Author: stacybuckeye

Sundays with Gage- Wet

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We spent the week on Kelley’s Island with Gage’s babysitters, um, I mean, grandparents.  This is a small island on Lake Erie that we visit every few years.  I love it because it is so small that you can walk everywhere you need to go and it’s quaint in a good way.  We always go in September after all the drunks have cleared out.  It rained.  A lot.

We spent lots of time inside due to the rain, but still managed to have a great time.

I apologize for the funky formatting.  Whenever I try anything else it deletes the photos!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kid Konnection – September 11th

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A Gift Of Loveby Dr. Claus.  Illustrated by Christopher Vassallo.  30 page paperback.  First published in 2001.

I saw somewhere recently that 97% of Americans remember where they were on September 11, 2001.  I am one of them.  For some reason I was watching the Today Show (it was not normal for me to be up at that hour!) and they were talking about the first plane, still thinking it had been a horrible accident.  But when the second plane hit confusion reigned there and on all the other channels.  I was glued to the television that day and most every day for a few weeks time.  I love New York City.  Jason and I had enjoyed almost 5 months living in midtown just the year before.  On that day I opened my photo album to the page of pictures I took from the top of the World Trade Center in September 2000 and had a hard time coming to terms with the terror that the people who were there must have felt when they realized that being rescued probably wasn’t going to happen.

I am sure that one day I will share the chaos of that day with Gage and A Gift of Love by Dr. Claus is a good starting point.  A young girl is about to start her first day of second grade and she shares the excitement of the morning with her mom and dad, a New York firefighter. The story is told beautifully from her perspective, as she is sent home early from school and her mother tells her what had happened to her dad.  I was completely touched by it.

Dr. Claus is an Iraq veteran and he also has a personal story that is included in the book that will remind us all to thank soldiers, veterans, and those that protect us on our own streets for their service to us and to this country.  Our lives are richer because of their committment and sacrifice.  You can visit his website for more information and to order a copy for yourself.

I admit that as much as I loved the story I was less than excited by the illustrations, but Gage seemed to like them 🙂

Visit Booking Mama for other blog posts related to children’s books.

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril VI

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I need another challenge like I need another 10 month old, but here I am, admitting I joined just one more.  I’ve seen this one around every year and always meant to participate, but never got around to it, so this year in a moment of weakness I joined it.  I think it’ll be fun.

Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings is hosting.  Here are a few of the details if you are interested too.

The purpose of the R.I.P. Challenge is to enjoy books that could be classified as:

Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.

The emphasis is never on the word challenge, instead it is about coming together as a community and embracing the autumnal mood, whether the weather is cooperative where you live or not.

I signed up to read two books before the end of October.   Let me know if there is one that I just have to read.

Open Season, by C.J. Box

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Open Season (Joe Pickett Series #1)Finished 8-31-11, rating 3.5/5, mystery, 278 pages, pub. 2001

Book 1 in the Joe Pickett series

Joe lived, but it wasn’t something he was particularly proud of.  It was now fall and Sunday morning dawned slate gray and cold.  He was making pancakes for his girls when he first heard of the bloody beast who had come down from the mountains and tried to enter the house during the night.

Chapter 1 

Joe Pickett is a stand up guy.  He has a loving wife and two little girls with another baby on the way and he has his dream job as a Wyoming Game Warden.  When a dead man shows up in his wood pile, a man Joe has a history with, Joe wants to know why even if the local cops don’t seem to care.  When more hunters end up dead Joe knows something is up, but he’s hampered at every turn of his investigation.

Saddlestring is a small town that has seen better times.  Jobs have been lost and a potential pipeline through the town could mean big bucks.  Joe knows this but remains a man of principle.  He is easy to like and unlike some characters in mysteries who have to do bad things they never thought they’d do, Joe remains a steady and predictable character.  I like him a lot.  And his older daughter Sheridan is a great kid who is wise beyond her years, but not too much so that she doesn’t make kid mistakes.

I’ve never been to Wyoming but this book made me feel like I was there.  I’ve never hunted either, but I was immersed into that life for a while.  This book captured this atmosphere perfectly for me, which is great because I picked it up for the States Challenge.

I’ve read a few bloggers who really like this series and I admit I’m on the fence about recommending it.  I liked it, but don’t really have any desire to read any more of the series.  I think if this region appeals to you then the series might be a better fit.

This was from my personal library.

Publication Quiz- By guest blogger ‘Nise – guessing closed

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The tables have turned and Nise, always at the top of the Leaderboard, has created a quiz just for you (and me).  All you need to do is match the titles with the year they were first published.  Easy right?  If you aren’t already familiar with Nise you are missing out and should visit her blog immediately!

Please play along with us.  For everyone who plays an extra $ goes to the winner and the everyone is entered for a special prize.  Just leave a comment with your guesses and don’t google the answers.

Rules & Leaderboard here.  Last week’s Suicide Quiz here.

If you are interested in creating a quiz (and earning 100 points for the week) let me know and I’ll get you on the calendar.

Match these best -selling books to their publishing dates.  Bonus points for knowing the author. (if you can’t see the books the titles are in the comments)

1813 1847 1908 1929 1936 1957 1960 1977 1986 1991 1993 2005

1. 1960 Harper Lee

2. 1813 Jane Austen

3. 1977 Colleen McCullough

4. 1929 Erich Maria Remarque

5. 1847 Charlotte Bronte

6. 2005 Steig Larsson

7. 1991 Diana Gabaldon

8. 1936 Margaret Mitchell

9. 1908 LM Montgomery

10. 1986 Stephen King

11. 1992 Robert James Waller

12. 1957 Boris Pasternak

Because of a typo, 1992 was not one of the choices.  Guesses of 1991 or 1993 will count 🙂

6 points for correct year, 1 point author, 1.4 points for both.

Sundays with Gage-Milestones

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When you are a brand new parent you look at those parenting guides like the law.  They tell you when your baby is supposed to do this or do that and are supposed to be helpful.  Well, they are, at least until your perfect baby is late for one.  Then panic ensues and your husband has to listen to you obsess over every little thing.  And at only a month or two old there isn’t a lot going on so it is easy to put unnecessary pressure on yourself and your baby.

Milestones are important.  At the beginning of each new month I look at the What to Expect book and the Baby 411 book for new tricks Gage should be learning, but I don’t obsess anymore.  Those first three months I drove myself and Jason crazy.  Some milestones he was early for (raising his head, bearing weight on his legs), some he was right on time (sitting up), and others he was late for (smiling).  But somehow if you wait a month or two you’ll find that your baby will do things on his own time.  As my pediatrician told me, “the baby doesn’t read those books.”

All of the obsessing doesn’t make it happen any faster and you lose happy time just enjoying your baby.  Having said all that Gage did reach a very important and scary milestone this week.  He is crawling!  All others to this point pale in comparison to this life changer.  He is fast and I’ll admit that we are a little late in baby proofing the house.  It’s so much fun to watch him cruise around on his own.  See?

But with this freedom comes stressful moments like these…

He falls down.  A lot.  But at least not off this step so far 🙂  Welcome to the crazy train.  I’ve had a lot less time at the computer this week for very good reason !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for all of the advice on the napping last week.  I confess I have not been very successful this week, but I’m okay with that.

A Winner & Free Books for September – closed

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The winner of a copy of All For Love: A Romantic Anthology ( number chosen randomly by my husband) is… #12 Maya!  Congratulations 🙂  An email is on the way.

In my ongoing quest to keep books moving out and not just in I give away a few books each month.  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 time or two.

Since this is Thrill Week I thought I’d offer up some thrillers.

1. Open Season by CJ Box. First Book in the Joe Pickett mystery series. 278 pages. published 2001. for Margie

2. Easy Prey by John Sandford. Eleventh book in the Lucas Davenport series.  387 pages. published 2000.  for Mystica

3. Carrie by Stephen King. This is the 1975 edition with pictures from the movie.  245 pages. for Gautami

4. The Pelican Brief by John Grisham. Published 1992. 436 pages. for Kim

Happy reading!

My love affair with serial killers

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Today over at Tea Time with Marce she wrote about how she is fascinated by serial killers.  Well, I am too.  I’m not sure when my love affair began, but I love getting into their twisty, sick minds for a little while.  It’s so far from my reality that those minds intrigue me.  Warped?  Sure, why not.

Here are a few novels I’ve read that have memorable serial killers…

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.  It’s not so much the serial killer in this one but the whole book that I loved.

Ashes to Ashes by Tami Hoag.  This is one of the earlier thrillers I read of this genre and I haven’t stopped since.

The Bone Collector by Jeffery Deaver (and pretty much the whole Lincoln Rhyme series).  I love Lincoln and he goes up against some of the most twisted minds ever.

Dead Sleep by Greg Iles.  The premise of this one is that someone is posing models in death scenes, but are they really posed? Loved it.

Heartsick by Chelsea Cain.  This is the first of a series and the only one I’ve read so far, but man is that woman crazy.  One of the few women serial killers out there.

Think of a Number by John Verdon.  This was a great way to start a series.

One nonfiction book that I really enjoyed was Mind Hunter:Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit by John Douglas.  One of the first profilers talks about his interviews of famous serial killers and his pursuit of the worst of the worst.  The Silence of the Lambs Jack Crawford is said to be based on Douglas.  A really engrossing read.

And not to leave the big screen out here are a few memorable serial killers in film…

Patrick Bateman in American Psycho.  I know it’s based on a book but I haven’t read it.  Some of the images from this movie will stick with you for a while.

Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs.  A great movie, both a psychological thriller but also a gory horror flick.

John Doe in Se7ven.  This was a great movie with a killer too creepy to forget.

Norman Bates in Psycho.  Talk about creepy.  Suspense at its best.

Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd.  I didn’t like this movie and my nose is twitching in disgust as I’m typing this, but that was one sick barber!

 

So, I know I need to read the Dexter books and the Dan Wells trilogy.  Any other books that you recommend to entertain my warped mind?

 

 

Thrill Week Survey

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Visit Tea Time with Marce to discover other thriller lovers.

The Thrill Ride Questionnaire
 What is your favourite genre out of Thriller, Mystery, Suspense and Horror? Why? 
Probably thrillers. I like the fast pace.  But I also love mystery and suspense (honstly, I think of them as one category) too.  Horror is my least favorite, but I do read a few books a year from this category.
 Who are your top 3 authors in those genres?
Thriller-Harlan Coben, Greg Iles
Mystery- Agatha Christie (I’m a new fan), Shirley Tallman, T Jefferson Parker
Horror-Stephen King,  Dean Koontz
Tell us who your favourite male and female authors are in the genre?
That’s way too hard of a question! You’ll have to settle with the above list.
What book do you remember loving but don’t remember the details? Maybe you should read it again now.
Can’t think of one right now.
What has been your favourite book this year so far:
Thriller Live Wire by Harlan Coben
Mystery The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
Suspense Heart Sick by Chelsea Cain
Horror Carrie by Stephen King
What series or trilogy would you recommend in these genres?
Thriller Harlan Coben’s Milan Bolitar series, Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series
Mystery Les Roberts’s Milan Jacovich series, Kate White’s Bailey Weggins series
Suspense Jeffery Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme series, John Sandford’s Lucas Davenport series
Recommend 1 or 2 books that you think more around the blogosphere should read. 
Anything that I’ve already listed could answer this question 🙂
What authors have you tried and look forward to reading more from them? Maybe we can give you suggestions on what to read from them.
I read the first Chelsea Cain book, Heart Sick, and loved it.  I have the second on my shelves, waiting to be read. Really liked John Verdon’s fiorst two books.
What authors in the above genres are on your TBR list but you haven’t tried yet?  Who should I read soon?
 Laura Childs, Tom Franklin, John Hart, Grippnado, PD James, Jo Nesbo

August’s 5 Word Movie Reviews & Money for Charity

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Once a month I feature the movies I’ve seen for the first time with a 5 word ‘review’.  Only it’s not really a review.  For that I need your help.  I hope that you’ll add your 5 words to my 5 words and that someone else will add their 5 words and so on until we have a a fun hodgepodge of words that make up a ‘review’.

FYI-I did not read the book, The Help, so there were no comparisons for me.

This month you can give money to charity by contributing your 5 words (Details here).  Please join the fun :)  Past 5 Word Reviews here.  We’re up to $83.

(2011. Cast-Viola Davis, Octavia Butler, Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howard)     Grade A

Southern Prejudice & Spunk. Inspirational Story. 

Prejudice and inspirational southern spunk. (oh so cleverly fixed by Jill ;))

Perfectly cast story of change.  (Kathy)

Well-done story but slightly patronizing.  (Heather)

(2008. Cast-Ryan Reynolds, Abigail Breslin, Elizabeth Banks, Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz)    Grade B+

3rd Grade Sex Ed?  Yikes!

Like the concept but mediocre.  (Heather)

(2005. Cast-Robert Downey Jr., Val Klmer, Michelle Monaghan, Corbin Bernsen)                          Grade B

Charming Downey. Sharp, Noirish Mystery.

Rollicking nonsense, but please enjoy.  (Tony)

(2006. Cast- Michael Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland, Eva Longoria, Kim Basinger)  Grade B-

Lie Detector Tests Are Conclusive?

(2010. Cast-John C Reilly, Marisa Tomei, Jonah Hill, Catherine Keener)     Grade D

Twisted Mom/Son Relationship.  Boring.

Not funny. Lame. Terrible idea. (Jenny)