Happy New Year!

I just wanted to pop in quickly and wish everyone a very Happy and healthy New Year! I am so looking forward to 2010. Thank you to all my followers, readers, fellow bloggers and lurkers! I started this blog so I could participate in the reading challenges that I watched other bloggers having fun with. I lurked for a very long time and just pondered the whole blogging idea before jumping in. Thank you for making me feel welcome. I enjoy reading comments from each and every one of you! May the New Year be full of great reads and fun challenges!

Truly, Madly by Heather Webber

Synopsis(borrowed from Barnes and Noble)

When psychic matchmaker Lucy Valentine is hired by a new client, she's shocked to find he has a skeleton in his past--literally.

My Review

Truly, Madly is a quick, fun read about a quirky gal who has some psychic abilities. She comes from a long line of matchmaking psychics but after an electrical shock she no longer has the same abilities as her matchmaking family. She now sees lost objects and sees scenes when she touches the hands of certain people. She is not too sure what to do with this ability. She has to take over the family matchmaking business due to some unpleasantries on her father's part. While doing so she stumbles across a mystery which needs solving. There is a hunky private investigator, a great mystery, a little romance, and lots of fun in this book. I loved Lucy Valentine even though sometimes I thought she made a lot of trouble for herself by keeping secrets. All in all it is a most enjoyable read and I can't wait to read more of Lucy's adventures. I will be looking forward to reading more books from Heather Webber. The book was light and fun!

I received this book courtesy of Barnes and Noble's Sneak Peek program. Thank you to them.

ARC Reading Challenge 2010

I am going wild with the challenges. I want my New Year to be full of books! I have many ARC's and review books which need my attention so this will help keep me on track. This challenge is hosted by Teddy Rose over at So Many Precious Books, So Little Time. I love her blog title. Below are her rules. If it looks like a challenge you would enjoy go over and check it out!

Here are the rules:



1. To sign up, leave a direct link to your blog post about this challenge that includes your list from rule #2, using Mr. Linky below. Please leave a comment as well.


2. List all of the ARC's that you have to read right now. Then throughout the year, you must continue updating that list as you receive more ARC's. (This is important). You should also strike out the ones that you finish.



3. The Levels



Level Bronze: .a. All of us who have or will have less than 12 ARC's must read all of the ARC's we have. Note, that if you have 11 ARC's and then receive a 12th one you will be bumped up to catagory a.


b. All of us who have or will have more than 12 ARC's must read and review 12.

Level Silver: Read 24 ARC's

Level Gold: Read 25 or more ARC's



4. You don't have to make a list of which ARC's you plan to read, but you can if you want.

If you choose a lower level, you can always change it to a higher level if you like. However, you cannot go from a higher level back down to a lower level.


5. Crossovers with other challenges are allowed and Audio-books are allowed as long as they are ARC's.


6. Read the books and review them on your blog. If you don't have a blog, you can post your review on sites like Powells, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc.


7. Please subscribe to my blog, as I will be doing a monthly post with MR Linky. Please add your reviews for each month in MR Linky in the monthly post. For your Name, please use this format Name: (Your Name, Book Title and Author's Name) for example: (Teddy, Obsessive Reading by Helen Reader). Please be sure to use the direct link to your review, not just to your blog. Then please leave a comment.


8. Enjoy!

I am going to start out at the Bronze level but may go up to the Silver level as the year goes by.

Here is my list for now:

1.Saving CeeCee Honeycutt
2.Cherries in Winter
3.Small Kingdoms
4.The Triumph Of Deborah
5.Fallen
6.Through The Heart
7.The Information Officer
8.The Wives of Henry Oades
9.Letter To My Daughter
10.One Amazing Thing
11.Iceland
12.The Opposite Field
13.Eternal On The Water
14.Winter Garden
15.Fireworks Over Toccoa
16.Making Toast
17.Before I Fall
18.The Kitchen House
19.Mornings in Jenin
20.Plain Pursuit
21.The Poacher's Son
22.Seized
23.Lake Magic
24.Heart of The Matter

I am sure I will be adding to my list but for now this is a good start.

2010 Reading From My Shelves Project

Another challenge I am doing this year is the 2010 Reading From My Shelves Challenge hosted by Diane at Bibliophile By The Sea. The idea is to read books from your shlelves and then pass the books on. Sounds good right? This should be easy for me. I pass my books on to my mom and my friends for the most part. A few go to the library sales too. I have more than enough books on my shelves to read. Here are the particulars from Diane's blog:

Does this sound like something you'd like to do as well??? If so, feel free to join in:

grab the button
decide how many books you want to read from your shelves (minimum of 20 - no maximum)

find a new home for the books once you read them
post the titles and the authors of books you've read and passed on
project runs from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010
crossover challenge books are allowed

I am going for 30 books which may be a bit ambitious but I am hopeful that I'll be able to do it. I will post my list here as I go along.
1. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
2. Small Kingdoms by Anastasia Hobbet
3. Eternal On The Water by Joseph Monninger
4. Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah
5. One Amazing Thing by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
6. Letter To My Daughter by George Bishop
7. Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt
8. The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
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Historical Fiction Challenge

With the New Year coming up I have decided it's time to get some of my books read. I am hoping that signing up for challenges will help keep me on track. I love historical fiction so I am signing up for The Historical Fiction Challenge hosted by The Royal Reviews.

Challenge Guidelines:
1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.
--Non-Bloggers: Include your information in the comment section.

2. There are four levels:

-- Curious – Read 3 Historical Fiction novels.

-- Fascinated – Read 6 Historical Fiction novels.

-- Addicted – Read 12 Historical Fiction novels.

-- Obsessed – Read 20 Historical Fiction novels.

3. Any book format counts.

4. You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.

5. Challenge begins January 1st thru December, 2010.

I am going for the addicted level in hopes to clear some of my historical fiction books out. I will post them and review them as I finish them.

1. The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
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Honest Scrap Award

I received this award from Marce over at Tea Time with Marce. This is my first award! Thank you to Marce for thinking of me and honoring me with this award.

On to the rules.. I am to list 10 honest things about myself and then pass the award on to 7 blogs. Okay here goes...

1. I am deathly afraid of heights! Looking over a railing gives me the queasies!

2. I am a reality show junkie...I love Survivor and The Amazing Race! I can't get enough of these shows. I could never be on one of these shows because of the scared of heights thing but I love to watch others doing things I could never do.

3. My favorite ice cream flavor is French Vanilla.

4. I have more books in my library than I will probably ever be able to read in my lifetime. You don't need a number here, just think hundreds! Yes I need Readers Anonymous!

5. I love dark chocolate. (I hear it's good for you too so I can eats lots of it-right?)

6. I am a morning person and not a night owl. I can stay up late however if I am reading one of those books you just can't put down.

7. I love to sew, crochet and knit but I'm not very good at any them but enjoy it anyway.

8. My first favorite book as a child was The Trolley Car Family by Eleanor Lowenton Clymer. I recently ran across a copy at a thrift store and had to snag it.

9. I love peanut butter and chipped beef sandwiches(feel free to say eewww here!) It was a childhood invention that stuck with me.

10. I cry watching animal movies or shows. Growing up the theme song from Lassie made me cry. I know I am a wimp!

Now for the 7 people I am honoring with this award:

1. Gwendolyn at A Sea Of Books
2. Jemima at The Reading Journey
3. Celticlady at Blog O' the Irish
4. Nise at Under The Boardwalk
5. Mary at Bookfan
6. Jill at Books, Books Everywhere
7. Joy at Books and Life!

I hope you all have as much fun with this as I did. I do enjoy all of your blogs. Thanks again Marce for thinking of me and my little old blog!

Fall Into Reading Wrapup

I participated in The Fall Into Reading challenge hosted by Katrina over at Callapidder Days but didn't do as well as I had hoped. I found myself reading books not on my challenge list. I had fun doing the challenge and will participate again in the Spring and Fall. I think my list will be smaller next time. I started with a list of ten books but added two library books that I had reserved and was lucky enough to get in time for the challenge. I think my very favorite book was No Time To Wave Goodbye. There really wasn't a book in the bunch I read that I disliked. One of the main reasons I started blogging was to be able to participate in reading challenges and to share which books I have loved reading. I am loving being able to participate in challenges and will be signing up for some for the new year coming up.

So how did you do on the challenge? What new challenges are you signing up for this coming year?

1. The Calligrapher's Daughter by Eugenia Kim
2. Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner
3. Sworn To Silence by Linda Castillo
4. Sarah's Promise by Leisha Kelly
5. Confections Of A Closet Baker by Gesine Bullock-Prado
6. The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
7. Beautiful Mess by Diamond Rio
8. Blue Like Playdough by Tricia Goyer
9. The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett
10. The Moon Looked Down by Dorothy Garlock
11. The Day The Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan
12. No Time To Wave Goodbye by Jacquelyn Mitchard

Merry Christmas!

Just wanting to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! I have been scarce lately as I left everything go until the last minute. It's been crazy hectic here! I'm looking forward to spending time with my kids and loved ones and also catching up on my reading and lounging! Santa brought me a Frappe Maker and I am anxious to fix myself an iced mocha and settle in with a good book! I hope everyone is enjoying the day and your day is full of happiness and love!

A-Z Wednesday

Welcome to A-Z Wednesday!! A-Z Wednesday is hosted by Vicki over at Reading At The Beach. I love her blog and this looks like fun so I decided to participate. This is my first time.

To join, here's all you have to do: Go to your stack of books and find one whose title starts with the letter of the week.

Post:

1~ a photo of the book

2~ title and synopsis

3~ link(amazon, barnes and noble etc.)

4~ Come back here and leave your link in the comments.

If you've already reviewed this book you can add it also.
Be sure to visit other participants to see what book they have posted and leave them a comment.
(We all love comments, don't we?)
Who knows? You may find your next "favorite" book.

THIS WEEKS LETTER IS: "S "

The book I chose is:

Saving Ceecee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman



Synopsis(borrowed from Barnes and Noble)
Steel Magnolias meets The Help in this Southern debut novel sparkling with humor, heart, and feminine wisdom

Twelve-year-old CeeCee Honeycutt is in trouble. For years, she has been the caretaker of her psychotic mother, Camille-the tiara-toting, lipstick-smeared laughingstock of an entire town-a woman trapped in her long-ago moment of glory as the 1951 Vidalia Onion Queen. But when Camille is hit by a truck and killed, CeeCee is left to fend for herself. To the rescue comes her previously unknown great-aunt, Tootie Caldwell.

In her vintage Packard convertible, Tootie whisks CeeCee away to Savannah's perfumed world of prosperity and Southern eccentricity, a world that seems to be run entirely by women. From the exotic Miz Thelma Rae Goodpepper, who bathes in her backyard bathtub and uses garden slugs as her secret weapons, to Tootie's all-knowing housekeeper, Oletta Jones, to Violene Hobbs, who entertains a local police officer in her canary-yellow peignoir, the women of Gaston Street keep CeeCee entertained and enthralled for an entire summer.

Laugh-out-loud funny, Beth Hoffman's charming debut novel, which Mary Kay Andrews calls "charming, disarming, sweet as the scent of magnolias on a Southern summer night," hums with wacky humor and down-home heart. It is a novel that explores the indomitable strengths of female friendship and gives us the story of a young girl who loses one mother and finds many others.



I received this book courtesy of the author (Thank you Beth!). I haven't read this book yet but plan on doing it very soon. I wanted to read and review closer to the release date of January 12Th. I have not been so excited over a book in I don't know how long. When a book is described as Steel Magnolias meets The Help you know it has to be good! I can't wait to dig into this book and get to know these characters. There will be a review after I read it. I have a feeling it is going to be one of my favorite books. For now I am enjoying the cover and have it on my nightstand where I smile every time I see it.

Chocolate A Love Story

Chocolate A Love Story by Max Brenner is a very different cookbook. There are no pictures of the finished recipes but there is fabulous artwork by Yonatan Factor. The book reminds me of the seventies and is very interesting. I did not know anything about Max Brenner when I received the book so I started by looking up Max Brenner who I learned is the owner of some pretty spectacular chocolate restaurants located around the world. Check out his menu! After learning more about Max I dove into the cookbook. There are some pretty spectacular recipes such as Heaven-on-earth cocoa tarte tatin, Meaningless sweet spaghetti, and a Philosophical highly concentrated fudge brownie. There are 65 chocolate dessert recipes in the book. While all these recipes sound delish, I think they are way out of my league. However I do have a brother who is a chef who I know will love these recipes. The cookbook is quite interesting and if you are a gourmet chef or someone who likes to pretend they are, you will love this book. It would also make a great gift for someone who is more skilled in the culinary department than I am. If you received this book I would love to hear what you thought of it.

I received this book from Hachette Book Group for review. A special thanks to them.

Mailbox Monday December 7

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page. Everyone shares what wonderful books they find in their mailbox. Warning it can lead to an overly long wishlist. I am always adding new books to my wishlist after seeing the books others have received.




This week I received one book courtesy of Random House. It does look to be a very interesting read.

The Wives Of Henry Oades by Johanna Moran

Summary from Random House
When Henry Oades accepts an accountancy post in New Zealand, his wife, Margaret, and their children follow him to exotic Wellington. But while Henry is an adventurer, Margaret is not. Their new home is rougher and more rustic than they expected—and a single night of tragedy shatters the family when the native Maori stage an uprising, kidnapping Margaret and her children.

For months, Henry scours the surrounding wilderness, until all hope is lost and his wife and children are presumed dead. Grief-stricken, he books passage to California. There he marries Nancy Foreland, a young widow with a new baby, and it seems they’ve both found happiness in the midst of their mourning—until Henry’s first wife and children show up, alive and having finally escaped captivity.

Narrated primarily by the two wives, and based on a real-life legal case, The Wives of Henry Oades is the riveting story of what happens when Henry, Margaret, and Nancy face persecution for bigamy. Exploring the intricacies of marriage, the construction of family, the changing world of the late 1800s, and the strength of two remarkable women, Johanna Moran turns this unusual family’s story into an unforgettable page-turning drama.

What books made their way into your home?