It's Monday What are You Reading? July 22, 2013

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 a good reading week but I didn't get as many reviews posted as I would have liked.  I finished four books and am well into two more.  I posted three reviews; two Giveaway links. I also posted the weekly Mailbox Monday meme, Friday Pick Giveaway, Saturday Snapshot, Sharing Beyond Books Comment Giveaway and Sunday Words.

I did get to visit some this past week, but I want to do more.
Thanks as always to all the nice people who visit me.

These were last week's posts:

• It's Monday What are You Reading? July 15, 2013.

• Mailbox Monday July 15, 2013.

• BookBlast Giveaway: Blood and Bone by Don Hoesel $50.00 GC/PP. Ends 8/4/13.

• Book Review: Quest for the Scorpion's Jewel by Amy Green, Fantasy Adventure, Inspirational; my rating 4.25.

• Audible Book Review: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancy, Post Apocalyptic; my rating 4.25. 

• Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway July 19, 2013. Open Worldwide. Ends 7/25.

• Book Review and Giveaway Link: Blood and Bone by Don Hoesel, Triller; my rating 3.75. 

• Saturday Snapshot July 20, 2013 - Rainy Day Images
  

• Sharing Beyond Books #109 Comment Giveaway 7/20/13. Open Worldwide. Ends 7/26.

• Sunday Words of Encouragement July 14, 2013.
  

Finished Reading:

1. Audio/Audible

The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel
    by Gregory S. Slomba
    Narrated by Jimm Singer
This is a fun adventure. 
I will post a review this week;
reviewing for the author through Audiobook Jukebox.
Click on Title for full book description.

2. eBook/Kindle

Blood and Bone
by Don Hoesel
This has lots of action. 
My review and a Giveaway link is linked above.
Click on Title for full book description.

3. Audio/Audible

The Maiden Flight of the Rio Grande
by Michael Coorlim
Narrated by Wayne Farrell
I enjoy these very quick mysteries!
Reviewing for the author
through Audiobook Jukebox.
I'll post a review this week.
Publisher's Summary
The Bartleby and James Adventures steampunk mystery series follows the cases of consulting detectives Anton Bartleby and James Wainwright through an alternate Victorian history. Their latest adventure takes them high above the greatest city in the world.

Brilliant but socially-awkward inventor and engineer James Wainwright has been accused of murder most foul, and only his savvy partner, Alton Bartleby, can clear his name. The clock is ticking, though, as the true murderer's sabotage threatens to crash the world's largest airship into the teaming streets of London below.

Who are Bartleby and James?
Alton Bartleby is a social savant, the scion of a once pround and noble bloodline, working to restore his family's name. James Wainwright is a brilliant engineer and inventor. Together they take on the cases that Scottland Yard cannot or will not handle.

4. Print

Flight of the Raven (Mysteries of Sparrow Island Series #2)
by Ellen Harris 
I enjoyed this light mystery. 
Our Ladies' Book Club meeting was postponed until July 26 so I'll share the review with giveaway then.
Click on Title for full book description.

Line Edits/Releases:
Next Monday I hope to link the two new links.

Currently reading:

1. Print

Crazy Little Thing Called Love
by Molly Cannon
I am 60% in and enjoying this.
Reviewing for Hachette/Forever.
Click on Title for full book description.

2. Audible

The Overton Window
    by Glenn Beck
    Narrated by James Daniels
This has been hard to put down.
Since I will be reviewing book two (The Eye of Moloch) I decided to read the first book.
Publisher's Summary
A plan to destroy America, a hundred years in the making, is about to be unleashed...can it be stopped?

There is a powerful technique called the Overton Window that can shape our lives, our laws, and our future. It works by manipulating public perception so that ideas previously thought of as radical begin to seem acceptable over time. Move the Window and you change the debate. Change the debate and you change the country.

For Noah Gardner, a 20-something public relations executive, it's safe to say that political theory is the furthest thing from his mind. Smart, single, handsome, and insulated from the world's problems by the wealth and power of his father, Noah is far more concerned about the future of his social life than the future of his country.

But all of that changes when Noah meets Molly Ross, a woman who is consumed by the knowledge that the America we know is about to be lost forever. She and her group of patriots have vowed to remember the past and fight for the future - but Noah, convinced they're just misguided conspiracy-theorists, isn't interested in lending his considerable skills to their cause.

And then the world changes.

An unprecedented attack on U.S. soil shakes the country to the core and puts into motion a frightening plan, decades in the making, to transform America and demonize all those who stand in the way. Amidst the chaos, many don't know the difference between conspiracy theory and conspiracy fact - or, more important, which side to fight for.

But for Noah, the choice is clear: Exposing the plan, and revealing the conspirators behind it, is the only way to save both the woman he loves and the individual freedoms he once took for granted.

After five back-to-back number-one New York Times best sellers, national radio and Fox News television host Glenn Beck has delivered a ripped-from-the-headlines thriller that seamlessly weaves together American history, frightening facts about our present condition, and a heart-stopping plot. The Overton Window will educate, enlighten, and, most important, entertain - with twists and revelations no one will see coming.

3. eBook/Kindle

The Hero's Lot
by Patrick W. Carr
I have started this and am enjoying the story
as it is developing.
I will be posting a Giveaway 7/22
and the review on 7/26 as part of BookBlast.
Book Description
Publication Date: July 1, 2013
Riveting Sequel from Christian Fantasy's Most Talented New Voice
When Sarin Valon, the corrupt secondus of the conclave, flees Erinon and the kingdom, Errol Stone believes his troubles have at last ended. But other forces bent on the destruction of the kingdom remain and conspire to accuse Errol and his friends of a conspiracy to usurp the throne.

In a bid to keep the three of them from the axe, Archbenefice Canon sends Martin and Luis to Errol's home village, Callowford, to discover what makes him so important to the kingdom. But Errol is also accused of consorting with spirits. Convicted, his punishment is a journey to the enemy kingdom of Merakh, where he must find Sarin Valon, and kill him. To enforce their sentence, Errol is placed under a compulsion, and he is driven to accomplish his task or die resisting.

4. Print

Flirting with Texas 
by Katie Lane
I am reading this for Hachette/Forever.
Book Description
Release date: July 30, 2013 | Series: Deep in the Heart of Texas (Book 5)
YOU'RE A LONG WAY FROM HOME, COWGIRL
On her own in the Big Apple, Jenna Jay Scroggs can handle herself when trouble arises. But when she tries to rescue a horse, the passionate do-gooder ends up on a runaway Central Park carriage ride with a hunky stranger. With his sexy drawl and well-worn Levis, Beauregard Cates is doing his darnedest to make Jenna homesick for the small western town she's spent years trying to forget. And it's working: She's dangerously close to falling head over boot heels for the rugged rodeo star with hair the color of moonshine.

Beau came to the big city to escape his past and live life to the fullest. Yet the leggy blonde with eyes as blue as a western sky causes a real hitch in his giddy-up. So when the well-meaning folks of Bramble plot to bring Jenna home, Beau will need to convince her that she won't ever get Texas out of her blood - or one good-time, ever-lovin' cowboy out of her heart.

I continue to listen to The Listener's Bible NIV read by Max McLean. [Reading and listening on MP3.] I am studying with the Tyndall One Year Bible this year, hoping to read daily along with my DH.

Line Edits: Still working. Several more releases being prepared for the next few weeks. I am still doing more Smashword conversions in between print formatting.

I have several print books carrying over from June to July and new ones added. The new additions push the total beyond what I wanted so we'll see how things go week to week. Looks like I will not get everything done in July and several will roll into August.

July Scheduled:

7/22 Book Blast The Hero’s Lot by Patrick W. Carr
7/26 Review The Hero’s Lot for Book Blast

Sourcebooks
    (none scheduled unless I pick up at NetGalley)
Hachette - Forever
    A House Divided by Kimberly Lawson Roby
    Flirting with Texas by Katie Lane (reading)
    Guilty as Sin by Jami Alden
    Revenge by Debra Webb

NetGalley: (July and early August)
      The Companions, The Sundering, Book I by R. A. Salvatore
      The Godborn, The Sundering, Book II by Paul S. Kemp
      Windshift by Joyce Faulkner

AudioBook Jukebox (July and early August)
      The Eye of Molech by Glen Beck, Narrated by Jeremy Lowell

Author Books received at March EPICon
     Convict Dad by P. Ryan Hembree

Author Review titles:
     Click: An Online Love Story by Lisa Becker 
     Double Click by Lisa Becker

From TBR Collection - TBD
Won Book - TBD
Free Kindle/Nook or Smashwords: TBD

Sunday Words of Encouragement July 21, 2013

We had a good Sunday School message with an exploration to find the True Mount Sinai. The point being that every archealogical discovery that is consistent with the Bible is one more evidence of the Truth of God's Word!

Our service atmosphere was particularly sweet and Pastor's message was titled: God’s Glory in Us.

The scripture tells us that we are complete in Him.  Colossians 2:9-10.  But when we look at our actions we might question: “If I am righteous, why are my actions unrighteous?” This is not a new dilemma as Apostle Paul wrote of the same questions and struggles in Romans 7:15-18.
Another way to ask the Question might be “If I am complete in God why do I still need work?”

Pastor compared our spiritual righteousness to a holy marriage. In a legal marriage there are loop holes that allow one or other, or both, to break the bond. In a spiritual marriage the two are directed to "become one" and that makes the bond much more difficult to break. We are to have such a oneness with the Holy Spirit.

When we accept God we do so by belief and faith, accepting that Christ shed His blood to cover our sins. But our bodies are still flesh and sin in our bodies still has possession or control. It takes a lot of power to conquer the flesh (and sin) that is our nature from birth. We really do not have that power without the help of the Holy Spirit – God living in us – bonded to us. We are bonded by belief and faith to the triune God but our transformation from fleshly being to spiritual being is a work in progress.  Hopefully we walk and grow with God which helps our struggling earthly desires to grow toward righteousness.  We are being transformed – changed – by glory on glory...step by step.  2 Corinthians 3:18.

We are on a journey and must continually seek God’s help through prayer for righteousness and deliverance rather than just giving in to the flesh or our sin. Are we allowing the world to direct our behaviors rather than Spirit? We need to reflect the Spirit of God in us rather than the world around us. The Key is being under the Spirit-- yielding.

Fortunately, even at the early stages of our belief and faith, once we accept the sacrificial gift of Christ’s death, God sees only the blood covering of Jesus and no longer sees us in sin. Colossians 2:13-14.

I could not find this song with lyrics on a video
but the words fit today’s message and these images are lovely.
I Stand in Awe...Let me be changed....

A Verse for Today:
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NLT)
18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

Thank you God for seeing righteousness in me; for allowing Your Glory to grow in me. Please let me be changed by Your presence!

Sharing Beyond Books #109 Comment Giveaway July 20, 2013

Hello again on Saturday night and Welcome to SBB, Sharing Beyond Books.

For some reason I am very tired tonight so I am getting this post up and then heading to dreamland. (I'll post winners of book giveaways tomorrow or Monday.)

Thank you to all who shared last week.

Many of us, 8, like to read both Cowboy and Highlander; 7 prefer Highlanders and 5 prefer cowboys. And one doesn't read either. :-)
 
Only three of us have actually gone geo-caching. Many had never heard of it so I am glad I could tell you of a fun activity to try. Apparently the majority of the locations are in US but there are a couple in UK.

~~~~

The Winner from SBB #108 comments is: #16 Liss who can make a GC choice if international or book choice from the ARC/Review titles, Christmas titles or Love titles - all linked near the end of the post.  Please let me know your choice by completing the (new) WINNER FORM.

WEEK #109 Questions

Q1. Nikki asks: Do you read Japanese/Korean manga (comic books)??

A: A few years ago I would not have known what 'manga' was but thanks to blogging I do know. However - I haven't read any. 

This is credited as the first manga magazine.
Image found at Wikipedia.

Q2. My non-bookish Question to go along with Q1: Do you watch anime movies??

A: I have seen some anime movies -- thanks to my son! I guess the one that comes to mind is Princess Monoke,  a 1997 Japanese animated epic historical fantasy.

Image found at HD Wallpaper Pics.

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 draw from the suggestions I used during the month and that person will get a book choice or GC. I thank everyone for submitting questions. Thanks for sending in questions! We can always use fresh questions. I do have a group of questions from the same submitters so if you have a question don't be afraid to ask!

Your turn to share:

Q1. Nikki asks: Do you read Japanese/Korean manga (comic books)??

Q2. My non-bookish Question to go along with Q1: Do you watch anime movies??

SBB Comment Winners can choose a selection from the Valentine and "Love" books , the Christmas Giveaway Books, or the June 2012 Newly Updated ARC/Review List.

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 26, 2013 at 10 PM central.

Saturday Snapshot July 20, 2013 Rainy Day Images

I am enjoying capturing shots of nature. These images are a rainy morning two Saturdays ago when I went to the office to work.

It was not raining when I got in the car but within a mile I was driving through rain.
This is a shot on main street after I parked.

Looking across the street from my office, across the four lanes, 
the Courthouse is blurred by the rain.

I was hoping to get the 'rooster tail' of water from one of the passing cars 
but it didn't really come through in the picture.

I had to exit my car and dash up the steps to get into my office.
See the rain pouring off the awning to the right?
I waited about ten minutes then made the dash.
Even with an umbrella I got soaked!

That was a week of rain; then we had several hot days.
I hope you are staying dry if it is raining where you live. :-)


Thanks to all who stop by and visit.

A big Thank You to Alyce at Alyce of At Home With Books who has hosted this meme for a number of years. She is taking a summer hiatus at her blog and the new host will be Melissa at West Metro Mommy. Thank you to Melissa for picking up the responsibility. 

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 being hosted this summer by West Metro Mommy. 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.

Book Review and Giveaway Link: Blood and Bone by Don Hoesel

This book has lots of mystery and danger but it didn't quite click for me.

Blood and Bone

by Don Hoesel

• File Size: 728 KB
• Print Length: 321 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0764209264
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (July 1, 2013)
• ASIN: B00B85M58Q

Genre: Thriller

My Rating: 3.75 of 5.0

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2013

More Archaeological Adventures from Popular Suspense Writer Don Hoesel

A decade after Serpent of Moses, Jack is married to Espy and back teaching at Evanston University. They have two sons, one of whom has cystic fibrosis. Despite this challenge, life is comfortable. But that all changes when the CIA, while combing through the papers of the late Gordon Reese, uncovers the secret of Elisha's bones. Jack's world is then turned upside down by an urgent call from his old friend Duckey, who's been alerted to the CIA's probing by one of his former contacts. Jack and his family escape from their home just ahead of the CIA, and he decides to do what he should have done long ago: recover the bones and destroy them. Except the bones aren't where he left them.

So now Jack is in a race, for the last time, to find the bones. And he's not the only one. Pitted against both the CIA and an organization that will kill to protect their secrets, Jack and Espy follow hard-to-decipher clues across the globe before arriving in the catacombs of Paris for a final showdown that will either save their family--or tear apart everything they hold dear forever.

Review:
Jack and Espy met when Jack was a young adventurer and relic collector. Now he is a professor and they live a quiet life with their two boys. Suddenly their world is disrupted by a corrupt, rogue CIA operative, Mckeller. Mckeller’s wife is very ill and he knows that Jack and Espy had located the bones of Elisha ten years before. The bones are rumored to be able to raise the dead, as described in the Biblical story.  Jack knows they work (an event from a prior book) but he and Espy had buried the bones rather than turn them over to a corrupt man years before. Mckeller wants the bones and he kidnaps the boys to use as leverage.

Jack and Espy head off globe hunting trying to get the bones. They fly from South America to Australia where the bones were buried only to determine that they have been removed. They follow faint clues seeking to uncover members of the secret organization that was designated to guard the bones. Their search for the new location takes them to London, St. Petersburg, Russia, and Paris. Along the way they uncover puzzles, with Espy’s language skills and Jack’s logic skills, that lead them to investigate cemeteries, basements, prison cells and catacombs.

Jack and Espy meet two of the head members of the powerful organization.  Jack takes a risk and calls in the help of the Israelis who would have an interest in recovering the bones.  Now they are dodging not only the CIA man who is trying to keep tabs on them but someone who is trying to kill them.

Although I enjoyed the action in this story and the various puzzles and solutions were interesting. (Made me think of National Treasure even more than Indiana Jones.) Unfortunately I had some problems with the unrealistic elements and I never really felt engaged with the characters. The couple are racing around the globe with minimal funds and fake passports. They repeatedly lose a tail only to have assassins attack them in their hotel or on the streets. It was a week or so before they even got to talk to their sons to make sure they were okay. It just was hard to swallow. I did like the conflict between the power hungry leaders and I also liked Jake’s solid faith, even accepting the illness of one of his sons. Come to think of it, I liked the irony at the end too.

The ending pulls together in a satisfactory, if not totally surprising, fashion. There is plenty of suspense and danger for those who like mystery and thrillers. There are many more favorable reviews so other readers clearly enjoyed the action and weren’t effected by the implausibility issues.

I received this title through NetGalley and the author for an honest review as part of BookBlast. See Giveaway below and Giveaway at the BookBlast post.

Buy Links:

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Author Don Hoesel links: Twitter * Facebook * Website

Tour Schedule

Blog Tour Giveaway
$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 8/4/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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