Hug a Veteran Quiz

November 9, 2009November 15, 200921 Comments

Thanks to everyone who mentioned not only my veterans, but your own.

My father is a Vietnam veteran and my husband served his time in the Navy, and Wednesday is the day to make sure we thank them and every other veteran for their service to America. That’s the theme of this week’s quiz. Leave the number and the answer and no googling – that’s cheating and no fun. All books are FICTION.

1. All this Civil War vet wanted to do is return home to North Carolina and the love of his life, but the journey was a difficult one. He was played by Jude Law in the movie version. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier – Bags, Books & Bon Jovi

2. Lee Child has written a thriller series based on this ex-military cop. Jack Reacher – Bags, Books & Bon Jovi

3. Two men return home from war in 1946 Mississippi. This book won the 2006 Bellwether Prize (recognizing social responsibility). MUDBOUND BY HILLARY JORDAN

4. A Vietnam soldier decides to go AWOL and walk to France. This won the National Book Award for fiction in 1979. GOING AFTER CACCIATO BY TIM O’BRIEN

5. This recent publication is a novel based loosely on the author’s life as a classmate of George W. Bush, marine in Vietnam, and the first Vietnam veteran to attend Harvard. LOON – A MARINE STORY BY JACK MCLEAN

6. This is the debut novel of the man who brought us Forest Gump. This is about an officer in the Vietnam War. Better Times Than These by Winston Groom – Bermudaonion

7. A son investigates his father’s life as a soldier in WWII. A surprising look at war from an author who writes bestselling legal thrillers. Ordinary Heroes by Scott Turow – Under the Boardwalk

8. This series by Robyn Carr always features a military veteran as hero of the story. – The Virgin River series – Bookfan

And a few notable veteran authors

9. This highly decorated Vietnam veteran is a current Virginia senator and says this about his writing, “I’ve written for a living all my life, so writing is as much a part of me as working out.” Senator Jim Webb – Linda B

10. This author of The Painted Veil served as a secret agent for the British during WWI. W Somerset Maugham – Fleurfisher

The Postman Always Rings Twice, by James M. Cain

November 8, 2009June 30, 20127 Comments

Finished 10-25-09, rating 3.5/5, fiction, pub. 1934

“I’m not what you think I am, Frank. I want to work and be something, that’s all. But you can’t do it without love. Do you know that, Frank? Anyway, a woman can’t. Well, I’ve made one mistake. And I’ve got to be a hell cat, just once, to fix it. But I’m not really a hell cat, Frank.”

“They hang you for that.”

“Not if you do it right. You’re smart, Frank. I never fooled you for a minute. You’ll think of a way.”

Chapter 3

Frank is not the first man to fall for the damsel in distress and do things that he never would have though of on his own and he probably won’t be the last. Frank is a drifter, catching rides when he can, and picking up jobs until he moves on and Cora is married to the Greek, Nick, who owns a roadside diner and auto shop. It doesn’t take long for the sparks to fly and a plan of murder to be hatched. When things go wrong the lies and double crosses make it hard to know how this short novel will end.

This is noir (“crime fiction featuring hard-boiled cynical characters and bleak sleazy settings“) at it’s best. Cynical and bleak mark the setting, plot, and dialogue. I loved that the dialogue showcased the feeling of the character rather that just putting words in their mouth to move the story along. I had to read between the lines to figure out what was going on much of the time and I loved that.

That being said, I’m not sure that noir is something I can ever quite love. I appreciate the fact that it was well done, but it is a little too dark for me. I have the movie on my DVR and I’ll have see if that gives a different view of the book.

This was from my personal library.

Awards and Holiday Fun

November 8, 2009November 8, 20096 Comments

This was given to me by Melody from Melody’s Reading Corner. Melody is a fellow Teaser Tuesday participant and in addition to her book reviews I love her photos for Wordless Wednsday.

I am going to pass along this to alita.reads. Another Teaser Tuesday friend and I love her book reviews.

And this comes from Laura from Laura’s Reviews. I love Laura’s book reviews and if you visit her blog you can still vote for the most romantic character in literature (my guy’s winning).

I’m passing this along to Staci at Life in the Thumb. She’s a great commenter and her blog is a daily must for me. It should be for you too.

Thanks so much for thinking of me Melody and Laura. I really appreciate it 🙂

And now for some fun. I can’t believe we are a week into November already, but that does mean I need to start thinking about gifts. And this year I’m going to participate in the Holiday Swap.

bookbloggerholidayswap I’ll get the name of another book blogger and get to be a Secret Santa. Some people dislike these silly holiday games, but I LOVE them. I’m not the best secret keeper when it comes to gifts because if I love it I can’t wait until the person gets it so they can love it too 🙂 But, I will try to keep my enthusiasm in check. If you would like to participate you have until November 11th to sign up and you can do it here. You do need to have a blog to participate.

What goes around comes around

November 6, 200914 Comments

“You know who you are? Even Steven.”

– Kramer, to Jerry, in Seinfeld’s “The Opposite”

I can usually find a way to reference a Seinfeld episode every day and when I found out I had won another book giveaway on October 31st, I felt like Even Steven.

In October I gave away 11 books, pens, and gels for my birthday on the 11th. Here’s what I gave away…

Word Lily won the last giveaway and chose to receive a copy of A Confederacy of Dunces. And then do you know what happened? You can probably guess by the Seinfeld reference, since I’ve never been that great at a punch line. These books came into my house through giveaways…

even steven

As you can see I’m still waiting for two books that will bring the total to 11 books won in October. So, I’m feeling like Even Steven and that is not a bad thing these days 🙂

Here are the blogs that contributed to this wonderful selection of books that I now have at my fingertips… Bermudaonion (two came from Kathy), Thoughts of Joy, Pudgy Penguin Perusals, Musings of a Bookish Kitty, Girls Just Reading, Find Your Next Book Here, He Followed Me Home, Bloody Bad, Savvy Verse & Wit, Hallie Ephron. Thank you ladies!

So, what do you think? Does what goes around come around?

Manhunting, by Jennifer Crusie

November 5, 20095 Comments

Finished audio 10-25-09, rating 3/5, Romance, pub. 2007

Kate is a successful in her career, but disappointed in her love life. A friend convinces her to spend some time at the Cabins resort where eligible men and women go to meet. When Kate arrives she has no problem finding the men, but has a problem with the quality of men she’s meeting. And handyman Jake isn’t helping her feel any better about herself with his rude and judgemental comments.

As Kate becomes more involved in the small town she finds that she will be sad to leave, man or no. And when Jake proves to be the most eligible man, Kate must reassess her goals for being there.

I love Jennifer Crusie, with her humor and wit, but this book didn’t do it for me. It was light and fun, but I was not caught up in the story. In the interest of full disclosure, I did listen to this during the read-a-thon last week between the hours of 11pm -6am, so my judgment may not be 100% accurate 🙂 I would not hesitate to recommend other Crusie books.

This was a library copy.

The Funny Thing Is…, by Ellen Degeneres

November 4, 200915 Comments

Finished 10-24-09, rating 3.5/5, Humor, pub. 2003

There is also the fact that the food is free and I always think free food tastes the best. Like when you go to those hotel manager’s receptions. Even though the food is taquitos and Swedish meatballs, they’re free and actually pretty good. The thing with prison food that might worry me is that someone might try to poison a prisoner and I might accidentally get the plate that was meant for the intended victim. That would be bad. But let’s just say I lived through that. Well then, I could probably live through just about anything! Think what a strong constitution I would have. And probably a new zest for life. What’s so bad about prison? That’s what I wanna know.

That’s why prison wouldn’t be so bad chapter

If you enjoy Ellen’s talk show, you will enjoy this book. It features her charming style of conversation, hilarious insights and crazy dinner party stories, which I believe are pure fiction or Gloria Estefan has some explaining to do. I included the excerpt from the prison chapter because it was my favorite and made me laugh out loud, but there were other chapters that made me laugh too.

Most of her observations made me smile more than laugh. I didn’t love every chapter, but I finished the book happy and feeling like I’d just spent some time with Ellen, so the book was a success.

I read this during the 24 hour read-a-thon and it was perfect for it. It lightened my mood after so many hours spent reading.

This book was from my own personal library.

Free Books for November

November 3, 2009November 3, 20097 Comments

Leave a comment, tell me which book you want and I’ll get the book to you for FREE either by mail or personally if I’ll see you soon. The first one to request each book wins. Once you’ve ‘won’ the book I can get your shipping address if I need it. Also, you can come back and get a free book every month if you want. These have all been read a few times. free nov 09

1. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (mass market paperback) – It’s a classic! (B&N review) For CeeCee

2. The Presence by Heather Graham (well read mass market paperback) – Romantic Suspense (B&N review) for Linda B

3. Tender Triumph by Judith McNaught (well read mass market paperback) – Romance (B&N review) for Guatami

4. The Hottest State by Ethan Hawke (trade paperback) – First novel by the well know actor (B&N review) for Nicole

As always, Happy Reading!

Presidential Movie Quiz

November 2, 2009November 2, 200913 Comments

Tonight and tomorrow I’ll be working as a Polling Coordinator, so please vote and grant a smile to your poll workers 🙂

So, let’s get political. Can you identify these movies by the fictional US Presidents shown? This is an easy one, right? Leave me the number and the movie. No cheating 🙂

1. president harrison ford Air Force One – Alitareads