Saturday Snapshot - Our Alaskan Cruise Days 1-3

I meant to post this early today but ended up busy cleaning around the house.

I have been wanting to participate in Saturday Snapshot and hope it's okay that I show case our Alaskan cruise through this forum.  I plan to do a group of pics in a slide show over the next weeks before we head off to Hawaii.
This first set is Day One and Day Three. ( I must have been reading and relaxing because no photos on day two.)

Several of these photos look like postcard images the days were so beautiful.

To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

Audio Book Review: Scarifyers: 08 The Thirteen Hallows

This is zany fun listening!

Scarifyers: o8 The Thirteen Hallows
Author: Simon Barnard, Paul Morris
Narrator: Gareth David-Lloyd, Full Cast

Publisher: Cosmic Hobo Productions
Formats Available: Regular CD, MP3 Download
Running time: 114 minutes
Genre: Comedy
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Harry Crow and Professor Dunning head to Wales to stop sinister forces resurrecting Britain's greatest-ever hero.

RELEASED ON DECEMBER 3rd 2012
When a haunted chess set causes consternation at the British Chess Championships, and a horse magically materialises in Kettering Agricultural Museum, MI:13 are called to investigate.
Harry Crow (David Warner) and Professor Dunning (Terry Molloy) follow the trail of inexplicable happenings to an unremarkable terraced house in South Wales, home to the mysterious Mr Merriman (David Benson). He’s very old, and very mad; but is there more to Merriman than first appears?
Meanwhile, in the South West of England, famed archaeologist Ralegh Radford (Ewan Bailey) is on the verge of the greatest discovery of the age. Britain’s Tutankhamen, the press are calling it. But what he certainly isn’t expecting to unearth is boisterous 1400-year-old knight Glewlwyd Gafaelfawr (Gareth David-Lloyd).
As Crow and Dunning unravel an unlikely plot to resurrect Britain’s greatest-ever hero, the race is on to stop sinister forces at home and abroad from finding… THE THIRTEEN HALLOWS.

Review:
This fun program has touches that made me think of well known movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Monty Python’s Holy Grail, Star Wars, and James Bond. The thirteen artifacts themselves are fun objects like a haunted chess set that plays itself, an old harness that poofs in its own horse, a mighty sword and many more.

Harry Crow and Professor Dunning are called in from the MI:13 to investigate. They discover there is a legend that The Thirteen Hallows have words or hints that will lead to the burial place of none other than King Arthur. As they get closer to finding all of the artifacts they suddenly uncover a twisted plot to raise the “once and future king” to fight a political, military battle for supposed allies.  Even more dangerous is that the two conspirators may have different goals.  Harry and Professor Dunning face imprisonment (in crypts and jail) from which they must escape in order to stop the mad threat that could cause terrible war.

The giant, 1400-year-old knight, Glewlwyd Gafaelfawr, is a truly hilarious character so totally out of time and place. He is dedicated to guarding the castle until he is shown the current dilapidated condition of the medieval fortress. But he does come in handy when its time to fight!

The full cast audio comes complete with wonderful background music, sound effects like ghost sliding chess pieces, horse neighing from the suddenly appearing stead, and tumbling rocks from a cave in trapping Professor Dunning. The British and Wales accents are lovely. It is an easy, quick listen in one or two sessions. The overall program is reminiscent of entertaining old radio broadcasts - with much better production quality of course.

This is such a fun listen I am likely to go back and pick up the prior episodes especially when I have a need for a good chuckle.  I recommend it for good entertainment.

My thoughts as I listened:
                       Zany, funny, craaaaazy, very entertaining.

Check out the full list of the eight Scarifyers episodes of this fun program.

Image Header from Cosmic Hobo Productions

I received this for reviewing from Cosmic Hobo Productions
through AudioBook Jukebox.

Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway October 19, 2012

[** If you are new to Friday Pick Giveaway - Welcome!  Scroll down a bit (below book group #19) for instructions on how to enter.]

Hi all and Happy Fall Friday again! I've had an on and off week. But still, all in all is good.  Only a few people answered on the next choice of Friday Giveaway books so you have this week to put your vote in: do  you want pairs (two books by same author which count as one pick) or Christmas titles?  If you comment to let me know, majority will rule.

Thank you to all who entered the October 12 Pick. There was only ONE automatic winners this week. :-) (those who requested the book four times and I did not note other people asking for that book during those weeks). Three books were still blocked but one was won (finally).

bn100 gets Winning Ways

CONGRATULATIONS
to Random.org picked Winners from October 12 Pick:

Natasha chose a Demon's Fire
and
Linda K chose Ice Blue

All winners please fill in the Winner's Acceptance Form or email me to confirm your win, send your snail mail address information and let me know if you would like bookmarks - sensual or sexy and I have a new supply of sweet bookmarks.

Isn't this interesting and fitting for October?

Image found at Freedom Press

New Book Group #32 October 5, 2012

 Demon's Fire by Emma Holly
- Oops upside down book! NOTE This book has dog bite damage; it is missing half back cover and the edges of pages in the back third of the book... it does not effect the text but I will understand if no one wants this one - A Courtesans Guide to Getting Your Man by Susan Donovan and Celeste Bradley
The Gift by Constance O'Day-Flannery
The Days of Summer by Jill Barnett
Tangled by Mary Balogh
Please Remember This by Katleen Giles Seidel
Twice Upon Time by Nina Beaumont
Angel of Midnight  by JoAnn Power
Heart of the Hawk by Justine Dare
One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
Touchstone by Linda Hilton
Restless Hearts by Marta Perry
Rogue Stallion by Diana Palmer
The Boy's Tale (Sister Frevisse Medieval Mysteries) by Margaret Frazer
Calculated Revenge by Jill Elizabeth Nelson
A Delecate Deception by Jenna Jones


New Book Group #31 August 31, 2012
I pulled some more books from several of my boxes.

In the Presence of Enemies by William J. Coughlin
Shattered by Dick Francis
Shadow Fires by Dean Koontz
Hard News by Jeffrey Deavers
Palindrome by Stuart Woods (spine creases)
Afterimage by Jay Brandon
Tall, Dark and Cajun by Sandra Hill
Hot Streak by Susan Johnson
When Lightning Strikes Twice by Barbara Boswell
Ice Blue by Anne Stuart
An Honorable Man by Rosemary Rogers (spine creases)
Thunder Creek by Jill Gregory
His Lady Mistress by Elizabeth Rolls
The Body They May Kill by Audrey Stallsmith
Beautiful Dreamer by Elizabeth Lowell
Summer Light by Luanne Rice

New Book Group #30 July 27, 2012
This time I pulled some books from one of my older boxes.
*asterisks indicate lighter, smaller books possibly suitable for international mailing

The Willful Widow by Valerie King (spine wear)

A Dangerous Devotion by Barbara Kyle

An Independent Woman by Candace Camp

Wild Escapade by Lisa Bingham

Dancing on Snowflakes by Jane Bonander

Mistress by Amanda Quick - Audio Cassettes

*Long Time Coming by Sandra Brown

New Book Group #29 June 29, 2012
*asterisks indicate lighter, smaller books possibly suitable for international mailing

 

Magic: The Gathering Distant Planes, An Anthology

Winning Ways by Barbara Boswell

Gifts from the Heart by Jillian Hart

*One is the Lonliest Number - Tom Clancey's Net Force

*Close to Home by Carolyne Aarsen

New Book Group #28 May 18, 2012
*asterisks indicate lighter, smaller books suitable for international

Wanna Get Lucky? by Deborah Coonts

Sleeping Alone by Barbara Bretton

*Love and Other Four Letter Words by Caroline Mackler

*The Carousel by Rosamund Pilcher

New book Group #27 April 13, 2012
Some of the books on the right end are smaller and suitable for overseas mailing. :-)

Hannibal Rising by Thomas Harris (spine damage)

*The Dream Horse by Virginia Campbell Scott

New book Group #26 March 2, 2012--- (All gone)
These are Paired sets - two per author.
Four are parts of series the others are just singles by the same author.
Winners get both books if you pick these.


New Group #25 January 12, 2012

*Smaller books on the right would be okay for most international mailing.

*Shadow Rider: Apache Sundown by Jory Sherman

New Group #24 Pick Books November 25, 2011---(All gone)
(The only Thanksgiving title I found is a Harlequin I'd like to read someday so no Thanksgiving titles for November.)


New Group #23 Pick Books October 14, 2011
I tried to pick some books that would be good for October -
Halloween or dark minded.

Ghost Writer (Shivers #3) by M.D. Spenser

Emily's Good Nightmare by Cosmic Debris Cosmic

New Group #22 Pick Books September 2, 2011


New Group #21 of Pick Books July 29, 2011

There are eight mysteries and I have asterisked nine books that are smaller and would be good for oversea choices if so desired.

Mallory's Oracle (Kathleen Mallory Novels) by Carol O'Connell

Stand by Me Anthology with Dallas Schulze, Roberta Leigh and Linda Randall Wisdom (spine creased)

May, 2011 New Group of Pick books

Group #20

Singles

Luciano's Luck by Jack Higgins - Audio Cassettes

3/25/11 I did get to set up a new group of books:

Group #19

Singles

Primary Colors - audio tapes

*Note of Peril (black strip on cover)

2/19/11 Book Group #18- Pairs!---(All gone).

I have finally updated the intro and Entry paragraphs here:

If you saw the pictures posted of my bookshelves and boxes you know I do have lots of books! And that doesn't include the other eight or so boxes at my office!! And more books as I find deals too good to pass up! I am sharing my book bounty by these Friday Pick Giveaways. 

I started Friday Pick in November 27, 2009 and in two years I  posted 26 groups of 16 books to find new homes! (March 2012)

I have periodically update the lists - deleting those won. You can still go to the Friday Pick list link to see older posts and the older lists book pictures if you want! I am happy to say that so far about 422 books have found new homes! YAY. I have to update my print out to check the exact number sent out - a few were never claimed.

Note rules here regarding international entries.

Because postage to overseas can be prohibitive I am willing to give a $5.00 book certificate to international winners - Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, ARe, TWRP, ClassAct Books, eTreasures, Desert Breeze, etc....you tell me where and I'll set it up. So for my overseas visitors your comment may indicate a smaller book and I'll check postage or note your choice of gift card.

I learned that The Book Depository does not ship to everywhere. The postage for some of the books to far away places runs between $5.00 and $6.00 and up. Since I would award $5.00 for The Book Depository to an international winner, as an alternative you may choose a smaller book and we will hope the postage will not exceed $6.00. If the postage is more, or if you want to pick a larger book and you are willing to pay any extra postage beyond the $6.00 I will work with you on that. This may not make a difference to many but if it helps one or two of you to give one of my books a home that will make me happy too. :o)

TO ENTER:

Leave a comment and tell me WHICH BOOK you would like to get from the Friday Pick lists.
CUT OFF TIME IS THURSDAY NIGHTS AT 10:00 PM CENTRAL so I do not have to stay up past midnight to do the winner post!
I will randomly pick two winners to announce Friday mornings with the next Pick post.
Automatic wins are those who requested the book four times and I did not note other people asking for that book during those weeks.

WINNERS PLEASE CHECK THE WIN POST ON FRIDAYS AND fill in the Winner's Acceptance Form or email me at mesreads@gmail.com. [I will confirm receipt of the addresses- well I realize I haven't always done this. But if you filled out the form and don't get the book within two weeks nudge me with an email please!] If I have the winners e-mail I will send a reminder in a week or so....

Thanks for helping these books find new homes!!

Repeating this helpful blog tip: You can right click on a link and you will be given the choice to open the link in a new window or tab so you do not navigate away from the screen you are on!! I use this all the time!

1/14/11 New List
#17--- (All gone)

12/3/10 Book Set:

#16

Sleight of Hand by Robin Hathaway

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

List #15---(All gone)

List #14---(All gone)

Here is set #13 of Used books!

Pearl Beyond Price by Claire Delacroix

This is a group of books I have had for several years but not gotten to read. Since it doesn't look like I will get to read them for another year (or more!) I am passing them on. Although as I type them part of me still says "But you may want to read that some day!" Yes, yes; along with the other 700 books I am housing! Must Let goooooo.....

Group #12---(All gone)

Group #11

Cat's Eyewitness by Rita Mae Brown

Alien Chronicles - The Crimson Claw by Deborah Chester

Snow in April by Rosamunde Pilcher

Looking Back by Belva Plain

List #1
Circle of Stars by Anna Lee Waldo

Pick #2---(All gone)

Pick #3---(All gone)

Pick #4

Talking God by Tony Kellerman

Everything to Gain by Barbara Taylor Bradford

The Shadow by Shelley Munro (PA)

Pick #5

See Jane Lead by Lois P. Frankel

Misfortune by Nancy Geary

Cold Hit by Linda Fairstein - Audio Tapes

Pick #6---(All gone)

Pick #7

Prey by Michael Crichton - Audio Tape

Princess Charming by Jane Heller (slightly creased)

Pick #8

(sc) = slightly creased on binding otherwise all in good shape

The Jury by Steve Martini - Audio Tapes

No Safe Place by Richard North Patterson - Audio Tapes

Pick #9

On Treacherous Ground by Earl Murray

Guardian by Dee Henderson - Audio Tapes

Time to Hunt by Stephen Hunter - Audio Tapes

Pick #10---(All Gone)

Book Review: Winning Mr. Wrong by Marie Higgins

This story is a delightful winner!
Winning Mr. Wrong
by Marie Higgins

• File Size: 325 KB
• Print Length: 97819 pages
• Publisher: Walnut Springs Press (January 1, 2010)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00514HJLS

Genre: Contemporary Romance
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Book Description
Publication Date: January 1, 2010
Whoever said the quest for love wasn't comical never met Charlene Randall. Charley is looking for a man who wants to start a family, a man who will take her to the temple. Problem is, she has never dated a man for longer than three months. When she reads an internet article called "Ten Ways to Win Your Man," she decides to try it on her new coworker, Maxwell Harrington. Max was her crush in high school, but the superstar sports anchorman doesn't even remember her.

Enter ladies' man Damien Giovianni, Charley's handsome neighbor, who agrees to help her win Max over. What follows is a hilarious tale of mishaps and misunderstandings where Charley learns that what she really needs may be right in front of her.

Review:
Charlene Randall is a young woman who has struggled through several boyfriends. She wants someone who can be serious marriage material who will share commitment to family and her religion.  She reads an internet article “Ten Ways to Win Your Man” and decides to but the plan in action. She thinks that her new coworker, Max, her old high school crush, is the perfect target for her campaign. The problem is she gets completely tongue tied around Max and her attempts to get his attention soon turn into unintended danger and disaster.

Charley is aware of her handsome neighbor, Damien, an Italian charmer, but she’s seen him playing the field with a different blonde every night. Yes, he’s a nice guy but he’s surely not serious marriage material.  When Charley is mugged at her doorstep it is Damien who comes to the rescue.  He steps in further to build a friendship and even agrees to help her pursue Max.

But Damien has had enough of women chasing him for money.  The more he is around Charley the more he respects her honest values and sincere commitment to family and her faith. He is beginning to believe that it is time for him to settle down and he thinks that Charley is the right woman for him. But how can he get her to look at him as a potential mate rather than focusing on Max? And how is Charley going to react if she learns that he has omitted a few facts about his business and a past relationship?

Charley is a delightful character. She is sweet, natural and a bit inclined to stumble into trouble. The mishaps that occur as she tries to follow the ten steps to win her guy are hilarious. Meanwhile it is heart warming to watch Damien focus his charm in a serious effort to win Charley’s heart.

This story reads smoothly with great humor and charm. Ms. Higgins shows Charley’s determination to maintain the commitment to her faith as a basic part of who she is. There is a point of revelation for Damien when he recognizes that he has gone far from God and misses his relationship. However there is no preachiness that should offend anyone. So any romance reader who enjoys humor and a light, sweet read would enjoy this story.  I am definitely looking forward to reading more from this author.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

These are words I thought and jotted while reading this book:
                           Charming, cute, a little sappy, sweet, fun, delightful.

Charley’s initial view of Damien:

Women still flocked to him like dieters to a chocolate factory, and they devoured his charm just as quickly. Location 41.

Charley’s reaction to Max:

She moved from the file cabinet to her chair so she wouldn’t end up on the floor like warm JELL-O. Location 521.

A final question: (you’ll have to read the book to get the answer.)

“So, what do you really think about that Internet article? Do you think it works? Did I win your heart?” Location 2071.

I received this title for an honest review from the Publisher, Walnut Springs Press.

This story is set in Sacramento, CA for my Where Are You Reading Challenge. I will also add it to my New Author challenge list.

Book Review: The Miracle Inspector by Helen Smith

This story is well written and thought provoking, but dark.

The Miracle Inspector
by Helen Smith

• File Size: 340 KB
• Print Length: 254 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Tyger Books (May 17, 2010)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B003MGK8V0

Genre: Dystopia
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0

Book Description
Publication Date: May 17, 2010
A dystopian thriller set in the near future. England has been partitioned and London is an oppressive place where poetry has been forced underground, theatres and schools are shut, and women are not allowed to work outside the home. A young couple, Lucas and Angela, try to escape from London - with disastrous consequences.

Helen Smith was the recipient of an Arts Council Award for The Miracle Inspector.

"The Miracle Inspector is one of the few novels that everyone should read, it's a powerful novel that's masterfully written and subtly complex." 5* SciFi and Fantasy Books

"Helen Smith crafts a story like she's the British lovechild of Kurt Vonnegut and Philip K. Dick, only with a feminist slant." Journal of Always Reviews

'Smith is at the very least a minor phenomenon.' The Times

Review:
Lucas and his wife, Angela, live in a future, closed-off London where women are completely restricted to their homes. Groceries and household items are delivered as the women do not go out to those places or any other.  It seems that children are rare and I wasn’t quite clear where the children were in the story.  Lucas seems interested in having a child but either Angela can’t or won’t consider the idea.

The men do all the jobs, and a lot of the work seems to be stifled and a drudgery.  Lucas is privileged to have a prestigious government position as The Miracle Inspector.  His job is to investigate and report on claimed Miracles. Of course no one really expects that he will ever find or approve any of the miracles that are called in.

Artists, whether painters, poets, writers or others of creative nature, are deemed to be subversive rebels of the new order. Most people of such nature, including Lucas’ parents, have been killed. But a close friend of the family, Jesmond, a Bohemian poet, still recites his poetry at forbidden gatherings, dodging capture. This character adds dreams and hope to the story. He has delivered a packet of poems and materials to Lucas who doesn’t want to have anything to do with them. Instead Angela begins to read the poems and she is lured to the freedom expressed by the creative spirit.

The first half of the book there is quite a bit of male fantasizing by Lucas thinking about his own wife and another colleague’s wife.  I found this unpleasant particularly since Lucas seems to love his wife but their relationship is stilted and stagnant because they don’t communicate and she has nothing to share.

I was glad that the pacing picked up in the second half of the book. Lucas had been toying with the idea of escaping London to take Angela to Cornwall. Finally he begins to form a plan and the story moves forward. I would say this was purposeful as the first half really sets the reader in the mode of the lifestyle - the same routine day after day with little outside contact or relationships.

I don’t wish to give any spoiler so I will only say that there is a journey through different, strange and sometimes dark communities.  It is difficult and there exists only a fine thread of hope to keep going.  The entire book is a dark view of societal controls and repressions. It is not a happy or cozy escape, but rather a thought provoking experience. Some readers would find this fascinating - as other reviews note. The writing is superb, at points lyrical which is surprising and a relief with the dark content. My final thoughts: this is interesting but not my cup of tea.

These are some words I jotted down as I read through this book:
                              Cerebral, artistic, thought provoking, complex, dark, depressing.

Sharp description of the silences between Lucas and Angela:

There were whole worlds contained in those silences; millions of gossamer strands of understanding going back and forth between them, like an invisible version of that fibreglass loft insulation that was illegal now. Location 40.

This is a phrase that made me think "ouch":

Lucas didn't like living in a dictatorship, as he did now, but he could see how democracy could be a bit of a burden when you were expected to obey the will of the people and the people turned out to be such a bunch of fools. Location 160.

I received this book for reviewing through Pump Up Your Book Tour.

  About the Author:
Helen Smith is a member of the Writers Guild of Great Britain and English PEN. She traveled the world when her daughter was small, doing all sorts of strange jobs to support them both – from cleaning motels to working as a magician’s assistant – before returning to live in London where she wrote her first novel which was published by Gollancz (part of the Hachette Group).

She is the author of bestselling cult novel Alison Wonderland. She writes novels, poetry, plays and screenplays and is the recipient of an Arts Council of England Award. She’s a long-term supporter of the Medical Foundation for the Victims of Torture and mentors members of an exiled writers group to help them tell their stories.

Visit her website at http://www.emperorsclothes.co.uk.
Friend her on Twitter:  www.twitter.com/emperorsclothes
Become a fan at Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/authorhelensmith
Friend her at Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2833648.Helen_Smith

Pick up a copy of The Miracle Inspector at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Inspector-Helen-Smith/dp/0956517056