Friday, November 6, 2009

Opposites Attract Challenge


I was going thru some of my books today and noticed a few had opposite words in them and thought this may be a fun challenge! To play just read books that have at least one word in the title opposite to another book title's word.  You can only use a book once though; not in 2 different sets.  And be sure to use some of these with your other challenges if you can!

Some examples of the ones I am gonna try are listed below but make your own list if you like!  There are many possibilities and combinations to come up with!  Also if you have to; use the authors name as your opposite! I'm not gonna set an amount to read lets just see how many sets we can read in 1 year starting........RIGHT NOW!  lol  11/07/09----11/08/10  Have fun and Happy Reading!

Bitter Night - Diana P Francis
sweet

Dark Stranger by Susan Sizemore
Light

Bite Me If You Can by Lynsay Sands
Can't


this
that

bad
The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Kidnapped by Yxta Maya Murray

salt
pepper

angry
happy

naughty
nice

angel
devil

empty
full

up
down

in
out

girl
boy

cat
dog

man
woman

If you want to join me in my wild challenge please sign up with Mr Linky below. Post the link you'll be posting your Opposites on and please leave a link to this post so others may join in the fun with us!  Thanks for playing!  Happy Reading!






Friday's Fun Foto



TGIF!!!  Let's have some fun today as we head into our weekend.

Take a look at the "foto" above and post a book title and brief synopsis
that you think the foto could pass as the book cover for.

Have some fun with it!  No right or wrong answers!  Go plunder thru some book covers and see if you find one that it may could go with.  For example use keywords like night, green grass, ect...


Here is one I came up with:

Southern Lights by Danielle Steel:

Eleven years have passed since Alexa Hamilton left the South behind, fleeing the pain of her ex-husband’s betrayal and the cruelty of his prominent Charleston family. Now an assistant D.A. in Manhattan, Alexa has finally put her demons to rest, making a name for herself as a top prosecutor, handling the city’s toughest cases while juggling her role as devoted single mom to a teenage daughter.


But everything changes when Alexa is handed her latest case: the trial of accused serial killer Luke Quentin. Sifting through mountains of forensic evidence, Alexa prepares for a high-stakes trial…until threatening letters throw her private life into turmoil. The letters are addressed to her beautiful seventeen-year-old daughter, Savannah, whom Alexa has been raising alone since her divorce. Alexa is certain that Quentin is behind the letters—and that they are too dangerous to ignore. Suddenly she must make the toughest choice of all—and send her daughter back to the very place she swore she would never return to: the place where her marriage ended in heartbreak…her ex-husband’s world of southern tradition, memories of betrayal, and the antebellum charm of Charleston.

Now, while Alexa’s trial builds to a climax in New York, her daughter is settling into southern life, discovering a part of her family history and a father she barely knows--from the ice-cold stepmother who stole him away to a fascinating ancestry and a half-sister and half-brothers she comes to love. As secrets are exposed and old wounds are healed, Alexa and Savannah, after a season in different worlds, will come together again—strengthened by the challenges they have faced, changed by the mysteries they have unraveled, and with Savannah now at home in the southern world her mother fled.

Once Upon A Time Challenge 2010


This challenge is being hosted by Crazy Book Slut

Crazy Book Slut says:

This challenge is quite simple..... read the fairy tales you grew up reading but from another view than Disney's version. There are so many great fairy tale books out there, that might take the same story we know but with an added twist.


These books can be Young Adult, Romance, Erotic, e-books, audio books.... your only limited by your own imagination.

I am going to make this an easy challenge to finish, and say the goal is to read at least 5 books, again if you want to go big or go home... read more!

The time frame for this challenge will be January 1, 2010- December 31, 2010. Plenty of time. Please do not start this challenge before the time, and don't use books you have already read.

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2
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5

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Award: Kreativ Blogger



Sharon over at A Bookworm's Blog gave this to me!

Thank you Sharon!

To accept this, I am to list seven of my favorite things and send the award on to seven blogs.


My favorite things:

1. My Family & Friends

2. My Doggies

3. My boxes and bookcases of books

4. My Computer

5. My Digital Camera

6. My Collection of DVD's

7. Reese Cups


I would like to pass it along to:

Crazy Book Slut

Under The Boardwalk

The Eclectic Reader

The Book Pixie

Book Chick City

Beth Fish Reads

My Life In Not So Many Words

Theater Thursdays

Here are a few movies coming to theaters this week and last week that are on my watch list.  What are some you want to watch?


A  Christmas Carol

Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey) begins the Christmas holiday with his usual miserly contempt, barking at his faithful clerk (Gary Oldman) and his cheery nephew (Colin Firth). But when the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come take him on an eye-opening journey revealing truths Old Scrooge is reluctant to face, he must open his heart to undo years of ill will before it’s too late.




The Box


A suburban couple, Norma (Cameron Diaz) and Arthur (James Marsden), face a moral dilemma when they receive a gift that bears irrevocable consequences. With the press of a button, their simple wooden box will bestow $1 million; however, a stranger somewhere else will die, at the same time. The box will be theirs for only 24 hours, and as time ticks away, Norma and Arthur confront the depth of their humanity as they consider their choices.

The Fourth Kind

In 1972, a scale of measurement was established for alien encounters. When a UFO is sighted, it is called an encounter of the first kind. When evidence is collected, it is known as an encounter of the second kind. When contact is made with extraterrestrials, it is the third kind. The next level, abduction, is the fourth kind. This encounter has been the most difficult to document...until now. Structured unlike any film before it, The Fourth Kind is a provocative thriller set in modern-day Nome, Alaska, where—mysteriously since the 1960s—a disproportionate number of the population has been reported missing every year. Despite multiple FBI investigations of the region, the truth has never been discovered. Here in this remote region, psychologist Dr. Abigail Tyler (Milla Jovovich) began videotaping sessions with traumatized patients and unwittingly discovered some of the most disturbing evidence of alien abduction ever documented.

Precious

Pregnant by her own father for the second time, 16-year-old Claireece ''Precious'' Jones (Gabourey ''Gabby'' Sidibe) can neither read nor write and suffers constant abuse at the hands of her vicious mother (Mo'Nique ). Precious instinctively sees a chance to turn her life around when she is offered the opportunity to transfer to an alternative school. Under the patient, firm guidance of her new teacher, Ms. Rain (Paula Patton), Precious begins the journey from oppression to self-determination.




Paranormal Activity

Soon after moving into a suburban tract home, Katie (Katie Featherston) and Micah (Micah Sloat) become increasingly disturbed by what appears to be a supernatural presence. Hoping to capture evidence of the haunting on film, Katie and Micah set up video cameras in their home, but they are not prepared for the terrifying occurrences which follow.



Law Abiding Citizen

Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) is an upstanding family man whose wife and daughter are brutally murdered during a home invasion. When the killers are caught, Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx), a hotshot young Philadelphia prosecutor, is assigned to the case. Over his objections, Nick is forced by his boss to offer one of the suspects a light sentence in exchange for testifying against his accomplice. Fast forward ten years. The man who got away with murder is found dead and Clyde Shelton coolly admits his guilt. Then he issues a warning to Nick: Either fix the flawed justice system that failed his family, or key players in the trial will die.

Saw VI

With the now-deceased Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) still directing events from beyond the grave, Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) emerges as the next heir to the killer's twisted legacy. But as the FBI closes in, Hoffman sets in motion a game that is designed to reveal Jigsaw's grand scheme.





Misunderstood at home and at school, mischievous Max (Max Records) escapes to a land populated by majestic, and sometimes fierce, creatures known as the Wild Things. The Wild Things allow Max to become their leader, and he promises to create a kingdom where everyone will be happy. However, Max soon finds that being the king is not easy, and that his relationships with the Wild Things are much more complicated than he originally thought.





Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

16-year-old Darren (Chris Massoglia) was like most kids in his suburban neighborhood. He hung out with his best friend Steve (Josh Hutcherson), got decent grades and usually stayed out of trouble. But when he and his buddy stumble upon a traveling freak show, things begin to change inside Darren. That’s the exact moment when a vampire named Larten Crepsley (John C. Reilly) turns him into something, well, bloodthirsty. Newly undead, he joins the Cirque Du Freak, a touring sideshow filled with monstrous creatures from a snakeboy and a wolfman to a bearded lady (Salma Hayek) and a gigantic barker (Ken Watanabe). As Darren flexes his newfound powers in this dark world, he becomes a treasured pawn between the vampires and their deadlier counterparts. And while trying to survive, one boy will struggle to keep their brewing war from devouring what’s left of his humanity.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Four Month Challenge Part Two

The Four Month Challenge Part Two

Virginie Says hosts this challenge beginning November 1, 2009 and will end on February 28, 2010.


Each book you read can only be used for one category. You can ‘read’ up to ‘2′ audiobooks if you choose, but you don’t have to. You can read books you are also reading for other challenges. Here are the categories:


***************************

5 Point Challenges


Read a book with a proper name in the title
For the Love of St Nick by Garasamo Maccagnone

Read a book about a queen or king

Read a book by a Bronte

Read a book about Vampires
Dark Stranger by Susan Sizemore

Read a book by V.C. Andrews



10 Point Challenges

Read a book by Canadian author
Bite Me If You Can by Lynsay Sands

Read a book by Charles Dickens

Read a book set in France

Read a book by Georgette Heyer

Read an ‘art’ themed book.



15 Point Challenges

Read a book with a Civil War theme (any country)

Read a book with characters inspired by King Arthur or about King Arthur/Camelot

Read a biography/autobiography
From Darkness To Light by Lynn Christopher Roby

Read a book related to or something by Shakespeare
Shakespeare Ashes by Chris DeBrie


Read a book by an author born in November, December, January or February



20 Point Challenges

Read a book with a wintery theme (Christmas, snow, ice, freezing etc.)
The Christmas Secret by Donna VanLiere

Read a book that was a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

Read a book that begins with A and one that begins with Z

Read a book from The Modern Library Top 100

Read a book and then write a review
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Review: Fade to Black - Heather Kuel


Fade to Black by Heather Kuehl 

Publisher Eternal Press
Genre: Paranormal
Pages: 80 pages
My Rating 4/5

Summary: Werewolf bounty hunter Sarah Vargas has only one goal in life; to kill the Were that attacked and changed her. However a slew of were creature murders send Sarah and her partner, Jared Fontaine, on the mission of their lives, ending with a discovery about Jared's past that might destroy them both.


Review: Fade to Black by Heather Kuehl introduces you to a great cast of characters that interact well together. I can feel the subtle but growing chemistry building between the main characters, Sarah and Jared, as the story progresses.

Sarah and Jared are bounty hunters skilled to kill but are tricked into a rescue mission by The Clans. Ms. Kuehl’s writing brought Jared and Sarah to life, allowing me to accompany Sarah on her journey of revenge against the wolf that changed her into a were.

The writing flows so well with one scene racing immediately into the next. I was afraid to breathe, let alone blink an eye for fear of missing a thing! The story really takes a hearty turn when a secret ally joins the field and as the battle rages onward a very unexpected twist lands Sarah broken and confused.

Sarah’s pain was evident thru-out, but at this point it’s almost utter collapse as she is faced with one of the toughest decisions one can be presented with. The choice of life or death!

I am looking forward to the next installment to Fade to Black! I can’t wait to see what lies ahead for Sarah and Jared!

Review courtesy of Dark Diva Reviews


CymLowell

Review: Jack Daniels Spirit of Tennessee Cookbook


Jack Daniel's Spirit of Tennessee Cookbook by Lynne Tolley &

Pat Mitchamore
Publisher Thomas Nelson Inc
Genre: Cookbook
Pages: 192
My Rating : 5/5

Summary: The rich tradition of country cooking, the distinctive taste of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey, and the heritage of rural America are all elegantly captured in Jack Daniel's The Spirit of Tennessee Cookbook. Included are more than 350 recipes, stunning full-color photographs, and stories of the people, places, and traditions of Middle Tennessee. Illustrated and indexed.


My Review: The Spirit of Tennessee Cookbook has become one of my favorite cookbooks! Not only is it packed with down home super recipes, passed down from generation to generation, but it’s also full of beautiful Southern photo’s and history.

It will make a wonderful keepsake and provide you with a fantastic journey down memory lane. You’ll enjoy reading about Miss BoBo’s Boarding House, learning what whittling is, and don’t forget about those Tennessee Walking horses!

I was a little skeptical about getting The Spirit of Tennessee Cookbook because I was thinking all the recipes would contain alcohol. I was so thrilled and quickly proven wrong! Some of my favorite recipes included Poor Man’s Caviar, Spinach Tarts, and Uncle Jack’s Applesauce Cake. Another great thing about The Spirit of Tennessee Cookbook is the recipes are so simple to follow and many just use normal everyday items that you already have in your cupboards.

Received Review Copy From Publisher

Wednesday's Words

Learning new things keeps our brain active and hey maybe even a bit wise as well! Ever been reading along and come upon a word that makes ya stop and say......just what the heck is that?  Todays word is one that hit me like that so let's begin our Wednesday with

skulduggery  [skuhl-duhg-uh-ree] –noun, plural -geries.

1. dishonorable proceedings; mean dishonesty or trickery: bribery, graft, and other such skulduggery.


2. an instance of dishonest or deceitful behavior; trick.


***Quote;

It is discouraging how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.
Noel Coward

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Nov 3 - Tuesday Tidbit - On This Day In Literary History

November 3, 1844  -- Thackeray completes Barry Lyndon

On this day in 1844, William Makepeace Thackeray completes The Luck of Barry Lyndon: A Romance of the Last Century, which is published in Fraser's Magazine.

Thackeray was born in Calcutta in 1811. As a young man, he attended Cambridge but left without a degree, then drifted through a variety of professions. He tried studying law, then decided to become a painter. While studying art in Paris, he met his future wife, a penniless Irish girl named Isabella, with whom he had two children. After his marriage, Thackeray returned to England and applied himself to a career in journalism. His satiric sketches were very popular. Like his contemporary and acquaintance Charles Dickens, he observed everyday life and characters closely in his journalistic writings and turned them into absurd characters in his fiction.

Barry Lyndon, like several of Thackeray's other satirical novels, follows the career of an unscrupulous character as he makes his way in the world by hoodwinking others. Barry Lyndon--born Redmond Barry--is an Irish rogue who flees his home after killing a man in a duel. He changes his name, marries a rich widow, cheats and defrauds those around him, but gets his just desserts. The novel was published in two volumes in 1852 and revised in 1856.

Thackeray wrote many other stories, novels, and sketches for humor magazines, but his best-known work remains Vanity Fair, the story of the manipulations of the wily Becky Sharp in London during the Napoleonic Wars. Thackeray died in London in 1863.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Table Manners - Mia King


Table Manners by Mia King

Publisher Berkley Trade
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 336
My Rating: 5/5

Summary: Deidre McIntosh finally has all the ingredients for a perfect life. She has her own line of cakes and cookies, and the perfect boyfriend, Kevin Johnson, one of Seattle's top bachelors. Creative, energetic, and loving, Deidre is the person friends go to when they need a helping hand.


But when Kevin's ex-fiancée, the sultry and successful magazine publisher Sabine Durant, suddenly appears in Seattle, it's Deidre who needs help. Already intimidated by Kevin's glamorous, moneyed world--and his sister, who wants Deidre out of Kevin's life--she knows she's no match for Sabine.

Deidre turns to her friends for advice, but finds they're having crises of their own. When her business begins to slip from her fingers, Deidre knows she must to do something to keep her career and her love life from imploding. Can everyone's favorite go-to person save herself?

My Review: I ate Table Manners up in one sitting almost! Mia King weaves her story and characters so well it felt like I had been picked up and plopped right dab in the middle of the action with them! The most impressive thing I loved about Table Manners was the characters were so down to Earth and so very believable. They didn’t seem fictional at all.

My heart went out to Deidre for the struggles she endured in Table Manners with her new business, trying to fit in with her wealthy boyfriends lifestyle, putting up with his nosy sister and ex-girlfriend and yet still having time to put her friends problems first. She is an inspiration to all women who struggle to balance a family and career in these hard and trying times.

Table Manners revolves around food and Mia has added some yummy recipes that are sure to tickle the taste buds! I have big plans on trying a few of them for an upcoming family celebration.

Review Copy from Author


CymLowell

In My Mailbox (4)




Some of these actually came Saturday but I was to lazy to list them then so here we go.  lol

Saturday - Monday 7
Feddie Girl -
Girl On Top - Nichole Williams - Review
The Recipe Club - Andrea Israel & Nancy Garfinkel - Review
Life After 187 - Wade J Halverson - Review
Out At Night - Susan Smith - Review
Firefly Lane - Kristin Hannah - Review
The Christmas Secret - Donna VanLiere - Review
The Magic Warble - Victoria Simcox - Review
The Risen: Queen of the Ghost Drakon - Liena Ferror - Ebook Review
Dead Girl Talking -   - Ebook Review
Ancient Walls - Jennifer Mueller - Ebook Review
Moonlight Guardian - Jessica Coulter Smith - Ebook Review
How to Lower your Cholesterol with French Gourmet Food - Alain Braux - Ebook Review


Book Giveaway - Kitty & The Midnight Hour - Carrie Vaughn



I have 2 copies of this to giveaway.
 Note they are NOT "Brand New" but in excellant condition!

Synopsis: Kitty Norville is a midnight-shift DJ for a Denver radio station—and a werewolf in the closet. Sick of lame song requests, she accidentally starts "The Midnight Hour," a late-night advice show for the supernaturally disadvantaged. After desperate vampires, werewolves, and witches across the country begin calling in to share their woes, her new show is a raging success. But it’s Kitty who can use some help. With one sexy werewolf-hunter and a few homicidal undead on her tail, Kitty may have bitten off more than she can chew…


Entering is simple! You can have 3 entries in this giveaway. DO NOT put them all in one comment! They will only count as 1 entry if you do that! You need to make a separate comment for each entry!


+1 – Be a Blogger Follower with Google Friend Connect (Click here if you need help)

+1 – Subscriber by Email (Leave your email address in the top right corner of this blog and be sure to confirm in your email!

+1 – Post about this contest on your own blog with a link back to this post. You must provide a link to where you posted about the contest at in your entry.

Deadline for all entries is November 14, 2009 Winners will be chosen by Random.Org on the 15th and posted on this blog. Winners will need to email me within 72 hours with their mailing addresses. Contest is only open to US. No PO Boxes will be accepted!

NO EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS WILL BE SENT!

One book per person. Winners will receive their prizes directly from Hachette Book Group. Book information was provided by the publisher.

Thank you for entering and Good Luck to All!

Reading Western Europe Challenge


This challenge is hosted by Samanthas Reading Challenge

Challenge for 2010: read 1 book a month set in a country in Western Europe. Which means that at the end of 2010, I'll have read a book set in every country of Western Europe.

It has to be a fiction book. Audio books and e-books are allowed.

Up to 3 books may have been read before the starting date of  January 1, 2010 but the rest have to be read between  January 1, 2010 and  December 31, 2010.

Read 12 books in 2010, one book for each of the following countries:
1. Belgium

2. France

3. Ireland

4. Luxembourg

5. Monaco

6. The Netherlands

7. Switzerland

8. Northern Ireland (part of the UK, which I split up)

9. England (part of the UK, which I split up)

10. Wales (part of the UK, which I split up)

11. Scotland

12. Channel Islands

It's Monday! What Ya Reading?



This past week I completed:
(Reviews will be posted later today)
Kitty and the Midnight Hour - Carrie Vaughn
Table Manners - Mia King

Reading Now:
Jack Daniels Spirit of Tennessee Cookbook - Tolley & Mitchamore
The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers - Angie Fox
The Magic Warble - Victoria Simcox
The Immortal Hunter - Lynsay Sands


Sunday, November 1, 2009

Lisa Jackson Reading Challenge 2009/2010


Create a list of the Lisa Jackson books you would like to read between now and December 31, 2010.

Visit J. Kaye's Book Blog for full details of the challenge.

Here's my list but it may change up a bit as we go. My goal is to read at least 10 of the 17 posted. 

New Orleans

1. Hot Blooded (2001)

2. Cold Blooded (2002)

3. The Night Before (2003)

4. Shiver (2006)

5. Absolute Fear (2007)

6. Lost Souls (2008)

7. Malice (2009)

Dark Jewels

1. Dark Ruby (1998)

2. Dark Emerald (1999)

3. Dark Sapphire (2000)

Savannah


1. The Night Before (2003)

2. The Morning After (2004)

Northwest

1. Deep Freeze (2005)

2. Fatal Burn (2006)


Montana - To Die

1. Left To Die (2008)

2. Chosen To Die (2009)

Oregon Coast - Wicked (with Nancy Bush)

1. Wicked Game (2009)

Christmas Reading Challenge


Hosted by The True Book Addict

The Christmas Reading Challenge will run from Thanksgiving Day, November 26 through New Year's Eve, December 31, 2009

You can choose 1 - 3 books...I know it seems a small amount, but it's a busy time of year and the challenge is only a little over a month.

These must be Christmas novels, books about Christmas lore or a book of Christmas short stories (sorry, no children's books, but YA novel is okay).


1. For the Love of St Nick by Garasamo Maccagnone
2 A Blue and Gray Christmas by Joan Medlicott
3 Visions of Sugar PLums by Janet Evanovich