Archive for June, 2010
Which James Patterson Book? Survey Results
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010Sookie Stackhouse – I’ve Been Bitten!
Saturday, June 26th, 2010![]() |
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Journal Entry for: June 27, 2010 Read: Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris Remember and Recommend: |
| Sookie is one of the cutest series characters to be created in a long time. She is blonde and sexy (of course), but not shallow (thank you Charlaine). She has a ‘disability’ that gives the story a nonvampire little twist and she has had enough hardships in her life to give her depth. She is small town, but bright. When she meets Bill, a vampire who has ‘come out of the coffin’, her rural life takes turns that will alter her forever – and maybe change your reading habits.
There are now 10 books in the Sookie Stackhouse series – and I might not get anything more done till I read them all! I hope they stay true to this first story and are all mini vacations for my crazy life. Even though I would much rather read a book than watch its story on t.v., I am excited to try the HBO series True Blood, created from the Sookie Stackhouse novels. In my mind Sookie was not Anna Paquin (she will always be Rogue in my mind – even with blond hair!) who plays her in the series, but it will be interesting to see how she creates the character. |
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| Comments: I don’t want to give too much of this book away. If you haven’t read it, and are looking for a little mini vacation, go for it! |
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| Have you been bitten? What did you think? | |
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Survey – Which James Patterson Book?
Friday, June 25th, 2010Wildthorn Review – My Journal June 24, 2010
Thursday, June 24th, 2010![]() |
Journal Entry for June 24th, 2010 Read: Wildthorn by Jane Eagland |
| Remember, Recommend: It’s fun to read and review a book before its release date. I feel like I get to share a secret with everyone – and this is a good one! Wildthorn, by Jane Eagland takes place in Victorian England – a time of few liberties for women. Louisa, a smart and strong-willed seventeen year old girl wants to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a doctor. But, as everyone knows, too much reading can lead to insanity in women (this must be my problem!). Louisa’s mother would like nothing more than for Louisa to make social calls (instead of house calls) with her, find a nice husband and start out on the only fulfilling role a woman can take on – becoming a wife and mother. She despises Louisa’s love of learning and tomboy ways. |
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| On the other hand, Louisa’s father, a doctor, openly encourages Louisa in her studies and even takes her on his medical rounds. Other family members (and their opinions) are also important in the story – especially her beloved cousin Grace, her Aunt Phyllis and her wayward brother Tom.
The crux of the story comes when Louisa finds herself locked in an insane asylum for women. How did this happen? Why is no one looking for her? With a new name, how is she ever going to explain that she isn’t Lucy Childs, but Louisa Cosgrove? Although terrible and frightening, this incarceration gives Louisa the confidence to take on her life for herself. She learns that she is strong enough to follow her dreams – be it in her career or love. I can’t recommend this book highly enough. It is being published as a YA novel, but I think it could hold its own in mainstream fiction. The writing is excellent and the story engrossing. I found I couldn’t put it down! |
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| Comments: | |
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| If you have young girls, I would definitely read this first before sharing it with them as there are themes in the story that might be better for an older teenager. | |
| I received Wildthorn from Houghton Mifflin Books for review from Netgalley. It will be released September 6, 2010. | |
| Have you read Wildthorn? Leave your comments and a link to your review. | |
Robert F. Sibert Medal – Teen Award Spotlight
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010![]() |
Teen Award Spotlight – The Robert Sibert Medal for best informational book. | ||||
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| The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award is awarded annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished informational book published in English during the preceding year. Established in 2001 by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), with support from Bound to Stay Bound Books, Inc., of Jacksonville, Illinois, the award honors Sibert, a long-serving president of Bound to Stay Bound Books. | |||||
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| June Teen Giveaway | |||||
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Make sure to enter Bibliobabe’s June Teen Giveaway – for a chance to win An American Plague by Jim Murphy. | ||||
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| You can find the complete list of winners in: | |||||
The complete list of Robert Sibert Medal winners can be found on page 127 of Read, Remember, Recommend for Teens: A Reading Journal for Book Lovers. | |||||
It’s Monday, What are You Reading? – June 21st, 2010
Monday, June 21st, 2010![]() |
It’s Monday! What are you reading this week? is hosted at One Persons Journey Through a World of Books. Its is a weekly event to celebrate what we are reading for the week as well as books completed the previous week.
What are you reading? Leave a comment with your current reads. |
| Happy Summer! | |
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| We just got back last night from a little vacation at my parent’s house in Mesquite, NV. I spent most of the time perfecting my handstand on the bottom of their pool – it was over 100 there almost everyday we were there! But, I did get some reading in – and my Kindle swimsuit was perfect for in-the-pool reading!
I received an email for Netgalley.com a couple of weeks ago. This great site allows you to request galleys from publishers and then read them on your Kindle or computer. I just finished the first book I requested – and loved it. What a great resource for reviewers and publishers. Check it out! |
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| Books Finished Last Week: | |
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The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer. This is a fun book to read by the pool or beach – very interesting. Make sure to check out my review. |
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Wildthorn by Jane Eagland. This was my first Netgalley book – and I loved it. Look for my review this week. |
| Currently Reading: | |
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The Lonely Tree by Yael Politis. I didn’t read this too much on vacation – but am going to jump back in this week and finish it. |
| Reading Next: | |
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A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin. I haven’t gotten to this yet – but am hoping to this week. |
| Let me know what you are reading! | |
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner – Review, My Journal June 15th, 2010
Tuesday, June 15th, 2010![]() |
Journal Entry for June 14th, 2010 Read: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer |
| Remember, Recommend: I picked this up on a shopping trip right before leaving for vacation. It’s small and having read everything else Stephenie Meyer has written, I knew it would be a good vacation read. Despite the poor sales reports from the indies for this much anticipated summer release, I wasn’t disappointed. I think the poor sales are being blamed on the fact that the complete story can be read online (no downloads to ereaders) at breetanner.com. I liked reading it in book format, but it is an interesting concept to give it to fans for free. I think the repercussions of this will be much debated in the future. |
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| The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is the story of a newborn vampire created by Victoria, the bitter, older vampire in Meyer’s Eclipse. Admittedly, I didn’t remember the character (well, maybe briefly), but it was engrossing to read of the week in her life leading up to her scene in Eclipse. Bree makes a few strange friends in her newly formed coven and learns quite a bit about what it is like to be a vampire in the few days before she meets the Cullens. This was a quick, fun read (a novella) – every bit as entertaining to me as Meyer’s others.
Comments: Although the Twilight saga was slated for a fairly young audience, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner was fairly gory – much more so than I remember any of the previous four in the series being. So, if you are getting this for a younger teenager or middle reader, I would make sure to read it first. |
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| Have you read The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner? What did you think? | |
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Book Blogger Hop – June 11, 2010
Friday, June 11th, 2010| Welcome to this week’s Book Blogger Hop which is hosted by Crazy-For-Books. Go over to her blog for more information and to leave your links to your post.
In the spirit of the Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and find new blogs that we may be missing out on! This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed! | |
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| About me: | |
| 1. My little boys had Circus Days this week for the last days of school. Proud mama – I have to share! | |
Sam |
Holden |
I have 2 huge Newfoundland puppies – here is my Sweet Pea:
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Here is my Grace (my first baby):![]() |
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2. I’ve been book blogging since January, 2010 (I’m a newbie!).
3. I read almost entirely fiction: classics, contemporary, award winners, YA – and am now getting into mysteries and thrillers (too fun for the summer!). 4. I have 2 reading journals that were released in April by Sourcebooks: Read, Remember, Recommend: A Reading Journal for Book Lovers (fiction and literature version) and Read, Remember, Recommend for Teens: A Reading Journal for Young Adults – each with over 2,400 reading suggestions. 5. I have 2 GIVEAWAYS! Make sure and enter: 6. I’m currently The Lost Tree by Yael Politis. 7. The last book I read was The Silver Swan by Benjamin Black. 8. Check out these posts with Reading Maps: 9. You can also find me on Twitter (bibliobabeblog) and Goodreads. Leave a comment with your info! |
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Borders Original Voices Award for Fiction – Award Spotlight
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010| Award Spotlight – Borders Original Voices Award for Fiction | |||
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| The annual Original Voices Awards, presented by Borders Group, Inc., recognizes “fresh, compelling, and ambitious works from… new and emerging talents.” Books chosen for the Original Voices program may be “innovative and inspiring new books from first-time authors” or “works that represent a new direction for established authors.” In a typical year, more than 100 works from contemporary authors and illustrators are spotlighted through monthly in-store features. In December, finalists for the awards are selected via an online vote of corporate and store employees. A committee of employees reads each finalist in the four categories—fiction, nonfiction, young adult, and children’s picture books—and names the winners. Each winner receives $5,000 from Borders and winning books are featured in 500 U.S. stores. | |||
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The Calligraphers’ Daughter by Eugenia Kim is the most recent Borders Original Voices winner (2009) and Bibliobabe’s June Fiction Giveaway. | ![]() |
The complete list of Borders Original Voices winners can be on page 87 of Read, Remember, Recommend: A Reading Journal for Book Lovers. |
It’s Monday, What are You Reading? – June 7th, 2010
Monday, June 7th, 2010![]() |
It’s Monday! What are you reading this week? is hosted at One Persons Journey Through a World of Books. Its is a weekly event to celebrate what we are reading for the week as well as books completed the previous week.
What are you reading? Leave a comment with your current reads. |
| Things have been crazy for me this last week – so I’m behind on not only my reading but in my Monday postings as well! | |
| Books Finished in the Last 2 Weeks: | |
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Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. Loved this! Check out my reading map and review. |
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The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall. This was a recommend from Caroline Bookbinder and the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. It was a fun read, a little slower than I expected, but would be perfect for a teen looking for a light summer read. |
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The Silver Swan by Benjamin Black. I have to admit, I was walking through the grocery store last week and they had a book big full of hardbacks – 2 for $10. I had recently seen something about Benjamin Black (this is a pseudonym for Booker Prize winner John Banville) and was curious, so I picked this up. I dived into it without realizing it’s the second in the Quirke series – but it didn’t affect the reading at all. I loved it – and am looking forward to reading more by Black. Sometimes a good deal is a good deal! |
| Currently Reading: | |
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The Lonely Tree by Yael Politis. This is the first book I have accepted from a publisher for review. I received an email from Holland Park Press and the premise of a Jewish family living during Israel’s struggle for independence sounded very interesting. I don’t know much about this era/subject, so I jumped at the chance to learn more. I think this will be a great one to create a reading map for. |
| Reading Next: | |
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A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin. I have wanted to read this for a while (it’s mentioned quite a few times in my teen journal), but I have been spurned on by Heather P.’s review on Books and Quilts. |
Book Blogger Spotlight Saturday and THANK YOU – Books and Quilts
Saturday, June 5th, 2010 Books and Quilts is the blog baby of Heather P., who has been blogging since October 12, 2007. She posts about books, food, quilting and needlework. She frequently includes pictures of her cute family and mouth watering food.
I love visiting Heather’s blog to see all the books she is reading, the wonderful food she has created for her family and the beautiful projects she creates (quilting, knitting, etc.). I get hungry every time I pop over to Books and Quilts – something I have mentioned to Heather – and have now been officially invited for dinner! Yeah! Now I have to get my Utah fanny to Canada for some good grub! |
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Last week, I started posting my reviews with Reading Maps. Heather liked the idea and has posted three of her own (already!). Check out these posts to see her reading maps: A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore Bel Canto by Ann Patchett The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver And….she was so sweet as to create a reading map of my reading journal, Read, Remember, Recommend. How awesome is that?!!! I was so happy to see her beautiful work (I didn’t even think of doing this!) that I wanted to give her a huge THANK YOU!!! It made my whole week to see this wonderful reading map! |
| Make sure to head on over to Books and Quilts daily to see what Heather is up to. It will make you hungry, want to read, or jealous of her quilting talents! |
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie Reading Map and Review – My Journal June 4th, 2010
Friday, June 4th, 2010![]() |
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Journal entry for 6/4/2010 The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradley Started 5/21/2010 finished 5/27/2010 Website for Alan Bradley |
| Read and Remember: |
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| Mysteries are hard to review -I don’t want to give too much away! Flavia de Luce, the heroine of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is one of the smartest young detectives in any fiction. She is funny, cute and not afraid of anything. She takes on the task of solving a murder after she stumbles upon a body in her backyard. What follows is a fun, fast paced adventure through her quiet English village of Bishop’s Lacey, her laboratory and the amazing house of Buchshaw. |
| Definitions (from dictionary.com): |
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| Accolades: |
| 2010 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel 2009 Agatha Award for Best First Novel 2010 Spotted Owl Award 2009 Dilys Award 2010 Amelia Bloomer Project |
| Comments: |
| I really enjoyed this fun mystery. In the past, I haven’t dabbled much in this genre, but am now hooked. What a fun escape. I found myself wishing I was Flavia in a former life! |
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| Explanation of my The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie Reading Map (for more on Reading Maps, see this post): |
| Stamps - I learned more than I ever knew (not much) about stamp collecting and some very famous stamps. It was fascinating! |
| Table of Elements and poison – Flavia is a genius – and her knowledge of science (including poisons) is staggering. |
| Jack Snipe – A species of bird, the jack snipe, played an important role in the book. Although it is pictured on the cover as a black bird, and described in the story as black, this is what a jack snipe looks like (according to Google). |
| Further reading – One of the main purposes of a reading map is to find ‘roads’ to other books through the process of reading one book. I definitely want to read the next installment of the Flavia de Luce books (there are six planned for the series), The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag.
I am ashamed to admit that I’ve never read any Sherlock Holmes. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s main guy was mentioned quite a few times in connection with The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. I already have The Complete Sherlock Holmes on my Kindle – I just need to get moving! Maisie Dobbs is another amazing and sweet English sleuth. I have read the first in Jacqueline Winspear’s series (there are currently 7), Maisie Dobbs, but now want to continue with Birds of a Feather. Let my reading map encourage you to try Maisie Dobbs! |
| Suitcase – Hmmmm. Have to read the book for this one! |
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| The fourth book in the Great Summer Fiction Reads from Bibliobabe! |
With all of the thousands of reading suggestions in Read, Remember, Recommend, there are sure to be tons of books you will want to read this summer. Bibliobabe will highlight some great choices over the next few weeks – books that are sure to appeal to anyone looking for something fun to read on a trip or in your backyard. Keep checking back for more Bibliobabe picks worthy of some sunny weather, summer reading. |
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| Have you read The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie? Send me your review link and I’ll post it. |
Read, Remember, Recommend Reading Challenge Updates
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010| Reading Challenge Updates! | |
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| If you haven’t joined either of the challenges, there is still plenty of time! They both end April 1st, 2011. Check out the details (GREAT PRIZES!): Read, Remember, Recommend Fiction Reading Challenge Read, Remember, Recommend Teen Reading Challenge |
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| Below are the standings so far. | |
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Read, Remember, Recommend Fiction Challenge Tally |
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| Name | Total |
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| Rachelle (Bibliobabe) | 3 |
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| Heather @ Books and Quilts | 8 |
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| Kara Sjoblom- Bay | |
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| Tea | |
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| Jonita (The Book Chick) | 1 |
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| Nari @ The Novel World | 2 |
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| Kathy/ Bermudaonion’s Weblog | 3 |
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| kim in ohio | |
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| Jayme (Beachreader) | 4 |
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| M (Agent 99) | 7 |
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| Tenia | 8 |
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| Julie/ Booking Mama | 1 |
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| Cerebral Girl in a Redneck World | |
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| Cass | |
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| Sue | |
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| Melissa | 2 |
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| Josette | 1 |
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| Carrie | 2 |
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| Beth (Bookaholicmom) | 2 |
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Read, Remember, Recommend Teen Challenge Tally |
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| Name | Total |
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| Rachelle (Bibliobabe) | 3 |
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| Becky | |
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| Kara | |
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| Shannon | 2 |
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| Wdebo | 2 |
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