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Category Archives: Me

Waiting On Wednesday: Finger Lickin’ Fifteen

10 Jun

WoW

This is my first time participating on “Waiting on Wednesday”. It is an event hosted at Breaking the Spine. I haven’t decided yet if it will be a regular feature here– probably it will just be when inspiration hits.

What I’m eagerly awaiting is…

15cover_largeFinger Lickin’ Fifteen by Janet Evanovich

From Goodreads.com:

While recovering from an ill-timed makeup mishap, Lula is a witness to celebrity chef, Stanley Chipotle, losing his head – literally. Now Lula and Stephanie are on the hunt to identify the killers before Lula is next on the chopping block.

Meantime, Ranger’s recruited Stephanie’s help for a top secret mission. Someone on the inside at Rangeman is leaking client information, determined to bring the company down. No one is above suspicion, not even Ranger’s right hand man, Tank.

Can Stephanie hunt down a killer, a traitor, five skips and keep Grandma out of the sauce?

It’s the sexiest, scariest, most fun Plum yet. So good you’ll want seconds.

Why this book? Because I know it will make me laugh. I expect to enjoy the plot. I can’t wait to enjoy the interactions between Stephanie and Ranger. I’m thrilled to revisit all the characters. But really, it’s all about the laughter.

Available June 23.

 
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Posted by on June 10, 2009 in books, Me

 

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Monday reading

08 Jun

I decided to try a weekly reading summary/forward look.   Of course, the week I decided this, I didn’t have much time for reading. That’s how it goes sometimes.

Last week

I finished two books: one paper, one audio:

Old World Daughter, New World Mother: An Education in Love and F... by Maria Laurino Old World Daughter, New World Mother: An Education in Love and Freedom by Maria Laurino was my physical book for the week.  It is my first book I received for review.  Unfortunately, it didn’t quite come together as a whole for me, even though I found much of the content interesting and thought provoking.

True Colors (Hardcover) by Kristin Hannah True Colors by Kristin Hannah was what I listened to last week. I should have my review up in a few days. I downloaded this to listen to after reading a positive review of another book by the same author, since I’ve never read anything she’s written. Unfortunately, I was largely disappointed in this book. Whereas OWDNWM was a very high 3 star rating, and caused me to consider 4 stars, this book was a low to middle 3 stars for me.

This week

I’m still reading Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan for the Barnes & Noble First Look Book Club.  There is a recommended reading schedule of 9-10 chapters a week, and I’m sticking to that, so I’ll be finishing this for the final week of discussion on 6/22.  I’m enjoying it so far, although I don’t like the second section as well as the first, which I really liked.

I’m reading Beach Trip: A Novel by Cathy Holton for the Books on The Brain Summer Reading Series on 6/16.

If I finish that, I’ll probably start The Crying Tree: A Novel by Naseem Rakha or The Actor and the Housewife: A Novel by Shannon Hale if I need something lighter.

Next up on audio will probably be Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, on the recommendation of @yondalla.  If I decide to go for something different, I’ve also downloaded Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt on the recomendation of Bermuda Onion.

reading benchThis is my daughter’s last week of school, and it is busy!  I don’t know how much reading time I’ll end up with this summer.  Since my daughter also loves reading, I suspect we’ll end up blowing off other activities to read :-) .

What are you reading? Will summer make a difference to your reading time?

(Check out J. Kay’s Blog for other Monday reading summaries.)

 
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Posted by on June 8, 2009 in books, Me, summary

 

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Books I can relate to– stay at home moms

07 Jun

books selectedMost of the time when I read, I like to read about people and places that are different than what I know. Sure, it is nice when there is something I can relate to, but the newness of the situation is the biggest appeal.

Sometimes, I want a book that I can hook into in a specific way– that has a situation I recognize.

I go through this with many different situations– books that are set in locations I recognize. Books set in the high tech world. Books about book clubs. I’ll save those for another set of posts, if this one is successful.

I like reading books about stay at home moms. I don’t run into many of them (I haven’t read any since I started this blog!). A few that I’ve read:

The Ten-Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer

A group of moms struggle with their lives after 10 years as stay at home moms. I liked this one better than most people did. The main character’s struggle for identity resonated with me, and I liked the group of characters, even if they were often whiny.

Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik

A group of women in the 50s form a book club/support group, and keep going for many years, through many changes. It’s been almost 5 years since I read this one, but I remember enjoying it. I wanted to live in a community as close-knit as this one. I loved the book club choices.

Carpe Demon by Julie Kenner

(And the other Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom) A retired demon-hunter (think Buffy the Vampire Slayer) comes (unwillingly) out of retirement because demons are threatening her community. She must keep this a secret from almost everyone in her current life. I really enjoyed the first books of this series. The most recent ones haven’t appealed as much, for reasons I won’t go into here. On the whole, I’m glad my life isn’t that exciting, but there are moments…

Nursery Crimes by Ayelet Waldman

And the other Mommy-Track Mysteries. I found these relatively forgettable– I’m not even sure how many I read– but the do fit the niche I’m talking about here.

I’m looking forward to The Actor and the Housewife: A Novel by Shannon Hale. It looks like complete fantasy, but a fun complete fantasy.

I’m sure I’ve read others that I’m not thinking of, and that there are MANY more I haven’t read.

Any suggestions for books about Stay at Home moms? Ones that aren’t dreadful preferred :-) , but I’m interested in all suggestions.

 
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Posted by on June 7, 2009 in books, Me

 

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Reflections on Guernsey Literary Society and on-line relationships

04 Jun

j0435241I have one other thing to say about The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

During our book club discussion, there was one point that split our group.  We were discussing Juliet (the main character)’s travel to Guernsey to meet people she’d only met through letters.

One member thought that it was either unrealistic or a sign of very bad judgment on part. 

Two of us had no problems with it, since we’d both formed friendships based on on-line communication, and traveled to meet people on that basis alone. (The remaining 3 either didn’t have strong opinions or didn’t want to get in our way :-) ).

I found it very interesting to see that small link between the letter writing of days past and our world of meeting people through e-mail lists, Twitter, Blogs and more.

I’m still new to the Book Blogging community, but I’m starting to make connections. I hope to get to know many others in the community– perhaps well enough to find a roommate for BEA next year that I’ve never met in person.

Thanks to all those that have welcomed me.

 
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Posted by on June 4, 2009 in blogging, Book Club, books, M, Me

 

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Meme: Why I Blog

16 May

msmazzola at State of Denmark says:

My AP Literature and Composition students are working on their senior presentations.  I have promised them that I too will complete a research project.  This blog has been a huge part of my project, as I am researching why people blog.  I have read several articles pertaining to my topic, but I would love to gather as much information from “real live bloggers”, if at all possible.  So, if you are willing to participate, I have a few questions I would love to ask you.  Perhaps we could make this a meme and you could post in on your on blog and just leave a link under my comments…..

1.  How long have you been blogging?

About 1 month now!

2.  Why did you start blogging?

As a way to explore new skills.  Because I wanted to keep track of the books I read.  As a way to reach out and meet new people.   So I can feel like someone is listening to me.

3.  What have you found to be the benefits of blogging?

The keeping track of what I’m reading is clearly working.  I think my writing is improving.  I’m getting more comfortable with basic HTML.

4.  How many times a week do you post an entry?

About 4 times a week.

5.  How many different blogs do you read on a regular basis?

I have 70 in Google Reader.  Some are inactive, some I just skim the titles of the posts.

6.  Do you comment on other people’s blogs?

I’ve certainly gotten better about it since I started blogging.

7.  Do you keep track of how many visitors you have?  Is so, are you satisfied with your numbers?

I see how many page views I have.  No, I’m not satisfied.  I would like more, as part of that “making connections” and “being heard” thing.  But in theory, I’m writing this for myself, and it shouldn’t matter how many readers I have.

8.  Do you ever regret a post that you wrote?

Not yet!  Give me time!

Although there are two books that I wrote that I probably shouldn’t have given them the ratings I did.   And I’ve since decided the ratings should be changed, but haven’t decided how I’ll go about changing them.

9.  Do you think your audience has a true sense of who you are based on your blog?

Probably not yet.

10.  Do you blog under your real name?

Yes.

11.  Are there topics that you would never blog about?

I’m going to try to keep this blog book related.  I’d have to think hard about books that are strongly opinionated, so that reviewing them means discussing that opinion.

12.  What is the theme/topic of your blog?

Books.

13.  Do you have more than one blog?  If so, why?

Not yet!  I’ve considered a more personal blog, but I’m not ready to figure out how I’d handle that yet.

 
1 Comment

Posted by on May 16, 2009 in blogging, Me

 

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What I’m reading

16 Apr

I’m always reading multiple books at a time.  I’ve usually got something going in each of these categories:

  • A book for each book club (current count: 2)
  • An audiobook
  • A paper book (no e-reader yet)
  • a fluffy book
  • a more serious book (non-fiction or literary fiction)
  • a favorite book for bedtime listening

A book can fit in more than one of these at a time– it isn’t unusual for me to be listening to a “serious” book for a book club.

These aren’t my only simultaneous reading categories.  I’ll also add another book in the mix when:

  • I misplace a book I was reading.
  • Someone loans me a book.
  • My daughter hands me a book and says “you should read this”.
  • A book catches my attention and I want to read it NOW.

I always count my book club books as “currently reading” as soon as the previous meeting is over, even though I’m likely to open them until a week ahead of time.  I try to time my reading so I finish just before the discussion (although I misjudged my schedule for the last two books and had to scramble at the last minute).  I go ahead and count them because they are in the mix of books I’m considering each time I sit (or lay or whatever) to read.

So, what am I reading now?

  1. I’m listening to Malice Domestic (a collection of short stories I downloaded from my library via Overdrive).
  2. I’m reading Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspeare.
  3. I’m occasionally picking up Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.  It tends to be in an inconvenient location or I’m just not in the mood to read it.
  4. For book club L (meeting at the end of April) I’m reading Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (and I’ve been having a hard time keeping my hands off of it, but I expect it to be a fast read).
  5. For book club M (meeting at the beginning of May) I’m reading Cures for Heartbreak by Margo Rabb.
  6. For bedtime (and sleepless in the middle of the night) listening, I have The Moor by Laurie R. King.

What are you reading now?  How many books do you have open at a time?

 
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Posted by on April 16, 2009 in books, Me

 

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I’m starting a blog!

14 Apr

Hello!

I’m starting a blog.  For now, I’m planning on collecting my book reviews here.  I’ll probably add other content later.  Or maybe I’ll put personal stuff elsewhere. I’m figuring this out as I go!

I love to read.  I run two book clubs, and I’ll talk about those in this blog.

I read a wide variety of books.   I read a lot of fluff.  I read some serious fiction.  And quite a bit in-between. I like mysteries, speculative fiction (science fiction/fantasy), chick lit, thrillers, and more.  I try not to let genre keep me from an interesting book.

I read on paper and listen to audiobooks.  I don’t have an e-book reader, at least not yet.

Who I am:

I’m a 40 year old mom-at-home to an almost 11 year old girl.  I’m heavily involved at her school and in her activities.  She has been my primary focus for 11 years now.

Now she’s growing up, and it is time for me to start directing my focus elsewhere.  She’s still number one, but she needs some space, and so do I.   I’m working on exploration:  exploring the Internet (Twitter, blogs…), exploring options (taking classes, talking to people about where they are going) and exploring who I am.

Feel free to drop me a note– ImBookingIt@deLeons.com.

 
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Posted by on April 14, 2009 in Me

 

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