Don’t turn away Quiz – guessing closed

May 6, 2015May 12, 201518 Comments

While I was at the library browsing (yes, I had a whole 30 minutes of library time yesterday!) I saw a few covers with women turned away, showing us the back of their heads. And I received a book in the mail this week with the same thing. See if you recognize any of these standoffish women! Feel free to come back and add another comment if you figure out more by next Tuesday.

No Googling or looking at other commenter answers. Yes, we’re going by the honor system 🙂 Play every week or just one time, you are always welcome 🙂 It only takes once to be eligible for a prize.

Leave your guesses as a comment. Good luck!!

1-7 have some very interesting hair. I love the first one, which one is your fave?

The Silver Witch by Brackston, Finding Casey by Mapson, Dreaming Spies by King, The Lemon Orchard by Rice, Bitter Greens by Forsyth, Rescue by Shreve, The Storyteller by Picoult

8-11 are a little further away but might be recognizable?

Night Diver by Lowell, The Housemaid’s Daughter by Mutch, Maine by Sullivan, Silver Girl by Hilderbrand

Answers to the Shakespeare Quiz here and the Clock Quiz here. Leaderboard here.

The Precious One by Marisa de los Santos

May 5, 201511 Comments

The Precious One. Finished 4-25-15, rating 4.5/5, fiction,

In all her life, Eustacia “Taisy” Cleary has given her heart to only three men: her first love, Ben Ransom; her twin brother, Marcus; and Wilson Cleary — professor, inventor, philanderer, self-made millionaire, brilliant man, breathtaking jerk: her father.

Seventeen years ago, Wilson ditched his first family for Caroline, a beautiful young sculptor. In all that time, Taisy’s family has seen Wilson, Caroline, and their daughter Willow only once.

Why then, is Wilson calling Taisy now, inviting her for an extended visit, encouraging her to meet her pretty sister — a teenager who views her with jealousy, mistrust, and grudging admiration? Why, now, does Wilson want Taisy to help him write his memoir?
from Goodreads

I really identified with Taisy, a woman in her 30’s who lost her only love and never really had the love of her father. I think it’s easier to think that a parent doesn’t care about you by just telling yourself that they are a jerk, but what happens when another kid comes along and proves that your parent could love. But it just didn’t happen with you. Poor Taisy wanted the love of her father and never received it and has spent more than a decade always secretly hoping there might be a chance to reconnect. When that time comes, we really get to see what an ass Wilson is. I’m sorry I can’t come up with a nicer word, but he was something else.

At first I was a little disappointed when we cut to Willow’s story. The Precious One had been raised pretty much single-handedly by her father and she had some very interesting and lofty ideas. But, as she started working through being a teenager without her father’s influence my heart softened. What makes a family? Willow is about to find out.

I loved Marisa’s first book, Love Walked In, and I knew within five minutes that I would most likely love this one too. Her writing engages me, it feels like a comfort read but with lightness and fun. The story and the writing felt fresh and while there were serious storylines it never felt heavy. Loved it.

I received this from the publisher courtesy of She Reads.

Winners!

May 3, 201511 Comments

I’ve got winners!!

I finally got around to mailing out two previous winner’s books without even announcing they had won! Life has been kicking my but lately.

The Serpent of Venice: A Novel went to Michelle and Stillwell: A Haunting on Long Island went to Marjorie

And now for those who will be receiving books from my book wall giveaway…

The Secrets of Midwives goes to Vicki

Bogart: In Search of My Father goes to Anne

That Night: A Novel goes to Rita

Infinite Jest goes to Michelle

Rebel: The Life and Legend of James Dean goes to Kim

April’s Movies

May 1, 2015May 5, 20156 Comments

It was a sad movie month. We’ve been going out doing other things AND Jason is making me watch the last season of Game of Thrones so that I will then become an addict like him. I think we have one or two more before we start the newest season.

Now it’s your turn. Add your 5 words (or less!) to mine and earn $1 for charity. Once we get to $100 the person with the most reviews will choose the charity. Click here to see the past winners, the charities they chose and the other reviews you can add to. Anyone is welcome to join in at any time.

We’re up to $83!!

I hope that you will take a few minutes to participate when you can each month. It’s fun for me and for everyone else who reads it. I’m not looking for a critical review, just a few words about how you felt about the movie. This is ongoing so you can leave your 5 words anytime.

Endless Love, 2014 (Cast-Alex Pettyfer, Gabriella Wilde, Bruce Greenwood, Joely Richardson) Grade B/B-

Much needed sappy teen romance.

21 Jump Street, 2012 (Cast-Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Dave Franco, Ice Cube) Grade B-

High school has new rules!

Fun way to pass time. (Kathy)

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

April 30, 201518 Comments

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Finished 4-25-15, rating 5/5, YA, 288 pages, pub. 1976

Winner of the Newbery Medal
A National Book Award Nominee

Why is the land so important to Cassie’s family? It takes the events of one turbulent year—the year of the night riders and the burnings, the year a white girl humiliates Cassie in public simply because she’s black—to show Cassie that having a place of their own is the Logan family’s lifeblood. It is the land that gives the Logans their courage and pride—no matter how others may degrade them, the Logans possess something no one can take away. from Goodreads

Oh, how I loved this book! It has been with me for at least 5 moves and 17 years and when I signed up for the Classics Club I added it to my list so I would finally read it. I’m just sad it took me so long. Did you ever get halfway through a book and just know it was going to be a 5 star book? This was one of those few books for me. I fell in love with the writing, the protagonist, the family, the setting, the story. Not a false word to be found.

It’s the Depression and the Logan’s are one of the rare black landowners in their area of Mississippi. They have land but not enough money from farming to pay the bills, so the father of four must spend half the year away from his family to support them. Cassie’s voice is the voice of anyone with a conscience and an acceptance of equality. She diesn’t really see the world in black and white but over the year she learned firsthand how brutal and dangerous racism could be. Her parents were both leaders and pragmatic, knowing that holding on to their land made just as big a statement as rallying boycotts. The book is not an after-school-special, there are hard times and difficult truths. I was struck by this passage when I read it because it seemed the wrong message to a child, but after finishing the book and taking it as a whole, it did fit into the narrative.

“But Papa, I don’t think Jeremy’d be that way.”

Papa’s eyes narrowed and his resemblance to Uncle Hammer increased. “We Logans don’t have much to do with white folks. You know why? ‘Cause white folks mean trouble. You see blacks hanging ’round with whites, they’re headed for trouble. Maybe one day whites and blacks can be real friends, but right now the country ain’t built that way. Now you could be right ’bout Jeremy making a much finer friend than T.J. ever will be. The trouble is, down here in Mississippi, it costs too much to find out…So I think you’d better not try.”

Chapter 7

I fell in love with this family. For me, it was perfection, but I was happy to discover that it’s book four of seven about the Logans. I don’t know if I will read them but I’m so happy I have the option. I’d recommend this to anyone and everyone 🙂

Book problem, year 8 – Plus some giveaways!

April 27, 2015May 4, 201526 Comments

I spent years working for Barnes & Noble and a year at our local library, so it’s not a surprise that I like books. I always thought that this yearly project of collecting my To-Be-Read books showcased not only my OCD tendencies, but also my problem of buying too many books, but this year I discovered something else. Once a year I get to touch all of my books. I used to have the time to shelve and reshelve and rearrange, but then I gave birth to Gage and that free time was no more. So, I would buy books but they would languish on a shelf, untouched. This year, I spent my time during the 24 Hour Read-a-Thon recreating my book wall and I felt like I was rediscovering the books I’ve added to the house the last few years. It made for an enjoyable read-a-thon.

Anyway, here are the details. I started with 837 books from last April and over the past year I’ve read or given away 31, so that left me with 806. I looked over the shelves and chose 5 that I knew I would never read and pulled them out, leaving 801. And then I added the new books that I’d acquired over the past year, all 75 of them, and created this, my new Mt. TBR.

876!

None of the stacks fell over this year (although I did catch a few with my body before that happened!), but the weak link, there always is one, was that second stack from the left on top. And I had to add yet another row to the bottom right.

I only had a net gain of 39. so, not bad, right? When I told Jason he seemed to think that it should have gone down, but I was thrilled that it hadn’t been more! Lots of great reading ahead.

Now for the giveaway (if you’re still with me). I have 2 brand new books that I’ve received duplicates of, 1 that I won’t read, and the 5 old books that I pulled from the stacks knowing I’ll never read them. All you have to do is tell me in a comment if you’d like to win one or more of them. I’ll draw winners over the weekend. Open internationally 🙂

24 Hour Read-a-Thon, the final meme

April 26, 2015May 5, 20154 Comments

Well, another read-a-thon is in the books and this may have been my favorite one yet, even if I didn’t make it the whole 24. It seems 21 hours is my sweet spot as far these things go, sometimes I’m crawling, eyes barely open, to get there and other times, like this morning, I was surprisingly fresh and just decided to call it a day. I credit this to spending a big chunk of the time listening to audio books and building my yearly book wall. I was moving most of the day.

End of Event Meme:

Which hour was most daunting for you? I’ll be honest, at 4:30 am I got tired for the first time – that’s 21 hours in, I decided that I had read and done a majority of what I wanted to do so I headed to bed.
Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? I LOVED all three books I finished this year and would recommend them all…All different and all excellent choices.
Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? I thought the cheering was great this year. Team Popper was very generous with their comments 🙂
How many books did you read? Finished 3 and half of a fourth,
What were the names of the books you read? Se above
Which book did you enjoy most?
Which did you enjoy least? I liked them all.
If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? I tried to cheer more this year and probably got a few hours in. I thought the spreadsheets were easy to use and well maintained throughout the day.
How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? I participate every year my schedule allows me and I’ll continue to do so. My husband’s birthday is in April and Gage and I have birthdays in October so I usually miss at least one of the two due to parties or travel 🙂 Thanks for another great read-a-thon, ladies!!!

Hour 19 update and mini-challenge

April 26, 2015May 5, 20151 Comment

It hour 19 and I’m still going strong 🙂 I’ve been listening to The Hard Way by Lee Child and am just a few pages away from finishing The Precious One by Marisa de los Santos. Amazingly I have LOVED all three of the books that I’ll have read by the end of the hour. Woo hoo!!

Okay, for the challenge

Best Book of Your Reading Year Me Before You by Jo Jo Moyes

Best YA Book of Your Reading Year Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor, winner of the 1977 Newbery Medal

Best Mystery Book of Your Reading Year The Hound of the Baskervilles by Conan Arthur Doyle

Best Non-Fiction Book of Your Reading Year The Residence:Inside the Private World of the White House by Kate Anderson Brower

Best Cover of Your Reading Year Dress Shop of Dreams by Menna van Praag

The Dress Shop of Dreams by Menna van Praag

Best Setting of Your Reading Year my favorite city in the world, Venice, Italy in The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore

Best Story Line of Your Reading Year Me Before You by Jo Jo Moyes made me laugh and brought me to tears.

Read-a-Thon Update – the halfway survey

April 25, 2015May 5, 201510 Comments

lg new readathonbutton border Ah, just over halfway through this 24 hour read-a-thon and I’m feeling good, mainly because I’ve spent the last several hours creating my yearly book wall of unread books and it’s one mountain of a TBR 🙂 Moving over 800 piles of books twice is a good workout, no? I’ll give you read-a-thonners a sneak peak before my official post next week…

Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now? I’ve been listening to The Hard Way by Lee Child while working on the book wall.
2. How many books have you read so far? I’ve finished two and loved them both.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry The Reader
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Reading more of The Precious One by Marisa de los Santos
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Not any interruption more than 5-10 minutes so it’s been a great day 🙂
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? No surprises, just fun!

Read-a-Thon update, hour 7

April 25, 2015May 5, 20157 Comments

lg new readathonbutton border We’re into the 7th hour and I fee like I haven’t gotten enough reading done, but I’m not stressing about it because I’ve had fun visiting old friends and cheering for new ones.

Since the last update during hour two, I’ve eaten lunch (pulled pork sandwich with chips and salsa), fixed Gage lunch (hamburger & grilled cheese) cheered for team Sherlock, visited participating blog friends via Bloglovin, read some of The Precious One by Marisa de los Santos, and listened to The Reader by Bernhard Schlink while cleaning.

I’m having a perfectly bookish day.

I embraced the challenge of the hour to find a book with snow, a tree, and a weapon. I’ve read all three but Lamb is my favorite. What about you?

Stacy's Books

books, movies, and boy