The Book Stacks

Mrs. S, the creator of the July Book Blowout, has decided that it’s about time for a mini-challenge for those participating in the challenge. I decided to give it a go before I’m done reading my book…

Here’s how it works - just answer some or all of the following questions about the book you are currently reading (or just finished if you are between books).

Here are the questions:

1. Title and author of the book.

Janeology by Karen Harrington

2. What year is the book set in?

2003

3. What happened on this day in that year? Go to google and type in the date ie 13 July 1952 and see if you can find a news item for that day

Let’s see… Scott McClellan replaces Ari Fliescher as White House Press Secretary. Very exciting. I can’t find much of anything else, really…

4. Where is your book set?

Texas (I’m not quite sure what city, though it may have been mentioned in the book.)

5. Have you visited that place before? If yes tell us something about your trip. If no, look the location up on google and tell us an interesting fact about the city/country.

Nope, I haven’t visited Texas, so here goes…

According to a website, the name for the state is based on a word used by the Caddo Indians meaning ‘friends’.

And just one more for fun: Texas possesses three of the top ten most populous cities in the United States.

If you’re currently reading a book, then consider yourself tagged. (Even if you aren’t in the July challenge.)

I love getting mail, don’t you? Postcards, letters, books, packages, etc… I just love receiving mail. Today I got a postcard from my friend in Finland as well as the return address labels I ordered (and wasn’t expecting until next week). All up, not a bad mail day.

Anyway, things are going quite well. Not much has changed from last week. I’m nearly finished with my second book for the July Book Blowout. I know I have to get a move on if I want to make it to eight by the end of this month!

I’ll be updating on my progress for that on Saturdays. (Or on Tuesdays if the mood strikes, but I don’t have time to do an update today.) If you are participating in the challenge, let me know.

Remember to play the Monday game for your chance to win an Aussie postcard from me.

If you would like to try your hand at reviewing, please feel free to contact me using the contact me button under the site description on the right. I’m more than happy to put up guest reviews. I’m also thinking of a best book review contest, but it’s just an idea floating around in my brain at this point.

Reading:
Savage Survival – Darrell Bain
In Bad Dreams – Horror Anthology – Edited by Mark Deniz and Sharyn Lilley
Xenocide - Orson Scott Card
Janeology – Karen Harrington

Going to Read:
Dead Ringer – Mary Burton
I’m Watching You – Mary Burton
Supernatural – Graham Hancock
Marwan: The Autobiography of a 9/11 Terrorist – Aram Schefrin
Sabriel – Garth Nix
Neutron Star – Short story collection – Larry Niven
Firebirds – Fantasy/Sci-fi Anthology – Edited by Sharyn November
The Lab – Jack Heath
Remote Control – Jack Heath
The Foreshadowing – Marcus Sedgwick
The Jaguar Legacy – Maureen Fisher
Target: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hilary Clinton – Kathleen Willey
To Truckee’s Trail – Celia Hayes
The Redemption of Althalus – David and Leigh Eddings
The Serpent Bride – Sara Douglass
Loving the Goddess Within – Nan Hawthorne
Bad Girls Club – Judy Gregerson
Stand – Debbie Williamson
Season of Sacrifice – Tristi Pinkston

Upcoming Reviews:
Eon – Greg Bear
Organic for Health – Sandy Powers
Sword Dancer – Jennifer Roberson

So what’s on your list?

Welcome to this week’s A Book By Any Other Name!

The game works like this: Each week I will choose a word and offer a few titles that I’ve come up with containing that word in the title. Then it’s your turn to come up with book titles containing the same word, without duplication (yes, that includes my titles.) I would also like the author, but that is just so I can find the book if I want to read it.

The current challenge: I challenge you all to reach 32 titles containing the weekly word by midnight Friday, (with no more than 10 titles commented per person and not including *my* titles in the total.)

My forfeit? For this challenge I’d like to do a little something different that will hopefully have the both of us smiling. If you all work together and reach the goal, I will send each of you who participate a post card.

Whoo-hoo right? Right! For those of you who don’t know, I live in Australia so you will be getting a postcard featuring the lovely, lovely city of Melbourne. (If you’re willing to give me your postal address, which I promise to delete as soon as I write it on the postcard.)

So if you’d like a post card, join in!

If you don’t reach the goal, we’ll try again next week. If you reach the goal, I’ll have a brand new challenge for you next Monday where you’ll get another chance.

(If you’re feeling pouty about the ten titles per person limit, why not get a friend to come and comment as well? The more, the merrier.)

The word this week is:

Who

I Say: Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum

You Say…

It’s a little bit later than I anticipated, but here is my update for the July Book Blowout.

I originally challenged myself to read eight books this month, given that I usually read at least four a month so I can put up reviews every Friday. Given that I’m a bit of a slow reader, eight seemed like a pretty good number to go with.

Well… I’m already seeing that if I’m going to make eight books, then I need to get some arse on chair/in bed time so I can actually get this reading done. I’ve finished up a whopping one book so far and it’s already the 12th. That means I have eighteen days to read seven books. More than two days per book isn’t bad, but it doesn’t mean I should slack.

The first book I finished is the one I posted a review for yesterday – Don’t You Marry Those Mormon Boys by Janet Kay Jensen – and I enjoyed it a lot. I’ll let you read the review for my full impressions, though. No need to repeat myself.

Right now I’m just under halfway through reading Janeology by Karen Harrington. It’s quite an interesting book that gets into heredity and memes (not the internet kind) while taking the reader through an interesting court case. With my background of abuse, I’m finding it quite interesting.

I have a few scheduled reviews coming up, but I think I’m going to take a go at reading Sabriel next. Either that or there are a couple others in my TBR drawer that need reading.

How about you? How is your reading going?

When Andy McBride meets Louisa Martin in medical school, he knows he has found the girl for him. There is only one problem – a lifestyle Louisa cannot escape and Andy will not embrace.

Set in the red hills of southern Utah, the cosmopolitan center of Salt Lake City, the Smoky Mountains of Kentucky, and the lake-studded country of Finland, Don’t You Marry the Mormon Boys is the heartfelt and engaging story about the power of love and acceptance in an ever-changing and often surprising world.

With settings all over the world and loveable characters, Don’t You Marry the Mormon Boys is the most enjoyable read I’ve had in a while.

Jensen has a very clean and clear writing style, which I have come to appreciate very much in my reviewing. She easily and gently whisks you into the story of Louisa and Andy. And with ‘remedies and advice’ from Miss Carolina starting most of the chapters, she combines a natural, ‘old-fashioned’ feel with a modern day story.

When I first picked up this book and read the title, I was a little wary. Having been preached at by members of various religions most of my life, I wasn’t keen on reading it. However, it turns out I was too judgmental. In this book, Jensen provides an unbiased view of the Mormon religion. She presents both the good and bad aspects with clarity.

I have to say that this sort of – by a far stretch, admittedly – reminded me a bit of a Romeo and Juliet story. That applied to the LDS church and the polygamists was quite an interesting idea and quite satisfying to read about.

Overall, I recommend this book. It’s a good read that, yes, involves religion, but it doesn’t get into it too heavily nor does it push it on you.

Welcome to yet another Booking Through Thursday. This one is a little late, but it’s still Thursday, so I reckon I’m okay.

Remember, if you participate in BTT, leave a comment here and let me know where your response is.

One of my favorite bookstores burned down last weekend, and while I only got to visit there while I was on vacation, it made me stop and think.

Whether it’s a local book shop, your town library, or an internet shop … what would you do if, suddenly, they were out of business? Devastatingly, and with no warning? Where would you go for books instead? What would you do? If it was a local business you would try to help out the owners? Would you just calmly start buying from some other store? Visit the library in the next town instead? Would it be devastating? Or just a blip in your reading habit?

Well, this is going to be a very unexciting answer because I don’t really have a place that is my ‘main’ or ‘favourite’ source of books. It used to be Amazon.com, but given how they’re turning out to be big meanines and sticking it to small press, I dropped them like last month’s chicken casserole.

I would be saddened if the local library burned down, but it’s the only library within walking distance, so I don’t reckon I’d switch to another place…

If there was a local bookstore that I absolutely loved and it was struck by disaster, I’d definitely try to help out as much as possible with donations of books, money, and time.

How about you?

I found this quote while on line one day and thought how perfect it was. I know I’ve been living a fairy tale for more than twenty three years now. My husband is my prince, my best friend and sole owner of my heart. In case you haven’t figured it out, I’m a hopeless romantic. And that is why I love to write romance.

As long as I can remember, I was a dreamer. I wasn’t those typical little girls who cringed when they saw two people kiss. I felt warmed by the sweet embrace. As I grew into a gangly awkward teenager, I often daydreamed about star crossed lovers coming together through adversity to find a love that is forever binding. To know a love that is all consuming was a wish I had for myself. When I was seventeen, I learned what true love was for the first time, and it still envelopes my heart now.

Romance is as much a part of me as my own limbs. I always want that happily ever after for everyone. I want them to know the feeling of being wrapped in a warm soft loving embrace that holds you through thick and thin, carries you when you can no longer walk, picks you up when you fall, and is there at your side to light the fires of your heart when it feels so cold. I pity those that love has not embraced.

I am a story teller at heart. I can weave a tale of mystery, suspense, horror and comedy but in the end, it’s the romance that brings it to a close. I can’t imagine not having love in my heart and because I have the ultimate fairy tale of a romance in my relationship with my husband, I’m able to give the readers a love story that will melt their heart and stay with them long after the last words are read.

Yes! That’s right! The sun is finally shining here in Melbourne and my mood has vastly improved because of it. It’s amazing what a little warm sunshine can do for your mood, but there it is. I am feeling better than I have for a long time with all these rainy days all in a row. Pfft. Let spring come already!

Anyway, things are going quite well. I’ve already finished my first book for the July Book Blowout and I’m quite happy about that. I’ll be updating on my progress for that on Saturdays. (Or on Tuesdays if the mood strikes, but I don’t have time to do an update today.) If you are participating in the challenge, let me know.

Remember to play the Monday game for your chance to win an Aussie postcard from me.

If you would like to try your hand at reviewing, please feel free to contact me using the contact me button under the site description on the right. I’m more than happy to put up guest reviews. I’m also thinking of a best book review contest, but it’s just an idea floating around in my brain at this point.

Reading:
Savage Survival – Darrell Bain
In Bad Dreams – Horror Anthology – Edited by Mark Deniz and Sharyn Lilley
Xenocide - Orson Scott Card
Janeology – Karen Harrington

Going to Read:
Supernatural – Graham Hancock
Marwan: The Autobiography of a 9/11 Terrorist – Aram Schefrin
Sabriel – Garth Nix
Neutron Star – Short story collection – Larry Niven
Firebirds – Fantasy/Sci-fi Anthology – Edited by Sharyn November
The Lab – Jack Heath
Remote Control – Jack Heath
The Foreshadowing – Marcus Sedgwick
The Jaguar Legacy – Maureen Fisher
Target: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hilary Clinton – Kathleen Willey
To Truckee’s Trail – Celia Hayes
The Redemption of Althalus – David and Leigh Eddings
The Serpent Bride – Sara Douglass
Loving the Goddess Within – Nan Hawthorne
Bad Girls Club – Judy Gregerson
Stand – Debbie Williamson
Season of Sacrifice – Tristi Pinkston

Upcoming Reviews:
Don’t You Marry the Mormon Boys – Janet Kay Jensen
Eon – Greg Bear
Organic for Health – Sandy Powers
Sword Dancer – Jennifer Roberson

So what’s on your list?

Welcome to this week’s A Book By Any Other Name!

The game works like this: Each week I will choose a word and offer a few titles that I’ve come up with containing that word in the title. Then it’s your turn to come up with book titles containing the same word, without duplication (yes, that includes my titles.) I would also like the author, but that is just so I can find the book if I want to read it.

The current challenge: I challenge you all to reach 32 titles containing the weekly word by midnight Friday, (with no more than 10 titles commented per person and not including *my* titles in the total.)

My forfeit? For this challenge I’d like to do a little something different that will hopefully have the both of us smiling. If you all work together and reach the goal, I will send each of you who participate a post card.

Whoo-hoo right? Right! For those of you who don’t know, I live in Australia so you will be getting a postcard featuring the lovely, lovely city of Melbourne. (If you’re willing to give me your postal address, which I promise to delete as soon as I write it on the postcard.)

So if you’d like a post card, join in!

If you don’t reach the goal, we’ll try again next week. If you reach the goal, I’ll have a brand new challenge for you next Monday where you’ll get another chance.

(If you’re feeling pouty about the ten titles per person limit, why not get a friend to come and comment as well? The more, the merrier.)

The word this week is:

Evil

I Say: The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil by Philip Zimbardo

You Say…

I can’t quite remember how I found it, but Mrs. S at Blue Archipelago is hosting a reading challenge for the month of July and I have decided to take part.

Usually I’m a bit wary of joining reading challenges because either it’s a month that a lot of things are going on in or they have set the bar too high. I’m a bit of a slow reader (compared to some of these devourers of books) and usually feel that reading under pressure takes away from enjoying the book to the fullest extent.

The beauty of this challenge (besides all the fun of doing something with people you don’t even know for the single reason that you all love books) is that you set the bar. You challenge yourself, so there really isn’t a way that you can blame the challenge for not getting all the books read. (Hehe.)

Given that I try to read at least four books a month so I can have a review up every Friday here, I reckon I should double that. So my reading goal for July is eight books. Unimpressive to some; still a challenge to me.

Interested in joining the challenge?

What rules do I need to know?

*Only books read between July 1 and July 31 count towards the challenge
*You can include re-reads - as long as they are read within the month of July
*Books you abandon will only count as half a book
*If you read to your children you can include all books which have more than 100 pages
*You can include up to two graphic novels
*You can include up to two audio books - (if you have a visual impairment that prevents you from reading then you can use just audio books for the challenge)
*Books you read for other challenges are eligible - use this as an opportunity to catch up!
*If you start a book before July 1 and then finish it during the month of July then you can count is as half a book

For more information and to sign up, go to the Blue Archipelago site.

And let me know if you’re joining!

This review was meant to go up last Friday. I apologize to the author and to those who where planning on this site being up and running last Saturday.

Marcelo is thrilled when he gets a golden retriever puppy for his birthday, but now he faces one of the toughest jobs of his life, not only because owning a pet is a huge responsibility, but because he has to find the perfect name for it—and that’s hard!

This is only the second children’s book I have reviewed here on The Book Stacks and it is the first children’s book in e-book format I have ever reviewed here. I’m not usually one for e-books, but I liked this book so much that reading it on screen instead of on page didn’t take much away from my enjoyment.

This very sweet book about Marcelo and his first puppy had me smiling all the way through. (And wishing I had a puppy of my own!)

Mayra touches on the responsibilities of owning a puppy while keeping it simple so even a very young child can understand both the love and work surrounding having a puppy. While I could nitpick about some of the words Marcelo says, perhaps I’m underestimating the intelligence and vocabulary of children. Besides, it doesn’t take away from the story whatsoever.

What’s even more is the art is done well with a lot of colours that every child will enjoy.

I definitely recommend this book for children – especially those who have a love of dogs. This short and sweet book will be the perfect present.

Equals my Booking Through Thursday reading list.

This week’s Booking Through Thursday question…

It’s a holiday weekend here in the U.S., so let’s keep today’s question simple–What are you reading? Anything special? Any particularly juicy summer reading?

It’s funny how things work out because I was meaning to put an updated “What I’m Reading�? list up this week and, well, here you go! I love it when things work out like that.

Remember to play the Monday game for your chance to win an Aussie postcard from me.

If you would like to try your hand at reviewing, please feel free to contact me using the contact me button under the site description on the right. I’m more than happy to put up guest reviews. I’m also thinking of a best book review contest, but it’s just an idea floating around in my brain at this point.

Reading:
Savage Survival – Darrell Bain
In Bad Dreams – Horror Anthology – Edited by Mark Deniz and Sharyn Lilley
Xenocide - Orson Scott Card
Don’t You Marry the Mormon Boys – Janet Kay Jensen
Janeology – Karen Harrington

Going to Read:
Supernatural – Graham Hancock
Marwan: The Autobiography of a 9/11 Terrorist – Aram Schefrin
Sabriel – Garth Nix
Neutron Star – Short story collection – Larry Niven
Firebirds – Fantasy/Sci-fi Anthology – Edited by Sharyn November
The Lab – Jack Heath
Remote Control – Jack Heath
The Foreshadowing – Marcus Sedgwick
The Jaguar Legacy – Maureen Fisher
Target: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hilary Clinton – Kathleen Willey
To Truckee’s Trail – Celia Hayes
The Redemption of Althalus – David and Leigh Eddings
The Serpent Bride – Sara Douglass
Loving the Goddess Within – Nan Hawthorne
Bad Girls Club – Judy Gregerson
Stand – Debbie Williamson
Season of Sacrifice – Tristi Pinkston

Upcoming Reviews:
Crash! – Mayra Calvani
Eon – Greg Bear
Organic for Health – Sandy Powers
Sword Dancer – Jennifer Roberson

So what’s on your list?

Hi all! Man it seems like forever since I’ve been able to post here. Do you feel the same?

Anywho, because of what happened, it came to my attention just how many people read here that have no way of getting in touch with me when the site is down. For the majority of you, that’s not a problem. Either you have my email address or you’re just not that upset about not being able to contact me for whatever amount of time. And that’s okay because I’m not always the best correspondent.

However, it would have been very nice to be able to let you know what was going on.

Because of that, I have been ‘inspired’ to tell you about a few of the other places you can find me, should something like this happen again. (Let’s all hope that it doesn’t.)

Twitter

Facebook

I’m at other places to, but these two are the ones I generally check in on every day. If you have any recommendations of other things I should join, let me know. Just keep in mind that I’m usually quite lazy and I’m proud of the fact that I have two social sites that I visit daily.

Feel free to friend me on any of these sites. It would be great, though, if you could let me know that you’re friending me because you saw this post. (“Hi, I’m ___. I read you on ___.) That’s not possible for all the sites, but I will definitely appreciate it if you put it in when you can.

Thank you all. Now it’s time for lunch.

PS. I just joined GoodReads if you want to friend me there.

Hello and welcome once more to Booking Through Thursday. Once more we have a question about books to think about. The question for last week (due to the site being down)…

Think about your favorite authors, your favorite books . . . what is it about them that makes you love them above all the other authors you’ve read? The stories? The characters? The way they appear to relish the taste of words on the tongue? The way they’re unafraid to show the nitty-gritty of life? How they sweep you off to a new, distant place? What is it about those books and authors that makes them resonate with you in ways that other, perfectly good books and authors do not?

One big thing that gets me on an author’s fan list is the characters and their relationships. Well done characters can have you sympathizing with them or hating them faster than you can blink and you don’t even know it. What they do, say and think are things I want to know and enjoy reading.

A good author also doesn’t let their writing overwhelm the story. The story always takes the main role and the writing just gets you to wherever the story is going. I don’t like it when authors get so caught up in the fact that they are writing that the story becomes secondary.

My favourite authors have a wonderful ability to take me to places that are familiar enough to give me a bit of footing but different enough to make me want to explore all the wonderful spaces the new world holds.

Hi everyone!

Phew! We are back in action (as you can see). Did you miss me? I missed you!

Group hug!

Too much? Okay. I’ll behave.

I am very glad to be back in action and posting here on site. I apologize for all the down time, but as happens with technology sometimes, we had a bit of a technology burp. Apparently some drives and servers went down at headquarters and things were a bit messy for a while.

Don’t ask me to go into it further because it’s probably, ultimately, quite boring.

Thank you all for your patience (and for coming back after such a long gap). I know that going too long without posting can be a bit of a ‘virtual death’ for any site, so I doubly appreciate all of you who have been checking in with me via email, twitter and other things.

If any of you are interested in alternative ways to contact me (should the sites ever go down again, heaven forbid), leave a comment and I’ll post up some of my information.

I would like to reward everyone who stuck around through all this by holding a contest. I know I just held two big contests, but that doesn’t mean I can’t hold a few more, right?

If you have any ideas for a contest, please let me know. I’ll be taking your suggestions for the next few weeks so we can hopefully get something going soon.

Once again, my apologies, and thank you to everyone for your patience. I’m very glad to be back.

Have a good one!