictably that doesn't last for long.

When Vlad starts dating Sophie's sister Caroline, it becomes even more important to find out what she can. Something is just not right about him, and she doesn't want Caroline to get hurt. In the meantime Sophie has inadvertently made friends with another of the new students, Violet, who speaks, acts and dresses old-fashioned. She's become fascinated by teen magazine surveys and advice on boys, as she has someone she's in love with, but can't keep.

So many things to find out, what happened to James while he was gone, how is he connected with the new kids at school, and why are they really there?

This was a cute read, but not anything that will stick out for me so I gave it a 3/5. I liked Sophie, James and Violet the most, Vlad the least, he was super annoying in my opinion. I prefer likable bad guys I guess. It's possible that it was just targeted towards a younger age group than I really enjoy and that I was expecting too much from it compared to all of the other teen vampire fiction I've read that is more complex and intense. Sophie is written with a fun sarcastic but light style, and I did enjoy it. I think as a debut this was good. The back of my copy suggests an age group of 12 and up, and recommends it to fans of Vampire Kisses and the Vladimir Tod series, with which I would have to agree.

For more information on A. M. Robinson, visit her Website.

Wrapping Up 2011 Read-a-thon

2011-11-20T20:59:00.003-06:00

I found another read-a-thon to do!

This is the Wrapping Up 2011 Read-a-thon hosted by Jessie's Remarkable Reads It's her first time hosting, so lets make it a great one so she'll keep on doing it!

The read-a-thon lasts from December 22nd - January 1st. There is also a Twitter Hashtag to use: #WU2011R

For more details head on over to the sign up post.

Thanks Jessie!

The Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge 2011

2011-11-18T20:24:00.002-06:00

It's coming up on that time of year again! The Challenge runs from November 21st through January 6th! Click the picture above for details. Come and join us!

NANOWRIMO 2011

2011-10-30T22:16:00.003-05:00

Well, I'm going to try it again. Just like last year though, my busiest month at work is November, so I'm not expecting to finish, but it's still fun to give it a try!

For anyone who doesn't know what in the world I'm referring to, November is National Novel Writing Month, or NANOWRIMO. The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. This seems to send would be novelists into a frenzy, and makes professionals in the industry cringe at the flood of unpolished works they may be subjected to.

For me, I'd just like to get back in touch with my ability to write, as I feel like I've lost that as I've moved to adulthood and have been in the working world with most of my concentration going to my job. Being an accountant/analyst really doesn't channel my imagination a lot, though it does sap my energy for sure!

If this sounds at all interesting to you, check out the NANWRIMO website where you can sign up, choose a region, and join the fun!

Bout of Books Read-a-thon - Daily Updates

2011-10-24T18:32:00.025-05:00

I will do all of my updates here in this post, newest will be at the top. Thank you for visiting!

Nothing new started today	Day 7 - 10/30/11 - The End! Pages read: 74 (Miss Zukas) Time listened: 4 h 28 m (Catching Fire) Visited: no visits today :( Books finished: 1 book, 2/3 audiobook, 2 short stories A Tail of Two Skittys My Soul to Steal Vampire Crush Old Habits Total Page Count: 649 (401 behind total goal) Total Time Listened: 15 h 32 m Comments: I really thought I would get more pages this week, but I am surprised at how much I got listened to! Luckily some of the work I had to do this week was something I could do while listening to an audiobook. Thanks again to all the organizers, you are great!
Nothing new started today	Day 6 - 10/29/11 Pages read: 60, 81(Miss Zukas, Old Habits) Time listened: 2 h 3 m (Catching Fire) Visited: no visits today :( Books finished: 1 book, 2/3 audiobook, 2 short stories A Tail of Two Skittys My Soul to Steal Vampire Crush Old Habits Total Page Count: 575 (325 behind total goal) Total Time Listened: 11 h 4 m Comments: 1 more day to go! Still have a lot of work for the last day, so I doubt I will make my page goal, but I'm still really glad to have been a part of Bout of Books and will definitely be in for another one!
	Day 5 - 10/28/11 Pages read: 10, ?? (Miss Zukas, Old Habits) Time listened: 2 h 50 m (Catching Fire) Visited: no visits today :( Books finished: 1 book, 2/3 audiobook, 1 short story A Tail of Two Skittys My Soul to Steal Vampire Crush Total Page Count: 434 (316 behind total goal) Total Time Listened: 9 h 1 m Comments: Still have work to do this weekend, but hopefully I can catch up a little bit!
	Day 4 - 10/27/11 Pages read: 82, ?? (Vampire Crush, Old Habits) Time listened: 2 h 3 m (My Soul to Steal) Visited: Smitten with Reading, Kelsinator's Blog, For Love and books Books finished: 1 book, 2/3 audiobook, 1 short story A Tail of Two Skittys My Soul to Steal Vampire Crush Total Page Count: 424 (176 behind total goal) Total Time Listened: 6 h 11 m Comments: It's time to leave the Teen Paranormal scene for awhile, I'm going to go visit with Miss Zukas the Sleuthing Librarian now. We're on the downhill slide, and I'm way behind, but I knew it would be a busy week, so it's alright!
	Day 3 - 10/26/11 Pages read: 78, ?? (Vampire Crush, Old Habits) Time listened: 55 m (My Soul to Steal) Visited: Colleen's Reads, Creative Deeds Reads, Gone With the Words Books finished: 1 short story A Tail of Two Skittys Total Page Count: 342 (108 behind total goal) Total Time Listened: 4 h 8 m Comments: My work is not conducive to read-a-thon's. Grrr...
	Day 2 - 10/25/11 Pages read: 134, 20 (Vampire Crush, A Tail of Two Skittys) Time listened: 1 h 57 m (My Soul to Steal) Visited: Celine @ Nyx Book Reviews, Mazz @ Words on the Shelf, Vasilly Books finished: 1 short story A Tail of Two Skittys Total Page Count: 264 (36 behind total goal) Total Time Listened: 3 h 13 m Comments: The Shipscat series by Mercedes Lackey is a series of short stories centered around a specially bred for space breed of cats, very quick, fun reads. Good if you like cats, Sci-Fi and/or Mercedes Lackey. Their reviews on Goodreads are quite high. I believe they may all be gathered in the book Werehunter, but are also available individually in other anthologies, as well as for Kindle, which is where I'm reading them. :)
	Day 1 - 10/24/11 Pages read: 110 (Vampire Crush) Time listened: 1 h 16 m (My Soul to Steal) Visited: Smittenskitten, JJ ireads, Michelle@True Book Addict, Elsi@Reading in Texas Books finished: 0 Total Page Count: 110 Total Time Listened: 1 h 16 m Comments: Note to self figure out how to get paid for doing read-a-thon's

Bout of Books Read-a-thon

2011-10-23T12:32:00.003-05:00

Yay! Another read-a-thon to do, and it starts tomorrow! I'm so happy, I'm totally addicted to read-a-thon's now! It just makes reading so much more fun when you have a group of people being excited about it with you! It's called the Bout of Books Read-a-thon hosted by On a Book Bender, and it runs from 12:01am 10/24 through 11:59 pm 10/30 (your time zone). While the excitement of a 24 hour read-a-thon is unparalleled, I am really liking the multiple day read-a-thon's as well. This is a super busy time at work for me, but having this to look forward to when I get home will be great! It will also ease the let down I normally feel after Dewey's at having to wait until April to do another one! So glad to be finding all of these additional read-a-thon's! I'm probably crazy, but I'd be reading anyhow, and this just helps me keep up my resolve to do so, and let's me share it with a bunch of like minded people! Come on and join us!

Starting Line

This will be a very busy work week for me, so I'm not going to try and push myself too hard, that will only frustrate me, I'll just be glad to have a read-a-thon vibe to enjoy through the week! I still have my book pool from Dewey's to use, but also have some owed books I need to work on.

Goals

I will give myself a goal of 150 pages a day, which is 1050 pages over 7 days. It's ambitious for my work load but I think I can do it! No regrets if I don't make it though. Whatever I finish will also be included in my Read-in-October donation to Literacy Kansas City. Another goal will be to visit at least 3 other participants a day. I will probably just update once a day in the evening on separate posts, but plan to look in the twitter channel #boutofbooks throughout to see what's going on!

Here are some of the books I'm considering:

I'll just have to wait and see what else I'm in the mood for if I get that far!

Good luck everyone! Hope you all get off to a great start tomorrow! Monday's don't seem so bad when you have a read-a-thon to look forward to!

Wrap up - End of Event Meme - Final Update

2011-10-23T06:59:00.004-05:00

The sun is just starting to come up and I can't believe it's over! April seems so far away, but then again it'll be here before we know it and we can do this again! I'm jazzed to have been awake at the end this year, this is the first time I've done that. The nap helped, and while I didn't quite make it to the end of the story I was reading, I did get another 55 pages in the last couple hours, along with a smidge more cheering. Thank you to everyone involved, the organizers, the cheerleaders, the readers, this is such a special thing, and I'm happy to be a part of it!

End of Event Meme

Which hour was most daunting for you?

This year it was hour 19, as I was trying to finish up the book I was on before getting a few hours sleep so I could get back up for the end.

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

I'd like to give a huge recommendation to the Dream Catcher Trilogy by Lisa McMann, Wake, Fade and Gone, they are enthralling, yet quick reads, really kept me interested. I read the first one last read-a-thon, and the 3rd one this time. Also Stephanie Plum between the numbers novels (usually the holiday ones) by Janet Evanovich or also some of her older romances that have been reprinted as they are quick and fun!

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

Not really, I think it goes beautifully!

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

I really like have the twitter hashtag #readathon, it's a real time conversation and really brings home the fact that we're doing this together. Those late night hours can feel really isolated sometimes, and I think the twitter feed really keeps us in touch and energized!

How many books did you read?

I got through 2 full books, finished off 1 that I had already started before the read-a-thon, and then got through 3 short stories and about 2/3 of another one.

What were the names of the books you read?

See below, they'll be in my last update!

Which book did you enjoy most?

Gone by Lisa McMann

Which did you enjoy least?

I think finishing up Metal Angel by Nancy Springer, it was just a struggle! It was good, but just not as engaging as I had hoped for.

If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?

Yes, and it's something that our Cheerleader organizers told us, which is to try and make each comment personal, even if we're posting the same "cheer" for a lot of people, it is important to read through quickly what they have posted and try to make a tailor made comment just for them. As a reader, it really gives you a warm fuzzy and some energy when you realize someone's taken the time to pay attention to what you've posted, and that really helps keep you enthused!

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

I'm absolutely in! I wish we could do it more often! I think right now I'm pretty comfortable in the mainly reader, moderate cheerleader role. I have a lot of respect for the organizers of the different areas, I imagine it's a lot more work than you might realize, and I want to thank them all for keeping this going and allowing so many of us around the world to share in this fantastic event! I'm a read-a-thon addict now! Heehee, I know I'm tired because I'm getting all emotional and teary now that we're done! *sniffle* *group hug*

Final Update

My final page count was 601, plus I listened to about 2 1/2 hours of My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent, but I'm way too tired to try and figure out how many pages that would be right now!

Finished:


Metal Angel by Nancy Springer	Stopping Time by Melissa Marr	Gone (Dream Catcher #3) by Lisa McMann	Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich
pages: 92	pages: 36	pages: 214	pages: 166
	No Cover Available
Skitty by Mercedes Lackey	Venture in Vain by Katherine Kurtz	My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent	Father Mine by J. R. Ward
pages: 24	pages: 14	listened: 2 1/2 hours	pages: 55

Great Job everyone! And now to get some sleep! See you all in April!

I'm back!

2011-10-23T04:46:00.003-05:00

I'm back after a nap, and I think it's time for that huge cupcake and a soda! I'm pretty proud of myself for getting back up, because wow was that bed comfortable! Not sure what I'm going to do with myself in the final two hours here, but I think it will be a combo of reading and cheering, and eating, yeah, definitely eating...

Update hours 12-19

2011-10-23T01:09:00.003-05:00

It's just after 1 am for me in hour 19, and I've just finished Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich. I've done some cheering, and also read two short stories, Venture in Vain by Katherine Kurtz (a special limited edition short story), and Skitty by Mercedes Lackey. My page count is now at 546. Seems like every read-a-thon my number of pages is going down, but that's okay, I'm enjoying myself, and I still feel accomplished!

The plan now is to catch a few hours of sleep, and then get back up for the end of the read-a-thon, we'll see if I make it!

Currently Reading and Next Up:

Finished:


Metal Angel by Nancy Springer	Stopping Time by Melissa Marr	Gone (Dream Catcher #3) by Lisa McMann	Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich
pages: 92	pages: 36	pages: 214	pages: 166
	No Cover Available
Skitty by Mercedes Lackey	Venture in Vain by Katherine Kurtz
pages: 24	pages: 14

Mid-Event Survey

2011-10-22T21:05:00.002-05:00

1. What are you reading right now?

I'll be starting Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich once I've cheered a bit more.

2. How many books have you read so far?

1 full book, 1 partial book, 3 short stories.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

Father Mine by J. R. Ward, it's a short story, but I love the Black Dagger Brotherhood!

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?

Not really, luckily Saturday is usually pretty clear for me.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

self-inflicted ones, like going out to lunch and running errands, so I brought along my ipod to listen to an audiobook, or read on the kindle app on my phone.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

The time just flies by!

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

Nope, it's awesome just the way it is!

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?

Well, honestly I think I may have gotten it just right for myself this year. I'm going to try getting some sleep before too long and then getting up for the end few hours rather than staying up as late as possible, so we'll see how that works!

9. Are you getting tired yet?

Kind of, but still jazzed to get more reading done. Once I hit that wall though, I go down fast! That's why I'm going to try the nap thing!

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?

I'm including some short stories this time, something I've not done before, while they don't get you a big page count, they do let you feel like you've finished some "units" and I think that's important if you're feeling bogged down with a longer book. Also, just have fun, set attainable goals if you set them at all, and don't be hard on yourself if things don't go exactly as you planned, be flexible, and you'll be a lot more relaxed!

Update hours 6-11

2011-10-22T18:02:00.003-05:00

We've just completed hour 11, and are at the halfway hour 12! How's everyone feeling? Sleepy? Energized? I made it through my tough afternoon prime nap hours between 3-5 pm and am feeling pretty good right now, having just finished a book! It's time for some cheering!

I'm at 342 pages now, which was reading Gone (Dream Catcher #3) by Lisa McMann. I also started listening to My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent while we were out and about at lunch, doing some errands, and securing some evil cupcakes for later on, and some coffee! Mr. Shaunie has joined me in reading, and he's logged almost 100 pages in Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch, which looks to be a fun Sci-Fi.

I love book related t-shirts, and was so excited to get this one recently from Shirt.Woot, which is my special attire for today. I wish it hadn't gotten reckoned so quickly, I probably should have gotten several of them!

Currently Reading and Next Up:

Finished:


Metal Angel by Nancy Springer	Stopping Time by Melissa Marr	Gone (Dream Catcher #3) by Lisa McMann
pages: 92	pages: 36	pages: 214

Update Hours 1-5

2011-10-22T11:54:00.008-05:00

We're just finishing up hour 5, it's almost noon for me, so it's time for lunch! I'm not reading as fast as I might like, but I'm in a great mood, and have visited some friends that are also doing the read-a-thon:
Noumena12
Azuki
Dancing-Dog
Elsi

I've managed 128 pages so far, which was finishing up Metal Angel by Nancy Springer and also reading Stopping Time by Melissa Marr, a short story in the Wicked Lovely series. Now I'm listening to My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent while blogging and getting ready to go out for lunch. I'm thinking a soup and salad buffet, then some time at a local coffee shop for some more reading. What's everyone else doing for meals and snacks? Have a great day everyone, keep up the good reading, and have fun! I'll be cheering for people later on as part of Team Coco Puffs!

Currently Reading and Next Up:

Finished:


Metal Angel by Nancy Springer	Stopping Time by Melissa Marr
pages: 92	pages: 36

Hour 1 - Intro Meme

2011-10-22T07:16:00.002-05:00

1)Where are you reading from today?

Mostly my house, but we may go out to lunch and a local coffee shop to read for awhile.

2)Three random facts about me…

I've always loved Archaeology, enough that it inspired me to get an Anthropology degree, though I've not ended up in a career using it. I would love to visit Egypt or Mexico and see the wonderful ruins there!

I'm also a geocacher, though we don't do it a lot, it is a lot of fun. The most exciting one we've found so far was a cache on the edge of Royal Gorge in Colorado, beautiful scenery!

I worked in a bookstore during highschool and college, sometimes I miss it, though I think I have just as many books of my own now!

3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?

About 30, but that's just to have something to choose from, there's no way I'll get through them all! But I sure wish I could read that fast!

4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?

No real goals, just to read as much as possible.

5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?

This is my 4th time I think, and my advice is to just relax and have fun, that's what it's all about! Even if you're not reading as quickly as you might like, you're still part of something wonderful, enjoy it!

Here We Go! It's Read-a-Thon time again!

2011-10-22T07:00:00.005-05:00

It's time! It's time! It's time for Dewey's 24 hour Read-a-Thon! I've so been looking forward to this! My hubby is going to give the read-a-thon a try as well, this is the first time I've done this that he's NOT on call! Woot! I'll report on his progress here along with my own, he didn't really sign up, so I guess for this go around we're team Shaunesay!

This year I'm going to donate to Literacy Kansas City for the books that we get read. I'm actually going to do it for all of my October reads, not just today's.

I'm also a cheerleader again, so I may be visiting some of you later on to help keep you going!

I didn't quite get all the reading done that I wanted to before the start of the 'thon, so I might be finishing that last book up today. I've got books lined up in print, and on my Kindle app, and also an audio book picked out to give my eyes a rest, for exercising and while I'm visiting others and cheering.

Here's my starting lineup:

Good Luck and Good Reading everyone! Have a wonderful day!

A Fool and His Honey by Charlaine Harris

2011-10-17T19:57:00.005-05:00

A Fool and His Honey is the 6th book of the Aurora Teagarden series.

Roe's life is going well, she's happily married to Martin, has started working at the library again part time because she likes it, not because she has to, and she has a house she loves. There are a few downsides, the company dinners and making nice with town politicians, and she's not so crazy about Martin's family, but overall things are going good, until the day that things just went from bad to worse, and didn't get better again. It started out with some erratic behavior by the man delivering some firewood to the house, and then with an unexpected visit by a relative of Martin's, and then, that's right, you guessed it, with a dead body. But not only a dead body, there's also a baby with a missing mother in the equation, and Roe has no choice but to care for the child until his mother, Martin's niece, is found. This awakens all sorts of feelings in Roe, none of them quite what she expected, considering her own fertility situation. To have the duty foisted on her the way it was, in addition to the stress of not knowing where the child's mother was or if she was okay, or even if the baby was truly hers, and Roe has a big batch of resentment brewing, which I can't blame her for one bit! She certainly took it a lot better than I would have.

I'll be honest, I've liked this one the least so far, because of the storyline. The convoluted "who's baby is Hayden" thread is fine, it was the ending I didn't like at all. It might just be because of the frame of mind in which I read it, I could really identify with Roe, and her feelings and resentments over circumstances and people, and then to have it turn out the way it did was just awful. I guess I'm just a sucker for happy endings, and this episode of the Aurora series didn't have one! Of course I'll read the rest, it wasn't a bad storyline, it just made me really unhappy for Roe!

Despite my unhappiness with this particular novel, I do highly recommend everything I've read by Charlaine Harris so far, which includes the Harper Connelly series, and the Sookie Stackhouse Series. Just be prepared, A Fool and His Honey won't give you the warm fuzzies! For more information on the author and her work, please see her website: www.charlaineharris.com.

This is my 10th read for the Mystery and Suspense Challenge hosted by Book Chick City.

Are you ready for Dewey's 24 hour read-a-thon?

2011-10-15T12:03:00.008-05:00

This time next week we'll be feverishly reading and cheering each other on during Dewey's 24 hour read-a-thon! There's still plenty of time to sign up to be a reader, or join the cheerleading team! Yes, you can absolutely do both, I am! One of the most fun things about the read-a-thon is picking out what books to read. I always have a much bigger stack than I will ever get through, but you just never know what you'll be in the mood for! Here are some of the ones that are definites, plus the rest of my stack!

I have quite a few short stories and novellas on the Kindle and in print, (both Father Mine and Stopping Time above are short stories) so I will be working on those as well. I thought that might be a good break from a longer book if I'm feeling bogged down on it, or a quick in between books.

I'm also going to be donating to a reading themed charity this year. I've chosen Literacy Kansas City as my recipient, and while I'm actually going to donate for what I read in the whole month of October, I'll report in on what I did for the read-a-thon itself as I think they usually try to tally up what people have done if they're willing to volunteer the info.

I'm cheerleading again this time, so I need to get busy and try to think of something fun. I love getting comments from people during the read-a-thon, it gives it that group festive feeling, and really helps if you're feeling like things are going slow!

I can't believe it's so close and yet so far! Just another week to go! And yet, another WHOLE week of work before it's time! I hope to see you all there!

It's a wrap!

2011-10-09T23:23:00.003-05:00

Down to the wire and accomplished my goal! I just finished Fablehaven #4: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary by Brandon Mull with about 30 minutes to midnight! This is a fun kids fantasy series that I highly recommend! 526 pages!

Worked on but did not complete:

How to Read Maya Hieroglyphs by John Montgomery - Starting point for Read-a-thon pg. 80, ending point, pg. 105 - pages read = 25 pages

Previously Finished:


What the Librarian Did by Karina Bliss	Ghost Hunting by Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson	Vicious Circle (Felix Castor #2) by Mike Carey
249 pages	273 pages	92 pages

Total page count: 1165, average pages per day: 177 - not bad, much better than my normal average of between 60 and 100 (which I hadn't even been managing lately!)

I would like to thank Michelle @ True Book Addict for hosting this on her Castle Macabre blog, it was fun! I hope to join you on some future read-a-thon's!

Goodnight everyone!

Beginning of the Last Day of the Frightful Fall Read-a-thon

2011-10-09T01:12:00.004-05:00

Friday evening I finished listening to Vicious Circle (Felix Castor #2) by Mike Carey while I was making dinner. I had about 3 hours left of listening time when the read-a-thon started Monday so I calculated that was about 92 pages to go. Felix is an exorcist who always gets in way over his head. I love how Michael Kramer does the voice for Juliet the demon, and the writing is great, there are awesome quotes all the time. One of my favorites from this one was something like "Down is a wonderful direction, once you try it, you just don't get back up again." I would say it's almost a Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden meets Monty Python, but darker. I recommend the series!

Still working on:

Fablehaven #4: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary by Brandon Mull - a fun YA fantasy series that I highly recommend. - This one will be my main focus today, I really hope to finish it, I'm over halfway, but still have just slightly less than 200 pages to go.

How to Read Maya Hieroglyphs by John Montgomery - Reading this for my own non-fiction challenge, I'm at location 744, which I think is about page 80, so that will be my starting point for the read-a-thon. Update: I'm now at page 105 on this one. - I'm guessing I won't be finishing this one today!

Previously Finished:


What the Librarian Did by Karina Bliss	Ghost Hunting by Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson
249 pages	273 pages

Finished page count: 614

Good luck in the home stretch everyone!

Spotlight: Literacy Kansas City

2011-10-08T10:20:00.008-05:00

My ability to read is something that I take for granted. I read all the time, books yes, but also food boxes, medication labels, job applications, road signs, greeting cards, e-mails and texts from friends, family and co-workers. There is almost no part of my life that doesn't involve reading in some way. I had wonderful parents who fostered this ability in me at an early age, not everyone is given this same opportunity. But they should be.

Literacy Kansas City states on their website that 1 in 5 adults in the United States are functionally illiterate.

Our Mission
Literacy Kansas City's mission is to advance literacy among area adults through direct services, advocacy and collaboration. Our vision is literacy for all.

The Need for Literacy
Approximately 225,000 adults in the Kansas City area function at the lowest literacy level. Illiteracy is closely linked to poverty, unemployment and health issues. Children of low literate parents face a high risk of growing up illiterate. Helping an adult learn to read can improve the situation of an entire family. Most adult learners seek our help so they can participate in their children's learning, obtain a GED or diploma, or improve their job skills so they can better support their families. At any time, there are around 30 students on our waiting list.

The Organization
Literacy Kansas City certifies volunteers as tutors and matches them with adult learners from across the Kansas City metropolitan area who want to improve their literacy skills. Founded in 1985, Literacy Kansas City is an accredited affiliate of ProLiteracy America, the U.S. program division of ProLiteracy Worldwide.

I can't think of a better, lasting gift to give someone than the ability to read. I've discovered the joy of online read-a-thon's, where a group of people sign up on the host's blog and then read and blog about their progress, visit each other and comment etc. It's a lot of fun! So far these experiences have not included an organized literacy donation process, as they are generally bringing together people from different parts of the world and everyone would have a different charity focus, so it would be difficult. It is absolutely encouraged to do so however, to the charity of your choice. I have two read-a-thon's that I'm participating in during October, one right now, The Frightful Fall Read-a-thon, and then a little later in the month Dewey's 24 hour read-a-thon. Since October looks to hopefully be a successful reading month for me, I'd like to pledge to donate $3 for each full length book (including audios), and $1.50 for each short story that I finish during the month. Things are starting off pretty good so far, I've already finished 4 books in October and it's only the first full week, much better than last month where I only finished 3 during all of September!

I encourage everyone who enjoys reading to find out if their area has a program like Literacy Kansas City that they can donate to or volunteer in, and do something fun like a read-a-thon, come up with a fun way to measure what you should donate, a penny a page, anything, and help pass along this gift to others!

Oct 6th Frightful Check in - Ghost Hunting by The Ghost Hunters!

2011-10-06T22:59:00.005-05:00

I've finished book #2, yay!

I enjoy the Ghoster Hunters TV Show on SyFy, so I was pretty sure I'd like a book of theirs too. This is the first of their books, Ghost Hunting, I have the second, and there are several more after that as well.

I'm pretty much a wuss when it comes to the paranormal, it doesn't take much to give me goosebumps. I don't think I've ever actually had an encounter, though others in my family have, my mother, my aunt, and my husband all have stories to tell. I'm okay with not having a story to share, really!

I like the show, mostly because I enjoy the people, the antics of Steve and Tango, the interesting places they go, the serious way Jason and Grant conduct their investigations, and I get excited by the flashlights turning on and off, or the meters flashing. But really many times I don't really hear the things they show was evidence, I totally rely on the subtitles, because I wouldn't get it otherwise, and a lot of times I'm not seeing anything in the footage without the highlighting circles.

I did enjoy this book, and it had me looking over my shoulder, and checking the cats to see if they were still asleep or concerned by a noise. There are many things that TAPS has done that they can't share on the television show, and a few of those are mentioned in the book. It's a mixture of family homes and publicized haunted locations, many of which I do remember the episodes for. If you're a fan of the show already, you'll definitely enjoy this, (what was that noise?) it's told from Jason's point of view, but always with a comment from Grant, so you still get that feel that you have from the show. They have had a lot more experiences, many more dramatic than anything they show on television.

273 pages down!

I'll be focusing on Fablehaven next I think.

Still working on:

Vicious Circle (Felix Castor #2) by Mike Carey - with my starting point at 3 hours left, I calculated that to be 92 pages remaining, and I've listened to about an hour of it on my drive back and forth to work since yesterday.

Fablehaven #4: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary by Brandon Mull - a fun YA fantasy series that I highly recommend. I'm somewhere around 100 pages read on this one so far, it's in the other room though, so I don't know for sure! ;)

How to Read Maya Hieroglyphs by John Montgomery - Reading this for my own non-fiction challenge, I'm at location 744, which I think is about page 80, so that will be my starting point for the read-a-thon. Update: I'm now at page 105 on this one.

Previously Finished:

What the Librarian Did
by Karina Bliss

249 pages

Finished page count: 522

TGIF Everyone! Day 5 here we come!

Oct 5th Frightful Check-In

2011-10-05T20:07:00.008-05:00

I finished my first book this afternoon, What the Librarian Did by Karina Bliss - The cover is cheesy but the story is enjoyable, Reformed Rockstar vs. Librarian with a secret! This was also my first Rocktober read, so I will probably do a better review after the read-a-thon.

I've also chosen my Scary/Spooky book for the read-a-thon requirements: Ghost Hunting by Jason Hawes, Grant Wilson and Michael Jan Friedman. That's right, the Ghost Hunters themselves! Not sure I can read this one right before bed though, as the idea of ghosts fascinates me, but also unnerves me!

Still working on:

Vicious Circle (Felix Castor #2) by Mike Carey - with my starting point at 3 hours left, I calculated that to be 92 pages remaining, and I've listened to about an hour of it on my drive back and forth to work since yesterday.

Fablehaven #4: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary by Brandon Mull - a fun YA fantasy series that I highly recommend. Update: This is going to have to be my before sleep read, to get me over the Ghost Hunting I was doing, I mean, reading, in my basement while exercising!

How to Read Maya Hieroglyphs by John Montgomery - Reading this for my own non-fiction challenge, I'm at location 744, which I think is about page 80, so that will be my starting point for the read-a-thon. Update: I'm now at page 105 on this one.

Happy Day 3 everyone, and good luck tomorrow!

Frightful Fall Read-a-thon

2011-10-04T09:52:00.005-05:00

I discovered a read-a-thon to do, thanks to a Twitter post from Susan @ West of Mars! I love read-a-thon's! This one is the Frightful Fall Read-a-thon hosted by The True Book Addict over at her Castle Macabre Horror Blog. It actually started yesterday, so I'm a bit late, but I did read yesterday, so subconsciously I think I knew about it! ;) I'm not after prizes anyway, just a motivating reading challenge! September was just a pitiful reading month for me, so I'm hoping between the Frightful Fall and Dewey's Read-a-thon's, and the Rocktober "challenge" that this month will be better!

The Frightful Fall Read-a-thon has only one real requirement (if I'm reading the instructions correctly) and that is that one of your books has to be a scary book. Scary is a relative term here though, so if you're not into horror, then just find some book that has a spooky aspect to it and that should qualify!

Here is my starting line-up:

Vicious Circle (Felix Castor #2) by Mike Carey - listening to this on audiobook, have about 3 hours left of it that I will count for the read-a-thon. It would qualify as a scary series if anyone else is interested. Felix is an exorcist, and always in a LOT of trouble!

What the Librarian Did by Karina Bliss - started this one yesterday evening, and it will be my first read for Rocktober as well.

Fablehaven #4: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary by Brandon Mull - also started yesterday, a fun YA fantasy series that I highly recommend.

How to Read Maya Hieroglyphs by John Montgomery - Reading this for my own non-fiction challenge, I'm at location 744, which I think is about page 97, so that will be my starting point for the read-a-thon.

These should keep me busy for a couple days for sure! I still need to pick my scary read though. Good luck to anyone else who is participating, and remember to use #frightfall on twitter to check out the action and let us know how you're doing!

Rocktober is for Reading!

2011-09-25T15:28:00.007-05:00

My friend Susan over at West of Mars has invited us to celebrate Rocktober with her! Check out the Rocktober event on Facebook. Music and Books are two of my greatest loves, so combining them really appeals to me!

All you have to do to join in is post a link over at the West of Mars Fans Page on Facebook with a link to your review, author interview or giveaway that involves a book related to music, and Susan will transfer it over to the Meet and Greet Blog!

If you need some ideas on what you can read, Susan has compiled a great list HERE. Thank you so much Susan for compiling that list, I've added some to my wishlist! Primarily Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rockstar!

From her list I've read and enjoyed these:

Gossamer Axe by Gael Baudino (Fantasy)
Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite (Horror)
Rock Star by Jackie Collins (Fiction/Romance)
Backstage Pass by Olivia Cunning (Erotica)
Guitar Girl by Sara Manning (Teen)

Here are the books I have to choose from to read, I'm going to treat this as a relaxed reading challenge:

What the Librarian Did by Karina Bliss (HQ Romance)
Wicked Game by Jeri Smith-Ready (Fantasy)
Metal Angel by Nancy Springer (Fantasy)
Cold Iron by Melisa Michaels (Fantasy)

And of course I highly recommend Susan's own Trevor Wolff and Shapeshifter books: Trevor's Song, Demo Tapes 1, Demo Tapes 2 and Demo Tapes 3, which I still need to get my hands on, do you hear me Susan?

All you have to do to join in is post a link over at the West of Mars Fans Page on Facebook with a link to your review, author interview or giveaway that involves a book related to music, and Susan will transfer it over to the Meet and Greet Blog!

Come and join the fun! Let's read some beautiful music together!

Bespelling Jane Austen - Paranormal Romance Anthology

2011-09-24T23:42:00.006-05:00

Bespelling Jane Austen is an anthology of four paranormal romances inspired by Jane Austen novels. The pieces range from reincarnation to a paranormal dating service, and one even features Mr. Darcy himself as a vampire. I really do need to go back and read the original Jane Austen novels if I really want to appreciate all these mash-ups to their fullest!

Of this group I enjoyed Mary Balogh's Almost Persuaded the best, though all were enjoyable reads. She mentions that she really has not done anything in the paranormal genre, I think she does more traditional historical romances, but her story of two lovers reincarnated again and again, always separated and unable to overcome obstables such as social class, finally able to come together was heartwarming and lovely.

Colleen Gleason's Northanger Castle follows Caroline, a girl obsessed with gothic novels, and who sees villains and vampires everywhere she looks, discovers that her favorites stories are not so fictional, and that not everyone is who they seem!

Blood and Predjudice by Susan Krinard, who was the instigator of this anthology, is the Elizabeth and Darcy story in a modern day setting. Darcy is as infuriating as ever, though truly good-hearted, and Liz is the bold heroine who wants to protect her family, yet finds herself oddly attracted to the villainous vampire!

Janet Mullany takes us to Washington DC and a tale of competing paranormal dating services in Little to Hex Her. Emma has taken over the running of her sister's business while she is away, trying to help the paranormal's of the city find matches. When a rival dating service is begun, and everything seems to go inexplicably wrong for her, Emma finds help from an old boyfriend, and learns a few truths about their past that could make a future possible for them.

For more information on these lovely lady authors, please visit their websites:

Mary Balogh
Colleen Gleason
Susan Krinard
Janet Mullany

This is my 7th read for the Paranormal Romance Challenge hosted by Bitten by Paranormal Romance.

Pacific Vortex! by Clive Cussler

2011-09-23T21:28:00.005-05:00

I've long been a fan of Dirk Pitt, though honestly I've only read about 4 of the novels from various points in the series. He's like an American James Bond, only he scuba dives for shipwrecks. Each story is a great mixture of military thriller and outlandish underwater excavation that takes you to exotic locations and shows you unbelievable things. In other words, they're a lot of fun!

Pacific Vortex! is actually the first Dirk Pitt story though it was published after Clive Cussler had a few Dirk books under his belt. #2 in the series The Mediterranean Caper was actually the first one published in 1973 (a very good year if I do say so myself! Ahem!), and it wasn't until 10 years and 5 books later (according to goodreads) that this first story was published so that fans could see how Dirk started out. It is a much shorter and faster read than later novels, and is an interesting contrast to them, showing the diamond in the rough.

Dirk is not nearly as polished in Pacific Vortex! as he is later, and he doesn't have his priceless collection of cars yet, in fact, he doesn't seem to own much at this point. His faithful friend and sidekick Al Giordino does appear, but not until quite aways through the book. As usual they are pitting themselves against unbelievable odds (*groan* seriously I didn't realize I typed that until I went back and read it just now!) to solve an unsolvable mystery, in this case finding a missing submarine in the Pacific Vortex, a place much like the Bermuda Triangle. There's danger and romance, and a secret underwater hideaway, what more do you need?

As a fan of Dirk Pitt, I think I would suggest reading others in the series to get a feel for the characters, and then going back and reading this one for fun. If you start with this one I'm not sure that you'll really get the true picture of how great this series is, probably why it wasn't published until later. But I still enjoyed it, and recommend it if you like thriller adventures that take you to crazy places.

Clive Cussler himself is a collector and restorer of classic cars, and shares these treasures with us at The Cussler Car Museum in Arvada, CO that I HIGHLY recommend. I'm not a car lover and even I was enthralled by the number of shiny, beautiful cars packed into the space. What's also fun is that by each car that is featured in a novel, there is a placard telling which book Dirk drove it in. The museum is only open for a limited time during the year, Monday's and Tuesday's only May through September, but if you can make the time, it's a hidden gem!

For more information on Clive and his work, visit this website.

I read this as part of my own personal Catching Up With Old Friends Challenge, but am also going to count it in the Mystery and Suspense Challenge hosted by Book Chick City.

It's almost time - Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon

2011-09-19T21:53:00.003-05:00

In a little bit over a month I'll be participating in my 4th Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon and I'm just as excited as I was for my first one! I'm already thinking of what books would be good reads for that day. Okay, truthfully I've been doing that since the day after the last read-a-thon!

This time I may be adding some Kindle books to my TBR pile to give myself some variation, and am considering an audiobook for the times when I need to rest my eyes, or while cheering for other readers. Last read-a-thon was my first as a cheerleader, so I will probably try that again, because I know how much I liked being visited by them.

To sign up as a reader, visit this link

To sign up as a volunteer, visit this link, Cheerleader sign ups will come later, this link is for help with organizational committees, as it takes a lot of work to make the read-a-thon go smoothly!

It's a lot of fun, and I hope you all will join us on October 22!

Chick with a Charm by Vicki Lewis Thompson

2011-08-21T20:58:00.005-05:00

Chick with a Charm is the second book of Babes on Brooms by Vicki Lewis Thompson, and focuses on the younger Revere sister, Lily.

Lily is the wilder, more outrageous of the two sisters, dark haired and flashy, in her clothing choices and her decorating style. She has her sights set on Lawyer Griffin, who comes into the Bubbling Cauldron where she bartends every day after work with his buddies. He seems to be interested in Lily as well, but never acts upon it, so she decides to take things into her own hands by slipping an adoration elixir into his drink. Lily is everything that straight-laced Griffin shies away from, but he is still attracted to her. Suddenly his attraction becomes unmanageable and he finds himself unable to stay away from her. The two are thrown into a passionate affair that he just can't understand, it's so unlike him. His friends are soon noticing that his work is affected, and take it upon themselves to investigate, discovering that witches are real, and their pal is under a bonafide spell! Griffin may have real feelings for Lily, but the problem is that he can't trust himself until the spell is broken. Lily also realizes that what they are sharing, while amazing, isn't necessarily real thanks to her spell, and while Griffin is saying and doing all the things she's longed for, they pale when prompted by the potion and not his heart.

With a little help from all their friends, Kevin's work buddies, Lily's sister and her fiance Jasper (our victim from Blonde with a Wand), Dorcas and Ambrose, and a magical dog, the spell is eventually broken, and their feelings are put to the test.

The Babes on Brooms duo are sweet and fun paranormal romances. I have really enjoyed both of them and look forward to getting into more of Vicki Lewis Thompson's books. The covers are great, colorful and sparkly, my only complaint is that I think Chick with a Charm should have had Daisy the dog on the cover instead of another black cat, but I know the artists don't always have a lot to go on. I highly recommend both of these if you're in the mood for a fun and feel good romance with a bit of magic thrown in. No vampires or werewolves here, just good old fashioned wand waving and potion mixing!

For more information on Vicki Lewis Thompson and her books please visit her website

This was my 6th read for the Paranormal Romance Challenge hosted by Bitten by Paranormal Romance.

Lover Mine by J. R. Ward

2011-08-13T16:20:00.003-05:00

Lover Mine is the 8th book in the FANTASTIC Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J. R. Ward. Can you tell this is one of my absolute favorite series? ;)

There may be spoilers here if you're not as far along in the series.

This is John Matthew's book. Finally having transitioned from a scrawny pre-trans into an adult male vampire, John Matthew now has the brawn he's always desired. What he doesn't have is the female that he knows is his destiny, Xhex. Always fascinated by her, even before his transition, John Matthew's relationship with her has always been a rocky roller coaster. Xhex has swung between letting him glimpse her attraction to him, and shoving him violently away by cutting him to the quick emotionally. When Xhex is kidnapped during a raid on the Symphath colony, John Matthew's devotion is renewed to a fever pitch, and he will not rest until she is recovered.

I like how there are multiple story lines going on during these books. It's a fairly complete world, even though the main story is focused on a pair of the characters, other arcs are being furthered and set up at the same time, setting up multiple avenues for future books, making you NEED to read the next book! Past characters still appear frequently, though not figuring as prominently as we might like (More Vishous please!), keeping us in touch with beloved brothers, and occasionally their mates, though the ladies appear much less often.

I'm definitely looking forward to the next book, Lover Unleashed, featuring Vishous' sister Payne, since I may get more of a fix with my fave Brother. Lover Reborn should be very satisfying as well, featuring Tohrment, who has been suffering for several books now, it's about time he gets some happiness! *fingers crossed*

Thank you J. R. Ward for sharing this awesome story with us, it is one of my all time favorite series! *knows I'm gushing* For more information on the author and her work check out her website

This was my 4th read for the Paranormal Romance Challenge hosted by Bitten by Paranormal Romance.

Kiss of the Rose by Kate Pearce

2011-08-09T20:25:00.006-05:00

Kiss of the Rose is the first book of the Tudor Vampire Chronicles by Kate Pearce. Druidic Vampire Slayers and the Vampire Council, aided by the Ellis family of Druid Slayers must come together in the court of Henry VIII to catch a rogue vampire who threatens the King. Rosalind Llewellyn has been sent to court to find and slay the rogue vampire, upholding the pact that Henry's father made with the Druids in order to gain their help in winning the kingship. Also at court is Christopher Ellis, who comes from a family of Druid-slayers who serve the Vampire Council. Almost immediately Rosalind and Christopher are drawn to each other, though they are sworn enemies, and they try to fight their attraction, believing they could never be together. Rosalind's faith in the Druid ways is secure, but Christopher has doubts about his own chosen path, disillusioned in the vows he had made, but too honorable to set them aside. Together, with help from Rosalind's companion Rhys, and a vampire representative from the council, they work together to protect the King.

I feel lukewarm towards this one, having read The Other Boleyn Girl and watched much of The Tudors, I think I wanted that history to figure more prominently in this story than it did. What we need to keep in mind is that those were specifically focused on the Henry VIII story, while it serves as a backdrop here. Henry and Catherine are present, and the fact that Catherine is losing favor with Henry is also shown, as well as a bit of Henry's domineering character. In addition, I just didn't really bond with any of the characters except Christopher. His struggle with the disillusionment of his own convictions makes him a much more interesting character to me than Rosalind, Rhys, or the vampire who sort of helps them.

Overall it was an enjoyable read, though I got the feeling that the first book might have been more of a set up for what's to come, Henry VIII's story gets much more interesting when Anne Boleyn comes on the scene, which should be in the next book Blood of the Rose. It sounds like Anne will figure more prominently in the story than our historical figures did this time.

For more information on Kate Pearce and her work, please visit her website.

This was my fifth read for the Paranormal Romance Challenge hosted by Bitten by Paranormal Romance.

An Uplifting Murder by Elaine Viets

2011-08-04T18:08:00.004-05:00

An Uplifting Murder is the 6th installment in the Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper series. This time as Josie and her friend Alice are mystery shopping a lingerie store, they run into some people from Josie's past, a teacher from her school days, and another student who seems to be just as mean as an adult as she was as a kid. Shortly afterwards, they stumble across a body in the women's restroom, none other than mean girl, and Josie's investigation begins. There are many suspects, no surprise with the way she treated people, and Josie has her work cut out for her trying to save an innocent person from being blamed, as the police seem pretty convinced they have found the culprit, and aren't too interested in pursuing other leads.

Along with the mystery, we continue to be part of Josie's family, as the theme of this store is lingerie, we get to be part of Josie's daughter's growing up, and her mother's finally getting enough of the nosey next door neighbor, and of course, Josie's love life features prominently, but maybe this time she's found the one. We shall see!

I enjoyed this one as I have the rest of the series, Viets does a good job of making characters that we care about, and can relate to, in addition to a few that we just want to strangle. This is an entertaining cozy mystery series that I highly recommend.

For more information on the author and her work, visit her Website.

This was my 6th read for the Mystery & Suspense Reading Challenge hosted by Book Chick City (a fabulous blog that you should definitely follow!)

Sketch Me If You Can by Sharon Pape

2011-07-20T12:16:00.003-05:00

Sketch Me If You Can is the first book in the Portrait of Crime series by Sharon Pape. Rory is a police sketch artist, and has just inherited her uncle's house and private detective agency/client list. At first she doesn't think she wants to pursue being a private investigator, but decides to work on one of the cases that he has left behind at the request of the client. The house holds a surprise for her, she's inherited more than just a place to live, but also a roommate. Zeke was a federal marshall who died in the 1800's, and who had been assisting her uncle in his investigations, and he's more than ready to keep it up with Rory. The two butt heads often, she's a modern, independent woman, and Zeke's an old-fashioned, traditional man who has a hard time letting Rory investigate, or even date! They challenge each other, and even Zeke, though dead, finds out that he can do more than he thought when the situation calls for it! I kept picturing the actor Sam Elliot as Zeke, with his deep voice and rugged looks.

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery, I call it that because even though Rory is a police sketch artist, and had to become a full fledged officer in order to have that position, she really is more of an artist, and not involved in investigating on a regular basis, so it is all new for her. I definitely want to continue this series, Zeke is a fun character, and I know that he and Rory have a lot more ahead of them! The second book in the series is To Sketch a Thief and came out in June of this year. For more information on the author and her work, please visit her website.

This was my 7th read for the Mystery and Suspense Reading Challenge at Book Chick City, though I'm reviewing a bit out of order!

Water Lily and Fish

2011-07-20T12:09:00.002-05:00

Yes I am ridiculously excited about my water lily, and was happy to discover I was wrong, they do last more than a day, they last a few days, they just open and close during the day. Since the fish are never where you want them, and never stay long in one place, I took a little video.

Challenge Check In

2011-07-17T23:10:00.002-05:00

So the year is past the halfway mark, and I'm way behind on my reading challenges!

I'm doing the worst on the ones I set for myself, I haven't read anything for the "Stranger than Fiction" and "Catching Up With Old Friends" Challenges, and have only read the first 3 Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris.

For hosted challenges I'm doing slightly better, but only a smidge! I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet, but it's going to be difficult to get them caught up!

Historical Romance Challenge 2/12 = 17% complete - 1 review outstanding
Paranormal Romance Challenge 4/20 = 20% complete - 1 review outstanding
Mystery and Suspense Challenge 7/12 = 58% complete - 2 reviews outstanding
Horror & Urban Fantasy 5/24 = 21% complete - 1 review outstanding

It looks like the only one I'm doing okay on is the Mystery and Suspense challenge! But there are still 5 months and some left, so I'm going to keep trying! I seem to be reading a lot of teen books, which I'm not doing a challenge for, ah well! I'm still enjoying them, and that's all that matters!

How is everyone else doing on their reading?

Water Lily

2011-07-17T15:53:00.007-05:00

It's vacation day two, and we have achieved a water lily flower! Sadly they only last one day, so I'm glad I caught it when I did, as it's already starting to close back up! Had to include the fish picture: "Hey, quit taking pictures and feed me already!"

Vacation!

2011-07-16T16:27:00.003-05:00

I'm on vacation! We're not going anywhere, but still, 5 days off work, which is 9 days in a row of doing whatever we want, yay! So I'm issuing myself a little book challenge, I want to finish one book every day, but since I still want to do all kinds of other fun things too, they'll be easy things like Manga, or fast children's or teen books, but still, it will be getting some things off Mount TBR! I hope to get some challenge books reviewed as well this week. Wish me luck!

I'm not sure what we'll be doing this week, hopefully a lot of relaxing, with a movie and some computer games thrown in. We're going to a concert one night (YES/Styx), a dinner theater production next Sunday afternoon (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), and maybe a day trip to get some geocaching in. The possibilities are endless, as long as we don't stay planted in front of the computer! :D

What I'm not excited about is that we might be getting our new roof this week, so that means a lot of hammering. *sigh*

One of my water lily plants also shot up a bloom overnight, so I hope to see that flower soon! Here's a picture of it from this morning (along with some fish action), I'll post again if it turns out good!

The End!

2011-07-14T07:45:00.000-05:00

Reading update:

I decided to go ahead and start on The Warrior by Kinley MacGregor, and it was still before midnight, so it counted! Here are my final stats, with the last few pages I managed before passing out for the night!

Currently reading:

	The Warrior by Kinley MacGregor -- Lochlan goes to find his brother but has to save Catrina along the way. I'm pretty confused about what order to read this series in, but they're pretty much self contained stories, so it's okay! They're fast and fun, enjoyable historical romance! Pages read: 38
	Blue by Lou Aronica, A girl and her father reconnect over a shared fantasy land they created, but found out was real, in order to save it from a blight. Started: pg. 43, current page: 171

Finished reading:


Hexbound (Dark Elite #2) by Chloe Neill	The Haunting of Granite Falls by Eva Ibbotson	Sketch Me If You Can by Sharon Pape
Started: pg 152 Pages read: 94	Pages read: 216	Pages read: 293

Total Page Count: 769

To be done, or not to be done?

2011-07-13T18:49:00.002-05:00

Reading update:

I've just finished Sketch Me If You Can and enjoyed it. What I have left is kind of daunting, I just don't think I'll have time to finish another whole book, or even the rest of Blue honestly, and I'm tired! I have 232 pages left in it, the other book I was going to start has 344, and even though the print is kinda big, I know I won't get through that tonight! I'm sure I'll read a little more, but I'm guessing that I'm pretty much done for this read-a-thon for the power reading! I've enjoyed having a longer time period, and actually being able to sleep during, though I've been a little frustrated at having to work and also having stuff come up, how dare life interrupt my reading?! Anyway, I'm going to take it easy tonight I think, and I'll update one more time with my final page count, maybe tomorrow. I've hardly played Pocket Frogs in 3 days, I'm husband is amazed! :D

I would like to thank our hostesses Lori at Pure Imagination, Candace at Candace's Book Blog and Angela at Reading Angel, all of whom I had to follow because they have fantastic and beautiful blogs, and I'll have to keep an eye out for this read-a-thon again! Thank you so much ladies!

Currently reading:

Blue by Lou Aronica, A girl and her father reconnect over a shared fantasy land they created, but found out was real, in order to save it from a blight. Started: pg. 43, current page: 163

Finished reading:


Hexbound (Dark Elite #2) by Chloe Neill	The Haunting of Granite Falls by Eva Ibbotson	Sketch Me If You Can by Sharon Pape
Started: pg 152 Pages read: 94	Pages read: 216	Pages read: 293

Total Page Count: 723

Day 3 - Good Morning!

2011-07-13T00:01:00.000-05:00

Reading update:

It's our last day! Kinda sad, but kinda glad. This has been a much more laid back read-a-thon for me than Dewey's, since that one is such a race being only one day. I haven't really visited any other readers besides my friends that were also participating, I would like to do that, maybe this evening when I get home.

I did pretty well last night, meeting the goal I had set myself for the evening and then some, so I'm pleased. It was almost 200 pages just in the evening after work, which is A LOT for me! I'd really like to finish the two I'm on, plus one more, but we'll see how today goes, that might not be terribly realistic. Have a great reading day everyone!

Currently reading:

	Sketch Me If You Can by Sharon Pape -- First in the Portrait of Crime Series, a sketch artist inherits her deceased uncle's house, client list and Wild West Federal Marshall ghostly house guest. I like what I've read so far! Pages read: 203
	Blue by Lou Aronica, A girl and her father reconnect over a shared fantasy land they created, but found out was real, in order to save it from a blight. Started: pg. 43, current page: 123

Finished reading:


Hexbound (Dark Elite #2) by Chloe Neill	The Haunting of Granite Falls by Eva Ibbotson
Started: pg 152 Pages read: 94	Pages read: 216

Total Page Count: 593

Day 2

2011-07-12T19:00:00.000-05:00

Reading update:

I’ve finished The Haunting of Granite Falls, a fun and fast story, continued to work on Blue (liking it), and have gotten into Sketch Me if You Can (also good). I've picked out what I will probably read after that one if I get that far, hopefully I can get some good time in tonight, I think my errands for the day are done. Why is it that when you just want to read, stuff happens? Anyway, I plan to make some progress tonight, and check in on some friends to see how they're doing!

Currently reading:

	Sketch Me If You Can by Sharon Pape -- First in the Portrait of Crime Series, a sketch artist inherits her deceased uncle's house, client list and Wild West Federal Marshall ghostly house guest. I like what I've read so far! Pages read: 51
	Blue by Lou Aronica, A girl and her father reconnect over a shared fantasy land they created, but found out was real, in order to save it from a blight. Started: pg. 43, current page: 123

Finished reading:


Hexbound (Dark Elite #2) by Chloe Neill	The Haunting of Granite Falls by Eva Ibbotson
Started: pg 152 Pages read: 94	Pages read: 216

Total Page Count: 441

Once Upon a Read-a-thon Issue 1.2 – update and a mini-challenge

2011-07-11T21:00:00.000-05:00

Mythology Mini-Challenge

Part 1: What is your favorite type of Mythology?

This is a tough one because I like so many! I would have to say that I know Greek, Roman and Egyptian the best, and Egyptian was probably my first love, though I think the Greek and Roman stories are much easier for us to relate to. Native American Mythology is very interesting, but kind of hard for me to follow sometimes, and although I like Celtic, Irish and Norse, I’m not as familiar with them. We’ll go with Greek and Roman as the favorite, judging from my next answer! ;)

Part 2: What is your favorite book with Mythology in it?

Clash of the Titans was an early favorite for me, the idea of Pegasus was enchanting to me, I mean what young girl doesn’t want a winged horse, right?

I’ve recently been listening to the Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent, a Teen/YA Fantasy/Paranormal story and really enjoying it. The main characters are Banshees, a creature from Irish Mythology, usually female, who wail when someone is about to die. You can imagine the chaos that would cause in a teenage girl’s life! I highly recommend this series!

Reading update:

I’ve finished Hexbound (great series!), worked on Blue (liking it) some throughout the day, and have chosen my next books, so we’ll see what I can get through this evening. With work, a grocery trip, and some internet issues, I haven't gotten much read yet, but I'll keep trying! Hope everyone is having a great first day!

Currently reading:

	The Haunting of Granite Falls by Eva Ibbotson -- A doting millionaire father transports a haunted Scottish castle, ghosts and all to Texas for his ailing daughter. The description is actually very funny, so I can't wait to see how it goes!
	Sketch Me If You Can by Sharon Pape -- First in the Portrait of Crime Series, a sketch artist inherits her deceased uncle's house, client list and ghostly house guest. Are you sensing a theme here?
	Blue by Lou Aronica, I have only just started this one, but it appears to be a heart touching story about a girl and her divorced father who made up fantasy stories together, which are now taking on a life of their own. Started: pg. 43, current page: 82

Finished reading:

Hexbound
(Dark Elite #2)
by Chloe Neill

Started: pg 152
Pages read: 94

Total Page Count: 133

Once Upon a Read-a-thon: Day 1 - Let's go!

2011-07-11T00:01:00.007-05:00

I'm excited to have another read-a-thon to do, I've only ever done Dewey's before, so this will be a nice one in between to tide me over. Or it may have the side effect of turning me into a read-a-thon junkie, we'll see!

I'm going to start with a couple of books that I was already in the middle of, and will only count pages read during the read-a-thon:

	Blue by Lou Aronica, I have only just started this one, but it appears to be a heart touching story about a girl and her divorced father who made up fantasy stories together, which are now taking on a life of their own. Starting point: pg. 43
	Hexbound (Dark Elite #2) by Chloe Neill, I'm over halfway in this one, but didn't quite get it finished before the read-a-thon start. Magical kids at a boarding school, fighting evil down in the basement tunnels of Chicago. A fun series, I'm really enjoying it! Starting point: pg 152

I'll check to see what challenges are available when I get home from work! Good luck and good reading!

Once Upon a Read-a-thon July 11-13th

2011-07-07T21:24:00.002-05:00

If anyone is interested, I just saw another read-a-thon coming up next week. I'm thinking about joining, though I do have to work those days, I could read in the evenings, and during lunch at work, I do that anyway, in fact, I was just getting to a really exciting part in my book today when it was time for lunch to be over! ARGH!

Anyway, check it out, and I might see you there!

WWW Wednesday 7/06/11

2011-07-05T21:15:00.000-05:00

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

* What are you currently reading?
* What did you recently finish reading?
* What do you think you’ll read next?

Then head on over to Should be Reading and leave a comment with a link to your post so others can see!

I skipped last week because there just wasn't much of a change, but I'm back this week!

I'm currently reading:

	Radiant Shadows (Wicked Lovely #4) by Melissa Marr -- My current audiobook, and another excellent teen paranormal series. This one is about fairies, but these are not cute flitting and glittery fairies, they're seductive and dangerous. Another highly recommend!
	Narcissus in Chains (Anita Blake #10) by Laurell K. Hamilton -- Still working on this one, will probably finish it up this week as it's my primary read at the moment. Does anyone else just want to slap Richard? He's so hot and cold and moody! Every time he almost comes around, he does something low that you just want to throttle him for! I've always liked Jean-Claude better!

In the last 2 weeks I finished reading:

	My Soul to Keep (Soul Screamers #3) by Rachel Vincent -- Teen Paranormal featuring Banshees, very good! This one tackles drug addiction and loss of control, but in a great paranormal setting. Highly Recommend this series!
	Nylon Angel by Marianne de Pierres -- I've already passed this one along to a friend, as I recall the cover of the book called it a cross between Mad Max and Blade Runner, and I can see that. It was good, but doesn't really stick out for me. It's a gritty, violent and action packed story set in a future Australia.
	The Golden Acorn (Jack Brenin #1) by Catherine Cooper -- Jack Brenin is sent to live with his granddad after his mother dies, and while an initial encounter with some not so nice boys makes him doubtful of his future there, his life changes drastically when he finds a golden acorn, and a secret world is opened to him. I would recommend this for young fans of Narnia and Harry Potter, it's a good children's fantasy with talking animals, some mythology and some time travel. I enjoyed it, and got it free for Kindle on Amazon
	Kraken by China Mieville -- I had to give up on it, there are just too many other things I'd rather be reading.

Probably up next:

	Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb -- This is the July read for Fantasy Faction, and I think it will be a lot more to my taste than Kraken was!
	Kiss of the Rose by Kate Pearce -- Druids and vampires in the time of Henry VIII... interesting, no?

Howling at the Moon by Karen MacInerny

2011-06-22T21:15:00.004-05:00

Howling at the Moon is the first book in the Tales of an Urban Werewolf series.

Sophie Garou is a half werewolf, half human who has done her best to hide her furry side and lead a normal life. She has a good job, and a handsome successful boyfriend, and things are going good until a client of her mother's dies, and her mother is arrested for murder.

While trying to investigate and prove her mother innocent of wrong doing, Sophie meets her first real, full werewolf, and feels an undeniable attraction to him. He is a bounty hunter, on site to solve a problem for the local pack (she didn't even know there was a local pack), but he's also dating her best friend, and that means hands off. Which is okay, because she loves her boyfriend, he's wonderful! But she has so many questions about life as a werewolf, since her father deserted them and she's never known him, or learned much about her heritage.

This is a fun paranormal romance, humorous and fast paced, a little bit of a chick lit feel, and Sophie's mother is quite a character. The description of Sophie as a werewolf, and what she goes through is great!

For more information on Karen MacInerny and her books, visit her website.

This is my third read for the Paranormal Romance Challenge hosted by Bitten by Paranormal Romance.

WWW Wednesday 6/22/11

2011-06-21T22:00:00.000-05:00

	Nylon Angel by Marianne de Pierres -- Fantasticfiction describes it thusly "Quentin Tarantino meets Blade Runner in an ultra-violent future world controlled by the media" Sounds fun and action packed, we shall see!
	The Golden Acorn (Jack Brenin #1) by Catherine Cooper -- Jack Brenin's life is changed when he finds a golden acorn, could he be The One? A children's fantasy downloaded free from Amazon for Kindle, it still was free on Sunday, so check it out if you're interested.
	Narcissus in Chains (Anita Blake #10) by Laurell K. Hamilton -- It's been awhile since I've checked in with Anita, and I've got quite a few to catch up on now!
	Kraken by China Mieville -- I picked this up to read along with the Fantasy Faction Book Club for June, it's the first by this author for me, and not something I normally would have chosen. I'm still struggling with this one, not even halfway yet. At this point I'm starting to consider not finishing it. It's not bad, it's just not really for me. We'll see.

Since last Wednesday I finished reading:

Imperium by Robert Harris -- The story of Roman Senator Cicero as told by his slave and secretary Tiro. I liked Pompeii by the same author, and also enjoyed this one, but I think more because I listened to it then read it. It is historical Roman political fiction, and I think it might have been a challenging read on it's own. Simon Jones is a wonderful narrator and really brought life to the characters, something I don't think I could have done in my head. I do recommend it, the story is good, but especially the audio version.

An Uplifting Murder (Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper #6) by Elaine Viets -- A fun cozy mystery series where the main character is a mystery shopper by profession, and along with her friend Alyce, gets in all kinds of scrapes on the job. This time she's mystery shopping an upscale lingerie store where she runs into her old gym teacher, and receives another blast from the past when a not so friendly girl she went to school with appears, and is later found murdered.

Probably up next:

Kiss of the Rose by Kate Pearce -- Druids and vampires in the time of Henry VIII... interesting, no?

WWW Wednesday 6/15/11

2011-06-15T07:00:00.005-05:00

	Imperium by Robert Harris -- The story of Roman Senator Cicero as told by his slave and secretary Tiro. I'm listening to this one and love this narrator already, Simon Jones, who also read the Bartimaeus books by Jonathan Stroud. I also just discovered he reads the Charlie Bone books, so I may have to get those too! He's great!
	Narcissus in Chains (Anita Blake #10) by Laurell K. Hamilton -- It's been awhile since I've checked in with Anita, and I've got quite a few to catch up on now!
	An Uplifting Murder (Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper #6) by Elaine Viets -- A fun cozy mystery series where the main character is a mystery shopper by profession, and along with her friend Alyce, gets in all kinds of scrapes on the job. This time she's mystery shopping an upscale lingerie store where she runs into her old gym teacher, and receives another blast from the past when a not so friendly girl she went to school with appears, and is later found murdered.
	Kraken by China Mieville -- I picked this up to read along with the Fantasy Faction Book Club for June, it's the first by this author for me, and not something I normally would have chosen. It sounded interesting in an odd way though, so I'm giving it a try! Billy Harrow is conducting a normal every day tour through the museum he works at, ending with the prize exhibit of the facility, a giant preserved squid. Only, it's not there, and there's absolutely no way anyone could have taken it without someone seeing, or leaving behind some sign. This sounds like a fun mix of Mystery and Fantasy/Sci-fi!

Since last Wednesday I finished reading:

Something Rotten (Thursday Next #4) by Jasper Fforde -- Thursday is back from the world of fiction, taking a break from her stint as head of Jurisfiction, with her son Friday in tow (and Hamlet, Prince of Denmark). She wants to get her husband Landen reactualized, from when he'd been eradicated by Corporate behemoth Goliath, who is now recasting itself as a religion, in order to avoid a prophecy coming true. This is a hysterical series, full of literature references and action, I just love it! I'm listening to this one as a download from Audible.com. I have to say that the ending on this one was quite emotional, a little unexpected in a series that I've come to associate with intelligent humor. Wonderful, highly recommend!

Speed Dating by Nancy Warren -- A light, fun NASCAR themed romance that I got free off Amazon for Kindle, it may still be there if you're interested. Kendall's fiance dumps her right before a big work banquet at which she is an honoree, announcing that not only had he been seeing someone else, but that she's pregnant. Kendall then throws caution to the wind when she accidentally winds up locked out of her room, in her underwear, and finds herself in the room of NASCAR driver Dylan Hargreave who believes she's an actress that's been hired to help him get through his ex-wife's latest wedding. This was a sweet read, just the thing for light romance, being in the accounting profession myself, I can relate to Kendall in some ways!

Probably up next:

	Kiss of the Rose by Kate Pearce -- Druids and vampires in the time of Henry VIII... interesting, no?
	Nylon Angel by Marianne de Pierres -- Fantasticfiction describes it thusly "Quentin Tarantino meets Blade Runner in an ultra-violent future world controlled by the media" Sounds fun and action packed, we shall see!

WWW Wednesday 6/8/11

2011-06-08T11:17:00.008-05:00

	An Uplifting Murder (Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper #6) by Elaine Viets -- A fun cozy mystery series where the main character is a mystery shopper by profession, and along with her friend Alyce, gets in all kinds of scrapes on the job. This time she's mystery shopping an upscale lingerie store where she runs into her old gym teacher, and receives another blast from the past when a not so friendly girl she went to school with appears, and is later found murdered.
	Kraken by China Mieville -- I picked this up to read along with the Fantasy Faction Book Club for June, it's the first by this author for me, and not something I normally would have chosen. It sounded interesting in an odd way though, so I'm giving it a try! Billy Harrow is conducting a normal every day tour through the museum he works at, ending with the prize exhibit of the facility, a giant preserved squid. Only, it's not there, and there's absolutely no way anyone could have taken it without someone seeing, or leaving behind some sign. This sounds like a fun mix of Mystery and Fantasy/Sci-fi!
	Something Rotten (Thursday Next #4) by Jasper Fforde -- Thursday is back from the world of fiction, taking a break from her stint as head of Jurisfiction, with her son Friday in tow (and Hamlet, Prince of Denmark). She wants to get her husband Landen reactualized, from when he'd been eradicated by Corporate behemoth Goliath, who is now recasting itself as a religion, in order to avoid a prophecy coming true. This is a hysterical series, full of literature references and action, I just love it! I'm listening to this one as a download from Audible.com.
	Speed Dating by Nancy Warren -- A light, fun NASCAR themed romance that I got free off Amazon for Kindle, it may still be there if you're interested. Kendall's fiance dumps her right before a big work banquet at which she is an honoree, announcing that not only had he been seeing someone else, but that she's pregnant. Kendall then throws caution to the wind when she accidentally winds up locked out of her room, in her underwear, and finds herself in the room of NASCAR driver Dylan Hargreave who believes she's an actress that's been hired to help him get through his ex-wife's latest wedding. This has been a cute one so far, but I can't get past the underwear thing, I'm having a hard time picturing much underwear that could be mistaken for just a skimpy outfit, but then I'm pretty conservative when it comes to clothes! I really wanted someone to notice and ask why she was in her underwear, but of course no one did!

Since last Wednesday I finished reading:

Lover Mine (Black Dagger Brotherhood #8) by J. R. Ward -- I chose this as my reading treat for the week of my birthday and I was not disappointed! J. R. Ward delivers as usual, and the story of John Matthew and Xhex was as riveting as all the others have been, even though I'm past the book of my favorite Brother, Vishous. A Lot of things are brought full circle in this one, answers revealed, and ends tied up. It's got a big ol' sappy happy ending, at least for John Matthew and Xhex, hopefully I'm not spoiling anything there, because you gotta know they'd end up together, I mean, it is their book after all! It's a painful road getting there for sure though, true?

Probably up next:

	Kiss of the Rose by Kate Pearce -- Druids and vampires in the time of Henry VIII... interesting, no?
	Narcissus in Chains (Anita Blake #10) by Laurell K. Hamilton -- It's been awhile since I've checked in with Anita, and I've got quite a few to catch up on now!
	Nylon Angel by Marianne de Pierres -- Fantasticfiction describes it thusly "Quentin Tarantino meets Blade Runner in an ultra-violent future world controlled by the media" Sounds fun and action packed, we shall see!

La Vida Vampire by Nancy Haddock

2011-06-05T20:38:00.006-05:00

From the Back of the Book:

Being dead isn't all it's cracked up to be. Take it from Francesca Marinelli, trapped underground for over 200 years and rediscovered during the renovation of a Victorian mansion in historic St. Augustine. A tourist attraction herself, she's well suited for a job as an Old Ghost Town Tour guide. Francesca's due for a new lease on afterlife-and with enough sunblock, she can finally live it.

Unfortunately, everything she learned about men is a little dated. And when people in her tour group turn up dead, naturally the police suspect her. After all, she is a vampire. Which is why a crazed vampire-hunting vigilante squad is out to get her as well. Between the dead bodies, the stalkers, and a seriously non-existent love life, she's starting to wish she was dead. Or at least buried, where she was safe.

Shaunie's opinion:

I gave this one 3 of 5 stars, it was enjoyable, but doesn't really stick out for me. I liked Francesca, that she was a ghost tour guide, and that she was getting into some modern hobbies and past times, but I found the bad guys, and even the male love interest a little exaggerated. With so many other books to read, I probably won't actively seek out the rest of the series, but do want to say that it was a fun read, and would certainly continue it if I come across it or have a friend share it. If the above blurb sounds interesting to you, definitely give it a try! There are two more books in the series so far: Last Vampire Standing, and Always the Vampire, just released this year.

For more information on the author and her work, visit her website: Nancy Haddock

This is my second read for the Paranormal Romance Challenge hosted by Bitten by Paranormal Romance.

Teaser Tuesdays - The Magic and the Healing by Nick O'donohoe

2011-05-24T12:43:00.005-05:00

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!

Even familiar places have unfamiliar roads, and even people found at home can become lost after a wrong turn. But there are small wrong turns and large ones, and these last are the strangeways. -- pg. 24

The Magic and the Healing by Nick O'Donohoe

Tattoo Shop Mysteries by Karen E. Olson

2011-05-05T20:17:00.006-05:00

The Missing Ink

Brett Kavanaugh is the owner of The Painted Lady tattoo shop in Las Vegas, and prides herself on providing custom tattoo artwork. In The Missing Ink, Brett becomes involved in a confusing plot when she is asked to design a devotional tattoo for a girl that never comes back for it. The police then come asking questions about this mystery girl, who turns out to have a very high profile fiance, and the problem is, the name she asked for in the tattoo, is not his.

Brett becomes further embroiled when she does a favor for her competition across town, Jeff Coleman at Murder Ink, and instead of the high profile client she expects to be tattoo-ing, she comes across a dead body, and tattoo equipment! Luckily Brett's brother is a police detective, so she has a defender on the force. Much to her brother's frustration, Brett has a curious streak, and is constantly investigating on her own, causing him no end of trouble. Did Jeff set her up, or was he going to be set up himself? Where is the mystery girl, and how is handsome hotel manager Simon mixed up with this mess? And why is Brett attracted to him when he's a suspicious character?

Pretty in Ink

Brett and her crew of tattoo artists are back in book 2 of the Tattoo Shop mysteries, guests at the Nylons and Tattoos show put on by some local drag queen friends. During the show one of them is attacked, shot by a champagne cork to the chest. This puts a quick end to the show, but is the beginning of the mystery. While the victimized drag queen Britney Brassieres recovers from the cork shooting, she becomes mysteriously ill in Brett's shop and later dies at the hospital.

A Queen of Hearts tattoo seems to be the connection between the drag queens, politicians, and possible terrorists. Once again Brett stumbles into the middle of things when she answers a cry for help from her new intern only to discover yet another dead body, but no Charlotte. This seems to be becoming a habit for Brett! Help comes from an unlikely source, as she develops an appreciation for Jeff Coleman, her competitor from Murder Ink, who also has connections to the players involved.

The Tattoo Shop mysteries are a lot of fun, Brett has a great shop crew, Bitsy, Joel and Ace, and I'm interested to see where Brett's relationship with Jeff goes. Las Vegas and the Tattoo culture is an interesting backdrop for the series, but you do not have to know anything about tattoo-ing to appreciate it, in fact I've learned some things I didn't know, since I'll probably never get a tattoo! I'm looking forward to continuing the series and recommend it to cozy mystery lovers! Brett makes some pretty colossally bad decisions, but then if all our mystery heroines were cautious when they should be, we would have a mystery, would we? ;)

For more information, visit Karen E. Olson's website. I love the name of the 4th book, Ink Flamingos due out in June!

These were my 4th and 5th reads for the Mystery and Suspense Reading Challenge hosted my Book Chick City.

You are getting very sleepy...

2011-04-10T02:21:00.002-05:00

Why yes, yes I am! I think only managing 30 more pages in 2 hours is a hint that I'm done for this read-a-thon, since I do have function at a nearly normal time today, I'm going to hit the hay.

I had a great time this year, was more relaxed, added Cheerleading to the regimen, and feel quite successful even with I think a lower page count than previous read-a-thon's. It's still 6 times what I would do on a normal good reading day!

Thanks again to the hosts and the other cheerleaders, and everyone that makes this such a fun event! Time to start thinking about October!

Final page count: 646

Midnight-thirty, All is quiet...

2011-04-10T00:31:00.003-05:00

So it's 12:30 am where I am, and I am done with my cheering shift, I hope you all like my little poem that I wrote for the event:

Cover to Cover
And Coast to Coast
Across the Oceans
We’ve been brought together
By what we love the most!
Let’s hear it for the readers!

I think I managed to hit everyone in my section that was possible (that were participating, and that I could figure out, a few had me baffled!) which turned my 1 hour estimated time into more like 3 hours, because I decided I wanted to do all of them, and because I started having internet issues, but I didn't let that stop me! :D I know I loved it the past two times when people came and posted cheers for me, and I wanted to return the favor.

So, now back to reading. No reading reading progress since my last true update, well, okay, 20 pages more while waiting on internet issues to figure themselves out. Not sure how much longer I will last tonight, but I'm good for a little while yet. Everyone else is in the house is going to bed, so it will be me and maybe the kitties if they decide to stay with me. And anyone else in the 'thon that is still awake of course! I'm ready to dig into my second read-a-thon cupcake from Smallcakes whose motto is "Maybe a cupcake will help?" So we'll see if it does! I'm about to dig into a very rich peanut butter cup cupcake, chocolate cupcake with peanut butter buttercream frosting and crumbled peanut butter cups on top. Rich enough to kill ya! So how is everyone else keeping themselves awake in the homestretch?

Hour 13, Dinner, and Cheering!

2011-04-09T19:59:00.004-05:00

Hour 13 has arrived! I've just finished book #3, need to find some dinner, and then it's my turn to cheer for people! I'm feeling excited, I've even decided on a little poem to leave for folks with my comment, I hope everyone likes it! I'm thinking about a pulled pork sandwich with spicy coleslaw for dinner, what's everyone else having?

Next up for me after I've cheered for awhile will be Almost to Die For by Tate Hallaway.

Finished books and pages read:

Pretty in Ink by Karen E. Olson - 31 pages
The Pirates! In an adventure with Scientists by Gideon Defoe - 133 pages
Wake by Lisa McMann - 210 pages
Manhunt by Janet Evanovich - 219 pages

Total Pages: 593

Heading into the evening - Hour 11

2011-04-09T16:42:00.003-05:00

Hour 11 is coming up fast and I'm feeling a little sleepy. Buffy asked in my last post what my favorite thing at the Thai buffet was and I have to say on the weekend they usually have a red curry flounder that I LOVE! Today they had done it with catfish, which was fine, because I love that too! I also love their glass noodle eggrolls. *drool* We also got some iced coffee, got the car washed, checked my PO Box and did a quick errand at Target, all during which I was reading as my awesome husband drove the car. :)

I think I'm reading way slow this time, but feeling much more relaxed than the previous two read-a-thons that I did, so I'm okay with it. I'm enjoying myself!

I've finished my second complete book and am ready to start on my third. This time I'm going for humorous romance, Manhunt by Janet Evanovich. I posted both the old and the new covers for you because I think they're funny. Obviously this is a reprint of an old Loveswept title for her.

Finished books and pages read:

Pretty in Ink by Karen E. Olson - 31 pages
The Pirates! In an adventure with Scientists by Gideon Defoe - 133 pages
Wake by Lisa McMann - 210 pages

Total Pages: 374

Off to visit a few people, check in at the Dewey's Blog and then back to reading!

Lunchtime!

2011-04-09T13:48:00.001-05:00

Read-a-thon correspondent Shaunesay reporting from the field at my favorite Thai buffet! Hubby was kind enough to drive so I could read on the way. I'm a little less than halfway through "Wake" and liking it a lot! What did everyone else have for lunch? See you in awhile!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

First check in - Book 1 completed!

2011-04-09T10:34:00.003-05:00

I decided this time around I was going to blog a bit less and try to read a little more because the last couple of times it felt like all I did was check in! Not that that was bad, it was a lot of fun, but I want to read! But I also want to check on my friends, and have signed up for a stint of cheerleading this evening as well, so less blogging for myself was the answer! There are so many crazy ways to "check in" nowadays, foursquare, getglue, goodreads, facebook, twitter, too much to keep up on, but I try anyway! (too many exclamation points! Maybe I'm practicing for cheerleading later *giggle*)

I've had my breakfast read-a-thon cupcake, and now finished my first complete book as well as chosen my next, Wake by Lisa McMann.

Finished books and pages read:

Pretty in Ink by Karen E. Olson - 31 pages
The Pirates! In an adventure with Scientists by Gideon Defoe - 133 pages

Total Pages: 164

How is everyone else doing?

Ready... Set... GO!

2011-04-09T06:48:00.004-05:00

Good Morning, Afternoon, or Evening wherever you are fellow Dewey Read-a-thoners! We're just about ready to start! Are you excited? I sure am! Kept waking up thinking, is it time yet, is it time yet? :D

I didn't quite get finished with the books I was hoping to yesterday for my clean slate start, so I think I'll begin by finishing up Pretty in Ink by Karen E. Olson since I only have 31 pages left, and it will bug me all day if I leave them hanging out there! Then I've picked The Pirates! In an adventure with Scientists by Gideon Defoe as my next book up!

Good luck everyone, I'll see you in a while!

E-mail Blogging

2011-04-07T22:45:00.000-05:00

I'm all set to be a correspondent in the field. In Other words, I've caught up to the rest of ya'll that already knew how to do this! ;)
Connected by DROID on Verizon Wireless

2011-04-07T22:40:00.001-05:00

Testing text message blogging!

Master of None by Sonya Bateman

2011-04-07T20:27:00.002-05:00

Gavyn Donatti is the unluckiest thief ever, as his unlucky partners have found out. He was hired to steal a very rare item, and when he loses it, his employer is ready to take him out. Just as it looks like this might be his last job, Gavyn is saved by a djinn named Ian who seems extremely put out that he has to bother with the rescue. The two form a grudging alliance, and a whole world Gavyn never knew existed is revealed to him. Unfortunately it is a world in turmoil that has spilled over into ours. Gavyn himself is an eventual result of the conflict.

Gavyn's ex-girlfriend Jazz reenters his life when he asks for her help, as well as an old partner with some surprise connections of his own. While trying to neutralize the threat the djinn world has visited to his own, Gavyn learns to use powers he never knew he had, and finds he's made of sterner stuff than he ever believed possible.

This was a great series beginning, and I'm really looking forward to #2 which came out last month, Master and Apprentice.

This is my 4th read for the Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge hosted by Book Chick City.

Winner for Moonlight by Rachel Hawthorne

2011-03-20T11:33:00.004-05:00

It's a beautiful sunny day here, and I think it's even supposed to be warm! The perfect day for a romp in the park with some teen werewolves, right?

Our werewolves are going to be making their way to the Czech Republic to roam through Pálava with:

Misha!

Congrats Misha, I'll be e-mailing you soon! Thanks for entering and following me everyone! I will try to post a new contest soon!

Waiting for Dewey's...

2011-03-16T20:33:00.005-05:00

So we're about 3 1/2 weeks out from Dewey's 24 hour Read-a-thon, April 2011 edition, are you getting excited yet? I am! This is my third time out, and I think I'm going to try a much more relaxed approach this time, no template, and not as many blog posts (I think I overdid it on updating the last two times), I may count pages, but won't worry about how much time I actually spend reading. I will definitely still visit friends and other random 'thoner's, and check in at the Dewey blog to see if there is an easy mini-challenge.

Part of the fun for me is picking out the stack of books to choose from. I like to go for shorter books with a bit larger print, that I think I can get through fairly quickly. I seem to start thinking of books that would be good almost the day after the previous read-a-thon, and it's torture thinking about how long it will be until it starts! Here are some of my choices so far, but we all know that it's all about mood on the big day, so I may end up going with something completely different when it's time!

Who else is doing the read-a-thon this year? What books have you picked out so far?

Invisible by Lorena McCourtney

2011-03-15T19:21:00.003-05:00

Invisible is the first of the Ivy Malone series by Lorena McCourtney. I love the cover, I think it's very cute! Those are tombstones she's peeking over by the way. I picked this up free for kindle, and at last check, it was still listed that way, so if you have a kindle or the kindle app, head on over to Amazon and pick it up: Invisible for Kindle.

Ivy Malone is a widow who lives alone, right next door to her best friend, who has taken in a nice young woman as a boarder. Ivy and her friend have been troubled by the recent vandalism in a local cemetary where some of their relatives are buried, and vow to do something about it. What Ivy discovers is that because she is an elderly lady, she seems to be invisible, that people don't pay attention to her, and overlook her presence. While this seems like a discouraging revelation at first, Ivy decides to use this newfound "power" to her advantage. She bites off a little more than she's ready to handle when her investigation uncovers a plot that is much more dangerous than just teenagers vandalizing some headstones, but instead involves murder!

Ivy is an endearing character, with plenty of moxy and a strong faith in God (this is labeled as a Christian mystery) to get her through tough times. She definitely has a mind of her own and refuses to be intimidated, by the police, or the bad guys! I enjoyed this cozy mystery and would definitely recommend it, and look forward to continuing the series.

For more information on Lorena McCourtney's mysteries and romances visit her Website.

This is my third read for the Mystery and Suspense Challenge over at Book Chick City!

Giveaway: Moonlight by Rachel Hawthorne

2011-03-06T16:36:00.005-06:00

From the back of the book:

Kayla is the nature lover, the all-American beauty who can't understand why she's so drawn to distant, brooding Lucas. Adopted as a young child, she has no way of knowing that she's inherited a terrifying -- and thrilling -- gene that will change her life forever.

Lucas is dangerous, gorgeous... and a werewolf. As leader of the Dark Guardians, shape-shifters who gather deep in within the state park, he has sworn to protect his pack. But when Lucas finds his true soul mate , his love could put them all in harm's way.

As Lucas and Kayla struggle with their feelings for each other, a greater danger lurks: Humans have discovered the Dark Guardians and are planning their destruction. Kayla must choose between the life she knows and the love she feels certain is her destiny.

Shaunie's opinion:

I enjoyed this one as a refreshing change from the other teen stories that seem to be located in schools. This is out in the open, the wilderness of a state park and I kept imagining Yellowstone in Wyoming as I read. I look forward to reading more of the series, and getting to know other members of the pack.

The Giveaway:

This is a gently used, and Bookcrossing labeled copy, that I'm ready to pass on to make a new friend! To enter, please comment on this post and tell me what your favorite state or national park is (anywhere in the world), and why it is your favorite, or if there is one you would like to visit and why. No answer, no entry. You get an extra entry if you are a follower, and another if you are a Bookcrosser, please tell me your Bookcrossing name to claim this extra entry. I will choose the winner on March 20th, 2011. Giveaway is open internationally.

Mount Vernon Love Story by Mary Higgins Clark

2011-02-23T21:29:00.005-06:00

I admit that I have not read any of Mary Higgins Clark's other numerous novels, but I am interested in early American history, so this caught my eye. As the book opens, George Washington is getting ready to leave office as President. He is tired and ready to go home to Mount Vernon with his wife Martha, called Patsy. We glimpse his story from the time he is a young man until his time as President through recollections of the important events in his life. There isn't a cherry tree to be found in this story! Clark has made him a very real person, from his unaffectionate mother, to his unrequited love for the wife of a good friend, to the solid and steadfast love he finds with Patsy. This focuses less on the famous moments of his life, and more on the man, his feelings, and his constant struggle to find happiness.

I was interested to find out that this biographical novel was the first for Clark, and I do wish she had written more historical novels in the same vein. Maybe she will again. And maybe I'll even pick up one of her more popular mysteries, having now enjoyed this story! I definitely recommend it to American history fans, it is a quick and enjoyable read.

Deader Still (Simon Canderous #2) by Anton Strout

2011-02-22T21:24:00.003-06:00

Today is actually release day for the 4th Simon Canderous novel by Anton Strout, Dead Waters. Alas I have only finished Book 2 so far, so that is what I'll be reviewing here. This is my 3rd read for the Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge I'm taking part in hosted by Book Chick City.

"It's hard to defeat evil on a budget." This is the story of Simon's life it seems, as he is constantly bogged down by the red tape of the DEA (Department of Extraordinary Affairs) in his fight against the things that go bump in the night. What's frustrating for poor Simon, is hilarious for us as we watch him navigate his way through the DEA's bureaucratic maze, though things seem to go a little more smoothly for him now that he's a member of the Fraternal Order of Goodness. What is not going better for him are his personal relationships, either with his partner Connor, who is a little hurt and resentful of Simon's new status, or with his girlfriend Jane, who is being a little too friendly with her new boss. Not to mention there's a little problem of victims showing up drained of blood. It's possible that the 737 day streak of no vampire activity has come to an end. On top of that an old acquaintance from Simon's darker days has reappeared and is demanding that he help her with one last heist. Poor Simon can never have simple problems, they are always many layered!

This was a 4/5 for me, I'm really enjoying the Simon Canderous series so far, he's lovable, and very human (vs. superhuman), and always in trouble, poor guy, but he just keeps on whacking away at his problems, or sometimes juggling them, trying to resolve one while another is headed towards disaster, and arriving just in time to salvage that one too. I highly recommend them for a fun supernatural romp, and look forward to many more to come. Follow Anton on Twitter @antonstrout or at his blog What is Essential is Invisible to the Eye. He has a sarcastic wit, and is always entertaining, even in his agony over writing/working trials and tribulations. Thanks for a fun series Anton!

Heat Wave by Richard Castle

2011-02-13T20:51:00.003-06:00

I'm not a huge TV watcher, but there are a few shows I enjoy when I happen to catch them, the mystery show Castle starring Nathan Fillion is one those. Heat Wave is the first Nikki Heat novel written by fictonal author Richard Castle (portrayed by Fillion) as mentioned in the show, and is the reason he's tagging along with Detective Kate Beckett and her team.

The novel features Detective Nikki Heat, and her writer shadow, journalist Jameson Rook. This is a stand alone story, having watched the television show is not necessary, however I think that fans of the show will probably appreciate the novel more, and be able to fill out the characters in their minds, than a non-Castle watcher. The same attitude is present, Rook rarely does what Heat tells him to, and usually gets in the middle of trouble because of it. The biggest difference to me is that Nikki Heat is much more aggressive than Beckett, and of course there is action between the two of them that watchers of the show only wish would happen between Beckett and Castle. But as we all know, it's that romantic tension that keeps a show exciting!

The story is not bad, Heat and her team are investigating the death of Matthew Starr, a financially troubled real estate mogul, who met his end off the balcony of his home. As expected many suspicious characters surrounded Starr, from his wife, to the mob, to his accountant, and the team is kept guessing until the end, when the killer reveals themselves, and of course Rook is right in the middle, no matter how many times Heat tells him to stay in the car, stay back, stay out of the building, just stay out of the way! As annoying as she finds Rook however, Heat can't deny her attraction to him, though she does seem to be able to compartmentalize her feelings while on the job, much to Rook's confusion and dismay.

I gave this one a 3/5, as police novels are really not my thing, and I did only read it because of it's relation to the show. Again, I think fans of the show Castle will get more out of this because they will certainly be imagining Beckett and Castle in the starring roles, but it is a complete story by itself, so someone who has never seen the show should be able to enjoy it as well. I will most likely read the next book in the series, Naked Heat for the same reason. I think it's funny that they've gone and listed the titles of Richard Castle's Derek Storm series, which doesn't actually exist.

This is my second read for the Mystery and Suspense Reading Challenge hosted by Book Chick City

Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris

2011-02-09T22:26:00.002-06:00

My first read for the Mystery and Suspense Reading Challenge hosted by Book Chick City is the 4th and last book of Charlaine Harris' Harper Connelly series, Grave Secret.

My immediate reaction was "No, wait! What? But! Well shoot!" Because I didn't realize that this was the last book, and that all would be revealed! I was all looking to see if Charlaine was working on another Harper book before diving into this one so I could put it on my wishlist. I'm a little oblivious I admit! But this is an excellent series and I'm very sad to see Harper and Tolliver's story wrapped up, even though we do receive closure and fairly happy ending for the two of them, as much as the dark tone of the story allows.

In this last episode, Harper and Tolliver are brought back near their home in Texas, hired by Lizzie Joyce to find out how her grandfather died. Harper does just that, also uncovering a few more family secrets in the bargain. This nearly costs Tolliver his life as someone targets Harper in an attempt to keep the family dirty laundry buried. Lovable and quirky Manfred also appears, because Harper needs him, even if she doesn't know it. Harper can't get over feeling that the men of the Joyce family that hired her seem very familiar, and eventually ties to her and Tolliver's own family past are uncovered, leading to a shocking ending.

This was an excellent series all around, and I found myself turning pages as fast as I could to find out the answer! Definitely a 5/5 rating, and I'm sad that it's over! I will have to console myself that I still have a few books left in the Aurora Teagarden series, and all of Lily Bard and Sookie Stackhouse ahead of me!

Visit the Charlaine Harris Website for more information on this author and her work!

Taming the Scotsman by Kinley MacGregor

2011-02-08T22:44:00.005-06:00

Taming the Scotsman is the 3rd book in Kinley MacGregor's MacAllister series (according to the reading order on her website), but I believe this can be read as a stand alone. While I have read 2 of the other brothers' books, I didn't really need to know their history to enjoy this one, the backstory was present when needed. This is my first read for the Historical Romance Challenge hosted by Romance Book Junkies, and it is set in Medieval Scotland.

Ewan is the brooding and surly brother in the MacAllister family. He blames himself for the death of his brother Kieran over a woman that betrayed them both. He lives away from the rest of the family in a cave, constantly punishing himself for what he believes he caused. It is to Ewan that Nora runs to try and get away from a betrothal that she knows will make her life miserable. She has no idea of the history that Ewan berates himself for, and shocks him by asking him to do the very thing that caused all of his previous trouble. She needs him to escort her to England, just as he had done with the treacherous Isobail, whom he and his brother Kieran had fought over. Nora likens Ewan to a bear, big and grumpy, and he fears that her incessant chatter will drive him insane, nevertheless he agrees to take her to his brother Lochlan to see what can be done. Along the way there are the usual adventures, kidnapping, fighting and escaping, during which the two grow very fond of each other. Though their attraction is strong, they are plagued by many misconceptions of class, family and prior commitments, and so there is much of the I love him/her, but cannot have him/her, and he/she will be better off without me anguish that we are so fond of in romances.

I'll give this a 4/5 because it's just the thing when you're looking for a fast paced historical romantic escape. For more information on the author and her work, see her website: Sherrilyn Kenyon yep, they are one and the same!

And the Winner Is...

2011-02-05T16:24:00.004-06:00

Today is the day! I had a great response on this one, I guess everyone wants to read about a break up company around Valentine's Day! lol!

The winner is...

Jen R

Who is currently reading: Brava, Valentine by Adriana Trigiani

Congrats Jen, I'll be contacting you to get your addy so I can get Your Big Break on the way to you! Thanks for entering everyone!

My friend Susan is hosting a great giveaways right now as well! She is giving away a copy of Michelle Moran's novel about Madame Tussaud, plus some adorable cupcake earrings. See post for details right HERE.

Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble by H. P. Mallory

2011-01-31T23:11:00.002-06:00

Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble is the first book of the Jolie Wilkin's series, and also my first read for the Paranormal Romance Challenge that I have joined that is hosted by Bitten by Paranormal Romance. Also the first book that I read on my kindle app for Android! I have to say it's a little strange reading an entire book on such a small screen, but very convenient to have a book (or many) with you all the time. I do usually have a paper book with me all the time, but just in case I forget, I now have them on my phone! woohoo!

In honor of the release of her second novel in the Jolie Wilkins series, currently the kindle edition of Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble is still just $.99 at Amazon, so check it out! This is apparently a US only sale.

Jolie Wilkins owns a new age shop, which her best friend Christa helps her to run, where she performs psychic readings. Life is going pretty well, until Jolie sees a ghost, and a handsome stranger named Rand Balfour hires Jolie to do readings for him. She feels that she isn't making any headway, but Rand assures her that he is pleased and so they continue. He was testing her, because he wanted to hire her for the job of finding out who murdered the ghost that she saw earlier in her shop. During the job, Jolie accidentally discovers that she is able to bring back the dead. Once her power is realized, life can never be the same, and she becomes the focal point between factions that are about to go to war. The attraction between Jolie and Rand is undeniable, at least Jolie can't deny it, though Rand seems to try, claiming that it just would never work since he is her employer. His resolve is put to the test when Jolie is taken captive. There is also a sexy vampire in the mix, not to mention werewolves and faeries, all having to choose sides in the coming power struggle.

I will give this one a 3/5, I liked it, but I had some lukewarm feelings about the characters. I just couldn't bond with them, so while the story was fun, I'm not sure if I will continue the series. I really think that characters sometimes just speak to a person and other times they don't, and that's very much subjective to the reader, so give it a try!

For more information on the author and her books, check out her website!

Dante's Girl by Natasha Rhodes

2011-01-26T18:40:00.005-06:00

This is the first book of the Kayla Steele series (of which there are now 3 total) and my second read for the Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge at Book Chick City.

This is a busy story! Kayla Steele is a perfume counter girl, who just wants her boyfriend Karrel Dante to propose to her. She believes he works at the humane society, with no clue to the secret life as a supernatural hunter he's been leading. She's about to be introduced to that world up close and personal, when she finds out about Karrel's death and true vocation, then becomes a target in the treacherous game being played between the different paranormal factions. Karrel is not completely gone, and by making a bargain he was able to pass along his strength to Kayla so that she can avenge his murder. Along with general mayhem, there's double crossing and back stabbing, biological research and testing, and power plays for dominance.

I'm only giving this one a 3/5, I liked it, but not really enough to pursue the rest of the series. There was too much going on for me, and not enough explanation or background for my liking. There are two big baddies that have branded their followers with their initial, but one of them is absent for almost the entirety of the book. I just felt like there was a lot of backstory on their history that I was missing. There are likable characters, Phil and Ninette from the hunters are fun, but I think I really expected Karrel Dante to be a much bigger player in the story than just the catalyst and a few small cameos.

Natasha Rhodes has done film novelizations for some horror, and sci-fi/fantasy franchises, and I feel like that is how this reads, like a sci-fi action movie, which is fine, but not my fave style. There is lots of fighting and chasing and running and more fighting and breaking things and blowing up places, and it's all quite well done. I say that because I often have a hard time keeping track of things during scenes like that, but I felt like the action was pretty well diagrammed here.

Check out Natasha on Fantastic Fiction to see her other novels.

My Favorite Commercials

2011-01-22T22:46:00.003-06:00

I'm usually annoyed by commercials, especially all the food ones, tempting me with a greasy hamburger or a cheesy pizza, because yeah, I want that stuff, quit showing it to me! But sometimes commercials are really funny, usually they're the ones that I don't even have the service of, or buy the product for, but I still appreciate the entertainment! Here are a few of my favorites, and no, I don't have Allstate, and I've never tasted Dos Equuis, and yeah, I'm a girl, so no Old Spice for me, but I guess they've still accomplished their goal if I'm saying their name because I like their commercials, huh? Ah well...

"OMG, Becky's not even hot!" This guy cracks me up, I just tonight saw the GPS commercial for the first time.

I think this is most of the Most Interesting Man in the World commercials that are on, but they're just so funny... "the right look should suffice", "He can speak French in Russian..." or something like that! ;)

And I think by now we've all seen the Old Spice guy commercials, but have you seen all of his twitter video responses? Probably not, they're great, so go check 'em out, especially if you just want to ogle him standing there in the towel.

What are your favorite commercials?

Giveaway: Your Big Break by Johanna Edwards

2011-01-22T19:14:00.006-06:00

From the BOB: Dani Myers has become an expert at romantic breakups ever since she was hired to "facilitate" them for clients of Your Big Break, Inc. In other words, she dumps people for money. But company rule #5 (do not get personally involved) is getting harder to obey. One of her dumpees is turning out to be the kind of guy she might just want to pick up on the rebound. and a new client has just walked in, begging for Dani's help breaking up with The Big Jackass, who's been leading her on all this time-and now turns out to be married.

It would be a routine job except for one problem: the so-called Big Jackass is married to none other than Dani's mother.

Shaunie's opinion: This was a fast and fun read, I'm really enjoying Johanna Edwards' books. The idea of the breakup company is hysterical, and the clients that hire them are just so painful you want to strangle them, it's great!

The Giveaway: This is a gently used, and Bookcrossing labeled copy, that I'm ready to pass on to make a new friend! To enter, please comment on this post and tell me what you are reading right now, no answer, no entry. You get an extra entry if you are a follower, and another if you are a Bookcrosser, please tell me your Bookcrossing name to claim this extra entry. I will choose the winner on February 5th, 2011. Giveaway is open internationally.

Vamped by David Sosnowski

2011-01-22T17:56:00.006-06:00

I loved this book! It was a surprise, not because I didn't expect to like it, but because of how much I liked it. The concept sounded kind of silly, and in many ways it was, but there were serious heart tugging moments as well, and that was completely unexpected. So at the same time I'm laughing and shaking my head, I'm also thinking this guy gets it, and is somehow displaying it with this unlikely duo of vampire and little girl. It comes across as a strange mix of horror, chicklit and family drama, but it works!

Martin Kowalski is a vampire, just like everyone else. In fact, he's part of the reason that almost everyone else is a vampire, and he's getting bored with life. He begins taking chances, driving too fast, letting things fall out how they may, in fact, the night he finds Isuzu is the night he'd planned to possibly be his last. Everything changes when he decides to take her with him, at first as a test in delayed gratification, real humans are rare, and expensive. Somehow that delayed snack never happens, and instead Isuzu worms her way into his not-so-dead-as-he-believed heart. Somewhere along the line Martin stops being a predator and starts being a parent. Every day brings humor and horror in equal measure.

I gave this one a 5/5 because it was just so different and gripping. You're holding your breath along with Marty that this little girl is going to grow up and make it in a world where everyone views her as a tasty snack! I had to read many passages out loud to my husband because they were just too good! Sosnowski's first novel, Rapture sounds like an interesting read as well, so I will definitely be on the lookout for it!

This is my first read for the Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge hosted by Book Chick City.

David Sosnowski on FantasticFiction.com

2010 Wrap up

2011-01-07T22:00:00.000-06:00

Now that we're a week into 2011, I'm finally getting around to my 2010 wrap up/faves post. It's a difficult thing, I read a lot of books in 2010 that were really great, and I'm having a hard time picking which ones to talk about, because talking about all of them would be much too long!

Just for Fun Reading Stats:

Books read/listened to: 132 (a personal record yay!)

Pages read: 33,794 avg of 91 per day, I was really shooting for that 100 per day mark, but didn't quite get there!

Genre Breakdown: I'm a little ashamed to say Young Adult/Teen was my most read category since I'm in my 30's, but there are so many great books for that age group now, and I'm loving the teen paranormals!

29% Young Adult/Teen
18% Romance
14% Fantasy and Sci-Fi
13% Audiobooks (ok, not really a genre, but that's how I kept track)
11% Mystery
15% All that other stuff (Chicklit, Non-genre fiction)

Oldest Copyright Date: 1979, Which Witch? by Eva Ibbotson (a very cute YA Fantasy book!)

Events: I participated in Dewey's Read-a-thon both times this year and had a lot of fun, reading, blogging, and visiting other blogs! The next one has just been announced, so mark your calendars for April 9th, 2011! It's a fun friendly reading frenzy!

Now for the hard part, picking favorites!

Best reads:

*Mind Games by Carolyn Crane (I think my top fave of the year, looking forward to Double Cross!)

*Heart of Stone by C. E. Murphy (I'm listening to the second book now and loving it!)

*The Ruby Ring by Diane Haeger (historical fiction about Raphael the painter)

*A War of Gifts by Orson Scott Card (quick, but powerful)

*Inside/Out by Maria V. Snyder (looking forward to Outside/In!)

*Interred With Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell (Shakespearean themed thriller)

*Once Dead, Twice Shy by Kim Harrison (Teen paranormal)

*Firespell by Chloe Neill (Teen paranormal)

There are actually many more I could mention, but it would probably take me until next year to get it all posted! Good luck with your reading in 2011, I can't wait to see what the year brings us!

Christmas Revels by Mary Jo Putney

2011-01-05T21:12:00.005-06:00

Christmas Revels by Mary Jo Putney is my fifth and last read for the Christmas Spirit Challenge. This was a collection of five short romances all by the same author, the first a contemporary, and the other four historical. I have to say I think this was my favorite read of the Christmas books I read this time, and I'll definitely be looking into more of this author!

In A Holiday Fling a British actress and an American cameraman rekindle their relationship while filming a local production as a fundraiser to save a historical building.

The Christmas Cuckoo is a historical case of mistaken identity that actually turns out well for everyone.

Sunshine for Christmas brings together a despondent Englishman and a relocated English Governess in Italy, as he is trying to escape winter doldrums.

A young French seamstress accepts an indecent proposal to make ends meet when she is unjustly dismissed. It turns out to be the best decision of her life, in The Christmas Tart.

The Black Beast of Belleterre is a Beauty and the Beast story, where the young and beautiful wife proves to the "beast" her husband that her love for him goes far beyond the surface.

I'm really not sure which one is my favorite as with each one I read, I decided it was the best at the time! These were very enjoyable short romantic novellas, and Ms. Putney does a good job of making the characters likable, and fills each story with good description of action and setting. This was the first book by Putney that I have read, but it certainly won't be the last, I'll be adding some to my wishlist! Highly recommend this one to someone who wants some holiday historical romance!

And that concludes my Holiday Challenge reading! Bring on the next challenge!

Sookie it is!

2011-01-04T20:17:00.005-06:00

Well my first poll ended in a tie between the Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris and the Women of the Otherworld Series by Kelley Armstrong, so I STILL had a make a decision darn it! WestofMars suggested that a tie meant I had to read all of both series that were tied, but I'm not going to even try that! So here it is, Sookie wins! Which is not to say that I won't start reading the others as well, but I'm going to TRY to read all of the books listed below in 2011.

1. Dead Until Dark (2001)
2. Living Dead in Dallas (2002)
3. Club Dead (2003)
4. Dead to the World (2004)
5. Dead as a Doornail (2005)
6. Definitely Dead (2006)
7. All Together Dead (2007)
8. From Dead to Worse (2008)
9. Dead and Gone (2009)
10. Dead in the Family (2010)
11. Dead Reckoning (2011)

This didn't go so well for me on Lynn Viehl's Darkyn series, as I missed it by two, and there were fewer books to read that time, but I'll give it a go. At best I'll catch up, and at worst, I'll still hopefully be farther than I am now!

I've set 3 challenges for myself, and signed up for 4 more hosted challenges, for a total of 95 books if I don't let any of them count for multiple challenges. *faints* Um... yeah... well, I guess I'd best get to readin' huh?

Good luck on your challenges, or just in your reading, I look forward to seeing what books the year brings!