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Sunday, July 15, 2012

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? July 16, 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.

Thank you to many for your words of comfort and condolences.
I did good in reading again this week with some entertaining reads - note the 4.5 and 4.75 ratings. :-)  I finished five books and have moved well into several more. I posted seven book reviews, one with giveaway and three with giveaway links.  As usual I  posted the regular Friday Pick Giveaway, Saturday Sharing Beyond Books Comment Giveaway and Sunday Words. WATCH FOR GIVEAWAY HOP AND BLOGOVERSARY GIVEAWAY COMING UP THIS WEEK!

I got to visit a dozen or so sites early last week. Then no more visits.Thanks as always to the nice people who visited me.

These were last week's posts plus Winner post not listed.
  • Book Review and Giveaway Link for $50.00 GC: Forgive Me Alex by Lane Diamond; Psychological suspense thriller; my rating 4.5. 
  • Book Review and Giveaway Link for $100.00 GC: Dark Side of Valor by Alicai Singleton; Christian Suspense; my rating 4.75. 
  • Book Review: The Bridge by Karen Kingsbury; Christian Romance; my rating 4.5.
Finished Reading:
1. Print


by Brenda Jackson
Enjoyable romance; Review linked above. 4.25





2. Audio/MP3
 
by Karen Rose
 Marguerite Gavin (Reader)
This is great romantic supsense.
I will post the  review this week. 4.75




3. eBook/Kindle 
 

by Donna Hatch
This is a really pleasant fantasy.
I will post the review in a couple of days. 4.25




4. eBook/Kindle (NetGalley)
 

by Karen Kingsbury
Great read.
The review is linked above. 4.5




5. eBook/Kindle
 

by Diana Kemp and Gabriella Bradley 
More sci fi and excitement.
Review to post 7/18/12 for Pump Up Your Book with Kindle Giveaway link






Line Edits/Releases: Looking forward to some nice releases this week.

Currently reading:
1. Print
 
Heroes Die Young
by T.M. Hunter
I felt like light Sci fi and picked this up for a quick read.
I won this quite some time ago so it was from my TBR.
Book Description
Publication Date: September 1, 2008
A derelict freighter abandoned in outer space is too much for space pirate Aston West to pass up and he can't fight the urge to pilfer its valuable cache of illegal weapons. However, the ship's one last occupant has other ideas and fights to maintain her hold on the weaponry. After attack craft return to finish the ship off, Aston has no choice but to save her from certain destruction. Who is she? What are the weapons for? Why was the freighter destroyed? For every answer he finds, he discovers more questions, and his life is put in jeopardy every time he stops to catch his breath. Aston's life motto of never getting involved is put to the test, and he must decide whether to become a hero for a people in need, or continue on his path of self-preservation.


2. Audible
The Graveyard Book | [Neil Gaiman] 


This is great entertainment! I have had this in my Audible Library and decided to listen while waiting for my next audio review.
Publisher's Summary:
Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead.There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack - who has already killed Bod's family.
Beloved master storyteller Neil Gaiman returns with a luminous new novel for the audience that embraced his New York Times best-selling modern classic Coraline. Magical, terrifying, and filled with breathtaking adventures, The Graveyard Book is sure to enthrall readers of all ages.
Music arrangement of "Danse Macabre" copyright 2008 by Béla Fleck and Ben Sollee, Fleck Music (BMI), admin. by Bug Music.
©2008 Neil Gaiman; (P)2008 HarperCollins Publishers


3. eBook/Kindle
 


 by Diana Kemp and Gabriella Bradley
7/24 Review post
for Pump Up Your Book - with Kindle Giveaway link
The heroes go from one crisis to another.
Book Description
Publication Date: May 25, 2012
Dylan, Aislinn and the chosen humans arrive on Nirvana but now the pair faces another alien threat, this time to their homeworld.

Aislinn and Dylan’s joyous homecoming to Nirvana is tempered by yet another crisis. Aliens, assisted by a traitorous member of Nirvanan security and a threat to the royal bloodline, have kidnapped Aislinn’s parents and hold them hostage on the dying world of Klatria. Aislinn and Dylan now face the task of rescuing them before they are killed.



4. eBook/Kindle
 

 
by Annie Solomon
I was ready for another good romantic suspense and liked the premise on this.
I picked it up on NetGalley.
Book Description
Publication Date: December 2, 2008
LIVING NIGHTMARE

A month ago Margo Scott was a book dealer with family and friends. Now, suddenly, she can't remember the last four weeks of her life, everyone close to her has disappeared, and she's the prime suspect in a murder. When an intruder attacks, she responds with lightning-quick moves she has no memory of ever learning. Undercover agent Jake Wise has her in his sights and can't decide if this mysterious woman is an assassin or a pawn. Is he tempted to protect her because she's innocent or because he's falling for her? Thrust together, these two loners realize that trusting each other is their only hope of survival. Because the good guys and the bad guys have one thing in common. They all want Margo Scott dead-the sooner, the better.


5. Print (Galley)
 


by Kaylin McFarren
I will start this later this week 
for review/blog tour posting next week.
Book Description
Publication Date: July 1, 2012
Romantic Suspense Novel by Kaylin McFarren: Believing herself responsible for her father s fatal diving accident, Rachel Lyons has withdrawn from the world and assumed a safe position at a foundation office. When called upon by a museum director to assist her former love interest with the recovery of a cursed relic from a sunken Chinese merchant ship, she has no intention of cooperating until her brother is kidnapped by a drug-dealing gangster. In order to save him and gain control over her life, Rachel must not only overcome her greatest fears, but also relive the circumstances that lead to her father s death. *WARNING* This book includes mature and sexual content that is not appropriate for young ages.



I am again listening to The Listener's Bible NIV read by Max McLean. 
[Reading and listening on my new MP3.]
Instead of studying with the Tyndall One Year Bible this year I am studying with Through the Bible in One Year by Alan B. Stringfellow. It is a Study that I used for teaching back in around 1989 so I will enjoy it again.  This week the reading is the book of Luke.

Line Edits: Still hoping to train one of my assistants to upload conversions to Kindle and Smashwords.


I finally selected fewer titles for a month! I added two from netgalley to bring the committed number up to 14. I have finished reading 10 so far and added a couple. 

Scheduled for July:
7/18 Exodus (The Samsara Chronicles Book 7) by Diana Kemp and Gabriella Bradley - Review for Pump Up Your Book - with Kindle Giveaway link
7/24 Nirvana (The Samsara Chronicles Book 8) by Diana Kemp and Gabriella Bradley - Review for Pump Up Your Book - with Kindle Giveaway link
7/25 Severed Threads by Kaylin McFarren - Review and Author Guest Post; Pump Up Your Book Tour.

July but Unscheduled: 
Sourcebooks- I've picked a few for August/September but none in July unless I pick up something at NG during the month.

Other NetGalley Review choices:

Moonglow by Kristen Callihan (July 30 Release) (NG)

Audiobook Jukebox:
Expecting new audio this week

Hachette
Grand Central Station
Lethal Rider by Larissa Ione

Other:
Glass Angels by Karen Wiesner

Thomas Nelson
Tidewater Inn (The Hope Beach Series) by Colleen Coble

With some open time I really do hope to read a couple of Won books this month.:-)

[To be posted - I am setting these up for interview/feature days.
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.]
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Sunday Words of Encouragement July 15, 2012

We had a guest preacher this morning with a great message. He raised the question: What does it mean to be a "true worshiper"? John 4:23–24
Some of the definitions for worship are:
      to prostrate oneself, bow down, do homage, humble, obseqience. 
      Middle English worshipe: worthiness, respect, reverence paid to a divine being.

Worship has to be more than just feelings. There are two things involved in true worship: emotions and intellect. Did you know that two weeks of protocol training are required to have an audience with the Queen of England?  What protocol do we use when we come before the KING of KINGS?

Through Jesus we can approach the throne...without song or fellowship. The Bible tells us to come before Him with thanksgiving and praise! We need to develop and exercise those attitudes daily. Then action helps bring us into His presence... into the inner court.  Sharing in activity is part of worship. Worship is not complete until we have given something to Him. Have you given your heart? You're desires? Do you humble yourself and allow His will to be superior? Perhaps we should think about our attitudes.
This was a new song this morning and it fits well with the message.
A Verse for Today:
Psalm 95:2
2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.

I am thankful for this good message. I pray that the Spirit will help me start each morning by being thankful and praising.
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Book Review: The Bridge by Karen Kingsbury

This is a charming ‘second chance’ love story.


by Karen Kingsbury
  • Print Length: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Howard Books (October 23, 2012)
  • Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B007EDZ08S
Genre: Christian Romance
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Book Description Publication Date: October 23, 2012
The New York Times bestselling author of Learning and Leaving shares a heartwarming Christmas story about a devastating flood, lost love, and the beauty of enduring friendships.

Molly Allen lives alone in Portland, but her heart is back in Franklin, Tennessee, where five years ago she walked away from a man she cannot forget, a rare sort of love she hasn’t found since.

Ryan Kelly lives in Franklin and spends plenty of time at The Bridge—the oldest bookstore in historic downtown Franklin—remembering the long hours he and Kelly once spent there.

     Now, Ryan and Molly’s favorite bookstore is in trouble. For thirty years, Charlie and Donna Barton have run The Bridge, providing the people of middle Tennessee with coffee, conversation, and shelves of good books—even through dismal book sales and the rise of eBooks. Then in May a flood tore through Franklin and destroyed nearly every book in the store. By Christmastime, the bank threatens to pull the lease on The Bridge and is about to take the Bartons’ house as well. Despondent, Charlie considers ending his life. And in the face of tragedy, miracles begin to unfold.


Review:
Molly Allen enjoys her business in Portland but she lives alone and has never forgotten the young man she fell for in college. Molly had to push to get her wealthy parents to let her go away to college. After all, they had her future marriage and career laid out for her already. Molly was happy to get to study what she loved most -- music.  She met Ryan and they shared hours in a room at The Bridge, a charming and personal bookstore in Franklin.

Ryan came to college leaving a girl back home. They weren’t engaged but everyone figured they would be together.  Ryan played guitar and dreamed of touring with a country band.  He and Molly became best friends and shared things they had never told anyone else, including their dreams.

They grew closer and closer. Molly wondered if she could face her father to tell him she had her own plans for her future. Ryan realized he had to tell the girl back home that he had other plans for his life. But just as Molly and Ryan seem to recognize a love for one another a phone call and lies pushes them apart and quickly builds an emotional wall.

Neither has married and now, seven years later, a crisis in the life of a friend, Charlie, the owner of The Bridge, brings Molly and Ryan face to face again.  Will they be able to communicate and understand what happened? Will they risk their hearts to be together instead of continue their solitary lives?

I thoroughly enjoyed this story.  This was one of those circumstances where there was a real ‘failure to communicate.’ I admit there were moments when I wanted to fuss at both of them to talk to each other when they began to second guess the other’s feelings and failed to be honest and open.

I liked the way Ms. Kingsbury allowed the backstory to unfold in memories. It was soft, warm and poignant. The characters come alive in their emotions and vulnerabilities. The story of Charlie and Donna’s love and life was a lovely side journey, although I wanted to give Charlie a talking to also.

The writing is smooth and direct. This read very quickly. I enjoyed how the story portrays that God is in control of our circumstances and things will turn out right and good when we allow Him to work things out instead of trying to do it ourselves.  There is also a message for being honest and open and for forgiveness.

This story doesn’t release until October but I hope you will put it on your Holiday wish list as it is well worth the read.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Donna’s thoughts on the impending loss of the bookstore:
Sometimes the only way to fight through a situation was to walk.
Give up one dream and take hold of another. Location 375.
Ryan’s ultimate realization:
In that single moment he knew with absolute certainty that he’d based the last seven years on nothing more than a lie.
A wicked, ruinous, heartless lie. Location 1451.
I received this pre-release eBook through NetGalley.
The main setting is Franklin, Tennessee for my Where Are You Reading Challenge.
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Saturday, July 14, 2012

Sharing Beyond Books #57 Comment Giveaway

Welcome to another SBB!

My week was busy but good. Today was HOT! I got to swim early and then spent the day in AC in the office. I hope you all stayed cool enough (or warm enough for those on the other side.)
Thank you to all who shared last week.

I was surprised that quite a number of commenters do not read Urban Fantasy or Fantasy. A couple of you would like to try it - check out the list and links posted last week. Watch the heat level as some tend to be spicier than others. Carol and Natasha both mentioned Karen Marie Moning and I have read one of her Highlander series but not the Fever series. Ricki mentioned two authors I had not heard of but will look into: Mark del Franco and Kat Richardson.

Oh - we are such a pack of readers! Most of us choose to find a cool place to read. About four would read at the beach and several would like to para-sail. The true individualists? Krystal choose surfing and scottsgal goes boating as first choice.

~~~~

The Winner from SBB #56 comments is: #3 bermudaonion.  There are still 6 'love' books to pick from and 2 Christmas choices. bermudaonion please choose a book (or GC if international) from the remaining Love Books List for Giveaway, remaining Christmas Giveaway Books, OR pick from the ARC/Review box (New Updated list at the Giveaway Hop) and let me know your choice, your address and a choice of bookmarks by completing the WINNER FORM.

WEEK #57 Questions

Q1. Mary P asks: Do you have a system for storing your books??
A: I do have somewhat of a system. Well, I used to. I have my fav authors' alphabetically on the bookshelf, some in boxes when there are many. Then there are more boxes upstairs. And three or so boxes by years: older than 2005, 2005-2007 and 2007 up.  Also another few boxes by genres. All in all WAY to many!! And that doesn't even begin to consider the 1700 books on Kindle and the 700 or so on Audible. Sigh!
IF ANY OF YOU WANT TO SHARE A PHOTO OF YOUR SHELVES I WILL SET UP A POST FOR THEM NEXT WEEK. JUST EMAIL THEM TO ME! mesreads AT gmail.com

This is my primary shelf pic from 2009.
It has been updated since so there are about five boxed authors along the shelves.
Image found at MBS Post 8/6/2009 where you can see more shelves and boxes. :-)
 
Q2. My question: What is your favorite dance a) to dance b) to watch??
A:  My DH and I were great jitterbuggers (form of swing) back in the day. We embarrassed our kids when they were 9 and 10 and we danced on a cruise we took them on. :-) However, our son did take up swing dancing when he got to be 18. It is good exercise too!
I do enjoy watching good swing and a nice waltz.

Image found at Buzzle.com (Jitterbug Dance steps)
Here is a short YouTube example of the basic jitterbug we would dance.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJ322w2XwIs&feature=fvwrel
We might do a few more energetic steps but not the high lifts. 
 

Thanks to those who are sending in Questions. DON'T BE SHY! Surely everyone has a Q or two you'd like to ask.  Input suggestions in this Suggested Question Form. At the end of each month I will draw from the suggestions I used the month before and that person will get a book choice or GC. I thank everyone for submitting questions but some of you others might want to get in a question or two as we have a few people submitting most of the questions so far.  Either way - it works for me. :-)  The question list is being replenished!  Thanks for sending in questions!  


Your turn to share:

1. Mary P asks: Do you have a system for storing your books????
 
2. My question: What is your favorite dance a) to dance b) to watch??
SBB Comment Winners can choose a selection from the remaining  Valentine and "Love" books or the remaining Christmas Giveaway Books - there are still about 8 books available to choose from. Also I have added the Review and ARC Box now.

SBB Rules: 
a) Must be a follower; 
b) Share a comment on any (or all) of the two/three questions above.
Open internationally and an international winner may get a smaller book or a $5.00 GC if I decide the mailing is too much.


I will pick a Comment winner from all comments made by Friday, July 20, 2012 at 10 PM central.
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Winners of Improper Miss Sophie and Flabbergasted

Congratulations to
Winners of
Giveaways Ended July 13, 2012

mamabunny13

BookAttict and mamabunny13 please fill in the Winner's Acceptance Form to confirm the win and I'll send out the books.  Please reply within 72 hours!  
Thank you to all who entered
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