It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

I feel….

sparky.

Like, I have a little spark in me today that is both a little exciting and unfamiliar.  I have been so worried about what my life holds now that I really have no idea what I want to do or the desire to do it if I even knew what it was.  Heartbreak and grief coat my days.

And then…

there is a spark.

This morning as I am in my usual spot drinking my COFFEE looking out the window, I find my mind thinking about the upcoming Book Expo in Chicago in a few weeks… and who will I see, what will it be like, and planning (yes planning!) an itinerary and thinking of organizing my contacts for the different publishing houses as I have not done that in two years….

and I am thinking about my day today… a lunch date, planning things for the library, and tonight…. trivia at Prairie Bay and putting the message out to the team to make sure everyone can make it, and this weekend Justin’s benefit which is crazy cool and crazy hard and makes me happy and sad all rolled into one but- there are things to do and I am so thankful that people do want to get together to honor my son….

A spark….

AND of course this.  I LOVE It’s Monday, but I rarely do it anymore.  I think about it.  Then I don’t do it.  So what is this?  This morning I am writing this post in my head… and then I thought…. how about I ACTUALLY write it?

SO….

here we go.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week.  It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever-growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog from 2006 -2009  and then was taken up by me here at Book Journey from Feb 2009 – Fall 2015 and then I passed it to Kathryn at the Book Date.  We have worked to keep the torch of It’s Monday burning! 

 

I am posting.  Not as frequently as I wish I was… but I am posting.  Here is what managed to get on here this past week:

 

No One Knows by J T Ellison and narrated by Terri Schnaubelt and Nich Podehl 

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (Bookies Book Club review!)

I Wasn’t Strong Like This When I Started Out by Lee Gutkind and narrated by Tavia Gilbert  (this narration is up for and audie award!)

Farewell, Sweet Prince (Minneapolis, the day that Prince died)

Almost Interesting by David Spade and Narrated by David Spade ( this narration is up for an audie award!) 

Well, I guess that is not a bad week.  The whole list is audio books, yes I am reading but have for sure been listening to more audio lately with the Audie Awards coming up (SQQQUUUEEEE!!!!!) that I will be attending…. (SSSSQQQUUUEEE!!!!) in Chicago (SSSQQUUUEEE!!!!)

For this week here is what is on my end table and in my car and on my phone and well… you get it.

 

For My EARS

What if your whole world was a lie?

What if a single revelation – like a single choice – changed everything?

What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?

Yes, yes, I am embarrassingly behind on this last book on the trilogy.  I found this as a down load from my library and figured it was time to finish this so I can watch the movie 🙂

 

 

Some people might think that being ‘furiously happy’ is just an excuse to be stupid and irresponsible and invite a herd of kangaroos over to your house without telling your husband first because you suspect he would say no since he’s never particularly liked kangaroos. And that would be ridiculous because no one would invite a herd of kangaroos into their house. Two is the limit. I speak from personal experience. My husband says that none is the new limit. I say he should have been clearer about that before I rented all those kangaroos.

I have listed to Jenny before, years ago with her first book.  I have met her and respect her as a fellow blogger.  This one is up for an audie award…. lets see what happens 🙂

Everyone knows that if Scarlett O’Hara had an unlimited text-and-data plan, she’d constantly try to tempt Ashley away from Melanie with suggestive messages. If Mr. Rochester could text Jane Eyre, his ardent missives would obviously be in all-caps. And Daisy Buchanan would not only text while driving, she’d text you to pick her up after she totaled her car.

This one is also up for an audie award… and just sounds like good fun.

For My EYES

Rosie “Aunty” Lee—feisty widow, amateur sleuth and proprietor of Singapore’s best-loved home cooking restaurant—is back in another delectable, witty mystery set in Singapore.

Slightly hobbled by a twisted ankle, crime-solving restaurateur Aunty Lee begrudgingly agrees to take a rest from running her famous café, Aunty Lee’s Delights, and turns over operations to her friend and new business partner Cherril.

The café serves as a meeting place for an animal rescue society that Cherril once supported. They were forced to dissolve three years earlier after a British expat killed the puppy she’d adopted, sparking a firestorm of scandal. The expat, Allison Fitzgerald, left Singapore in disgrace, but has returned with an ax to grind (and a lawsuit). At the café one afternoon, Cherril receives word that Allison has been found dead in her hotel—and foul play is suspected. When a veterinarian, who was also involved in the scandal, is found dead, suspicion soon falls on the animal activists. What started with an internet witch hunt has ended in murder—and in a tightly knit, law-and-order society like Singapore, everyone is on edge.

Hmmmm…. we will see 😉

 

During her treatment for cancer, Mary Anne Schwalbe and her son Will spent many hours sitting in waiting rooms together. To pass the time, they would talk about the books they were reading. Once, by chance, they read the same book at the same time—and an informal book club of two was born. Through their wide-ranging reading, Will and Mary Anne—and we, their fellow readers—are reminded how books can be comforting, astonishing, and illuminating, changing the way that we feel about and interact with the world around us. A profoundly moving memoir of care giving, mourning, and love—The End of Your Life Book Club is also about the joy of reading, and the ways that joy is multiplied when we share it with others.

I have been curious about this one for awhile.  Now my book club is reading it and I am hoping it is a great one!

 

 

That’s the plan.  To be a part of Its Monday!   What Are You Reading, stop in and check it out at The Book Date.  You never know where you may find that next great read!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading/Listening To?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week.  It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever-growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog from 2006 -2009  and then was taken up by me here at Book Journey from Feb 2009 – Fall 2015 and then I passed it to Kathryn at the Book Date.  We have worked to keep the torch of It’s Monday burning!  🙂

As it tends to be in my life, I have to say “Thank God For Audio!” or I would not be reading much.  I have been bouncing around the book sale this week for the Friends Of The Library, and now I am heading into the Gatsby event…. there is little time to sit down and enjoy a book but I have been able to put on an audio as I drive around or work on things in the house.

This week I posted:

 

Level Up.  Beyond The Turning Of A Page.

The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson (AUDIO!)

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer (AUDIO!)

The EX by Alafair Burke (this is a great example of my reading time, I have been reading this one for three weeks!)

 

For this week I have planned:

For My Ears

Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon – the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him “the bitter neighbor from hell”. But behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations.

I just started this one this morning and really enjoying it to far!  Narrated by George Newbern

 

 

 

Becky is on a major rescue mission! Her father has vanished from Los Angeles on a mysterious quest with her best friend’s husband. Becky’s mum is hysterical; her best friend, Suze, is desperate. Worse, Becky must tolerate an enemy along for the ride, who she’s convinced is up to no good.

Determined to get to the bottom of why her dad has disappeared, help Suze, contain Alicia, and reunite her fractured family, Becky knows she must marshal all her trademark ingenuity. The result: her most outrageous and daring plan yet!

But just when her family needs her more than ever, can Becky pull it off?

I started this one in the car a couple of days ago and the narration by Clare Corbett is excellent!

 

 

I Wasn’t Strong Like This When I Started Out, a collection of true narratives, reflects the dynamism and diversity of nurses who provide the first vital line of patient care. Here, nurses remember their first “sticks”, first births, and first deaths and reflect on what gets them though long, demanding shifts and keeps them in the profession.

The stories reveal many voices from nurses at different stages of their careers: One nurse-in-training longs to be trusted with more “important” procedures while another questions her ability to care for nursing home residents. An efficient young emergency room nurse finds his life and career irrevocably changed by a car accident. A nurse practitioner wonders whether she has violated professional boundaries in her care for a homeless man with AIDS. And a home-care case manager is the sole attendee at a funeral for one of her patients.

Looking forward to starting this one later this week!

 

 

 

For My Eyes

They always say that high school is the best time of your life.

Peter, the star basketball player at his school, is worried “they” might actually be right. Meanwhile Eliza can’t wait to escape Seattle—and her reputation—and perfect-on-paper Anita wonders if admission to Princeton is worth the price of abandoning her real dreams. Andy, for his part, doesn’t understand all the fuss about college and career—the future can wait.

Or can it? Because it turns out the future is hurtling through space with the potential to wipe out life on Earth. As these four seniors—along with the rest of the planet—wait to see what damage an asteroid will cause, they must abandon all thoughts of the future and decide how they’re going to spend what remains of the present.

Hmmmmm?  Sounds good right?  Found this recently at a book store!

 

That’s it for me.  Hope everyone has a great week!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week.  It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever-growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog from 2006 -2009  and then was taken up by me here at Book Journey from Feb 2009 – Fall 2015 and then I passed it to Kathryn at the Book Date.  We have worked to keep the torch of It’s Monday burning!  🙂

I wanted to post last night but yeah….. life and all of that.  🙂    Here is what I posted over the past week:

the good liar by nicholas searle – Good stuff

Gretal and The Case Of The missing Frog Prints by P.J, Brackston  – let’s just say…unmet potential

MISSOULA by Jon Krauker – This was an AMAZING listen.

 

It was a fairly good week but a lot of computer work has kept me from picking up much for books.  This week, I hope that changes a bit.  My plans are:

For My Eyes

Set in the most magical parts of Manhattan—the Upper West Side, Central Park, Greenwich Village—The Ramblers explores the lives of three lost souls, bound together by friendship and family. During the course of one fateful Thanksgiving week, a time when emotions run high and being with family can be a mixed blessing, Rowley’s sharply defined characters explore the moments when decisions are deliberately made, choices accepted, and pasts reconciled.

Clio Marsh, whose bird-watching walks through Central Park are mentioned in New York Magazine, is taking her first tentative steps towards a relationship while also looking back to the secrets of her broken childhood. Her best friend, Smith Anderson, the seemingly-perfect daughter of one of New York’s wealthiest families, organizes the lives of others as her own has fallen apart. And Tate Pennington has returned to the city, heartbroken but determined to move ahead with his artistic dreams.

Rambling through the emotional chaos of their lives, this trio learns to let go of the past, to make room for the future and the uncertainty and promise that it holds.

TLC Book Tour this week.

 

 

For My Ears

When a beautiful, aspiring writer strides into the East Village bookstore where Joe Goldberg works, he does what anyone would do: he Googles the name on her credit card.

There is only one Guinevere Beck in New York City. She has a public Facebook account and Tweets incessantly, telling Joe everything he needs to know: she is simply Beck to her friends, she went to Brown University, she lives on Bank Street, and she’ll be at a bar in Brooklyn tonight—the perfect place for a “chance” meeting.

As Joe invisibly and obsessively takes control of Beck’s life, he orchestrates a series of events to ensure Beck finds herself in his waiting arms. Moving from stalker to boyfriend, Joe transforms himself into Beck’s perfect man, all while quietly removing the obstacles that stand in their way—even if it means murder.

I am almost finished with this one and WHOA WHOA WHOA!

 

 

On Marin’s island, sunrise doesn’t come every twenty-four hours—it comes every fourteen years. Now the sun is just a sliver of light on the horizon. The weather is turning cold and the shadows are growing long.

Because sunset triggers the tide to roll out hundreds of miles, the islanders are frantically preparing to sail south, where they will wait out the long Night.

Marin and her twin brother, Kana, help their anxious parents ready the house for departure. Locks must be taken off doors. Furniture must be arranged. Tables must be set. The rituals are puzzling—bizarre, even—but none of the adults in town will discuss why it has to be done this way.

Just as the ships are about to sail, a teenage boy goes missing—the twins’ friend Line. Marin and  Kana are the only ones who know the truth about where Line’s gone, and the only way to rescue him is by doing it themselves. But Night is falling. Their island is changing.

I am into this one now…. not sure yet where it is going or how I feel about it.

 

 

Into Thin Air is the definitive, personal account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest by the acclaimed journalist and author of Eiger Dreams and Into the Wild. On assignment for Outside magazine, Krakauer, an accomplished climber, went to the Himalayas to report on the growing commercialization of the planet’s highest mountain. Everest has always been a dangerous mountain. From the first British expeditions in the 1920s until 1996, one climber has died for ever 4 who have attained the summit. This shocking death toll has not put a damper on the burgeoning business of guided ascents, however, in which amateur alpinists with alarmingly disparate skills are ushered up the mountain for a $65,000 fee. To ascend into the thin, frigid air above 26,000 feet – the cruising altitude of a commercial jetliner – is an inherently irrational act. The environment is unimaginably harsh, the margin for error miniscule. Krakauer examines what it is about Everest that has compelled so many people – including himself – to throw caution to the wind, ignore the concern of loved ones, and willingly subject themselves to such risk, hardship, and expense. Written with emotional clarity and supported by his unimpeachable reporting, Krakauer’s frank eyewitness account of what happened on the roof of the world is a singular achievement.

I just watched the movie Everest over the weekend and wow.  I honestly thought I had read this book, but if I did it was pre-book journey and I can not find any record of it.  After seeing the movie and realizing that author Jon Krakauer was on this trip … I want to listen to it even if it is “again.”

 

 

Joe Goldberg is no stranger to hiding bodies. In the past 10 years, this 30-something has buried four of them, collateral damage in his quest for love. Now he’s heading west to Los Angeles, the city of second chances, determined to put his past behind him.

In Hollywood, Joe blends in effortlessly with the other young upstarts. He eats guac, works in a bookstore, and flirts with a journalist neighbor. But while others seem fixated on their own reflections, Joe can’t stop looking over his shoulder. The problem with hidden bodies is that they don’t always stay that way. They reemerge like dark thoughts, multiplying and threatening to destroy what Joe wants most: true love. And when he finds it in a darkened room in Soho House, he’s more desperate than ever to keep his secrets buried. He doesn’t want to hurt his new girlfriend – he wants to be with her forever. But if she ever finds out what he’s done, he may not have a choice….

If you look above in this list you will see the book YOU by this same author.  This is the 2nd book in this series and what luck – it is released tomorrow, the 23rd.  Thanks God!  YOU is amazing and creepy…. and well, watch for that review.

 

There is my week.  It may look like a lot of audio but I actually just finished YOU about an hour ago and Nightfall is in my car.  I hope you have wonderful reading planned for this week.  Please connect at Book Date to see what others are reading.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week.  It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever-growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog from 2006 -2009  and then was taken up by me here at Book Journey from Feb 2009 – Fall 2015 and then I passed it to Kathryn at the Book Date.  We have worked to keep the torch of It’s Monday burning!  🙂

I have not been as consistent on this meme as I hoped to be, but I am working at it.  This past week here is what I posted:

What Was Mine by Helen Klein Ross ( holy wow!)

Girl Through Glass by Sari Wilson (new fiction TLC tour)

Wildalone by Krassi Zourkova (interesting Paranormal YA)

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling (meh)

in a dark, dark wood by ruth ware (ooh!!!)

Not a bad reading week, actually not a bad audio week.  I have really been flying through the audio while working on house projects.

 

For this week….

For My Eyes

Widower Jack Harris has resisted the dating scene ever since the shooting of his wife Molly by a fifteen-year-old boy three years ago. An early morning run along the Hudson River changes that when he spots a woman in last night’s party dress, barefoot, enjoying a champagne picnic alone, reading his favorite novel. Everything about her reminds him of what he used to have with Molly. Eager to help Jack find love again, his best friend posts a message on a popular website after he mentions the encounter. Days later, that same beautiful stranger responds and invites Jack to meet her in person at the waterfront. That’s when Jack’s world falls apart.

 Olivia Randall is one of New York City’s best criminal defense lawyers. When she hears that her former fiancé, Jack Harris, has been arrested for a triple homicide—and that one of the victims was connected to his wife’s murder—there is no doubt in her mind as to his innocence. The only question is who would go to such great lengths to frame him—and why?

 For Olivia, representing Jack is a way to make up for past regrets, to absolve herself of guilt from a tragic decision, a secret she has held for twenty years. But as the evidence against him mounts, she is forced to confront her doubts. The man she knew could not have done this. But what if she never really knew him?

For My Ears

Each of the three Schuyler sisters has her own world-class problems, but in the autumn of 1966, Pepper Schuyler’s problems are in a class of their own. When Pepper fixes up a beautiful and rare vintage Mercedes and sells it at auction, she thinks she’s finally found a way to take care of herself and the baby she carries, the result of an affair with a married, legendary politician.

But the car’s new owner turns out to have secrets of her own, and as the glamorous and mysterious Annabelle Dommerich takes pregnant Pepper under her wing, the startling provenance of this car comes to light: a Nazi husband, a Jewish lover, a flight from Europe, and a love so profound it transcends decades. As the many threads of Annabelle’s life from World War II stretch out to entangle Pepper in 1960s America, and the father of her unborn baby tracks her down to a remote town in coastal Georgia, the two women must come together to face down the shadows of their complicated pasts.

Indomitable heroines, a dazzling world of secrets, champagne at the Paris Ritz, and a sweeping love story for the ages, in New York Times bestselling author Beatriz William’s final book about the Schuyler sisters.

 

That’s my plan for now.  It is Book Club this week and a Great Gatsby meeting.  I do love bookish weeks 🙂

Be sure and add your Its Monday What Are You Reading to the sign up link here, or at least let me know in the comments what you are reading this week.

It’s Monday and I Need Some Advice From The Readers

Brief disclaimer….  It’s Monday What Are You Reading has moved from me to Kathryn at Book Date.  She is rocking this so please definitely go and check out how awesome she is and keep on sharing your reading! 

 

For me… I am not reading.  Or I guess I could say I am… but not making progress.  Same book as last week, same audio…. a quick visual refresher:

Becoming Steve Jobs (my fascination with all things Jobs) is so interesting.  A road trip to the cabin later this week will certainly put a healthy dent in this audio book.  Wildalone is also interesting and my cabin time will certainly finish this one as well and I expect allow me to start others.

Now…

the real reason I am writing this post today is that I need a little assistance from those of you who use e-readers more frequently than I do  (I have one.  I think I know where it is.)  A friend of mine from High School asked me this question via Facebook this morning:

Dear Sheila, Being your friend on Facebook, I am aware that you are an avid book reader. I have an idea that may solve my gift giving dilemma indefinitely for one or two of my toughest recipients, and in pursuit of that notion I would like to take advantage of your knowledge and opinions as such. I would like to gift an enrollment in a book of the month club for e-books. I have leaned of a few “streaming” services that offer unlimited reading, but that offer no guidance in choosing the books -and I think that’s the best part. And there is one ‘of the month club’ that offers this that I keep running into, but there catalog seems small. If I have to, I will give the Amazon unlimited thing along with a subscription to a BOMC community newsletter or forum.

So there it is.  He specifically said no need to research yet now that the question has presented itself, I feel it is one that perhaps others have thoughts on – or may like to know as well.  I have never used an e book of the month subscription but I bet some of you do or have.  So the question stands as…

1.  What is the best service to consider?

2.  Are there ones to avoid?

Any feedback on what makes them awesome or not so much would be wonderful

That’s all for today.  I have a lunch date with a friend that I am looking forward to and other than that I will be working on a few projects this week for the Library. Pretty low key and I think that is about where I need to be right now, this week especially.  Oh – and I am expecting an exciting delivery today that hopefully will start a whole new conversation here, one that I used to do frequently but rather fell away…. more on that soon.

Happy Monday all!

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

A reminder –It’s Monday! What Are You Reading has a new home!  Kathryn at The Book Date has graciously taken on the meme to keep the torch going strong.  YAY  Kathryn!!!

So…. what am I reading?  I am actually excited to let you know that I AM READING.  That may seem like no big deal but I have been listening to a lot of audio this year and very little reading books.  Thanks to that Arizona trip a couple of weeks ago I needed a book for the plane and I found one…

Wildalone is a little bit YA… a little bit paranormal…. and interesting.  I am enjoying this “escape” read.

 

As far as audio…. well, I am almost always listening.  Here is what is currently “ON” either in my car, on my phone, or in that old school CD player I keep on the kitchen counter because that is just how cool I am.  😉

I have never watched Mindy Kaling on tv.  I have heard of her, and heard good things about her book so here goes.  Or I guess I should say “hear goes”as I am listening to this one.

 

My fascination with Steve Jobs continues.  I know he wasn’t always the nicest man… but he sure was a brilliant one.

 

As for what is next up… honestly I don’t know.  I have so many “I want to” reads… and my life… well I just don’t know day to day so keep things pretty low key and try to take it quite literally one day at a time.  The fact that I am even participating in It’s Monday is a “yay” for me. 🙂  Lets just say I had a little encouragement yesterday in an unexpected way that told me I needed to write.  This… is writing.

At least it is a beginning.  And I am DOING.

Please go and check out what others are reading by looking at It’s Monday What Are You Reading.  I know I need to go and see what the books are that are AWESOME this season.   I am sooooo out of the book loop 🙂

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Happy Monday!  If you notice above.. that is not my meme button, and that would be true… in fact, it is the meme button for Katherine at Book Date who graciously has offered to take up this meme for me.  It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading will continue at her blog and I hope you will join in there.

However…

still come visit me 🙂

SO…

What have I been reading?  In my case it has been more listening…. working on fall projects has kept me moving but I have been enjoying audio and that is what I will share here.

This past couple of weeks I have listened to:

 

Interestingly enough I have never been a Joan Rivers fan, but was curious about who she really was and how she became… well, Joan.  Review to come this week

 

 

A Middle Grade listen that was interesting and definitively I have some things to say about… review to come this week

 

OOH I enjoyed this one very much!  Cant wait to tell you all about it!

 

I am behind on reviews… there are more that this, but these are the latest listens.

 

Listening to currently….

 

Avery West’s newfound family can shut down Prada when they want to shop in peace, and can just as easily order a bombing when they want to start a war. Part of a powerful and dangerous secret society called the Circle, they believe Avery is the key to an ancient prophecy. Some want to use her as a pawn. Some want her dead.

To unravel the mystery putting her life in danger, Avery must follow a trail of clues from the monuments of Paris to the back alleys of Istanbul with two boys who work for the Circle—beautiful, volatile Stellan and mysterious, magnetic Jack. But as the clues expose a stunning conspiracy that might plunge the world into World War 3, she discovers that both boys are hiding secrets of their own. Now she will have to choose not only between freedom and family–but between the boy who might help her save the world, and the one she’s falling in love with.

 

I just started this one yesterday while buzzing around my kitchen making dinner and cleaning up from canning.  So far… so good!

 

 

An anxiety disorder disrupts fourteen-year-old Audrey’s daily life. She has been making slow but steady progress with Dr. Sarah, but when Audrey meets Linus, her brother’s gaming teammate, she is energized. She connects with him. Audrey can talk through her fears with Linus in a way she’s never been able to do with anyone before. As their friendship deepens and her recovery gains momentum, a sweet romantic connection develops, one that helps not just Audrey but also her entire family.

 

Listening to this one in the car and enjoying the narration and story line.

 

How do you move on after losing the person you loved? How do you build a life worth living?
 
Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can’t help but feel she’s right back where she started.
 
Her body heals, but Lou herself knows that she needs to be kick-started back to life. Which is how she ends up in a church basement with the members of the Moving On support group, who share insights, laughter, frustrations, and terrible cookies. They will also lead her to the strong, capable Sam Fielding—the paramedic, whose business is life and death, and the one man who might be able to understand her. Then a figure from Will’s past appears and hijacks all her plans, propelling her into a very different future. . . .

 

I read and LOVED Me Before You with my book club.  Now this interesting sequel has made it’s may into my audio listening. 

 

AND…

a week+ ago I showed pictured of my haul from our fall library sale and offered you to pick my next read and to win the book you picked if I chose your name.  The winner of this first round for the books is Michelle from Book Chat who chose ‘The House Girl’ out of the pile.  SO…. this week I will start The House Girl and then pass it to Michelle when I am done.

The House Girl, the historical fiction debut by Tara Conklin, is an unforgettable story of love, history, and a search for justice, set in modern-day New York and 1852 Virginia.

Weaving together the story of an escaped slave in the pre–Civil War South and a determined junior lawyer, The House Girl follows Lina Sparrow as she looks for an appropriate lead plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking compensation for families of slaves. In her research, she learns about Lu Anne Bell, a renowned prewar artist whose famous works might have actually been painted by her slave, Josephine.

 

That is my reading.listening plan for this week.  I will be finishing up canning in the next couple of days here and then putting away all of great grandmother’s canning gadgets for another year.  This week I will transition out of the fall preserving of the crops to refinishing an old table for a friend, cleaning out the garage, and preparing for (hopefully) my first crocheting lesson.  EEP! Between that there will be meet up with friends, a lunch date or two, and some planning for 2016 events.  All good things to keep my mind busy and my heart full.

Have an awesome week everyone and please link up your own It’s Monday post to Book Date and cheer Katherine on as she makes this meme her own. 🙂

Passing The Baton…

So here is a story.

In February of 2009 I was a fairly new blogger.  I had about 6 months in.  I was in Florida with my husband for the equipment auctions when a blogger named J Kaye, messaged me.  J Kaye ran the blog j-kaye-book-log.  She was the creator of the Meme “It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading?” and I loved it – the book conversation, the linking up, the going back to read the comments because she always responded to the comments.  J Kaye was contacting me to say she was dropping out of blogging to work on her career as an author and would I be interested in taking over the meme.

Me?

The meme had over 200 followers.  For a newbie like myself, this was a goldmine of bloggers and book lovers that would follow the meme to me and perhaps like the way I chatted up books.  SO of course I said yes, promising to love the meme and nurture it and…

I did.

It’s Monday never missed a Monday from the time I took over the meme.  I even posted when I was in Honduras and this past year when I was in Australia I passed it on to another blogger to watch while I was away.  The meme went on…

until April.

When my life hit the rocks, the meme as well as pretty much everything else came to a halt.  While, after a while I started posting again, for whatever reason I could not wrap my mind around keeping up with It’s Monday.  I planned to bring it back in September and in the past 4 weeks, I forgot about it twice.  It seems to be something I can no longer commit too… yet I love that meme and in many ways, it brought me many readers who have stuck with me through it all.

So…

I did what J Kaye did.  I looked for a follower of the meme who was a consistent blogger.  Someone who would take it over and love it as I had, and hopefully I too can participate in the meme without the pressure (self inflicted I am sure) of owning it.

AND…

(Of course she can choose her own meme button… I was just playing around)

I am pleased to announce that Kathryn from The book Date will be taking over It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading?  I am so excited to see the meme continue in her capable hands.  I will help with the transition of directing traffic her way and I will probably participate myself 🙂

Thank you to everyone who has patiently hung in there with me while I figured this out.  I am happy with this decision.  I don’t know how many years J Kaye had It’s Monday, but I had it for 6 years and it will go on.

 

On another note…. canning today and finishing up between today and tomorrow.  I have been enjoying some down time at home, book club and the Gone With The Wind review was on Tuesday and yes – there are some fun pictures to go with that.  I am listening on audio to Admissions and enjoying it.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

I am just eternally behind and I am just going to own it.  I am…

whelmed.

And that said… here is the mini version of this post…

This meme is used to share what we read this past week and what our plans are for the upcoming week.  It’s a great way to see what others are reading and add to your own To Be Read list.  You never know where that next great read may come from!

Here is what I posted this past week:

Banned Book Week Kick Off

Banned.. Yes It Is That Time Again

Banned Aid

Banned In Boston… A Guest Post

Banned COFFEE????

Banned Books… Did You Know?

Having You Cake…

Hand To Mouth by Linda Tirado

Final To Banned Book Week

 

I have a busy week ahead so not going to list anything here… I hope to read…. thats about all I can say.  Please add your posts to the link below:

 

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

This meme is used to share what we read this past week and what our plans are for the upcoming week.  It’s a great way to see what others are reading and add to your own To Be Read list.  You never know where that next great read may come from!

It has been a pretty full week with my “need to can” mode going on.  Not a lot of time for reading barbecue I am usually on the move, mostly audio happening here.  Here is what I posted this past week:

 

Lock In by John Scalzi

Dirty Chick by Antonia Murphy

Departure by A G Riddle

 

This week will be a lot more canning so more audio for me!  I am planning on listening to:

 

America’s First Families are unknowable in many ways. No one has insight into their true character like the people who serve their meals and make their beds every day. Full of stories and details by turns dramatic, humorous, and heartwarming, The Residence reveals daily life in the White House as it is really lived through the voices of the maids, butlers, cooks, florists, doormen, engineers, and others who tend to the needs of the President and First Family.

These dedicated professionals maintain the six-floor mansion’s 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, 28 fireplaces, three elevators, and eight staircases, and prepare everything from hors d’oeuvres for intimate gatherings to meals served at elaborate state dinners. Over the course of the day, they gather in the lower level’s basement kitchen to share stories, trade secrets, forge lifelong friendships, and sometimes even fall in love.

Combining incredible first-person anecdotes from extensive interviews with scores of White House staff members—many speaking for the first time—with archival research, Kate Andersen Brower tells their story. She reveals the intimacy between the First Family and the people who serve them, as well as tension that has shaken the staff over the decades. From the housekeeper and engineer who fell in love while serving President Reagan to Jackie Kennedy’s private moment of grief with a beloved staffer after her husband’s assassination to the tumultuous days surrounding President Nixon’s resignation and President Clinton’s impeachment battle, The Residence is full of surprising and moving details that illuminate day-to-day life at the White House.

 

and other than that… pretty much Gone With The Wind for book club.

 

What are you reading this week?  What did you read last week?  I look forward to seeing what are the books everyone is talking about.  Add your Its Monday What Are You Reading here where it says click here:

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