tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75378278111675920482024-02-06T22:24:09.403-05:00StephTheBookwormReviews from a booklover and nerd extraordinaire!StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.comBlogger323125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537827811167592048.post-61542741022680356082014-01-15T20:41:00.001-05:002014-01-15T20:41:32.522-05:00Redirecting to my new site...As of February 2012, StephTheBookworm has relocated to its own domain at: <a href="http://stephthebookworm.com/">stephthebookworm.com</a>. Please follow me there. Thank you.StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537827811167592048.post-39612726496810741512012-02-22T12:08:00.000-05:002012-02-22T12:08:15.306-05:00Review: The Underside of Joy by Sere Prince Halverson<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9loyP1Htsbkao1ze2LZ8o0HXADt9yUWB6eGuW2i1Q2-qlcOR897Ji_4ycmtEayzd4i2z2r_aZLDwKoryVuVPQpFK2yBW4H4HJgtx2Z5sFHkX_gL1ghdTVmvn9bbCFoLZ4BBuNDsXaNLt3/s1600/11723817.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9loyP1Htsbkao1ze2LZ8o0HXADt9yUWB6eGuW2i1Q2-qlcOR897Ji_4ycmtEayzd4i2z2r_aZLDwKoryVuVPQpFK2yBW4H4HJgtx2Z5sFHkX_gL1ghdTVmvn9bbCFoLZ4BBuNDsXaNLt3/s200/11723817.jpg" width="135" /></a>Title: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11723817-the-underside-of-joy"><i>The Underside of Joy</i></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Author: Sere Prince Halverson</div><div style="text-align: center;">Genre/Audience: Contemporary fiction, adult</div><div style="text-align: center;">Publication: Dutton, 2012</div><div style="text-align: center;">Source: For review</div><br />
Hi guys. I have a guest review from my mother today who is helping me out. Due to some personal problems and heartbreak in my life, which some of you already know about (thank for your support and love), my reading has slowed down temporarily while I attempt to get my life back in order. My regular reading and posting should resume in the next week or two, so my apologies in advance. In the meantime, please enjoy this review from my mom. :)<br />
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<b>Summary</b> (from the book jacket): To Ella Beene, happiness means living in the Northern California river town of Elbow with her husband, Joe, and his two young children. But one summer day, Joe breaks his own rule - <i>Never turn your back on the ocean-</i> and a rogue wave descends, drowning not only the many, but also his many secrets.<br />
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For three years, Ella has been the only mother the kids have known and has believed that their biological mother, Paige, selfishly abandoned them. But when Paige shows up at the funeral, intent on reclaiming the children, Ella soon realizes there may be more to Paige and Joe's story. <br />
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<b>My Thoughts</b>: This is the debut novel for this author, but it is so well written, it's hard to believe this is her first effort. The promo literature that came with this book for review stated that "it will grab you from the first page." Typical statement from the publisher, but in this case, so true. I liked these characters right from the start and the town of Elbow and the little cottage Ella and the kids live in sound wonderful. The story is believable and told without bitterness, even though it would have been very easy to slant things and make Paige out to be a horrible monster who is ripping these children from their stepmother for her own selfish reasons. I totally enjoyed this and look forward to this author's next book!<br />
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<b>My Rating: 4.5/5 </b>StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537827811167592048.post-83720087720488443372012-02-16T12:30:00.001-05:002012-02-16T12:31:38.120-05:00Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer Smith<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP4q6x5hfYr9JWdYwf3jqYD_kZh9LnIybk_1MZ3FdyLSWbhB0McAx-mvoSR8T1Uin3TlMaZjAIGpMUJ-2pCssvRuQ3njRF0nlHEU81b1et27ByItthdaSxxkQXD0EO2z535QO-LwQtRLvK/s1600/10798416.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP4q6x5hfYr9JWdYwf3jqYD_kZh9LnIybk_1MZ3FdyLSWbhB0McAx-mvoSR8T1Uin3TlMaZjAIGpMUJ-2pCssvRuQ3njRF0nlHEU81b1et27ByItthdaSxxkQXD0EO2z535QO-LwQtRLvK/s200/10798416.jpg" width="131" /></a>Title: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10798416-the-statistical-probability-of-love-at-first-sight"><i>The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight </i></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Author: Jennifer E. Smith</div><div style="text-align: center;">Genre/Audience: Young Adult, contemporary, romance</div><div style="text-align: center;">Publication: Poppy/Little Brown, 2012</div><div style="text-align: center;">Source: Library</div><br />
<b>Summary</b>: Hadley and Oliver have just met at the airport, en route to England, Oliver's home, and the scene of the wedding of Hadley's estranged father. They feel an istant connection and fall in love over the course of their seven hour flight, but lose each other after landing in England. While there, Hadley struggles with her father remarrying, and hopes desperately to find Oliver again. <br />
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<b>My Thoughts</b>: First off, awesome title, right? Got to admit, that really drew me in at first. Plus the cover. It's pretty stunning. My feelings about the story itself, though, are sort of indifferent. For me, the book was GOOD, not GREAT. I LIKED it, but I didn't LOVE it. I'm just kind of 'meh' about it, to be honest, which is kind of disappointing. <br />
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I really loved the idea of this story with love at first sight, but it just never clicked or jived with me. I never got all that into it. Don't get me wrong, there were certain parts of the story I really enjoyed, especially the family dynamics. I was most interested in the storyline about Hadley and her estranged father, and I felt anger at him right alongside her. However, the Oliver and Hadley storyline, while cute, didn't seem real to me. Only the first half of the book or so focused on their relationship and meeting, so perhaps more of this would have convinced me better. They met up several other times throughout the book, but the initial evolving of their relationship on the plane just didn't do it for me. I also didn't love the fact that the story took place in just one or two days time. I like to really dig into a character's mind and background, so I would have liked to see this story from the beginning - when Hadley's dad left - rather than just in short bursts of flashback.<br />
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So, in all, I'd say the story is sweet and interesting, but ultimately not memorable or spectacular. I know a lot of people who loved it though, so give it a shot and see what YOU think.<br />
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<b>My Rating: 3/5</b>StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537827811167592048.post-11729007343266680802012-02-10T20:52:00.002-05:002012-02-10T20:56:18.478-05:00Review: One For the Money by Janet Evanovich<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdsWq1PrkuCXeYONt7CRbLlUVhzm-MVWeJBbaiU4TZegxboj0RNQfAuBTgzCz3U5gR2hYMoVJ0jXuLbRgdIgifGhfmquqIgewhhCIaCrEDp8dufi3SZ_SKmBPs1szfDC-nksYvfuIi4_FE/s1600/482572.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdsWq1PrkuCXeYONt7CRbLlUVhzm-MVWeJBbaiU4TZegxboj0RNQfAuBTgzCz3U5gR2hYMoVJ0jXuLbRgdIgifGhfmquqIgewhhCIaCrEDp8dufi3SZ_SKmBPs1szfDC-nksYvfuIi4_FE/s200/482572.jpg" width="132" /></a>Title: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/482572.One_for_the_Money"><i>One For the Money</i></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Author: Janet Evanovich</div><div style="text-align: center;">Series: Stephanie Plum, 1</div><div style="text-align: center;">Genre/Audience: Mystery, humor, adult</div><div style="text-align: center;">Publication: 1996</div><div style="text-align: center;">Source: Library</div><br />
This book (series, actually) is one I've been meaning to read for a long time now, along with a billion other popular series that I have YET to read such as <i>Twilight</i> and <i>The Hunger Games </i>(I know. Beat it!). My mother insisted I read it this week, though, so we can see the movie tomorrow, as she is a huge fan of the series. So, I read it finally!<br />
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<i>One For the Money</i> introduces Stephanie Plum, a 30-something down on her luck New Jersey girl. She recently lost her job as a lingerie buyer for an outlet, and is desperate enough for cash that she goes to her cousin Vinnie, a bonds bailsman, and becomes a bounty hunter. Though she has no experience, she is up for the challenge when she hears that catching her first fugitive will land her $10,000. Joe Morelli is the guy she's after, a cop accused of murder, and they have a long history together starting when he took her virginity in high school and ending when she hit him with her father's Buick shortly thereafter. Now she just needs to find the man who broke her heart, while avoiding being killed herself by dangerous men and she'll be in the clear.<br />
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I thought this book was A LOT of fun! I loved reading about all the crazy adventures Stephanie got herself in, and watching her dodge several proverbial (and real) bullets throughout, including being stalked by a violent and psychotic champion boxer, and stealing Joe's new car while he's on the run... then proceeding to get it blown up... oops! Stephanie really had no idea what she was doing, but she did it anyways, and this provided a lot of entertainment value. There were also quite a few funny moments. My favorite character in particular was Stephanie's Grandma Mazur who is a nutty old woman. She has several great moments such as accidentally shooting Stephanie's new gun at the dinner table, and wearing bright blue spandex shorts to a funeral with a pink and orange shirt. Basically, Grandma Mazur don't give a shit! (kind of like Honey Badger... hmm?). <br />
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All in all, I enjoyed this book and I'm glad my mom pushed me to read it when she did. I will definitely continue on with it to see what more trouble Stephanie gets into! While it's not the number one series I've ever read, I did think it was good, silly fun. I did think there were slightly too many characters, so hopefully that gets toned down in the next book a bit. While I'm not rushing out to read the next book or anything, I do look forward to reading it in the future!<br />
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<b>My Rating: 3.5/5</b><br />
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P.S. That is one ugly cover, right? I like the newer version slightly better, but this is the one I read.StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537827811167592048.post-14144153437511671452012-02-08T07:00:00.001-05:002012-02-08T07:00:06.417-05:00Author Gail Sidonie Sobat Interview on Dancing and Being Different<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjabRIz2gzv2jjgQ-V4H_437VH0quiDMD7y_qrzX7q4-k0EWaTC_SWapuDmHsxf2W-G0wDE-tdUTZo1n_C9BWiJhbPHQKYhj4wy-eCjfGGkLEfAo1wDDEgJpBVKgoP_Gcfebopplro-xwQ9/s1600/chance-to-dance-for-you.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjabRIz2gzv2jjgQ-V4H_437VH0quiDMD7y_qrzX7q4-k0EWaTC_SWapuDmHsxf2W-G0wDE-tdUTZo1n_C9BWiJhbPHQKYhj4wy-eCjfGGkLEfAo1wDDEgJpBVKgoP_Gcfebopplro-xwQ9/s200/chance-to-dance-for-you.jpg" width="129" /></a></div>Please welcome Gail Sidonie Sobat, author of <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11159504-chance-to-dance-for-you"><i>Chance to Dance For You</i></a>, to StephTheBookworm! Gail's new novel is about Ian, a young gay man, living in a town where everyone is the same. Even though he doesn't fit in, he finds joy in dancing, which he hopes to pursue professionally. Then, he falls in love with the high school quarterback...<br />
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<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>What was the process of titling <i>Chance to Dance For You</i>?</b></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The title came from “The Music and Mirror” which is a key song in the musical, <i>A Chorus Line</i>. The song is basically about loving to dance, the need to be a dancer because the desire to dance is bone deep.</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 18pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 18pt;"><b>What prompted you to write about a gay teen? What problems do you feel gay youth face today?</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 18pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 18pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The book came out of my experience working as a high school teacher in an affluent suburb. The boys in the book are based on several real-life people, one of whom took his own life in his grade 12 year because his father was a fundamentalist Christian and a military man who forbade his son to be gay. So many young people are in such pain, and those who are marginalized, often suffer greatly. I think you need only look to the news and the tragic suicides of the past year to recognize the difficulties that GBLTQ youth face: bullying, cyberbullying, gay bashing, depression, shunning by family members, the list goes on. We seem more enlightened as a society, and then another young person throws him or herself off a bridge.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 18pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 18pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKdFmf5ndAZTLMnJhgSeBIfDrUzGowcQUJH_gnaa85UmYuPZfPwqFD3nHgZejo_N1lEQtm6BPoFGAecJQm-69WTxK5e4XTptCoAYU1k4CRmiK8ljZkq5FO_eNscgBaQM7CnX97yos5xw1q/s1600/thriller_trousers_red.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKdFmf5ndAZTLMnJhgSeBIfDrUzGowcQUJH_gnaa85UmYuPZfPwqFD3nHgZejo_N1lEQtm6BPoFGAecJQm-69WTxK5e4XTptCoAYU1k4CRmiK8ljZkq5FO_eNscgBaQM7CnX97yos5xw1q/s200/thriller_trousers_red.JPG" width="127" /></a> <b>Since Ian is a dancer, what are your top three favorite songs to dance to?</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 18pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Well, I’m particularly fond of “Thriller.” A more contemporary piece that’s fun to dance to is “Bad Romance.” And I can’t resist ABBA’s “Dancing Queen.” But because these days I focus on salsa dancing, I really like the music of the Buena Vista Social Club.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 18pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 18pt;"><b>What has been the most exciting thing about being an author?</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 18pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 18pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Meeting readers and traveling across Canada, to the US, to Switzerland, and to Doha, Qatar as an author. Of course, there’s nothing like holding your book in your hands for the first time!</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 18pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>What messages do you hope to get across in <i>Chance To Dance For You</i>?</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I guess I’d like people to question the status quo, to ask questions about the scripts that are supposedly written for their lives, to challenge those who say there is one mono-culture, one way to live, one colour to paint a house, one correct way to love, one way to be a man. And I’d like us to all stand up for each other a little more. I hope these are some of the themes that readers recognize when they read the book.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><b style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thanks so much for being here today, Gail! <i>A Chorus Line</i> is one of my very favorite musicals (after <i>Rent</i> and <i>Wicked</i>, of course!). I am thrilled to see an author bringing light to such important issues as GBLQT. </b>StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537827811167592048.post-82170980113685273382012-02-05T18:39:00.001-05:002012-02-05T18:42:46.769-05:00A (Scathing) Review: Inside the Mind of Casey Anthony by Keith Ablow<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXvN9-h9HcerDHm7WKrRnJ38XkkN7Oxxjka0B3UWrDWmDth5sjvQsknI1YCrmrdR_FdRz0W_E5ilnZciRLrwwr-iJB7MYAb828F3lGSIAk_O3peWQPJ69ox3E2Dt3WHw07eqNenTlsz3xI/s1600/12110937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXvN9-h9HcerDHm7WKrRnJ38XkkN7Oxxjka0B3UWrDWmDth5sjvQsknI1YCrmrdR_FdRz0W_E5ilnZciRLrwwr-iJB7MYAb828F3lGSIAk_O3peWQPJ69ox3E2Dt3WHw07eqNenTlsz3xI/s200/12110937.jpg" width="132" /></a>Title: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12110937-inside-the-mind-of-casey-anthony"><i>Inside the Mind of Casey Anthony: A Psychological Portrait</i></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Author: Keith Ablow, M.D.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Genre/Audience: True crime, nonfiction, adult</div><div style="text-align: center;">Publication: St. Martin's Press, 2011</div><div style="text-align: center;">Source: Library</div><br />
If you haven't heard of Casey Anthony, then you've more than likely been living under a rock. She is a young single mother who killed her two year old daughter, Caylee Anthony, in 2008, although the jury determined she was "not guilty." I don't buy it, for even one second. The evidence against her is astounding, and I was sickened when I heard she was let off. Anyways.<br />
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Keith Ablow is a very famous forensic psychiatrist turned author. In this book, he examines the case from a psychological perspective, examining Casey's past, family life, and more, to try and figure out why Casey did what she did (and I do believe she did it). While I am very interested in psychology, especially psychology of criminals, this book was incredibly poor written.<br />
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First, Keith was very sarcastic. I am an extremely sarcastic person and find it to be very funny, but in the case of a published book about a killer, I don't think sarcasm is appropriate and doesn't belong. This book came off very unprofessionally to me, and I found it hard to take the author seriously. He was also WAY. TOO. REPETITIVE. I got it the first 20 times you mentioned that Casey's creepy dad watched her give birth and therefore saw her naked. Yes, it is disturbing, but I understood that the first hundred times you brought it up.<br />
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Additionally, Keith was constantly interjecting with his own weird inner monologues. For example, he included excerpts of Casey's interviews with detectives, and at random times, goes, "I would have said this..." then goes on with long, weird things that he would have said if he was in the room. Um, no one cares, Keith, what you would have said. Just tell me about the case, please and thank you. See, my sarcasm is acceptable because I'm not publishing a professional book right now. Got it, Keith?<br />
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Lastly, this book almost exclusively places the blame on Casey's parents for her murderous ways which pisses me off. I understand that her parents are bizarre and mental, but I blame ONLY the person who killed that poor child. Even if Casey's upbringing messed her up in a psychological manner, as a grown adult, surely she knew it was unacceptable to murder her own child. Casey should be held most accountable for this crime, and Keith hardly blamed her at all. He also seems to assume a lot, rather than base things on fact.<br />
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While I did find some parts of this book to be insightful, such as the inclusion of interviews between law enforcement and Casey/her family, all in all, I was really let down. I held Dr. Ablow in a much higher respect before I read this book, but I also think his editors should have cleaned up a lot of the junk such as the sarcasm and repetitiveness. Ah, well.<br />
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<b>My Rating: 2/5</b>StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537827811167592048.post-66974684516304213982012-02-02T19:05:00.002-05:002012-02-02T19:15:06.358-05:00Review and Giveaway: Julia's Child by Sarah Pinneo<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ04YHhzMb1o4hEpmwaFmFaF0FhfihLSI_VEE7i969edfX0l3mVXOGsDKjOBvHk-UAaE752cQdPXh1LJa4_2oIoa1F45bsnEGZ4P4458Y5RAepGyltFZa4QjPCY2AOZ4whTjPRxVKSj8GG/s1600/11847171.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ04YHhzMb1o4hEpmwaFmFaF0FhfihLSI_VEE7i969edfX0l3mVXOGsDKjOBvHk-UAaE752cQdPXh1LJa4_2oIoa1F45bsnEGZ4P4458Y5RAepGyltFZa4QjPCY2AOZ4whTjPRxVKSj8GG/s200/11847171.jpg" width="132" /></a>Title: <i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11847171-julia-s-child">Julia's Child</a></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">Author: Sarah Pinneo</div><div style="text-align: center;">Genre/Audience: Women's fiction, adult</div><div style="text-align: center;">Publication: Plume, 2012</div><div style="text-align: center;">Source: For review</div><br />
<b>Summary</b>: Julia Bailey has a whole lot on her plate. Not only is she a New York City mom and wife, she is also running a floundering business, Julia's Child, an organic food line for toddlers. She works long days concocting healthy, but appealing meals for children, while attempting to get her line into some big time stores such as Whole Foods, but can't seem to catch a break, or make a profit. Then, by chance, she gets to appear on a popular talk show, and things start looking up for her struggling business. Can she juggle all of her responsibilities and keep her head? Can she finally succeed enough in business to stop draining the savings account? This debut novel takes us into the mind and heart of an every day mother just trying to make her place in the world.<br />
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<b>My Thoughts</b>: First off, I'm incredibly impressed that this is Pinneo's debut novel. The writing is really great and the author seems like a seasoned pro. Additionally, I thought this was a pretty unique story. It takes the typical "busy mom living in the city" story and turns it on its head. I can't say I've ever read anything else that features an organic toddler food line and I think it was so cool that she added this element in to make for something unique. So, I liked that a lot... and now I want some muffets.<br />
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I also really liked Julia herself. She was a really sympathetic character and I found myself rooting for her the whole way. I felt terrible knowing that her business wasn't doing well, and I felt elated when she got several "big breaks." I admired her spirit and tenacity, most of all.<br />
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My one complaint with the novel was the pacing for me. At times, I felt it was a little bit slow and not very exciting. I do understand why that is, though. This is the story of a hardworking mom trying to succeed at being a mother, a wife, and an entrepreneur. I think that Pinneo wanted to show the day to day life and the struggles that come along with all of those responsibilities, so even though it isn't always thrilling, it is true to life, and I get that. I think one day I'll be able to relate better to these kinds of stories when I have kids of my own.<br />
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Anyways, a cute read about a hectic momma and her start-up business that I would recommend to fans of foodie type fiction, and especially to moms! <br />
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<b>My Rating: 3.5/5</b><br />
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<b>Giveaway: </b>I have one copy available to a lucky U.S. reader! Just leave me your e-mail address below if you'd like to be entered into the drawing. Giveaway ends in one week on 2-9-12! Thanks and good luck! <b><br />
</b>StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537827811167592048.post-58231858705880083212012-01-31T18:26:00.004-05:002012-01-31T23:02:27.731-05:00Weight loss is hard.I am on an epic weight loss journey! That may or may not be an exaggeration...<br />
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All my life, I've been chubby. My weight has been up and down over the years. A few years ago, I was going to the gym on a daily basis, and my weight was the lowest it'd ever been. Then college started, and a new medication, and my weight flew up again, and I've decided it really sucks and that I don't want to be overweight anymore. I hated being overweight, but I was smart and funny, so I had other things going for me and I just kind of let it go. I've always been the funny friend, and I've relished that role, but why not be something more? I just cannot accept an unhealthy lifestyle for myself anymore. I want to be healthy and live longer (so that I have time to read all of my books, of course!), and I'm doing something about it.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn8IhUc_2LnfjPseQ9LeTiaabkMKXTjldlGmo0ruhRApS-Ec7onnzOP7euFGIXA_eDB4utw0oXRwLn-GE0G8CLexnxWexeM38agncpk_Opo5QShc7ZQrrlL3DwEb7SUkK5tQcgD-w1pOgH/s1600/Me+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn8IhUc_2LnfjPseQ9LeTiaabkMKXTjldlGmo0ruhRApS-Ec7onnzOP7euFGIXA_eDB4utw0oXRwLn-GE0G8CLexnxWexeM38agncpk_Opo5QShc7ZQrrlL3DwEb7SUkK5tQcgD-w1pOgH/s320/Me+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here I am today. Note the round cheeks. They GOTS to go.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I've started working out on an (almost) daily basis. I initially wanted to jog around my apartment complex every night. I did that... once. The following day, it started snowing and the roads got unbearably slippery. Besides, I was mostly speed-walking. I'd jog for a few seconds, then walk. So, I realized that was not a good idea for the winter. Then I got a Wii for my birthday a couple of weeks ago, and have stocked up on exercise games. I've been doing "Gold's Gym Dance Workout" every day, and it gives me a great workout. It combines Latin dance with Cardio kickboxing. I also got Zumba and some other work-out games that I'll be trying soon.<br />
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The Gold's Gym game sets up a two week program for you, so I'm just finishing that up before I start the others. The work-outs are kind of short so far (they are up to about 20 minutes), so I'm still trying to build up to longer workouts. I've also gotten some work-out DVDs like the "Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred." Again, just waiting to finish up the program I'm currently doing before I start those. And let me tell you, my arms and legs are screaming in pain! Even though it hurts, it's a good hurt! I know it's helping me, and that soon, it won't hurt at all. I can't wait until I can follow the exercises without my arms flailing around haphazardly halfway through the program. Ha!<br />
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I initially was going to just focus on exercise then slowly work a healthier diet into it, but my pal, Adam, from <a href="http://roofbeamreader.net/">Roof Beam Reader,</a> has changed my mind. We've been talking about fitness on Facebook and he has been really helpful and encouraging. He's helped me understand that my diet is just as important as exercising, and recommended I download My Fitness Pal onto my phone, which I have. Now, I'm tracking calories as well. Thanks for the inspiration, Adam!<br />
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I've also gotten a lot of weight loss memoirs from the library to read. I'm hoping to find inspiration in them and that reading other people's success stories will push me to keep going. So, if you see an increase in reviews of those kinds of books, then that's why, but I'll try not to overdo it. I have a ton of other books to read as well, so worry not!<br />
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This is going to be a really long and hard journey. Already, I find myself lacking motivation some days, but I'm determined to not give up this time around.<br />
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I hope you don't mind the personal post. I try to work them into my blog once in awhile. If you have any tricks, tips, etc. please let me know. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn8IhUc_2LnfjPseQ9LeTiaabkMKXTjldlGmo0ruhRApS-Ec7onnzOP7euFGIXA_eDB4utw0oXRwLn-GE0G8CLexnxWexeM38agncpk_Opo5QShc7ZQrrlL3DwEb7SUkK5tQcgD-w1pOgH/s1600/Me+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><br />
</a></td></tr>
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</td></tr>
</tbody></table>StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537827811167592048.post-3728700539551300422012-01-31T06:00:00.001-05:002012-01-31T06:00:12.233-05:00Review: Scotland by Starlight by Nancy Volkers<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjV4v2CONFe5M7rHOjQpy-1AnpePLNYRsCngBNfzqxPbYgw2LZMWodLho_sxthcHKC5BzGIb5q6-dvkdsU-xrXb-cCmzRTSm0mkOQkdGbFGuKGV3MeU0ammmzIKsCQP4JEFfrADr2Ej-EL/s1600/scotland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjV4v2CONFe5M7rHOjQpy-1AnpePLNYRsCngBNfzqxPbYgw2LZMWodLho_sxthcHKC5BzGIb5q6-dvkdsU-xrXb-cCmzRTSm0mkOQkdGbFGuKGV3MeU0ammmzIKsCQP4JEFfrADr2Ej-EL/s200/scotland.jpg" width="139" /></a>Title: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10327209-scotland-by-starlight"><i>Scotland by Starlight</i></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Series: Sequel to <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6676748-a-scottish-ferry-tale"><i>A Scottish Ferry Tale</i></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">Author: Nancy Volkers</div><div style="text-align: center;">Genre/Audience: Romance, adult</div><div style="text-align: center;">Publication: CreateSpace, 2011</div><div style="text-align: center;">Source: For review, <a href="http://www.clpblogtours.com/">CLP Tours</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Summary</b>: In <i>A Scottish Ferry Tale</i>, we meet Cassie, a young college-aged woman on a trip to Scotland, who meets Ralph, a Scotsman who is in his 40s. The two fall quickly in love, but Cassie goes back to the states, and her indecisiveness nearly destroys their relationship. In this sequel, Cassie and Ralph have reunited for good, and Cassie moves to Scotland to start her life with Ralph, to whom she soon becomes engaged (again!). This story chronicles their new life together, with their friends, family, and ups and downs of the relationship. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>My Thoughts</b>: I read and<a href="http://stephthebookworm.blogspot.com/2011/04/review-scottish-ferry-tale-by-nancy.html"> reviewed <i>A Scottish Ferry Tale</i></a> months ago and absolutely loved it. I was charmed by the vivid setting and the lovely Ralph. I was really excited to read the sequel, and while I still enjoyed it, I wish I had read it sooner after finishing the first one. I had a difficult time remembering all the details and occurrences of the first book, so I was a little frustrated at first while reading. I remembered the basic premise of the first story, but would have liked more of a detailed recap. I also was confused by a lot of the characters and had no recollection of who they were. I think I would have liked this book even better if I had gone right from the first book to this one. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I really enjoyed the romance and chemistry between Ralph and Cassie. It was evident from the very first book that they truly belonged together. I love stories like this, and reading about true love. The romance is excellent, but also realistic, with disagreements, jealousy, etc. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The first half of the book was a bit slow for me, but about halfway through, it really picked up the pace and I started to get back into their story just like the first time around. These books, by and far, are some of the best self-published books I have ever read. The writing flows smoothly, the story line is unique, and there are basically no grammatical or editing errors, which I really appreciate (I do have a degree in English, after all).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"> I would highly recommend you pick up this series if you love romance, vivid settings, and other countries. However, I'd recommend you read them back to back to get a better reading experience without forgetting any of the first story, like me. As I said, I LOVED <i>A Scottish Ferry Tale</i>, and I really liked this one too, but forgetting some of the details and characters made it just a little less enjoyable for me... still highly recommended though.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>My Rating: 3.5/5</b></div>StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537827811167592048.post-20818122189074619392012-01-30T13:29:00.007-05:002012-01-30T13:29:00.084-05:00I'm moving, so please update your subscription! :)Just a heads up that I'm making the transition over to Wordpress very soon. It's been in the works for awhile, but I've been on a waitlist for Southtown Creative, who is transferring and designing my blog. Well, the time is almost here! I will be self-hosting my blog via Wordpress.org and I will also be getting my own domain, FINALLY, after 2.5 years. I decided to take a huge step by self-hosting my blog so that I can have 100% control and ownership of my blog. It will be a little costly for start-up, but I think it will be worth it.<br />
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I'll be moved over in just a couple of weeks, so I wanted to let you know that if you want to keep up with the blog, you will have to subscribe some way other than GFC, which I'll be getting rid of. You can subscribe by e-mail to the right (and I believe that feed will automatically transfer over with the new blog) or however else you'd like. :) I hope that most of you will find another way to follow the blog because I've loved getting to know you all.<br />
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I will of course post another update with the new domain address once the transfer is complete, but just wanted to give you a chance to start switching over now. Thank you, guys!StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537827811167592048.post-12480067441668276962012-01-28T18:33:00.001-05:002012-02-01T20:37:32.404-05:00Review: The Chalk Girl by Carol O'Connell<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVHfxUReybu9_8m2KDeU6NQ3JWwEHA_Ejsjqf2Qo9zLM8d3Hn_1-h1i-QApOJU7xjyc9YBeYiXLRmnZMTEpLXenHNvEyIyVRWLGSUQ4YYgvZuWavjRXNmLwig5YEr9ouM-iqGtdDif_3B8/s1600/51fCE3GpRSL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVHfxUReybu9_8m2KDeU6NQ3JWwEHA_Ejsjqf2Qo9zLM8d3Hn_1-h1i-QApOJU7xjyc9YBeYiXLRmnZMTEpLXenHNvEyIyVRWLGSUQ4YYgvZuWavjRXNmLwig5YEr9ouM-iqGtdDif_3B8/s200/51fCE3GpRSL.jpg" width="130" /></a>Title: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10856198-the-chalk-girl"><i>The Chalk Girl </i></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Series: Kathleen Mallory, #10</div><div style="text-align: center;">Author: Carol O'Connell</div><div style="text-align: center;">Genre/Audience: Suspense, mystery, adult </div><div style="text-align: center;">Publiation: Putnam, 2012</div><div style="text-align: center;">Source: For review, publisher</div><br />
This is a <b>guest review</b> from my mom, <a href="http://www.kimthehousemole.blogspot.com/">Kim</a>, who reviews for me occasionally, since we have very similar taste in books. :) Please welcome my mom!<br />
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<b>Summary</b>: The little girl appeared in Central Park; red-haired, blue-eyed, smiling, perfect - except for the blood on her shoulder. It fell from the sky, she said, while she was looking for her uncle, who turned into a tree. Poor child, people thought. And then they found the body in the tree. <br />
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For Mallory, newly returned to the Special Crimes Unit after three months lost time, there is something about the girl that she understands. Mallory is damaged, they say, but she can tell a kindred spirit. And this one will lead her to a story of extraordinary crimes; murders stretching back fifteen years, blackmail and complicity and a particular cruelty that only someone with Mallory's history could fully recognize. In the next few weeks, she will deal with them all...in her own way.<br />
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(This summary is from the back of the book... we usually write up our own summaries, but I had a hard time summarizing this). <br />
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<b>My thoughts:</b> Steph received this an an ARC from the publisher, who stated that even though this is the 10th in this series, it could be read as a stand-alone. When I first started reading it, I really enjoyed it, particularly the character of Coco, the little red-haired girl. I wanted to give her a hug and bring her home with me. Once I got further into the book, I felt like I was a little lost, as there were a lot of characters introduced without a lot of explanation and there were alternate plots going on. As far as the "Chalk Girl" in the title, I believe she was mentioned a couple times, but I'm not really sure of her relevance to the story. I think there was a great book in here somewhere and with a little streamlining and some editing, it would have gotten there, but I was confused through much of the book. I'm not sure if this is because I hadn't read the previous ones in the series or there was just too much going on. I am intrigued by the main character of the series, Kathy Mallory, so I started reading the first book in the series last night. I'm not too far into it yet, but I'll let you know how it goes. I am holding off on a rating at this point, as I would like to give it a fair shot once I've read some of the others in the series. So that would be my suggestion - start with book one in the series, <em>Mallory's Oracle</em>. I'm assuming since the author made it all the way up to a doing a tenth book in the series, that it must be good, I just didn't get that from where I started. I will keep you posted.StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537827811167592048.post-26867624222914720342012-01-24T07:21:00.003-05:002012-01-27T15:42:18.522-05:00Review: The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimaT__oPmnN6SAnd6eh5v4EUYqC4L1X9VAgSwJYsJEG9S5FazQFGOLQMw-VMWdlwzg8P1WVb-kxubC-PEHwuq5Kwul5mWva2XN95VE7rCsL7k4aIF4GkirM9gOUk8Y4DGlJn44ZmlTtdgj/s1600/61oWFoI4glL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimaT__oPmnN6SAnd6eh5v4EUYqC4L1X9VAgSwJYsJEG9S5FazQFGOLQMw-VMWdlwzg8P1WVb-kxubC-PEHwuq5Kwul5mWva2XN95VE7rCsL7k4aIF4GkirM9gOUk8Y4DGlJn44ZmlTtdgj/s200/61oWFoI4glL.jpg" width="125" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Title: </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10959277-the-future-of-us"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Future of Us</span></i></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Author(s): Jay Asher, Carolyn Mackler</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Genre/Audience: Young adult</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Publication: Razorbill, 2011</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Source: Library</span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Summary: </b>Emma, a teenager in 1995, has just gotten her very first computer. After her best friend and neighbor, Josh, gives her an AOL CD to download, something strange opens up on her computer: Facebook, a site that she's never heard of and that has yet to be invented. The Facebook page is of her... 15 years in the future. She also finds Facebook pages for Josh, her friends, and everyone she knows now, and sees what their futures will bring, including unexpected pregnancies, unexpected marriages, and other strange occurances. She and Josh soon discover that they can change their future by tweaking things right now. Each time they log back onto Facebook, they find that their futures are changed by every little thing they do and small actions they take. Emma, dissatisfied by what she sees, is constantly doing things to alter the future, while Josh is hesitant and afraid to do so. Meanwhile, Josh is battling heartbreak after Emma, who he's loved for a long time, has turned him down, and Emma wonders if she made the right choice in doing so. </span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>My Thoughts:</b><i> The Future of Us</i> is a compelling read with a very unique and intriguing story line. We all wonder what our futures will be like, so can you imagine being able to just boot up your computer, and BAM, there you are in 15 years... plus all your friends and families? If given the opportunity to know my own future, I think I'd take it, but it's one of those hard questions that you never really know the answer to until you're presented with the situation.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The book offers quite a moral dilemma. Emma and Josh have the ability to change their futures by changing their present. They change something now, then sign back onto Facebook to see that their entire future has been shaped by one small change. Emma is gung-ho about changing things to try and arrange her life just so, but Josh is against it. Of course, Josh' future appears happy and romantic, where Emma's is always dismal, and she keeps trying to change things so that she will marry someone different, or live someplace else... and it works, but she's still never happy. This future changing thing is a scary idea, and in a way, the two are playing God, so I was really intrigued by this, and liked thinking about it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The story also had a lot of fluff things too, which I liked. It kept the story fresh and lighthearted, and prevented it from getting too philosophical or deep when I really just wanted a fun read. I loved the friendships Emma and Josh had both with each other, and with Tyson and Kellan, their best friends. I also must say, I loved the dynamics between Josh and Emma, lifelong best friends, who may or may not be falling in love after Josh admits he loves Emma, and she turns him down. I was always rooting for them, and really liked Josh, a lot more than Emma, in fact. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I'd definitely recommend this book! I wasn't blown away by it or anything, but I really did enjoy it and kept turning the pages to see what their futures would bring. I loved the future-changing dilemma, and the tension between Emma and Josh who were trying to figure out if they should be together. Overall, a fun read for fans of contemporary YA with a little twist.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">My Rating: 3.5/5</span></b></div>StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537827811167592048.post-29429977700120463592012-01-23T09:00:00.001-05:002012-01-23T09:00:15.049-05:00Meet my Reading Buddies Laura and Cindy!A couple of weeks ago, I put out a call for reading buddies for 2012! I thought it would be a lot of fun and a great motivation to be in friendly competition with some fellow book lovers and bloggers. We are tracking the number of books we read as well as the number of pages, and sending weekly updates via e-mail. We have bookish prize incentives for the end of the year, too. While this is a cool bonus, I'm mostly looking forward to getting to know my buddies and helping motivate each other. I have two competitive buddies, Zahida from Musings of a YA Reader, who you<a href="http://stephthebookworm.blogspot.com/2012/01/meet-reading-buddy-1-zahida.html"> met a couple of weeks ago</a>, and Cindy from Oodles of Books. I also have a non-competitive buddy, Laura from Book Snob. I've asked all of them a different set of questions so that I, and now you, can get to know them better!<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">*** </div><br />
Today, meet Laura and Cindy! First up, Laura from <a href="http://booksnob-booksnob.blogspot.com/">Book Snob</a>! I've loved Laura's blog for awhile now, and through our being buddies, we are now getting to know each other better. It's been a lot of fun!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh64uQKojNbxboGXJXO2sESxqC3M49bmfOuzagZVG29FNwFPrF9TL3_S3UWRzeXXybQtuVfkhTTzBLfw1jUHpYRqVg3TfT7NpNZBPd7NExGqpD5G70JzsENDDNYi-hXUweUeaZe0WiyEC6/s1600/3904a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh64uQKojNbxboGXJXO2sESxqC3M49bmfOuzagZVG29FNwFPrF9TL3_S3UWRzeXXybQtuVfkhTTzBLfw1jUHpYRqVg3TfT7NpNZBPd7NExGqpD5G70JzsENDDNYi-hXUweUeaZe0WiyEC6/s200/3904a.jpg" width="115" /></a></div><b>1.</b> <b> Can you tell me about your job?</b><br />
I am a high school social studies teacher. I currently teach 4 classes of 9th grade World Studies and 1 junior class of Economics/Government and AP Human Geography. I teach in a urban high school of about 2000 students that represent a huge variety of cultures. It is a great job and keeps me extremely busy. The best part of my job is interacting with the students and seeing them learn something new. The worst part is grading papers as it cuts into my family/personal time.<br />
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<b>2.</b> <b>What do you like to do when you're not reading?</b><br />
I am married with two kids and a dog and when I am not spending time with them, I love to write, blog, crochet, go to movies, do dance central on my Xbox and hang out with my family and friends. In the summers, I camp, hike and go backpacking. I love wine and enjoy cooking. I also love music and can usually be found twirling around my kitchen to the songs on my Ipod. <br />
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<b>3.</b> <b>What do you think about books being turned into movies?</b><br />
I don't mind when books are turned into movies. If I read a book and see the movie right away, I always hate the movie because the books are always better but if I read a book and let a year go by and then see the movie, I tend to like the movie more. Overall books are way better than movies because you create the characters in your head, you own it, the story becomes a part of you. A movie is another person's vision of how they saw the book in their head and that is OK too, usually it is never as good as my own version.<br />
<b><br />
4. </b> <b>What was your favorite book you read in 2011?</b><br />
This is a hard question for me as I don't have just ONE favorite book. I really liked <i>The Hunger Game</i> trilogy. I loved <i>The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks</i> and <i>Between Shades of Gray</i> and <i>Crazy</i> by Han Nolan. There are so many great books out there. <br />
<br />
<b>5.</b> <b>What three books are you most excited to read this year?</b><br />
I created a challenge on my blog this year to read Pulitzer Prize winning books and my plan is to read 12 this year. I am really excited about reading some of those novels like <i>March</i> by Geraldine Brooks. I am excited about finishing the <i>Waterfall</i> YA series by Lisa Bergren I started last fall in 2011. I also read a lot of local Minnesota authors who are under the radar so to speak, and so I am looking forward to reading <i>Kara, Lost</i> by Susan Niz. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Cindy blogs at <a href="http://www.oodlesofbooks.net/">Oodles of Books</a>, and is one of my oldest blogging buddies! We started blogging around the same time and have been reading each others blogs since, so I was super excited when we became reading buddies for 2012! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-MljhW7WHqofP0ENVNKEnF7OHBh_KBiXDrTLnEvlDPhM12tKfU5jPeNGRbka_2cfD4LHDpugEFNEqvkG1RGz8PK5xcHbk4CdAzdfbd4tzvYpC7wdcJNZyJ6Wz1Jdj6lj2170p1bBxHK1/s1600/274931_644292055_2044403_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-MljhW7WHqofP0ENVNKEnF7OHBh_KBiXDrTLnEvlDPhM12tKfU5jPeNGRbka_2cfD4LHDpugEFNEqvkG1RGz8PK5xcHbk4CdAzdfbd4tzvYpC7wdcJNZyJ6Wz1Jdj6lj2170p1bBxHK1/s1600/274931_644292055_2044403_n.jpg" /></a><b><span>1. What do you do for work/school?</span></b></div><div><span>I go to school full-time at my local State University. I am double majoring in Child Development and English Literature. I plan on transferring in the next year or so to start working on my Master's Degree in Library Science. I am also attending a community college part-time and earning a degree as a Library Technician. I will have my degree in less than 5 months and then I can start working at a library! I worked full-time as a preschool teacher (I have a Child Development associate's degree), but when I decided to go back to school full time AND take extra courses for a second associate's degree, I quit my job and now work part-time in retail. It is not such a great job, but it pays the bills and gets me the extra money to support my book buying addiction :)</span></div><div><span> </span><b><span> </span></b></div><div><b><span>2. What are three books you always recommend?</span></b></div><div><span>Three books <span style="font-style: italic;">only</span>? That's a tough one. It usually depends on <span style="font-style: italic;">who</span> I am recommending them to...but I guess the most common ones are <span style="font-style: italic;">The Hunger Games</span> (YA), <span style="font-style: italic;">God Shaped Hole</span> (Adult Fiction) and <span style="font-style: italic;">Tuck Everlasting</span> (Middle Grade).</span></div><div><span> </span><b><span> </span></b></div><div><b><span>3. How did you get into reading?</span></b></div><div><span>I have been reading forever. Or at least since I hit that stage where you go from "learning to read" to "reading to learn," so somewhere around 3rd grade. Reading was something that came naturally to me. There is no one who suggested I read, or bought me a good book that started it all or anything like that. One day, I was just in love with reading and that was it. The rest is, well, history. There were a few people I remember who encouraged my reading, like my third grade teacher, my mom, my aunt, etc. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Even though I was always quiet and shy, I have always been rebellious and when other kids thought it was weird that I liked to read...so what? I read because I wanted.</span><b><span> </span></b></div><div><b><span><br />
</span></b></div><div><b><span>4. What do you like to do outside of reading?</span></b></div><div><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1327248676180127" style="font-size: 12pt;">There are A LOT of things I like to do beside reading, of course. First off, I have school and work and those take up a lot of time, but I enjoy them. I also hang out with my boyfriend a lot, because you know, I love him and all. I also like to spend time with my momma and baby brother (he's 14, but he'll always be my baby brother :D). But here's a generic list of what I like to do beside reading: blogging, hiking, shopping for books and clothes and shoes, going to shows/concerts, sleeping, going out to dinner with my besties, traveling, scrapbooking, cuddling, browsing the interwebs, writing, watching movies (sad ones, usually), biking, walking the puppies, and crocheting. </span></div><div><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1327248676180127" style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><b><span> </span></b></div><div><b><span>5. Are there any books you could read over and over again?</span></b></div><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Two words: Harry Potter. There are plenty of other books I can probably read over and over, but I will stick to one...er, sorta.</span>StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537827811167592048.post-10200681895138722982012-01-22T10:57:00.001-05:002012-01-22T12:02:30.731-05:00Back off, Library HATERS!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>UGH! You all know how much <a href="http://stephthebookworm.blogspot.com/2010/09/i-love-library.html">I love library</a>. And as some of you may have seen on my Facebook and or Twitter yesterday, I was in a very rotten mood due to a very rotten patron at my library! He came up to check out a book (keep in mind that he is a library user!) and says, "what's going on in the stacks?" Our stacks are all currently being shifted at the moment due to our renovations. We aren't adding anything on, but we are adjusting locations and whatnot in order to build larger meeting rooms. This will mean we can have more people attending our programs because sometimes they currently max out due to the smaller room size. We are relocating the books and quiet study area to do this. Our Library Friends are also moving from their very tiny used bookstore to a larger one which is great because they do A LOT for us. We are getting new carpets as well, as ours are getting torn, and bubbling up. All of these renovations are being done to better benefit our patrons.<br />
<br />
So anyways, the guy asks what's going on and I tell him the stacks are currently being shifted in preparation for our renovations. He says, "renovations?! WHY?! This library is BRAND NEW!" My response? "well, we've actually been open for about 11 years now and the library needs some work." *SMILE* It's hard to be nice to rotten people sometimes, isn't it?! Gotta do it, though. He grabs his book, begins walking away, and mutters, "what a waste of taxpayer money!"<br />
<br />
People, I am raging! I am fuming! Is this man FOR REAL RIGHT NOW? He is USING the library, yet he thinks it is a waste of money? <br />
<br />
And let me tell you, there is NO better way to spend "taxpayer money" than on the library. WHY? Because the library benefits EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THE COMMUNITY! The library welcomes everyone in this county (750,000 people) to use our resources, and we have many of them. So KIND SIR, would you rather have just purchased that $26.00 book you just borrowed from us, or would you like to borrow it from us for free, just like any of the other 750,000 people may do?<br />
<br />
I guess maybe he'd like taxpayer money to go to worse things, such as the people who expect government handouts which benefits only a few people and not all.<br />
<br />
Why do people hate on libraries?! FOR REAL. Many people wouldn't be able to read if it weren't for libraries because they can't afford to buy the books themselves. I love supporting authors, so if I could, I WOULD buy all my books brand new, but I can't. I buy the very occasional new book, only for books, series, and authors I absolutely love. The rest of the books I buy are used. But the majority of the books I read are from the library: supports the library AND my wallet. WIN-WIN! I thought authors would be against libraries, but they're not! Just yesterday on Twitter, a dear author friend of mine and bestseller told me she is a staunch supporter of libraries! I guess authors just want their books read more than anything else, and don't care about the sales money! SO. Let's reiterate. Without libraries, lots of people wouldn't be able to read... and we all know how important reading is. I wouldn't be ME if I didn't read. And how did I start reading, which shaped my entire life, from my career choice to my blog? I started reading as a child when my mother brought me to the library on a weekly basis. SO THERE.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbVJEyC46w5y_ZxylLZF_z3o9RFrnOtqJZU1zJQtD4zJpw42LnzENy7htnnpEmIPsjkOOYcSbHUOt8REpmJ4iSXCsonbZ-K5L6Y5XeJ8NK0R0S-pyMYKW8x45Tut8geUppb52VAvO7kLCa/s1600/support+your+library+banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="93" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbVJEyC46w5y_ZxylLZF_z3o9RFrnOtqJZU1zJQtD4zJpw42LnzENy7htnnpEmIPsjkOOYcSbHUOt8REpmJ4iSXCsonbZ-K5L6Y5XeJ8NK0R0S-pyMYKW8x45Tut8geUppb52VAvO7kLCa/s400/support+your+library+banner.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537827811167592048.post-38765558629574658912012-01-19T22:08:00.007-05:002012-01-19T22:12:12.215-05:00Review: Angel Face by Barbie Latza Nadeau<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNZTcMWf2_DD9464llHFWfHpViJi9D-V8mihgY2KPd12aMpT9sZNH3am1_y3M7SRhdHBGRNqXfSRIoSus8-bbJkZu0K6Iy1_5d8y4KtDKA9xT3M4hfEhglRwRAp46QNA7wraK0Wb1XOJU5/s1600/angel+face.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNZTcMWf2_DD9464llHFWfHpViJi9D-V8mihgY2KPd12aMpT9sZNH3am1_y3M7SRhdHBGRNqXfSRIoSus8-bbJkZu0K6Iy1_5d8y4KtDKA9xT3M4hfEhglRwRAp46QNA7wraK0Wb1XOJU5/s200/angel+face.jpg" width="123" /></a>Title: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7760816-angel-face"><i>Angel Face: The Real Story of Student Killer Amanda Knox</i></a><br />
Author: Barbie Latza Nadeau<br />
Genre/Audience: True crime, nonfiction, adult<br />
Publication: Beast Books, 2010<br />
Source: Library<br />
<br />
</div><div></div><div>I was interested in knowing more about the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1327028397_0">Amanda Knox</span> case. All I knew was that she was an American girl accused of killing a fellow exchange student in Italy. This book gave the absolute bare bones of the case - dates, location, names - but other than that, this book was not all that informative nor was it well written. The author is self-indulgent and talks often about herself, even though she was not involved in this case except for being a journalist and writing about it. Also, she included way too many details about insignificant things, such as naming <i>everyone</i> involved in the case including all lawyers and people in the court room. She kept bringing up names and I would have no idea who she was talking about. While she included all these unnecessary details, she <i>didn't</i> include enough details about the important things like um... what was the evidence against Amanda? What was the potential motive(s)? These are the most important things in a true crime book and I feel like I didn't get that information at all. While I do believe that Amanda was guilty, this book still seemed quite bias, like the author had an ax to grind and included more opinion than fact which is never good in non-fiction.<br />
<br />
</div><div></div><div>All in all, this book was okay for giving the very basic information, but kind of left me confused by the end, rather than more informed. I'm going to read another book about the case called <i>The Fatal Gift of Beauty</i> and hope that it's better!<br />
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</div><div></div><div><b>My Rating: 2/5</b></div>StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537827811167592048.post-31894237988463144012012-01-17T11:31:00.001-05:002012-01-17T11:32:41.763-05:00Today is my birthday.I'm 23 today.<br />
<br />
In my 22nd year, I did a lot of growing. I moved into my own apartment with Charles, got a dog of my own, and was promoted to library clerk at work. I graduated college with my Bachelor's degree and started grad school. So, a lot has gone on, and I hope 23 brings a lot more GOOD changes.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwZJomPRlv1e-CeDIQDl38F-MhS7UKgJGd_zDQc2cRYgZGtdzt0NhfUlIcrKHFg62nLGh0VYnd-92wXjlC3dmu9lF-EigsKoBpNSEr4_LE32jjTlYGMbms_legMhX5PNxFZ7qif3ieT4zO/s1600/fourth+bday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwZJomPRlv1e-CeDIQDl38F-MhS7UKgJGd_zDQc2cRYgZGtdzt0NhfUlIcrKHFg62nLGh0VYnd-92wXjlC3dmu9lF-EigsKoBpNSEr4_LE32jjTlYGMbms_legMhX5PNxFZ7qif3ieT4zO/s1600/fourth+bday.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here I am on my fourth birthday. Apparently I liked trolls. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Today will be pretty low-key. I'm going to lunch with my mom in a bit, and tonight, Charles is taking me to dinner and a movie ("Joyful Noise"). We both took the day off from work.<br />
<br />
Thursday will be cake with my family, since my brother is working tonight. We ordered a cake with a sock monkey face on it, because I love sock monkeys! I'll take pictures. Friday, my family will be going to dinner. As you can see, I really get a birth WEEK.<br />
<br />
I used to wake up on my birthday and be so excited about gifts. Now, not so much. Of course, gifts are awesome! But as I get older, I'm just happy to have the day off and revel in the extra love and attention from my family and friends on my special day. Today, I get to do what I want to do all day. For me, that's mostly relaxing and going out with my loved ones. I'll also squeeze in some reading.<br />
<br />
Because it's my birthday, and I'll read if I want to.StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537827811167592048.post-12266754152136700242012-01-12T18:50:00.003-05:002012-01-22T11:24:33.690-05:00Review: Lunatics by Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEPyIF5lPujao1shlMBxcRrLNMI5iwt-vl3C138EDkm2s8SayMtLZmy9iz6mYcVEnZ9q5-BWZYj4y6OuYf-tG6qhRB0w4l2yj_VZVp8x8qUdNrKbfracPvPmkGqXUrcEsRIweAI4LuPajc/s1600/lun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEPyIF5lPujao1shlMBxcRrLNMI5iwt-vl3C138EDkm2s8SayMtLZmy9iz6mYcVEnZ9q5-BWZYj4y6OuYf-tG6qhRB0w4l2yj_VZVp8x8qUdNrKbfracPvPmkGqXUrcEsRIweAI4LuPajc/s200/lun.jpg" width="131" /></a>Title: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11890819-lunatics"><i>Lunatics</i></a></div><div></div><div id="yui_3_2_0_1_132641186153093" style="text-align: center;">Author(s): Dave Barry, Alan Zweibel</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">Genre/Audience: Humor fiction, adult</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">Publication: Penguin, 2012</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">Source: ARC for review, publisher </div><div></div><div><br />
<b>Summary</b>: When Philip Horkman, a mild mannered pet store owner, and Jeffrey Peckerman, an aggressive, obnoxious, and abrasive forensic plumber, get into an argument at a youth soccer game when Philip is reffing and calls offside on Jeffrey's daughter, no one could predict what would happen. Their argument escalates and keeps snowballing, eventually finding the two of them together hijacking a cruise ship and liberating oppressed people all over the world. They're also mistakenly thought of as terrorists and desperately wanted by the U.S. government who they continue to elude. Watch as these two lunatics, who hate each other passionately, get into escapades all over the globe involving a rare lemur, bananas, Donald Trump, and super secret government agencies, while fighting like madmen the whole time.</div><div></div><div><br />
<b>My Thoughts</b>: Ahaha, where to start? This book is hysterical, and to all the naysayers who are complaining that it is too unrealistic, BOO on you. This book is completely absurd, and it's intended to be! Isn't that the beauty of fiction? You get to suspend belief and just sit back and enjoy the ride. </div><div></div><div><br />
The chapters alternate between the two characters which I really liked because their voices were really unique and equally funny. Their dialogues were great, and I cracked up numerous times over stupid things said by each of the characters. Seriously - there were some GREAT one-liners and I can think of no other word to better suit these characters than to say they are total SCHMUCKS. Philip was really stiff, proper, dorky, and serious which was really funny given their situation(s). Jeffery was an obnoxious, coarse idiot, constantly swearing and being completely inappropriate. So, polar opposites resulting in a pure hatred for each other and constant bickering over stupid things despite being wanted by the U.S. government. They were constantly kidnapped and sent to different countries, where they accidentally freed people in each location, becoming worldwide heroes, and eventual presidential candidates. Everything that happens in this book is purely accidental, and the two of them are totally oblivious.</div><div></div><div><br />
The humor in this book is NOT for everyone. It is extremely stupid and silly, vulgar, offensive, crude, etc... but mostly just stupid. I, for one, love stupid humor and laughed my ass off the whole time. Some people would just roll their eyes at it, but not me. If you appreciate that kind of humor, then you'll probably love this book. If not, then step away riiiight now. I warned you. I'd recommend reading the first couple of chapters - you'll get a feel for the comedy right away and can determine pretty quickly whether or not you'll like it. </div><div></div><div><br />
Everything about this book is insane and ridiculous with two of the most absurd and idiotic characters of all time - in short, I freaking loved it. </div><div></div><div><br />
<b>My Rating: 4/5</b></div>StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537827811167592048.post-84444516556348106452012-01-10T17:35:00.000-05:002012-01-10T17:35:45.862-05:00Meet Reading Buddy #1, Zahida!A couple of weeks ago, I put out a call for reading buddies for 2012! I thought it would be a lot of fun and a great motivation to be in friendly competition with some fellow book lovers and bloggers. We are tracking the number of books we read as well as the number of pages, and sending weekly updates via e-mail. We are having two little contests (for most pages and for most books). The winner of each will get a book of their choice from the "loser" at the end of the year. While this is a cool bonus, I'm mostly looking forward to getting to know my buddies and helping motivate each other. I have two competition buddies, Zahida from Musings of a YA Reader, and Cindy from Oodles of Books. I also have a non-competitive buddy, Laura from Book Snob. I will introduce you to all of them. We all have a goal of around 100 books.<br />
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Today, meet Zahida from <a href="http://ayareader.blogspot.com/">Musings of a YA Reader</a>! You can see my interview over at her blog as well. <br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-CA">What is your work/school situation?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">I’m in my fourth year of university – only four more months until I graduate! – and am doing a double major in neuroscience and psychology in order to get a BSc. I’ll be taking a year off after to figure out what I want to do next, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be coming back to school for either a BEd or a Master’s degree in something. Unless of course I get a fabulous job!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><span> </span><span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-CA">What do you like to do outside of reading? </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">When I’m not reading, I’m usually watching either movies, hockey games or TV shows like The Vampire Diaries and Pretty Little Liars. I like shopping for jewellery, makeup and books too but that’s a little harder to do if you’re a broke university student. So these days, I’m either looking for good deals or window shopping. Oh, and I love playing board games … except it’s hard finding people to play with. They either don’t have the time or just aren’t competitive enough.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-CA">How long have you been book blogging?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">I started in late August 2010. So, it’s been almost a year and half. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-CA">What's been your most exciting or rewarding blogging moment or experience?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">My most exciting blogging moment would probably have to be getting my first comment. When you’re just starting out, those comments are so motivating because they show that at least somebody has read what you have to say. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">My most rewarding blogging moment would be the first time I got contacted by a publisher to review a book because it acknowledged the amount of work I’d put into my blog. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-CA">How would your friends describe you? How would you describe yourself?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">My friends would probably say that I’m opinionated, responsible, an excellent secret keeper and kind of a perfectionist. My family would say I’m clumsy and usually off in my own world. I say I am perfect :P Seriously though, it depends on who I’m with – with my friends I’m definitely one of the louder ones, but put me among strangers and I suddenly become one of the quieter ones because I feel awkward in big groups or with people I don’t know. <span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-CA">What genre of books do you normally read? </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">I try to read a mixture of paranormal and contemporary. I’m a big fantasy fan as well but I’m pickier within that genre so I don’t read as many fantasy books. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-CA">What one book are you most looking forward to in 2012?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11735983-insurgent">Insurgent</a>, of course! I loved <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8306857-divergent">Divergent</a> and hope I love Insurgent just as much.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-CA">Who is your favourite author? What is your favourite book?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">Two of my favourite authors are Elizabeth Scott and Sarah Dessen. As for my favourite book, I don’t have one because there are so many books that I’ll always love – <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3.Harry_Potter_and_the_Sorcerer_s_Stone">Harry Potter</a>, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8127.Anne_of_Green_Gables">Anne of Green Gables</a> and <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24337.Ella_Enchanted">Ella Enchanted</a> are just some of the few that come to mind.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-CA">If you got to pick one fictional guy to be your boyfriend, who would it be? </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">Realistically speaking, this would eliminate all these hot guys from paranormal or fantasy novels like Dimitri from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/345627.Vampire_Academy">Vampire Academy</a> (because there are no such things like dhampirs) or Lord Greco from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9368401-cascade">Cascade</a>/<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9935444-torrent">Torrent</a> (time travel won’t be possible any time soon). I’m tempted to say somebody like Ryan from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6989576-raw-blue">Raw Blue</a> (but he loves surfing and wouldn’t be happy not living near the ocean) or Adam from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4374400-if-i-stay">If I Stay</a>/<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8492825-where-she-went">Where She Went</a> (but I barely know much about music). So, I’d probably want (the older version of) Jason from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10255198-wherever-you-go">Wherever You Go</a> or a guy like Jared from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7129497-i-now-pronounce-you-someone-else">I Now Pronounce You Someone Else</a>. Lol, you can see I’ve put a lot of thought into this question.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-CA">If you got to pick one fictional girl to be your best friend, who would it be?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">I’m going to approach this question like the one above. So someone like Hermione would be out of the equation because witches don’t exist. I’d say maybe Anne from Anne of Green Gables. </span></div>StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537827811167592048.post-61319545976327849132012-01-07T22:40:00.000-05:002012-01-07T22:40:50.442-05:00Review: Going Underground by Susan Vaught<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiym04gOJq3tsQpJlz-VDNzxls-5C6Iw_ot9_pH3tDcUsGTkotjpij6ZqpDAV9KQP2iyN_adYQ-otITIAm3phQWYwRCM_z6d2CzyBae3b2fSz8lirjLJqC_xxi4ELEUTocGwdmc42TsKc15/s1600/going.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiym04gOJq3tsQpJlz-VDNzxls-5C6Iw_ot9_pH3tDcUsGTkotjpij6ZqpDAV9KQP2iyN_adYQ-otITIAm3phQWYwRCM_z6d2CzyBae3b2fSz8lirjLJqC_xxi4ELEUTocGwdmc42TsKc15/s200/going.jpg" width="129" /></a>Title: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10355643-going-underground"><i>Going Underground</i></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Author: Susan Vaught</div><div style="text-align: center;">Genre/Audience: Contemporary, Young adult</div><div style="text-align: center;">Publication: Bloomsbury, 2011</div><div style="text-align: center;">Source: Library<b><br />
</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><b>Summary</b>: When Del was 14, he got caught up in a sexting scandal that labeled him a felon. Now, at 17, he's a pariah of society, can't get into college, and digs graves for a living because no one else will give him a job. After living three years in near solitude, save for his parrot, Fred, and only loyal friend, Marvin, Del has met a girl who may be the one. He's afraid to get too close though, because he fears she will leave when she learns of his past, or that he'll find himself in trouble again. Del must learn to not give up on life or himself and to remove himself from isolation in order to find happiness again.<br />
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<b>My Thoughts</b>: I hardly ever read novels from the point of view of a male character because I feel like I can't relate as well or that I won't click with the story. Yeah, it's weird. But anyways, the story sounded intriguing enough for me to pick it up anyways, and I'm glad that I did.<br />
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I love, love, loved Del. He was so sympathetic, sweet-natured, and mild-mannered. He could have been so much more than what he was, but his fire was squelched when he was arrested, sent to juvie, and labeled a rapist, at just 14 years old. Throughout the novel, we see Del start to grow and rise up from his past. In that way, I think the story is hopeful, albeit sad.<br />
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I also liked the writing style. It switches back and forth between Del in the present, and Del at 14. We don't know exactly what happened upfront, but more and more is revealed throughout the flashback scenes. Those were actually my favorite chapters because I was dying to find out what really happened.<br />
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This book was also filled with quirky and interesting characters. Aside from Del, I'd have to say my favorite was Fred, his female parrot who farted, counted out of order, and said inappropriate things at all the wrong times. There were some great secondary characters as well, such as his parents who are animal rescuers, which is where Fred came from, and a goth girl from school who won't stop stalking Del at the graveyard, despite all of his protestations.<br />
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All in all, a well written contemporary YA novel that I enjoyed reading. It didn't blow me away or anything, but I did think it was pretty good. It was somewhat subtle and quiet, where I think it could have been slightly more dramatic or intense, but I did find it to be timely and modern. I'd definitely recommend it for all fans of contemporary YA, though.<br />
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If you're interested in reading other novels on the topic of sexting, I'd also recommend <a href="http://stephthebookworm.blogspot.com/2011/06/review-exposure-by-therese-fowler.html"><i>Exposure</i></a> by Therese Fowler, which is a much more intense and explosive look at a teenage sexting scandal, and one of my favorite reads of 2011. If you're looking for drama and OMG, then check out <i>Exposure</i>. If you're looking for a more toned down novel, then stick with <i>Going Underground</i>. Or, better yet, read both! :)<br />
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<b>My Rating: 3.5/5</b>StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537827811167592048.post-19966693298055938292012-01-05T18:38:00.000-05:002012-01-05T18:38:31.989-05:00Review: Caught in the Act by Jeannie McDonough<div id="yiv1515485273"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrMHLeE70TuwDbeV8mlDygPvgAVJ8bKt_8gp-b5jb4SUhc3Sp7VN8xmlUb-Ov9J3TVW338ClzpFhl2lTXked-Gxn6USqrYZ8R3HsTLnMjb1ouv5ew7wiLTT5whCT3ZyyxRnzQcKYKP-98I/s1600/caught.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrMHLeE70TuwDbeV8mlDygPvgAVJ8bKt_8gp-b5jb4SUhc3Sp7VN8xmlUb-Ov9J3TVW338ClzpFhl2lTXked-Gxn6USqrYZ8R3HsTLnMjb1ouv5ew7wiLTT5whCT3ZyyxRnzQcKYKP-98I/s200/caught.jpg" width="123" /></a>Title: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9618800-caught-in-the-act"><em>Caught in the Act: A Courageous Family's Fight to Save Their Daughter From a Serial Killer</em></a></div><div> </div><div id="yui_3_2_0_1_132580646013091" style="text-align: center;">Author: Jeannie McDonough and Paul Lonardo</div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;">Genre/Audience: True crime, adult</div><div> </div><div style="text-align: center;">Publication: Berkley Books, 2011</div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;">Source: Library </div><div> </div><div><em>Caught in the Act</em> is the true story of how the McDonough family stopped a serial killer in mid-attack in their home. Jeannie and Kevin awoke to the noises of their teenage daughter in a struggle in the next room over. When they entered, they saw a masked man holding a knife up to her throat, and were able to take him down until the police arrived. The man turned out to be Adam Leroy Lane, a truck driver who had been killing sleeping women in their homes along the highway. Two murders, and a near fatal attack were confirmed, with others as unsolved possibilities. </div><div> </div><div>The McDonoughs tell the story of their nightmare in its entirety all the way through Lane's trials in the other states where he murdered. He is serving sentences in three states, and needless to say, will be in prison for the rest of his life. They tell of his other victims, the effect of this attack on their family and emotional well-being, their friendships with the families of the other victims, and being caught in the media spotlight. They also delve a bit into Lane's personal life, but not too much, as well as speculations of previous crimes they believe Lane may have committed. </div><div> </div><div>I thought this was a well written and fascinating true crime story detailing the crimes of Adam Leroy Lane, that also offered a sense of hope (for the McDonoughs) and remembrance (for his past victims). I would have liked to see a bit more into Lane's past and psyche, but I did like the details of the trials and all those involved. Recommended reading for all true crime readers.</div><div> </div><div><b>My Rating: 3.5/5</b></div></div>StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537827811167592048.post-89979643969223965242012-01-03T13:09:00.000-05:002012-01-03T13:09:06.342-05:00Wanted: Reading Buddy/Competitor for 2012!WANTED: a fellow book lover / blogger who wants to partake in a friendly reading competition for 2012!<br />
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I thought if I had a little contest going with someone, it would help motivate my reading and would also be a lot of fun! I'm looking for someone who has a similar reading pace as me (I read 79 books in 2011, and my yearly goal is 100) to compete with! I thought we could hold each other accountable, keep track of where each other is with their reading numbers via e-mails, Twitter, Facebook, etc. You know, we could tell each other when we finish a book and what number we're on, so if someone is behind, they might want to speed up so they don't lose! I figured the "loser" (whoever reads the lower number of books or pages - whatever you'd prefer) can buy the winner a book or two of their choosing at the end of the year! <br />
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I just think this would be a lot of fun for motivation and building a friendship with a fellow book lover! Let me know if you're interested by leaving a comment below or e-mailing me at stephaniet117 at yahoo dot com and we can work out the details!<br />
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My mom and I are competing for fun but I don't really stand a chance. She reads a lot faster than me!StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537827811167592048.post-54204810860642872742011-12-31T12:00:00.002-05:002011-12-31T12:16:36.442-05:002011: Wrap-up, Stats, and Favorite Reads!Another year gone by, huh? It seems like just yesterday I was writing up my <a href="http://stephthebookworm.blogspot.com/p/my-2010-book-list.html">favorite reads of 2010 post</a>. Now here we are again.<br />
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2011 was a big year for me. <a href="http://stephthebookworm.blogspot.com/2011/03/my-library-news.html">I got a fabs promotion at my lovely library</a> where I hope to grow my career. <a href="http://stephthebookworm.blogspot.com/2011/05/goodbye-baby.html">I lost my beautiful kitty</a>, Baby. <a href="http://stephthebookworm.blogspot.com/2011/06/bea-post.html">I freaking went to BEA</a> where I met CHUCK freaking PALAHNIUK and <a href="http://stephthebookworm.blogspot.com/2011/06/dinner-with-beth-hoffman.html">dined with the incomparable Beth Hoffman</a>! Then, <a href="http://stephthebookworm.blogspot.com/2011/09/life-update.html">I moved out</a> of my parent's house and into an apartment with my boyfriend. <a href="http://stephthebookworm.blogspot.com/2011/10/my-new-love-presenting-dakota.html">I got a doggy</a>, Dakota, who changed my life. I graduated with my Bachelor's degree. I started grad school. I got a 4.0 in my first semester of grad school (three classes too, I might add). <a href="http://stephthebookworm.blogspot.com/2011/09/still-here.html">I got my wisdom teeth out</a> finally. <a href="http://stephthebookworm.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-some-bad-news-and-little-book.html">I got into a car accident.</a> So, 2011 saw many changes for me, and despite that, I kicked 2010's ASS!<br />
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Last year, I read 68 books; this year, I am currently on number 79! Heck yeah! Let me add that in both years my goal was 100, so I still failed, but I'll keep trying! My goal for 2012 is still going to be 100 and I'm determined to read it once and for all. So now, onto the favorite reads of 2011. These are in order of when I read them:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwvUmPGpFNc1ruuLSp3UwqvvFoXEsB2w8dxTH9C6aUm7Uhvfl13znjRcrCB78-zmQxhyphenhyphenSa-_NswcxZpz-Jwt32sV34jg6ZqKXF2_q9HWjrXTcNqv9owJWNRQXNgZv25ddBxS2hyphenhyphenoVk7RT0/s1600/7746236.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwvUmPGpFNc1ruuLSp3UwqvvFoXEsB2w8dxTH9C6aUm7Uhvfl13znjRcrCB78-zmQxhyphenhyphenSa-_NswcxZpz-Jwt32sV34jg6ZqKXF2_q9HWjrXTcNqv9owJWNRQXNgZv25ddBxS2hyphenhyphenoVk7RT0/s200/7746236.jpg" width="132" /></a><a href="http://stephthebookworm.blogspot.com/2011/01/review-simply-from-scratch-by-alicia.html"><i>Simply From Scratch</i></a> (now named <i>A Pinch of Love</i>) by Alicia Bessette - This was the first book I read in 2011, and still one of my favorites. This story of a young, grieving widow, a baking contest, and her precocious young neighbor stole my heart.<br />
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<a href="http://stephthebookworm.blogspot.com/2011/03/review-letters-from-home-by-kristina.html"><i>Letters From Home</i></a> by Kristina McMorris - this WWII set novel follows the lives of three young women during the war, all in unique situations. It really surprised me and made me realize I love WWII novels.<br />
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<a href="http://stephthebookworm.blogspot.com/2011/04/review-chimp-who-loved-me-by-annie.html"><i>The Chimp Who Loved Me</i></a> by Annie Greer and Tim Vandehey - this animal memoir of an animal chiropractor and vet's wife cracked me up so hard. It's one of the funniest books I've read and I highly recommend it to all animal lovers.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhajNXih_nRDKnsWQ8_aiKuZxZqXJ7Mf3mIU47wB57JbKKUl0ARyVF0lO8DL7O8HkKA7_waNQIgqmJ7g1o1Jv_DffMIvaXmevn575tl5m5ZBn9tFNj_xbsw6lIx2g7WzMN1C2evI3x2xczB/s1600/51x5qewOyxL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhajNXih_nRDKnsWQ8_aiKuZxZqXJ7Mf3mIU47wB57JbKKUl0ARyVF0lO8DL7O8HkKA7_waNQIgqmJ7g1o1Jv_DffMIvaXmevn575tl5m5ZBn9tFNj_xbsw6lIx2g7WzMN1C2evI3x2xczB/s200/51x5qewOyxL.jpg" width="133" /></a><br />
<a href="http://stephthebookworm.blogspot.com/2011/06/review-exposure-by-therese-fowler.html"><i>Exposure</i></a> by Therese Fowler - this timely novel about a high school sexting scandal blew me away. I couldn't stop reading and I recommend it to everyone who will listen.<br />
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<a href="http://stephthebookworm.blogspot.com/2011/07/review-things-we-didnt-say-by-kristina.html"><i>Things We Didn't Say</i></a> by Kristina Riggle - Wow, what an amazing and fast paced novel about a young woman and her fiance's family full of drama and a runaway teenage son. Incredible and haunting.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja9aaLFgFndUp21Mt5XeqS4YtFHpgEa_Wu_K0UfxyJbsd4n2A5jmkJr6IEMIPV_zvEytYR02E27UsvqOqgcsS9Jwmei4cxcPewdw-nbSRmvE9aWJ2UQ-6PLY1w3WN_yHQJXyk_wHA7KyYl/s1600/32_candles_pb_fc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja9aaLFgFndUp21Mt5XeqS4YtFHpgEa_Wu_K0UfxyJbsd4n2A5jmkJr6IEMIPV_zvEytYR02E27UsvqOqgcsS9Jwmei4cxcPewdw-nbSRmvE9aWJ2UQ-6PLY1w3WN_yHQJXyk_wHA7KyYl/s200/32_candles_pb_fc.jpg" width="132" /></a><a href="http://stephthebookworm.blogspot.com/2011/07/review-32-candles-by-ernessa-t-carter.html"><i>32 Candles</i></a> by Ernessa T. Carter - this book was the biggest surprise of the year for me. I didn't know what I would think of it, but holy smokes, I adored this story of Davie, an ugly duckling African American girl and her transformation into a beautiful, successful singer.<br />
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<a href="http://stephthebookworm.blogspot.com/2011/08/review-stiltsville-by-susanna-daniel.html"><i>Stiltsville</i></a> by Susanna Daniel - this quiet story of a marriage in its entirety grabbed hold of me. I cared so much about the characters and and their life story that I was sad when it ended.<br />
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<a href="http://stephthebookworm.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-lost-december-by-richard-paul.html"><i>Lost December</i></a> by Richard Paul Evans - yes, RPE, you have made my "Favorite Reads" list for the second year in a row... but I just couldn't stop reading this modern retelling of the Prodigal son. I was touched by the young and rich, Luke, who loses all his money, friends, and possessions, becomes homeless, and seeks forgiveness from his father, the one person who will always give it.<br />
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I read a lot of excellent books this year, but these were just the absolute best of the best. I'm looking forward to another great reading year in 2012!StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537827811167592048.post-52117733918072463412011-12-27T18:13:00.001-05:002011-12-27T18:25:52.702-05:00Christmas - some bad news and little book reviews.Hi friends. How were your Christmases? <br />
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My Christmas was pretty good until the end. I did not get many bookish things but I did get a BN gift card from my boyfriend and this box that looks like an antique book that opens up all secret like from my parents which I love! I got lots of other awesome non-bookish gifts, but I know you're here for the books! LOL.<br />
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On my way home Christmas evening I was in a car accident. I was stopped behind a man who was waiting to turn left when I was slammed from behind by a 16 year old driving an SUV. I was then forced into the car in front of me. My car is a brand new Nissan and now has a lot of damage. The bumper is completely gone and the side of the car is all screwed up. I have been dealing with a lot of frustration over the past two years with the insurance companies and it will only continue. I cannot get a rental or send my car in for repairs until it is investigated and they don't know how long it will be. I am, for the most part, fine, but I've been feeling nauseous and my back is becoming stiff. I have been very emotional and frustrated and have cried more times than I can count in the past two days. <br />
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In other news, I also did two book blogger Secret Santas this year - the same two I've done for the past three years. I did the Book Blogger Holiday Swap and the Book Monsters Secret Santa. Unfortunately, I have only received one of my gifts. I'm not sure which swap it was from either, but I am really excited about the gift I received! I got a book from my wishlist called<i> Turn of Mind</i> by Alice LaPlante. Thank you very much to my Secret Santa! I can't wait to read it! If this was you, could you let me know which swap you were from?<br />
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I am pretty sad that my second gift never came. I put a lot of thought into the packages I sent out and I have not heard back from the swaps about what to do in this situation. This has not happened to me before. Any ideas? <a href="http://jennielyse.com/">Jenni has posted</a> about the package I sent her and I was really excited about the goodies I sent to her. I sent her three books from her wishlist, two books that I picked out, and a cat bookmark because she is a fellow catlover! I have not seen anything from the second girl who I sent a package to yet, but it was delivered and I hope she likes it!<br />
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So that is my Christmas drama and despair haha! I hope you had a better Christmas than me. I have tried to look on the upside about the accident, which is this - my Dakota dog usually rides in the car with me, but Charles (my boyfriend) and I drove separately that night, and I asked him to take Dakota with him. This must have been fate, a real miracle. If he had been with me, I don't know what would have happened, but he could have gone through the windshield and died, so I am grateful that my sweet dog is okay.<br />
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Sorry that this post is all over the place. I just want to do some mini reviews of my final Christmas books of the year:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCPyTpSPcZF0dYjpvaMefJcrZlpwiXZTQITNVGcHKTDZlReWWWWdUC1FWLDfGv1NHGSwppYO7WM6P4uwZgAKZpeHsvyt_xXq6XnSQzsfpLrzF9eLP3HuRlY8-BeTgyj20XExfXgTpVk-qN/s1600/12219867.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCPyTpSPcZF0dYjpvaMefJcrZlpwiXZTQITNVGcHKTDZlReWWWWdUC1FWLDfGv1NHGSwppYO7WM6P4uwZgAKZpeHsvyt_xXq6XnSQzsfpLrzF9eLP3HuRlY8-BeTgyj20XExfXgTpVk-qN/s200/12219867.jpg" width="143" /></a></div>In <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12219867-the-nine-lives-of-christmas"><i>The Nine Lives of Christmas</i></a> by Sheila Roberts, we meet Ambrose, an old cat on his ninth and final life. He hopes to make this final life count, and when he is rescued off the street by a firefighter named Zach, he wants to pay him back. Ambrose works tirelessly to get Zach and Merilee, the sweet cat lover from the Pet Palace, together in time for Christmas. I thought this book was really adorable and I loved Ambrose. The narration switches from Ambrose's POV and Zach's, and I particularly enjoyed hearing from Ambrose who had me laughing. If you're a cat lover looking for a sweet little story, this would be good for you. I rate it<b> 3.5/5.</b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhofb6RxH1Q-yjh2xj_4TSKd-dWFwASZ8_KUyxyLnYThtA994M-BMCXkzF6Zzl-7Qfz4RJD1M2rC0Mm2-gs3NNtpftgO7AkoQn4za-XkaWcdMcq5a9QBQbzOy4uqs2uimaQOYsLtIdrMT6j/s1600/4416180.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhofb6RxH1Q-yjh2xj_4TSKd-dWFwASZ8_KUyxyLnYThtA994M-BMCXkzF6Zzl-7Qfz4RJD1M2rC0Mm2-gs3NNtpftgO7AkoQn4za-XkaWcdMcq5a9QBQbzOy4uqs2uimaQOYsLtIdrMT6j/s200/4416180.jpg" width="132" /></a></div><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4416180-the-paper-bag-christmas"><i>The Paper Bag Christmas</i></a> by Kevin Alan Milne, follows two young brothers, Molar and Aaron, as they volunteer at a children's hospital during the holiday season. They make friends with some of the children patients and participate in the Christmas pageant. Most importantly, they learn the true meaning of Christmas. I liked the lessons in this story and the nostalgic feeling, as Molar is recalling the whole story as a flashback from his childhood. However, I didn't feel very interested in the story and felt that it was kind of dry. For me, this book was okay. I rate it <b>2.5/5</b>. I do, however, highly recommend Milne's other novel that I read and loved, <a href="http://stephthebookworm.blogspot.com/2011/10/review-final-note-by-kevin-alan-milne.html"><i>The Final Note.</i></a>StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537827811167592048.post-8854318167592937612011-12-23T20:48:00.001-05:002011-12-23T20:48:34.027-05:00Check out my Guest Post!I'm over at The Oliva Reader today talking about the five books that influenced my life. Hint, it has Ramona and Jen Lancaster (who'da thunk?), plus some other fabulous books too. <br />
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<a href="http://theolivareader.blogspot.com/2011/12/chapters-in-my-life-week-13.html">Check it out!</a>StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537827811167592048.post-82576758629861609852011-12-20T07:28:00.006-05:002011-12-20T08:51:07.065-05:00Top Ten Tuesday (5): Bookish Christmas Wishlist!Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday hosted by the <a href="http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/">Broke and the Bookish</a>! Today is about what books you hope Santa brings this Christmas!<br />
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I don't get books for Christmas. Once in a while, I'm lucky and I'll get one or two, but basically I don't. One, my family/friends don't really know what books I already have or not, and two, they all say I have too many books... and to that I say BEAT IT. You can never have too many books. So this list is basically hypothetical, save for the first item. These are the books I would love to get for Christmas, AKA books that are at the tippy top of my wishlist.<br />
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<div id="yiv577367037"><div></div><div>1. Barnes and Noble / Amazon Gift Card - Usually, I'll get at least one BN gift card each year which is excellent and almost as good as getting an actual book. I sometimes even log on Christmas night and order new books. Can't wait... oops. My number one choice for book shopping is Amazon, but I've never gotten an Amazon gift card before, so I'm perfectly happy with BN. :)</div><div></div><div><br />
2. <i>The Best of Me</i> by Nicholas Sparks - I have almost all of his books and this is his latest which needs to be added to my collection and read sooner rather than later. WANT!</div><div></div><div><br />
3. <i>The Night Strangers</i> by Chris Bohjalian - I love scary.</div><div></div><div><br />
4. <i>Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (and Other Concerns) </i>by Mindy Kaling - She's hilarious on The Office, AND, best of all, I saw her speak at BEA and she was DA BOMB. I need this book stat. I actually MIGHT be getting this one for Christmas, but only because my best friend asked me what I wanted, I told him this, and he loves her too. In fact, he won an autographed copy of this book off of <a href="http://nbc.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1324383611_0">nbc.com</span></a>. JEALOUSSSS.</div><div></div><div><br />
5. <i>The Future of Us</i> by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler - Because it just sounds SO good and intriguing.</div><div></div><div><br />
6. <i>Best Kept Secret</i> by Amy Hatvany - It sounds amazing. That's why. I was going to buy it myself, but fundage is low, suckas.</div><div></div><div><br />
7. <i>Close Your Eyes</i> by Amanda Eyre Ward - She rocks, this book sounds amazing, that is all.</div><div></div><div><br />
8. W<i>hen She Woke</i> by Hillary Jordan - sounds creepy and cool.</div><div></div><div><br />
9. <i>The First Husband</i> by Laura Dave - I've been wanting to read this one since it first came out. My mom said it was really good.</div><div></div><div><br />
10. <i>Roam: A Novel With Music</i> by Alan Lazar - this book is told from the POV of a dog, and I'm a sucker for anything dog related. This sounds really incredible.</div><div></div><div><br />
So if YOU get any of these books for Christmas and decide you don't want them... you can go ahead and send them my way. ;)</div></div>StephTheBookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05340476943567585965noreply@blogger.com11