Musing Mondays

Musing Mondays – Reading on the Go (12/15/08)

Tara

musing-mondays-bigToday’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about reading on the go…

I always like to have a book with me at all times – call it a nerdy grown-up security blanket – and rarely do I leave the house without slipping one into my bag (even if I KNOW I’m not going to have a chance to read it). Do you take a book with you? Do you take whatever book you’re currently reading, or do you have a special on-the-go book? And do you have a preference for a these types of book (paperback, hardback; short stories; poetry etc)?

This is my first time participating in Musing Monday’s! So here goes:

I almost always have a book with me. Whenever I’m buying a purse I always make sure that I get one big enough to put a book in! I love those little purses – but the books don’t fit in them! Anyways, back to the point of this post. I always take whatever book I’m currently reading. Even if I know for a fact that I will not have time to read it, it always goes with me. There are only a few instances when I will take the book out. For example, my husband and I had to go to his office’s Christmas party this past Friday evening – I took the book out because it just made the purse too heavy and I knew I wouldn’t be able to read it. Also we went to NYC last month to see our SIU Salukis play at Madison Square Garden, so when we were sightseeing I left my book in the hotel room. But overall, I really almost always keep a book with me. Also, for the second part of the question – I always carry a paperback book. Very rarely do I read hardback books, only when I get them from the library because I can’t bring myself to buy them, therefore my books are 98% paperback and that’s what I pick up to put in my purse.

AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Fiction, Read in 2008

I Heard That Song Before by Mary Higgins Clark

Tara
I Heard That Song Before
by Mary Higgins Clark

Copyright: 2007
Pages: 384
Rating: 5/5
Read: Dec. 6-14, 2008
Challenge: Celebrate the Author

First Line: My father was the landscaper for the Carrington estate.

When Kay Lansing was six years old she snuck into the Carrington estate and overheard a heated argument between a man and a woman. That same evening, Susan Althorp drove home with Peter Carrington. She was never seen again. Now, 22 years later, Kay Lansing finds herself in the Carrington estate once more, asking Peter for the use of his home as a site for a charity event. The whirlwind courtship and marriage that follows shocks everyone. However, when they return from their honeymoon, Peter is arrested for the murder of Susan. But Kay is convinced that her husband could never ever commit murder. However, once she sees him sleepwalking she begins to wonder if he could have possibly done something while he was asleep. Eventually Kay realizes that in order to find Susan’s real killer she must figure out who that man and woman arguing so many years ago was.

I enjoyed this book. It took me longer than it should have to read it because life and work got into the way, but I still really really enjoyed reading this one!! I just love Mary Higgins Clark and this book is another great read in my opinion! Check it out if you get the chance!

Uncategorized

2009 What’s in a Name 2

Tara

whats-in-a-name-1Annie is once again hosting the What’s in a Name challenge! I’m very excited about this one! I absolutely loved 2008’s What’s in a Name! So I was extremely excited when I saw she had announced this one! I have a very rough list so far, so it is definitely subject to change. The only one that I am really struggling with is Medical Condition because I really dislike reading medical thrillers/mysteries. So we’ll see.

Click here to visit the page of this challenge.

Rules: Read 6 books between January 1st and December 31st, 2009, that fit the categories set out by Annie.

  1. Time of Day: The Midnight Twins by Jacquelyn Mitchard REVIEW
  2. Building: No Place Like Home by Mary Higgins Clark REVIEW
  3. Body Part: Sweetheart, Chelsesa Cain REVIEW
  4. Relative: BoneMan’s Daughter, Ted Dekker REVIEW
  5. Profession: The Chemist, Janson Mancheski REVIEW
  6. Medical Condition: ‘D’ is for Deadbeat, Sue Grafton REVIEW

Uncategorized

2009 100+ Reading Challenge

Tara

100_challenge

J.Kaye is hosting the 100+ Reading Challenge.  In 2008 I may or may not make it to 100. I will be close, in the high 90s, if I do not make it. I’ve been in sort of a reading slump and could struggle to get the last 6 books needed to hit 100 this year. Either way, I am signing up to try and make it in 2009! I will be keeping track of my list on this post.

Click here to to visit the page of this challenge

Rules: Read 100 books between January 1st and December 31st in 2009. Every book can count, whether it be fiction, non-fiction, how-to’s, children’s or young adults.

My list will be kept here:

  1. The Chemist by Janson Mancheski (Finished: 1/7/09) REVIEW
  2. Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain (Finished: 1/13/09) REVIEW
  3. The Midnight Twins by Jacquelyn Mitchard (Finished: 1/15/09) REVIEW
  4. Final Jeopardy by Linda Fairstein (Finished: 1/23/09) REVIEW
  5. Over Your Dead Body by David L. (Finished: 1/25/09) REVIEW
  6. Perfect by Harry Kraus, MD (Finished: 1/28/09) REVIEW
  7. All We Know of Heaven by Jacquelyn Mitchard (Finished: 1/30/09) REVIEW
  8. Jack & Jill by James Patterson (Finished: 2/2/09) REVIEW
  9. Deal Breaker by Harlan Coben (Finished: 2/5/09) REVIEW
  10. C is for Corpse by Sue Grafton (Finished: 2/9/09) REVIEW
  11. Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich (Finished: 2/12/09) REVIEW
  12. To the Power of Three by Laura Lippman (Finished: 2/17/09) REVIEW
  13. Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell (Finished: 2/26/09) REVIEW
  14. The Secret Between Us by Barbara Delinksy (Finished: 3/6/09) REVIEW
  15. The 6th Target by James Patterson (Finished: 3/15/09) REVIEW
  16. Heartstopper by Joy Fielding (Finished: 3/22/09) REVIEW
  17. The Reader by Bernard Schlink (Finished: 4/5/09) REVIEW
  18. The Broken Parachute Man by Robert B. Bolin (Finished: 4/10/09) REVIEW
  19. Heart of Ice by Gregg Olsen (Finished: 4/15/09) REVIEW
  20. Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris (Finished: 4/21/09) REVIEW
  21. Capital Offense by Kathleen Antrim (Finished: 4/30/09 ) REVIEW
  22. The Osiris Alliance by Jack Ford (Finished: 5/11/09) REVIEW
  23. 7th Heaven by James Patterson (Finished: 5/19/09) REVIEW
  24. Whispers by Lisa Jackson (Finished: 5/23/09) REVIEW
  25. Rape: A Love Story by Joyce Carol Oats (Finished: 5/24/09) REVIEW
  26. The 8th Confession by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro (Finished: 5/31/09) REVIEW
  27. The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry (Finished: 6/7/09) REVIEW
  28. A Tisket, a Tasket, a Fancy Stolen Casket by Fran Rizer (Finished: 6/10/09) REVIEW
  29. Snagged by Carol Higgins Clark (Finished: 6/14/09) REVIEW
  30. In a Dark Time by Larry Watson (Finished: 6/19/09) REVIEW
  31. If I Did It by The Goldman Family (Finished: 6/22/09) REVIEW
  32. Grave Surprise by Charlaine Harris (Finished: 6/24/09) REVIEW
  33. The Cove by Catherine Coulter (Finished: 7/4/09) REVIEW
  34. The Maze by Catherine Coulter (Finished: 7/11/09) REVIEW
  35. Sail by James Patterson (Finished: 7/19/09) REVIEW
  36. BoneMan’s Daughter by Ted Dekker (Finished: 7/23/09) REVIEW
  37. The Dyodyne Experiment by James Doulgeris & V. Michael Santoro (Finished: 7/25/09) REVIEW
  38. Cat & Mouse by James Patterson (Finished: 7/31/09) REVIEW
  39. Dancing with Ana by Nicole Barker (Finished: 8/3/09) REVIEW
  40. The Piper’s Sons by Bruce Chandler Fergusson (Finished: 8/8/09) REVIEW
  41. Swimsuit by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro (Finished: 8/11/09) REVIEW
  42. Executive Privilege by Phillip Margolin (Finished: 8/19/09) REVIEW
  43. An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris (Finished: 8/23/09) REVIEW
  44. She Loves Me Not by Wendy Corsi Stuab (Finished: 8/30/09) REVIEW
  45. sTORItelling by Tori Spelling (Finished: 9/1/09) REVIEW
  46. Real Murders by Charlaine Harris (Finished: 9/6/09) REVIEW
  47. When the Bough Breaks by Jonathan Kellerman (Finished: 9/17/09) REVIEW
  48. Evil at Heart by Chelsea Cain (Finished: 9/22/09) REVIEW
  49. Michelangelo’s Notebook by Paul Christopher (Finished: 9/27/09) REVIEW
  50. The Godwulf Manuscript by Robert B. Parker (Finished: 9/29/09) REVIEW
  51. The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen (Finished: 10/5/09) REVIEW
  52. ‘D’ is for Deadbeat by Sue Grafton (Finished: 10/10/09) REVIEW
  53. A Bone to Pick by Charlaine Harris (Finished: 10/13/09) REVIEW
  54. Pop Goes the Weasel by James Patterson (Finished: 10/18/09) REVIEW
  55. The Murder of Laci Peterson by Cliff Linedecker (Finished: 10/19/09) REVIEW
  56. Wait Until Twilight by Sang Pak (Finished: 10/21/09) REVIEW
  57. The Double Eagle by James Twining (Finished: 10/25/09) REVIEW
  58. Silent Witness by Richard North Patterson (Finished: 11/6/09) REVIEW
  59. The Eleventh Victim by Nancy Grace (Finished: 11/13/09) REVIEW
  60. The Murder of King Tut by James Patterson & Martin Dugard (Finished: 11/15/09) REVIEW
  61. Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris (Finished: 11/24/09) REVIEW
  62. Denial by Keith Ablow (Finished: 11/28/09) REVIEW
  63. Children of Dust by Ali Eteraz (Finished: 12/3/09) REVIEW
  64. The Aztec Heresy by Paul Christopher (Finished: 12/11/09) REVIEW
  65. Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling (Finished: 12/13/09) REVIEW
  66. No Place Like Home by Mary Higgins Clark (Finished: 12/19/09) REVIEW
  67. Roses are Red by James Patterson (finished: 12/22/09) REVIEW
  68. The Sorority: Eve by Tamara Thorne (Finished: 12/23/09) REVIEW
  69. Decoding the Lost Symbol by Simon Cox (Finished: 12/23/09) REVIEW
  70. The Sorority: Merilynn by Tamara Thorne (Finished: 12/24/09) REVIEW
  71. The Sorority: Samantha by Tamara Thorne (Finished: 12/26/09) REVIEW
  72. Violets are Blue by James Patterson (Finished: 12/27/09) REVIEW
  73. Conflicts with Interest by Michael Ruddy (Finished: 12/30/09) REVIEW
  74. The Book of Names by Jill Gregory & Karen Tintori (Finished: 12/31/09) REVIEW

Uncategorized

2009 1st in a Series Challenge

Tara

1stinaserieslarge20091

J. Kaye is hosting this year’s 1st in a series challenge. I am excited to be a part of this one, having missed last years. Here is a rough draft of my list. Since the rules state that we can update our lists as we go, mine is subject to change. Also this is allowing me to try out 7 new series! (Like I need that!)

Click here to visit the page of this challenge

Rules: Read 12 books that are the first in a series January 1-December 31, 2009.

  1. Deal Breaker, Harlan Coben (Myron Bolitar) REVIEW
  2. Final Jeopardy, Linda Fairstein (Alex Cooper) REVIEW
  3. Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris (Harper Connelly) REVIEW
  4. Real Murders by Charlaine Harris (Aurora Teagarden) REVIEW
  5. When the Bough Breaks, Jonathan Kellerman (Alex Delaware) REVIEW
  6. Michelangelo’s Notebook, Paul Christopher (Finn Ryan) REVIEW
  7. The Chemist, Janson Mancheski (Vale Van Waring) REVIEW
  8. The Godwulf Manuscript, Robert B. Parker (Spenser) REVIEW
  9. Postmortem, Patricia Cornwell (Kay Scarpetta) REVIEW
  10. The Templar Legacy, Steve Berry (Cotton Malone) REVIEW
  11. The Cove, Catherine Coulter (FBI Thriller) REVIEW
  12. A Tisket, a Tasket, a Fancy Stolen Casket, Fran Rizer (Calamine Parrish) REVIEW

AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, H, Read in 2008

The Falls by Karen Harper

Tara
The Falls
by Karen Harper

Copyright: 2003
Pages: 394
Rating: 4/5
Read: Dec. 1-6, 2008
Challenge: No challenge; personal read

First Line: Though Claire Malvern was a sound sleeper, something woke her.

The Falls are what first drew Claire and Keith Malvern away from their fast paced lives in Seattle. But it will also be the Falls that ends their dream of a bed and breakfast when Keith’s body is found in the river, his death ruled a suicide supposedly from having jumped off the bridge by the Falls. But Claire knows her husband would never take his own life. But it will take all she has in order to convince the local sheriff Nick Braden that foul play has to be involved. But what they eventually discover about Keith’s death will shock them both.

This book had quite a slow start. But once I was able to get well into the book I really ended up enjoying it. My only complaint is that this book read like a lot of other books that I have read in this romantic suspense genre – the husband dies mysteriously and then the widow falls for the man who helps her in the aftermath. It all seemed sort of formulaic, however that doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy the book because I did, it’s just a feeling that I get from books of this sort in general.

Challenge Wrap-Up

Finished Challenge – Book-to-Movie Challenge

Tara

I recently finished another challenge!! I finished Callista’s Book-to-Movie Challenge. The rules were to read at least 3 books that had been made into movies. I scrambled to finish this challenge, but I managed to get the third one in on Nov. 30th! Here’s my list of what I read:

  1. The Shining by Stephen King
  2. Mystic River by Dennis Lehane
  3. Kiss the Girls by James Patterson

Favorite: Kiss the Girls (Patterson)
Least Favorite: Mystic River (Lehane)

Alex Cross, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, Read in 2008, SERIES

Kiss the Girls by James Patterson

Tara
Kiss the Girls
by James Patterson

Copyright: 1995
Pages: 458
Rating: 4/5
Read: Nov. 28-30, 2008
Challenge: Book-to-Movie Challenge

First Line: For three weeks, the young killer actually lived inside the walls of an extraordinary fifteen-room beach house.

Alex Cross’s niece, a law student at Duke, has gone missing. Cross is immediately drawn to the area in order to find his niece. But what he encounters is that there are more than one young woman missing and that this case might even be connected to another case that is going on in Los Angeles. Is there one killer who is traveling across country or are there two and if there are, are they communicating?! It’s a twisted case that Alex will finally work out in the end.

This book was much better than the first one in the Alex Cross series, Along Came a Spider. I felt a little rushed to read it in order to finish it before the challenge was over. But I really did enjoy it quite a bit. I’m definitely looking forward to getting the 3rd and 4th books in this series in my mailbox in the next few days 🙂

Challenge Wrap-Up

Finished Challenge – A Well-Rounded Challenge

Tara

I recently finished my seventh challenge. I finished Jan’s A Well-Rounded Challenge. The idea behind this challenge was to read 6 books from different challenges that you were currently signed up for.

I read:

  1. J.F. Freedman, The Disappearance (Initials Challenge)
  2. Alex Kava, The Soul Catcher (Series Challenge)
  3. Michael Connelly, The Black Echo (Celebrate the Author)
  4. Stephen King, The Shining (1% Well-Read)
  5. Kevin O’Brien, One Last Scream (2008 2nds)
  6. Dennis Lehane, Mystic River (Book Awards II)

Favorite: One Last Scream (O’Brien)
Least Favorite: Mystic River (Lehane)

Challenge Wrap-Up

Finished Challenge – Series Challenge Season 2

Tara

I finished my sixth challenge recently. I finished the Series Challenge Season 2 hosted at Crazy Cozy Murders. The goal was to read as many books as you chose in order to be up-to-date with the series that you are reading. I read only two books to make me current in one series. I really feel like I failed in this challenge because I had originally planned on trying to finish 3 series’. (However, to make up for this I will be signing up for the season 3 which starts Monday!)

I read:

  1. Alex Kava, The Soul Catcher
  2. Alex Kava, A Necessary Evil