Saturday, October 27, 2012

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Booking Through Thursday

Join us!

 Are there any good books that you read IN SPITE OF the cover and ended up wondering what on earth the artist and publisher were thinking to pair up a cover that so badly represented a perfectly good book? And … if you didn’t like the cover, what made you pick up the book? The author? Assigned reading from school? A recommendation from a friend?

Definitely. I read the entire A Song of Ice & Fire series by George R. R. Martin. I don't think they could have made the covers more boring if they had tried, honestly. I picked up "A Game of Thrones" because the series was starting a couple of months from then & I honestly hadn't known it was based on a book, or a series of books, but I knew that it looked good & wanted to read the first book to see if it would be worth watching. I enjoyed it & eventually made my way through the rest of the series & waited anxiously for "A Dance with Dragons," which was the book that made me realize that I needed an ereader, because my hands can't hold onto a large hardcover book anymore. That cover was also better than the others in the series, maybe because so many years had passed between it & the previous one.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

WWW Wednesday

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading? Betrayal by Gregg Olsen. It's very good, and has managed to keep me guessing so far, which is a lot to say for someone who's been reading thrillers & mysteries for about 40 years.

What did you recently finish reading? Envy by Gregg Olsen. Such a good story, very well-written with a believable plot & likable characters.

What do you think you'll read next? Life After Death by Damien Echols. I felt that the West Memphis Three were innocent the minute I read about the case, shortly after it happened & was a very vocal advocate for their release, so I'm very much looking forward to reading this!

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Booking Through Thursday

Join the fun!

 They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but there’s no question that it can make a difference! What book(s) have your favorite covers? Something that’s perfect for the story, the tone, the colors, the mood… And did you pick up the book BECAUSE of the cover? Or were you going to read it anyway, and the cover was just serendipitous?

Man, I've always been attracted by cover art. Right now, I'm reading "Eve" by Gregg Olsen, mostly because the cover attracted me. I love the story, but the cover clenched it for me. The Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson series. Seed by Ania Ahlborn (one I got because of the cover). The Unseen by Luke Alistar, My Name is Mina by David Almond, almost all of Kelley Armstrong's books.. yeah, it's probably an even mix of books that I was planning to buy without seeing the cover & books I bought because of the cover, honestly.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

WWW Wednesday

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading? Envy by Gregg Olsen. So far, it's very good.
What did you recently finish reading? Defending Jacob by William Landay. This one was very good, with a nice twist at the end.
What do you think you'll read next? Betrayal by Gregg Olsen. I may as well finish the series, or at least, finish what he's written so far.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
"Next, the cutting and the sawing. The noise of a human body being violated by steel is horrendous - even for those who do it every day." ~ Envy by Gregg Olsen

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

WWW Wednesday

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading? I tried my new copy of The Face of Deception & it locked my Nook up just like the previous one, so that will have to wait until I get a hard copy of it. So, I started Defending Jacob by William Landay. It's a very good read, especially if you've ever been on "the other side" in a criminal case or have ever wondered how the friends and family of a defendant feel.

What have you recently finished? The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall. I really enjoyed this book & look forward to reading the rest of the series. It's lighthearted, entertaining & a great break from the stuff I usually read.

What do you think you'll read next? I think it's going to be Envy by Gregg Olsen. It looks like a good series, and I have the first two, so I may as well give them a shot!

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! My Teasers:
"The camera loved him. In person he had a slightly laughable Colonel Blimp appearance - a wine-cask body supported uncertainly by two wiry legs - but as a talking head on the TV screen he projected the sort of reassuring gravity we like to see in our judges."
No idea what page it was. Defending Jacob by William Landay

Monday, October 8, 2012

Another Manic Monday

I've never been one to really mind Mondays, or look forward to them, for that matter (I know a lot of parents look forward to getting the kids back to school after the weekend). These days, I don't really want them to come, at least every other week. My husband works a rotating shift, where he works Monday-Wednesday one week & then Sunday-Wednesday the next & we have extremely active & busy weekends around here, with those Sundays he's off being a day to kind of catch our breath & have some time together, ideally, anyway. They haven't been that way the past couple of weeks. So, I hold onto my weekends like a hoarder does cereal boxes most of the time.

 So, it's Monday, our weekend actually ended last night when my husband went back to work & I have a bunch of stuff to get done with our son so we can start to build loaner weapons for our Amtgard park.

With that said... The Question of the Day is: Do you roast pumpkin seeds? Most years we do, when I feel like I have time between the carving & the Halloween party to get it done. I don't always have that time, some years, I'm carving pumpkins that day.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Sunday Sunday

Today I'm Muttering...
  1. Exorcise :: Demons
  2. Theory :: Idea
  3. Possible :: Impossible
  4. 1600 :: Monkeys
  5. Feeling :: Ill
  6. Excuse :: Lie
  7. Mortality :: Death
  8. Trivial :: Inconsequential
  9. Pupil :: Eye
  10. Challenge :: Game

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Six Word Saturday

Want to play along? Go visit Six Word Saturday & join the fun!

Tired and cold, but happily alive!

Friday, October 5, 2012

Friday Five

Join in!

1. Where is your favorite tree? In Sedona, Arizona, at the Airport Vortex.
2. Where is your favorite chair? I guess in my living room, it would be my couch, though.
3. Who has your favorite hair? My friend, Jenn.
4. What’s your favorite mug (or other drinking vessel) like? It's a tall coffee cup with a bat for a handle.
5. Where’s your favorite parking spot (not at home)? At the park, right by where we play Amtgard.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Booking Through Thursday

I'm not finding a new entry on Booking Through Thursday, so I'm going to answer last week's & I'll do the new one later if it ever goes up.

Do you bring the book(s) you’re reading with you when you go out? How? Physically, or in an e-reader of some kind? Have your habits in this regard changed? I don't usually, unless I know that I'm going to be alone & waiting a long time. I take my Nook when we go camping, or a regular book if I'm reading one, because I have to read before bed. I don't think my habits have changed as far as bringing books with me, I've always carried one if I thought I might have time to kill somewhere alone, but other than that, I leave them at home or take them camping or traveling with me.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

WWW Wednesdays

Courtesy of WWW Wednesdays!

What are you currently reading? I'm almost finished with The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith, which has been very good. I had no idea what to expect from it, but I'm really enjoying all of the little glimpses into African life.

What did you recently finish reading? I finished Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen last week. What an amazing & touching story! I immediately told my husband he needed to read it & then we watched the movie together.

What do you think you'll read next? Well, I started The Face of Deception by Iris Johansen before the one I'm reading now, but it kept crashing my Nook. I have a new copy now & will give it another try, because it was very good!

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

TMI Tuesdays

Which one:

Smelly feet or smelly breath? Smelly feet, they're far enough away from my nose that I won't be as bothered.

Overwhelming pleasure or repetitive numbing pain? That's a tough one.. I'm going to say repetitive numbing pain, since I never want to associate pleasure with discomfort.

Phone calls or text messages? Text messages every time. I hate talking on the phone.

Being spanked or getting spanked? Isn't this the same thing? I guess being spanked.

Go blind or become deaf? Blind. I'm a super visual person, but I'd so miss the voices of my loved ones & the sound of music & life around me.

Bonus (optional):What is one choice you've made that you would like to change the outcome to? The way I raised my kids. I had deluded myself into believing that I'd had a storybook childhood instead of the dysfunctional mess it really was & chose to raise them the same way I'd been raised for the most part.