2010 June

Whatcha Reading Wednesday

June 30, 2010

This is from Busy Moms Who Love to Read, one of my favorite book blogs. To get to this week’s Linky, check out her current post.

The rules:

Pick up the book you are currently reading. Type in the VERY First WORD and then the VERY Last WORD in the book! If it is a spoiler at all be sure to put **Spoiler Alert** at the top of your comment (like if the selection announces the death of an integral character or something).

Here’s mine:

Springtime … sun ~ Damaged by Pamela Callow

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1 Comment Filed Under: Memes Tagged With: Whatcha Reading Wednesday

Teaser Tuesday: Damaged

June 29, 2010

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read.
Open to a random page.
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here’s mine:

She locked the door carefully and drove to her office. It was foggy, but there was a brightness behind the gray. ~ Page 309 of Damaged by Pamela Callow

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your 2 “teasers” in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!

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3 Comments Filed Under: Memes Tagged With: Damaged, Pamela Callow, Teaser Tuesday

Book Beginnings: The Unshakable Truth

June 28, 2010

Book Beginnings on Friday is a meme hosted by Becky at Page Turners. Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you’re reading. If you like, share with everyone why you do, or do not, like the sentence.

The Unshakable Truth by Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell

It was a beautiful fall day.

Given that this isn’t fiction, I don’t know that it can be qualified as either good or bad. It’s a book about Christianity. They’re about to set the stage for a short anecdote with which to begin the “handbook.”

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1 Comment Filed Under: Memes Tagged With: Book Beginnings Friday, Unshakable Truth

The Best Books of 2010 ~ So Far

June 27, 2010

I saw this on The Book Smugglers, and thought I’d do my own list. But, before I do that, I just have to say that I cannot believe we’re already just about halfway through the year! I swear it feels like we just started 2010! A lot has happened for me, not just in life in general, but here in blog land. I started with just one (public) blog, hosted by blogger. This spring, I decided that I needed to branch my book-related posts off into a new blog. My personal blog was feeling cluttered and disorganized. So, Proud Book Nerd was born. BUT, that wasn’t good enough, apparently. At some point – can’t remember exactly when or how – I decided that I wanted to be self-hosted on the WordPress platform. And the final Proud Book Nerd was born! Let me tell you, it’s been crazy! But, having my own domain, I know I won’t be going anywhere. I’m enjoying what I’m doing. Reading, reading, reading – something I’ve always enjoyed. THEN I get to talk about it. And you listen! It’s amazing! I’m really LOVING this!

Things to look forward to: I am participating in a couple of fun blogging events. The first is Got Books? This will be July 23-24, and it’s all things books. And, yes, there is a giveaway. I have one thing planned, and am hoping to add more. (I just have to decide what.) Make sure to stop in as it gets closer! The other event – HUGE event, I must add – is Blogmania! I don’t know how many of you were around for Blogmania back in April, but I was and it was fun. I found a lot of new and exciting blogs to enjoy, AND I won a few prizes! I am so thrilled to be participating with my own giveaway in September! I have several sponsors and will have many awesome prizes up for grabs!

OK, and now that I’m done with that, onto the original reason for this post! The Best of 2010 ~ so far. Over on The Book Smugglers, they do three categories: Best published this year, best read this year, and honorable mention. I am not doing that – more for lack of time rather than lack of desire. I’m going to focus on the best books I’ve read (and reviewed) this year, regardless of publication date.

Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis ~ 5 Stars

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger ~ 5 Stars
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen ~ 5 Stars
Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey ~ 4.5 Stars
In a Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth ~ 4.5 Stars
The Last Christian by David Gregory ~ 4.5 Stars
Here Burns My Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs ~ 4 Stars
The Emerald Talisman by Brenda Pandos ~ 4 Stars
Forget Me Not by Vicki Hinze ~ 4 Stars
The Emerald Storm by Michael J. Sullivan ~ 4 Stars

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10 Comments Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Best of 2010

Top Ten Picks: Authors

June 27, 2010

One of my favorite memes, this is from Jillian at Random Ramblings. This week us to name our Top Ten favorite authors. Now, I’m going to just list my favorites as of now. In a few months, years, even weeks, this list could change. But, as of this moment, these are who I’d pick (in no order other than that in which they come to mind).

Michael J. Sullivan ~ Creator of The Riyria Revelations series.
J.K. Rowling ~ Where would many of us be without Harry Potter?
Jane Austen ~ Need I say more?
Chaucer ~ One of my favorite classes in college was my Chaucer class.
Phoebe Kitanidis ~ Whisper was AWESOME!
Audrey Niffenegger ~ The Time Traveler’s Wife is probably one of my TOP books read EVER.
Corneila Funke ~ LOVED the Inkheart trilogy.
Jodi Picoult ~ I don’t think I’ve ever taken more than a couple of days to read one of her books.
L.M. Montgomery ~ Anne Shirley is probably one of my favorite characters EVER.
Mark Twain ~ I love his wit, humor, and stories. (And challenged/banned or not, my children WILL read Huckleberry Finn!)

Your turn! Who are your favorite authors/writers?

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2 Comments Filed Under: Memes Tagged With: authors, Michael J. Sullivan, top ten

Review: Whisper

June 25, 2010

Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis

Summary: Joy is used to hearing Whispers. She’s used to walking down the street and instantly knowing people’s deepest, darkest desires. She uses this talent for good, to make people happy and give them what they want. But for her older sister, Jessica, the family gift is a curse, and she uses it to make people’s lives—especially Joy’s—miserable. Still, when Joy Hears a frightening whisper from Jessica’s own mind, she knows she has to save her sister, even if it means deserting her friends, stealing a car and running away with a boy she barely knows—a boy who may have a dark secret of his own.

My Thoughts: WOW! I knew when I read the description of this book that it had potential. I had no idea how much potential it had.

Short story: I would have preferred to read it all in one sitting, but I have three young children and just cannot. I did my best to read as much as I could, and read the whole thing in less than 10 hours. That’s 280 pages in 10 hours, stopping to take care of my kids – and take a nap because of a headache. I. Could. Not. Put. It. Down. Couldnotstopreading.

In case you need more: I love Joy. What a great character. So much emotional depth, and she really grows up in just a matter of a few days. What a bomb to have dropped on her later in the book.

And Jamie. Loved him. I hope they have a future together, as I really like him. I kinda had an idea what his “dark secret” was. (Possible spoiler: I think having read The Emerald Talisman somehow cued me into that. I’m not entirely sure how, but if you’ve read that book, it might make sense to you.)

At the end of the book, I found that I really liked Joy’s dad, and couldn’t stand her mom. I look forward to seeing how these characters turn out in the next installment, as well as if/how their relationship changes.

This is one (and not the first) book that I’m sorry to have to part with. I will get my own copy someday, and I DEFINITELY will read this again.

My Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Source: Received through Around The World Tours for review.

Read It: Get your own copy HERE. (This is an Amazon link, and purchase through this link will result in my receiving a small commission. Your support is appreciated!)

Find me on Goodreads.com >>

This review is part of Book Review Party Wednesday.

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12 Comments Filed Under: blog tour, Reviews Tagged With: blog tour, Phoebe Kitanidis, review, Whisper

Review: Stalker Girl

June 24, 2010

Stalker Girl by Rosemary Graham

Summary: How do you know when you’ve crossed the line between curiosity and obsession?

Carly never meant to become a stalker. She just wanted to find out who Brian started dating after he dumped her. But a little harmless online research turns into a quick glance, and that turns into an afternoon of watching. Soon Carly is putting all of her energy into following Brian’s new girlfriend—all of the sadness she feels about her mom’s recent breakup, all of the anger she feels over being pushed aside by her dad while he prepares for his new wife’s new baby. When Carly’s stalking is discovered in the worst possible way by the worst possible person, she is forced to acknowledge her problem and the underlying issues that led to it.

My Thoughts: I don’t know what to say about this book. Clearly the description caught my attention, as I wouldn’t have signed on for the blog tour otherwise. I don’t really know what I was expecting, but the best I can say (overall) is that it’s just OK.

Broken into three Parts, I thought the break-up of the story worked. Stalking, background, aftermath. But, I could barely make it through Part 1. It just didn’t hold my interest. I kept reading simply because I had agreed to do so for a blog tour.

I will say that it was better in the other two parts. I think, of them all, Part 2 was the best. I really felt I got to know Carly and I could feel for her. Poor thing was under a LOT of stress.

I honestly am not entirely sure what it is, but there’s just something I don’t like about this book. I can’t put my finger on it. But, there were parts I liked enough to label this one “just OK” rather than “didn’t like.”

Long-ish story short: I’m glad I didn’t buy this book. I don’t see myself reading this again. If someone asked me about it (without having read this review), I’d probably hem and haw. “Eh, it was OK …”

My Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars Note: On Goodreads it’s actually 2 stars, because half stars aren’t possible on there.

Source: Received through Around The World Tours for review.

Find me on Goodreads.com >>

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