It's Monday! What Are You Reading? January 2, 2012

This meme starts at Book Journey!

What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

This was another good reading week to finish off 2011. I completed four books and posted FIVE reviews!  I posted  two ARC giveaways and one Flash giveaway.  As always I posted my regular Friday Pick Giveaway and Saturday Sharing Beyond Books plus back to the Sunday post. 
I have been working on Challenge posts so I will be posting those tomorrow.

I did get to visit almost 25 blogs last Sunday and Monday! Having the extra day helped. :-)

These were last week's posts plus Winner posts not listed.

• It's Monday What are You Reading? December 26, 2011.

•  Recognizing WHY We Celebrate.

• Book Review and ARC Giveaway: Carrie Goes Off the Map by Phillipa Ashley; Contemporary Romance;  my Rating 4.0. Ends 1/6.

• Book Review and ARC Giveaway:  Three-Day Town by Margaret Maron; Mystery; my Rating 4.0.  Ends 1/6.

• Book Review: Souls on (B)oring Street, [Denim Blues Mystery Book 3] by Karen Wiesner; Mystery, Inspirational; my Rating 4.0. 

• Final MBS Flash Giveaway. Ends 12/31.

•  Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway December 30, 2011.  Open Worldwide. Ends 1/5.

• Book Review: Help! For Writers: 210 Solutions to the Problems Every Writer Faces  by Roy Peter Clark; Nonfiction, Self-Improvement; my Rating 5.0. 

• Sharing Beyond Books #29 Comment Giveaway.  Open Worldwide. Ends 1/6.

•  Sunday Words of Encouragement January 1, 2012.

• Audio Book Review: The Snow Angel by Glenn Beck; Contemporary fiction; my Rating 4.5. 

Finished Reading:

1. eBook/Kindle

 

Souls on (B)oring Street [Denim Blues Mysteries Book 3]

by Karen Wiesner 

A nice mystery -Review linked above.

2. Print

 

Help! For Writers: 210 Solutions to the Problems Every Writer Faces [Hardcover]

by Roy Peter Clark

A great tool - Review linked above.

3. Audible

Linger
• UNABRIDGED
• by Maggie Stiefvater
• Narrated by Jenna Lamia
This is a great audio listen as well as a good story.
I hope to review Shiver and Linger this week. Read from my Audible TBR.
Publisher's Summary
in Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past...and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves...and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love - the light and the dark, the warm and the cold - in a way you will never forget.

4. Audio

  

The Snow Angel

by Glenn Beck

Nice listen - Review linked above.

Line Edits/Releases: No finished edits or releases this week.

Currently reading:

1. eBook/Kindle
 

The Second Sonata

by Nathan Patrick Hardt

I am mid-way through this.  

It is quite interesting although I am curious where it will end.  Reading for the Author.

Product Description

Awake? Asleep?

Living, breathing, dreaming?

After crawling miraculously unscathed from a pulverizing car accident, Nicholas returns to his life to find that little is as it had been and even less is what it seems. With a newfound appreciation for life and an insatiable thirst to discover all it has to offer, he wastes no time beginning to mend damaged relationships and reconcile so much time squandered and forfeit.

At the behest of a charismatic but cryptic stranger, Nicholas takes every opportunity to seize upon his borrowed time, reuniting with loves long since lost. But even as his life is shaping to become everything it always could and should have been, Nicholas is increasingly certain that something is dreadfully amiss, uncovering mysteries lurking within every shadow and secrets behind each blessing.

Unsure of whether his journey of sudden self-awareness is being aided or daunted by this enigmatic chaperone, Nicholas must face the raw and painful truths creeping just beyond his senses, make decisions of dire and mortal consequence, and confront his most haunting of judgments before at last discovering the horrifying fate buried deep within the gathering darkness that has always been awaiting his return.

Painted within these pages is a simple reflecting pool of each of our lives and loves, our most joyous celebrations and mournful regrets, and a journey upon which we must all one day embark.

2. Print
 

52 Small Changes: One Year to a Happier, Healthier You
by Brett Blumenthal This just arrived.

I am already one third through 
and I am excited about it.

I was asked to review this for Amazon Encore.

WATCH FOR A GIVEAWAY TO ENCOURAGE WINNERS TO JOIN WITH ME IN PUTTING THIS TO USE!!

Product Description

Whether as New Year’s resolutions, birthday wishes, or daily promises, most everyone vows at some point to make a major life change. But change is easier said than done, especially when it comes to better managing our wellness amidst the chaos of everyday living. Fortunately, wellness coach and award-winning writer Brett Blumenthal has devised a way to inspire and motivate her readers to live healthier and make positive changes in their lives. Although Blumenthal’s method is not a quick fix, it is a surprisingly simple one: make one small change per week, for fifty-two weeks, and at the end of a year, you’ll be happier and healthier. After all, it is the small changes that are the most realistic, instead of trying to overhaul your lifestyle all at once. 52 Small Changes addresses all areas of wellbeing, including nutrition, exercise, stress management, mental wellness, and even the health of one’s home environment. By guiding readers through these changes at an easy, manageable pace, Blumenthal provides an engaging roadmap to lasting results and “a happier, healthier you.”

3. Print (+Audible)
 

Bossy Pants

by Tina Fey

This has a lot of humor but I having issues with the gritty language. Reviewing for Little Brown and Company.

Book Description

Publication Date: April 5, 2011

Before Liz Lemon, before "Weekend Update," before "Sarah Palin," Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV.

She has seen both these dreams come true.

At last, Tina Fey's story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon -- from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.

Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we've all suspected: you're no one until someone calls you bossy.

(Includes Special, Never-Before-Solicited Opinions on Breastfeeding, Princesses, Photoshop, the Electoral Process, and Italian Rum Cake!)

4. Print
 

Love Engineered  
by Jenna Dawlish  

I have just started this from my "won books" box.

I have been interested in it for some time.

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2010

Shortlisted for the RNA New Writers' Award. It's 1855 and Louise Thomas, owner of a large estate in Devon is ready to fall in love, but only if she can find a man who will put up with her thirst for knowledge in the engineering and scientific world.

Charles Lucas is one of the country's top Engineer's, tipped to be the new Brunel. He is too busy with his work for love - especially with a member of the gentry. When he meets Louise, she interests and intrigues him like no woman before. But he must make some serious decisions when he hears disturbing rumours about her.

I am also listening to The Listener's Bible NIV read by Max McLean. 
I finished the Bible and will start again!

Line Edits: I am continuing to work on Smashword and print releases. Then we will be starting with new submissions again.

January - I have 12 books listed below plus the four listed above = 16 for January. Hmmm - four a week may be okay.
I am using NetGalley now so the (NG) means NetGalley.

Scheduled:
1/11 Scrumptious by Amanda Usen with Author Interview
1/13-18 Dreaming of Books Giveaway Hop
1/14 Deeper Water Tides of Truth Series, Book 1) by Robert Whitlow - for Ladies Book Club
1/18 Miss Hildreth Wore Brown, Ancedotes of a Southern Belle by Olivia deBelle Byrd with Author Guest Post and Giveaway

Sourcebooks
A Demon Does it Better by Linda Wisdom (Paranormal Romance) by Linda Wisdom

LB&Co
     The Rook by Daniel O'Malley
     The Whisperer by Donato Carrisi
Orbit
(NG) Theft of Swords (Riyria Revelations) by Michael J. Sullivan
Thomas Nelson
(NG) Smitten Anthology

Others:
Harlequin: A Cold Creek Secret by Raeanne Thayne
(NG) Exclusively Yours by Shannon Stacey
Baby, Baby [Family Heirlooms Series Book 1] by Karen Wiesner
Shadow Boxing [Family Heirlooms Series Book 2] by Karen Wiesner

[To be posted - I am setting these up for January interview/feature days since I didn't get them in this year:
These were read and ready for reviews for Authors.
Quest for Magic by Jean Hart Stewart - Read; review to be posted with interview.
Seeing for the First Time (What You See is What You Get) and To See (What You See is What You Get) by Nicole Zoltack - Both Read; setting up author interview with reviews.
Steamrolled by Pauline Baird Jone. Read; review to be posted with author interview.]