Contact email: mesreads AT gmail.com
###Winner Announcement Posts are linked here.###

GIVEAWAYS ARE NOW LOCATED ON THEIR OWN PAGE - CLICK ON TAB ABOVE; Giveaways also linked on right sidebar.

Sunday, February 16, 2014

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? February 17, 2014

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.

I actually missed last week's What Are You Reading due to the three days sleep-in recovering from Chemo #2. Finally started being almost normal again by Friday! So this will cover two weeks reading which is actually normal, about three books a week even though I was so "under the weather."  On the other hand I am now further behind in posting reviews since I lost five days with no postings.

I haven't been visiting at all as I struggle to just get a bit caught up..
Thanks as always to all the nice people who visit me.

These were last week's posts:
  • Book Review and Tour Giveaway: New Frontier by Jeremy Lee; Sci Fi; my rating 4.5. GC giveaway Ends 3/2/14.
  • Book Review with Giveaway Question: The Sheriff's Surrender by Susan Page Davis, Historical, Inspirational; my rating 4.25.  Giveaway to come soon.
Finished Reading:
1. Audible


Conspiracy in Death: In Death, Book 8
UNABRIDGED
    By J. D. Robb
    Narrated By Susan Ericksen
        Series: In Death, Book 8 

Another good investigation with Eve Dallas.
Click on book title for full description.



2. eBook/Kindle


The Furnace (The Tanner Sequence)
Timothy S. Johnston
This is a good Sci Fi Mystery!
I hope to post review with giveaway this week.
Click on book title for full description.



3. Audible



Ghost Hunter
by Jayne Castle
Narrated by Laural Merlington
Series: Ghost Hunters, Book 3
I've had this in my library for a while. Some interest but underwhelmed.
Publisher's Summary
Where deadly energy ghosts lurk in the ruins of an ancient alien civilization.
Where dust bunnies prove to be loyal pets.
And where a ghost hunter will discover that a woman's heart is the most dangerous adversary of all...
Local Guild boss and powerful ghost-hunter Cooper Boone is everything botanist Elly St. Clair could ask for - the handsome, strong, and silent type. Maybe too silent. For when Guild secrets threaten her career at the college, Elly has to call off their marriage - and leave small-town life behind...
But starting over in the thriving metropolis of Cadence City isn't easy, especially when one of Elly's new friends disappears in the eerie catacombs beneath the streets. Cooper turns up just in time to help Elly investigate. And as the mystery deepens and dangerous ghost myths and legends come to light, Cooper makes it clear he intends to stick around - and this time he's holding nothing back...
(P)2006 Brilliance Audio, Inc.



4. Audible



Going Home: The Survivalist Series, Book 1
by A. American
Narrated by Duke Fontaine
Series: Survivalist, Book 1
I had picked up Book 2 for NetGalley
and decided to listen to Book 1.
I really enjoyed this.
Publisher's Summary
If society collapsed, could you survive?
When Morgan Carter's car breaks down 250 miles from his home, he figures his weekend plans are ruined. But things are about to get much, much worse: The country's power grid has collapsed. There is no electricity, no running water, no Internet, and no way to know when normalcy will be restored - if it ever will be.
An avid survivalist, Morgan takes to the road with his prepper pack on his back. During the grueling trek from Tallahassee to his home in Lake County, chaos threatens his every step but Morgan is hell-bent on getting home to his wife and daughters - and he'll do whatever it takes to make that happen.
Fans of James Wesley Rawles, William R. Forstchen's One Second After, and The End by G. Michael Hopf will revel in A. American's apocalyptic tale.
©2013 A. American (P)2013 Penguin Audiobooks



5. Print



New Frontier
by Jeremy Lee
Review and Blog Tour GC Giveaway linked above.
Click on book title for full description.




6. eBook/Kindle


Sleeping Dogs: A Novel
by Tony Vanderwarker
This is TOP NOTCH Suspense - Loved it!
I'll post a review and giveaway this week.
Book Description
Publication Date: February 4, 2014
The Pentagon has a dirty, little secret they've been keeping quiet for forty years.
During the Cold War, a number of live H-bombs were jettisoned and lost around the country as a result of mishaps and mid-air collisions.

A disgraced former Pentagon weapons expert, Howie Collyer, who blew the whistle on the unrecovered H-bombs and lost his job as a result, learns from a nurse in a VA hospital that one of her patients has vague recollections of being the pilot on a B-52 plane that jettisoned a nuke. Collyer teams up with the nurse to kidnap the man from the hospital in the hopes he will lead them to it. When the Pentagon learns Collyer is after the bomb, they try to stop him. But they are not alone. An al-Qaeda sleeper cell that has been keeping an eye on Collyer goes into action.

A mad scramble ensues with the Pentagon, al-Qaeda, and Collyer all after the nuke. Will the al-Qaeda find it first and immolate half the Eastern Seaboard? Will the Pentagon succeed in putting a lid on their secret? Or will Howie Collyer expose the mess and vindicate himself?

Inspired and written under the guidance of master storyteller, John Grisham, the plot of Sleeping Dogs takes amazing twists and turns before ending in an unexpected and spellbinding climax.



Line Edits/Releases:
Print Release:  Valstain by R. J. Jerome - Print

Enter the bi-monthly drawings at eTreasures Publishing Facebook page.
This week's giveaway link:  Check for the new giveaway every two weeks.

Currently reading:
1. Audible


Four Blood Moons: Something Is About to Change
by John Hagee
Narrated by Dean Gallagher
I am anxious to listen to this discussion about the Four Blood Moons as warnings that will be seen in 2014 and again in 2015!
Publisher's Summary
Over the last 500 years, blood-red moons have fallen on the first day of Passover three separate times. These occurrences were connected to some of the most significant days in Jewish history: 1492 (the final year of the Spanish Inquisition when Jews were expelled from Spain), 1948 (statehood for Israel and the War of Independence) and 1967 (the Six-Day War). Every heavenly body is controlled by the unseen hand of God, which signals coming events to humanity. There are no solar or lunar accidents.
The next series of four blood moons occurs at Passover and Sukkot in 2014 and 2015. In this riveting book, Hagee explores what these blood moons mean and why Christians must understand these signs and what they bode both for Israel and the world. Joel 2 and Acts 2 both state: "And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness [eclipse] and the moon into blood [eclipse] before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes."
Download the accompanying reference guide.
©2013 Worthy Publishing (P)2013 Oasis Audio



2. Print


R Is for Rebel: ...and Royalty, Relatives, Reality, and Running from love... (Unruly Royals)
by Megan Mulry
I started this and have mixed feelings.
We'll see how it proceeds.
Reading for Sourcebooks.
Book Description
Publication Date: February 4, 2014
Being royal isn't all it's cracked up to be...
Abigail Heyworth, youngest daughter of the 18th Duke of Northrop, is not your typical British royal—she'll take a recycling drive over a charity ball any day. She can't stand hats and heels. Abby's not getting much sympathy, of course, because everyone thinks the life of royalty is so charmed.

But to Abigail, keeping up appearances is unbearable, while running away doesn't seem to work either. Just when she feels like she's getting whiplash from swinging between flat-out rebellion to miserable capitulation, Abigail meets an all-American self-made millionaire who challenges her on every level.

It may turn out that what Abigail is searching for kind of resembles the American Dream...



3. eBook/Kindle


Surviving Home: A Novel (The Survivalist Series)
by A. American
I enjoyed book 1 and am enjoying this as it starts.
I am reviewing through NetGalley.
Book Description
Publication Date: June 25, 2013
Book 2 of The Survivalist Series
No electricity. No running water. No food. No end in sight. If life as you knew it changed in an instant, would you be prepared?

In A. American’s first novel, Going Home, readers were introduced to Morgan Carter, the resourceful, tough-as-nails survivalist who embarks on a treacherous 250-mile journey across Florida following the collapse of the nation’s power grid. Now reunited with his loving wife and daughters in this follow-up to Going Home, Morgan knows that their happiness is fleeting, as the worst is yet to come. Though for years Morgan has been diligently preparing for emergency situations, many of his neighbors are completely unready for life in this strange new world—and they’re starting to get restless.

With the help of his closest companions, Morgan fights to keeps his home secure—only to discover shocking information about the state of the nation in the process.

Fans of James Wesley Rawles, William R. Forstchen's One Second After, and The End by G. Michael Hopf will revel in A. American's apocalyptic tale.


I am up one day ahead with my daily Bible reading. :-)

Line Edits: We are now finalizing formatting for two ebook re-releases, as well as working on a new children's release.

I am still enjoying reading books from my own TBR. :-) My reading/listening is going along well but I have fallen behind in reviews due to being out of commission for several days. 
My backlog for review is now seven so I hope to do four or five reviews this week to catch up.

February Scheduled-
I still expect a couple of unscheduled Giveaways this month again.
Week of 2/17 
Review with Giveaway - Sleeping Dogs: A Novel by Tony Vanderwarker
Review with Giveaway - Beyond the Shadow of Canderlay Manor by Dee Julian
Review with Giveaway - The Furnace by Timothy S. Johnston

Sourcebooks:
   R is for Rebel – Megan Mulry (reading)

NetGalley:
  The End: A Postapocalyptic Novel (The New World Series) by G. Michael Hopf
  Surviving Home: A Novel (The Survivalist Series) by A. American (reading)
  The Memory of Sky: A Great Ship Trilogy by Robert Reed

Authors
 Many requests to field and reply to.

AudioBook Jukebox 
Making some new selections. 

From TBR Collection - Ghost Hunter by Jayne Castle
Won Book - TBD
Free Kindle/Nook or Smashwords: TBD

Book Review with Giveaway Question: The Sheriff's Surrender (Ladies' Shooting Club) by Susan Page Davis

This is a delightfully fun, easy, inspirational read that gives a good picture of life in the old west.
The Sheriff's Surrender (Ladies' Shooting Club)
by Susan Page Davis
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 320
Vendor: Barbour Publishing
Publication Date: 2009
ISBN: 1602605629
Series: Ladies Shooting Club
(Still available for $1.65!)

Genre: Historical, Inspirational
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0


Product Description
Gert Dooley can shoot the tail feathers off a jay at a hundred yards, but she wants Ethan Chapman to see she's more than a crack shot with a firearm. When the sheriff of Fergus, Idaho, is murdered and Ethan is named his replacement, Gert decides she has to do whatever she can to help him protect the citizenry. So she starts the Ladies Shooting Club. But when of their numbers is murdered, these ladies are called on for more than target shooting and praying. Can Gert and the ladies of Fergus find the murderer before he strikes again?


Review:
Gert came to the small community of Fergus, Idaho eight years ago to help her older brother, Hiram, and his wife with a new baby. Unfortunately when she arrived she found Hiram secluded in grief over their deaths. She continues to take care of the reclusive Hiram helping him in his gun smithing business by shooting the weapons he repairs. Over the years she has become one of the best shots in town. Gert doesn’t dress fancy or wear her hair pretty... she is just steady, reliable, capable Gert who has a sweet spot for Hiram’s best friend, Ethan.

Ethan is a local bachelor committed to the hard work of building his own ranch. When the old time sheriff is found dead one morning the town council recruits Ethan as temporary sheriff. Although Ethan is reluctant, he steps up to the duty. As he and Hiram investigate the crime scene evidence reveals the death was murder, not an accident. When a second victim is killed the town really starts to worry.

Libby, the widowed storekeeper who is also Gert’s good friend, asks Gert to teach her how to shoot. Soon many of the ladies in town, wives and daughters, and even saloon girls, join the practice sessions. They even allow an old, poor, dirty and smelly recluse, Milzie, to join them.

The group declares themselves the Ladies Shooting Club and start by reaching out to help each other. Then they offer to help the Sheriff with street patrols. One brassy lady, a saloon (brothel?) owner, becomes a deputy. As Ethan works along with Hiram and Gert to solve the mystery of the murders he begins to see Gert in a new light as friendship grows to affection.

Gert represents a good deal of pioneer spirit and a bit of the stirring for women’s rights! She also represents a heart of a servant who helps others with joy and no judgment. She seeks to share her love of faith because she cares about everyone in her community, no matter their station or profession. There is a sense of humbleness provided by Gert and Ethan and a sweet sense of allowing God to work things out in His time, including their courtship.

There is a story of revenge but there are also so many good real life features presented in this sweet story. There are issues of bigotry and pride, in small and big ways. The story shows the tendency to live our lives in insular fashion and not realize the desperate needs of some of those very near until some trigger brings the community together to provide more care for one another.

The writing is clear and this is a quick easy read. There is humor and warm fuzzies that overshadow the evil. I found it delightful and recommend it to those who enjoy fun, inspirational historical reading.

This was our Jan- Feb Ladies Book Club read. The group has not yet met to discuss this book as we postponed February’s meeting, however, several ladies told me that they felt this was such a real portrayal of western life. They were very enthusiastic so I ordered the second book in the series and we will be discussing both books in our meeting in March.

GIVEAWAY QUESTION: I will be offering both books for GIVEAWAY and here is a question for those who will be interested: Would you prefer the books be offered separately for giveaway or as a set of two to one winner? Let me know by your comments and I will decide how to list the giveaways. Thanks.

Sunday Words of Encouragement February 16, 2014

It was great to get to church today for a communion service to remember the sacrifice and redeeming power of Jesus. Pastor gave a short sermon located in the parable of the prodigal son. (Luke 15:11-32.) The focus though was on the eldest son who was bitter and angry about the party the father put on for the returned son. The problem was with the eldest son's attitude. The question our Pastor asked is: "Are you a hireling or an heir?" How do you see yourself?

As elder son he received a larger portion of inheritance, two thirds to one third for the younger son. But the elder son was resenting that he had stayed and worked hard at home and no fatted calf was ever killed for him. Was he working to please God, his heavenly Father or was he working for earthly reward? The father had to remind the eldest: "My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours." v31.

My extrapolated thoughts: The son is an heir but doesn't recognize the blessings of his position. He doesn't recognize that he should share in the joy of celebrating his brother's return as what the father gives his brother does not diminish his own position in any way. True love seeks to share in the joy and salvation of others, not resent it.

One of the songs we sang this morning is an old gospel that says:
If you stay standing still, He'll show up on time. The battle is not yours, God says "It's mine."
It resonated with me today but I could not find a youtube version.
I found this instead and it is awesome too!
Verses for Today:
John 10:11-13 NIV (Jesus speaking to the Pharisees)
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

Thank you Lord for restoring my strength this week. Help me to keep my focus on You and looking for ways to serve and please You.

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Sharing Beyond Books #138 Comment Giveaway, February 15, 2014

Hello again on Saturday night and Welcome to Sharing Beyond Books, SBB!
Thanks to everyone who commented two weeks ago. Sorry I missed last week.

Few people have a "hidden spot" although Ricki goes dog sitting at her parents so she has quiet, Marjorie gets to use a spare bedroom turned den and Fredamans uses her home office. As to favorite places the bed edged out the comfy couches by 8 to 6 but many agreed they liked to have a nice blanket with them. I was surprised that a good handful of folks like to read outdoors in good weather. And several agreed with me that they read whenever or wherever.
~~~~
The Winner from SBB #137 comments is: #18 Texas Book Lover 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 #138 (One Question.)

Q1. Margaret asks: How many e readers do you own??
A: I think the true count for me is one. As a true e reader - I have only my Kindle. I can read Nook on Samsung or ASUS tablets but I rarely do and I never read on my new smartphone - too small.  
I wonder how many types of e readers exist?
Image found at Watertown Library.

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 still have a supply of questions but from the same people so hopefully others will send more in -- even if they are duplicates I'll weed through or try to modify to use. 

Your turn to share:

Q1. Margaret asks: 1. How many e readers do you own??

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

SBB Rules:
a) Must be a follower.
b) Share a comment on either of the two 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 through Saturday February 22, 2014 at 5 PM  central.

A New Group of Christmas Titles for Choices by SBB Winners

2/18/17
New Christmas and Love books for SBB.



2/15/14
I finally am getting around to posting a new box of Christmas Books for winner picks from the Sharing Beyond Book Comment Giveaways.
{This is not a giveaway post but these books are for winners to pick from.}


For the Love of St. Nick by Garasamo Maccagnone
The Fifth Day of Christmas by Betty Neels
A Highland Christmas (Hamish Macbeth Mysteries 16) by M.C. Beaton SBB July 2014
A Wallflower Christmas by Lisa Kleypas -- SBB May 2014
Nascar Holiday 3 Anthology by Liz Allison & Wendy Etherington, Brenda Jackson, Marisa Carroll and Jean Brashear I think this is gone.. will double ck on 11/23
A South Texas Christmas by Stella Bagwell
Christmas Spirits by Lynn Kurland and others -- SBB in September
Harlequin Historical Christmas Stories 1991
A Christmas Bride/ Christmas Beau by Mary Balogh -- SBB March 2014 Comment win
Snowy Night with a Stranger by Jane Feather and others
A Winter Wonderland by Fern Michaels and others -- SBB April 2014
Chicken Soup for the Soul Christmas Jack Canfield and others
Chicken Soup for the Soul Christmas Treasury Jack Canfield and others

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails