Category: Meme

First chapter, Meme

First Chapter, First Paragraph Tuesday Intros #3

Tara

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Diane over at Bibliophile by the Sea hosts this meme.

This week I am sharing the intro from a review book I’m reading, The Prophet by Ethan Cross.

Francis Ackerman Jr. stared out the window of the dark copper and white bungalow on Macarthur Boulevard. Across the street, a green sign with yellow letters read Mosswood Playground – Oakland Recreation Department. Children laughed and played while mothers and fathers pushed swings and sat on benches reading paperback novels or fiddling with cell phones. He had never experienced such things as a child. The only games his father had ever played were the kind that scarred the body and soul. The young Ackerman had never been nurtured; he had never been loved. But he had come to accept that. He had found purpose and meaning born from the pain and chaos that had consumed his life.

So I just started this book for a blog tour that I have scheduled in November – and I’m hooked! I’m about 100 pages into it and loving it – but it’s not for the faint of heart, it’s gruesome and I’m not even that far along in reading it – but that’s not stopping me! (I think becoming a mom has made me feel differently about graphic books because that never bothered me in the past.)

Mailbox Monday, Meme

Mailbox Monday, October 1, 2012

Tara

Mailbox Monday is being hosted at the Mailbox Monday site for October.

One book this week, but one I’m super excited about!

From William Morrow through Shelf Awareness [So glad I found Shelf Awareness Pro!!]:

The summer of 1985 changed Reggie’s life. Thirteen, awkward, and without a father, she finds herself mixed up with her school’s outcasts Charlie, the local detective’s son, and Tara, a goth kid who harbors a dark secret. That same summer a serial killer called Neptune begins kidnapping women. He leaves their severed hands on the police department steps and, five days later, displays their bodies around town. Just when Reggie needs her mother Vera – an ex-model with many “boyfriends” and a thirst for gin – the most, Vera’s hand is found on the steps. But after five days, there’s no body and Neptune disappears.

Now a successful architect who left her hometown behind after that horrific summer, Reggie doesn’t trust anyone and lives with few attachments. But when she gets a call from a homeless shelter saying that her mother has been found alive, Reggie must confront the ghosts of her past and find Neptune before he kills again.

Meme, Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday – Sept. 18, 2012

Tara

This week’s question asks:

Top ten bookish people you want to meet. 

I don’t know if I will be able to get to 10 with this question, but I have a good blend of bloggers and authors. In no particular order:

  1. Trish at Love, Laughter, and a Touch of Insanity – because she seems to be such a cool person and her daughter is gorgeous! Plus she has the greatest post ideas, ever! I only wish I could come up with half the cool ideas she does.  I love how she has been able to combine cooking, reading, vacationing, family and whatever else kind of post she can come up with and make it work 100%. If you don’t “know” Trish you are sooooo missing out!
  2. Samantha at Booked on a Feeling – because she’s awesome. She’s been a follower/commenter of mine since I can remember and she has always had great things to say. Oh and we like pretty much the same type of books 🙂
  3. Jackie over at House Wife Blues and Chihuahua Stories – Jackie stumbled across my blog a year or two ago and I have enjoyed getting to know her. She’s had a rough couple of years in her personal life and I respect her for everything she has been through. She’s just a very nice person and while we don’t read the same type of books, I think it would be a lot of fun to sit down over coffee in a bookstore and chat with her.
  4. Wendy of  Caribousmom – I first “met” Wendy in a Yahoo reading group that we both belong to. I soon found out that she has a beyond awesome blog. And in my opinion, she is one of the biggest names out there in the book blogosphere. Yet she’s so down to earth and nice. I have found a lot of awesome books through her blog and if you don’t know her blog, definitely check it out.
  5. Mary Higgins Clark – I want to know how this woman does it time and time again. Her books are amazing. I would love to be able to pick her brain a little bit. She seems to timeless. Her books are awesome!
  6. Stephen King – I will admit I haven’t been such a big fan of his recent stuff. But his older books, oh my goodness. Creepy doesn’t even catch it! This guy must have the most messed up dreams on the planet and I would love to be able to chat with him.
  7. Brad Meltzer – I will admit, I actually haven’t read many of his books. However, I follow him on Twitter and am a huge fan of his show Decoded (Please, History Channel – I would love a 3rd season!). But seriously, this guy seems to be one of the funniest guys out there. He’s got one of those perfectly sarcastic senses of humor and I would love to meet and talk with him
  8. James Patterson – I have so many questions for this guy. Number one being – why do you feel the need to put so many frickin’ books out in a year? Don’t get me wrong, I like his books, but seriously … I would think his prolificness would put pressure on other authors to produce like he does – and lets all be honest here, I bet he only writes one book a year himself, I’m a firm believer that his co-authors do all the work on the other books.

Well that’s all I’ve got. I had fun this week and am already looking forward to next week’s topic 🙂

Happy reading!

Mailbox Monday, Meme

Mailbox Monday – September 17, 2012

Tara

September’s Mailbox Monday stop is at BookNAround

Another Monday … another week of good books hitting my mailbox 🙂

Review Book … Part of Partners in Crime Tours … My review is scheduled for November 🙂
Saw a review of this on Caribousmom’s blog months ago and put it on my Paperbackswap wish list immediately. Finally got a copy 🙂
Review book from The Readiacs …. watch for my review on Sept. 25th 🙂

 

 

First chapter, Meme

First Chapter, First Paragraph Tuesday Intros #2

Tara

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Diane over at Bibliophile by the Sea hosts this meme.

This week I am sharing the intro from a review book I’m reading. DiSemblance by Shanae Branham

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Orange, gold, and red hues of sunrise shone through the trees as Jason Tanner jogged along the abandoned trail through Knobs Park. He loved moving unseen like a specter through these woods.

I have to be completely honest here, this intro lacks a little in my opinion. However, I cannot stress enough how exciting the book gets if you continue on. I’m about 100 pages in and thoroughly enjoying it!!

Meme, Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday – Aug. 21, 2012

Tara

Wow, I haven’t participated in this in almost a year. But today’s topic really spoke to me and I knew I had to put something together for today.

I’ve been blogging since January 1, 2008. My categories show that I have posted 322 book reviews. I did come up with 10 books for today, quite easily actually. The first book listed is my absolute favorite book ever, the rest of the books on this list will be alphabetical.

Top Ten Favorite Books You’ve Read During The Lifespan Of Your Blog

  1. The Help by Kathryn Stockett – Without a doubt, the BEST book I’ve ever read. Period.
  2. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
  3. The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly
  4. The BoneMan’s Daughters by Ted Dekker
  5. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
  6. The Confession by John Grisham
  7. 31 Bond Street by Ellen Horan
  8. The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard
  9. Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
  10. Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow

There you have it. There’s my list of the best of the best books I’ve read since I began blogging in 2008. Have you read any of these? Would they make YOUR top 10 list?

First chapter, Meme

First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros #1

Tara

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So here’s a new-to-me meme. Diane over at Bibliophile by the Sea hosts it I’ve seen this one before but for whatever reason never joined up. But this week I’m reading a book that really sucked me in on the first page.

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Donald Ellyson tried to scream, but nothing happened. He had done a lot of reprehensible things in his fifty-five years, but this was not how he had expected to die – his throat sliced and hot blood running down the front of his parka. This was supposed to be the discovery of his life, the one that would legitimize him and land him at the top of the academic heap. But the moment of his greatest triumph had suddenly become the last moment he would ever know. And for what? Did his benefactors actually think he was going to stiff them?

Mailbox Monday, Meme

Mailbox Monday, Aug. 6, 2012

Tara

 

Mailbox Monday’s August host is 5 Minutes For Books.

This week I got two books. The first one was from my grandmother and the other was a book from Paperbackswap that had been on my wish list forever!

The Jefferson Key by Steve Berry

Four presidents of the United States have been assassinated – in 1865, 1881, 1901, and 1963 – each murder seemingly unrelated. But what if those presidents were all killed for the same shocking reason: a clause contained in the United States Constitution? This is the question faced by former Justice Department operative Cotton Malone. When President Danny Daniels is nearly killed in the heart of Manhattan, Malone risks his life to foil the murder – only to find himself at odds with the Commonwealth, a secret society of pirates first assembled during the American Revolution. Racing across the nation and taking to the high seas, Malone and Cassiopeia Vitt must break a secret cipher originally possessed by Thomas Jefferson,unravel a mystery concocted by Andrew Jackson, and unearth a document forged by the Founding Fathers themselves – one powerful enough to make the Commonwealth unstoppable.

Anne Boleyn: A New Life of England’s Tragic Queen by Joanna Denny

No English queen has enjoyed such notoriety, and non has been so persistently vilified. In this powerful new biography, Joanna Denny reveals the truth about Anne Boleyn, presenting a picture of the woman – highly literate, accomplished, and a devout defender of her Protestant faith – that differs radically from the unsavory and unflattering accounts that have come down through history. A tragedy set in motion by her allure and her attraction of England’s violent and paranoid king. Anne’s life found her trapped in the vicious politics of the Tudor court, confined to a path that would lead to her execution.

Plunging into the intrigue, romance, and danger at the heart of King Henry VIII’s court, Anne Boleyn is a compelling account of the turbulent times that would change England forever, and a passionate portrait that will ultimately alter our perception of this much-maligned queen.

Meme

Book blogger hop – Aug. 3, 2012

Tara

 

 

Book Blogger Hop

So this is my first time ever participating in this. I’ve seen the hop around the book blog-o-sphere, but I’ve never participated (I can be such a lurker online!). Anyhoo, on to the purpose of this post:

When a book goes “viral” (Hunger Games, Fifty Shades, Twilight), do you rush out to read it like everyone else, even if it’s not in your typical genre?

Wow, what a good question. And one that I can easily answer. Nine times out of ten, I will do everything in my power to avoid books that go “viral.”

Back in 2008, I read Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight and New Moon. As a general rule, I do not like vampire books. Actually, Im not a big fan of paranormal in general. I can say that I read them. But I obviously didn’t like them enough to read any further. And I’ve only seen the first movie.

I bought the first Hunger Games book on my Nook last year …. And still haven’t read it. I bought it when it was on sale, but that’s as far as I ever got with it. I have no immediate plans to read it, either.

Fifty Shades … Oh my. What can I say? First of all, this is not my genre of choice. Not even close. And while I have to admit that I’m more than a little curious, I have no intention of ever reading it.

So this question got me very curious about what other books I’ve read that have been hyped up. I looked back at what books I’ve read since I started my blog and made a quick list of “viral” books.

  • Chelsea Cain’s Heartsick – I remember enjoying it okay, but not being overall thrilled. However, I did like the subsequent books much more.
  • Tana French’s In the Woods – I didn’t like this book very much at all. And I haven’t read anymore of the books in this series either.
  • Kathryn Stockett’s The Help – Okay, so this one may be an exception. I LOVED it and still would recommend it to anyone!
  • Chevy Stevens’ Still Missing -Well here’s another exception. I enjoyed this one as well.

I also have to mention Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code and The Lost Symbol. I loved the former, but ended up not being able to finish the latter.

I honestly believe that I have some kind of an aversion to hyped up books. They just don’t do much for me as a general rule. However, I will say that I have Gone Girl on my library’s waiting list and am dying to for it to be in my hot little hands.

Anyone who follows my blog regularly knows that I read a lot of older books. Actually I read more older books than I do newer ones. I’ve always been that way. There’s no real reason as to why, other than the fact that it’s what I have on my shelves. And the fact that I have an aversion to buying new books when they’re super expensive. I read too quickly to spend a lot of money on one book. So I guess it’s really not a big surprise that I don’t read a lot of the hyped up books.

But I don’t want my sole reason for picking up a book to be because it’s the hot thing to do at the time. That’s not the right reason to read.