Little Thoughts About Books and Stuff

Fighting Love by Abby Niles My rating: 4 of 5 stars I received an ebook ARC from Netgalley in return for an honest review. This is the second book in Abby Niles' Love to the Extreme series.  You can find my review of the first book here . I have really enjoyed both books in the series and I'm looking forward to the next book due out in 2014. One of the things I like about this story is that Julie is the one in the friend zone, or as Tommy sees it, the sister zone. Tommy and Julie have been best friends forever. Julie has been in love with Tommy since she was a child.  She's been pretty okay with this but things are changing between the two friends.  Their lives are so different, Tommy has been focused on his fighting and the lifestyle that surrounds the sports. Julie is fine with the quite life at home and doesn't much care for the lifestyle. Julie's quite life is about to get a change when Tommy moves in with her.  Things have been rough for him, he lose ...

This meme is hosted by Mr. Knowitall . From my Instagram Christmas morning passed in a blur. All too soon the gifts had been opened, oohs and aahs had been expressed, and breakfast had been consumed.  Now it was hours before anyone had anywhere to be and the humans were sitting at the table playing cards.  We didn’t have to supervise anymore so we napped.

This meme is hosted by Mr. Knowitall . Today's story is true. When we were younger my brother and I used to cuddle up in one bed in anticipation of Christmas Morning. We were always very excited and could hardly sleep.  Then one year as we lay there we heard my mom watching her soaps, which wasn't unusual. What was unusual was the sounds of gifts being wrapped.  Christmas Eve Discovery Cuddled in bed, too excited to sleep, a brother and sister lay awake talking about what they expect to find Christmas morning. Then they hear the TV come on with Mom’s favorite soap opera, and the sounds of gifts being wrapped. But all the gifts from Mom and Dad are already under the tree!

Adam over at RoofBeamReade r is hosting the 2013 TBR Pile Challenge . The Goal is to read 12 books from your "to be read" pile before the end of 2013. Here is my list: (Completed 7 of  12) Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantle Geektastic edited by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci - Completed 6/23/13 How to Be Single by Liz Tuccillo - DNF American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld The Smart One and The Pretty One by  Claire LaZebnik - Completed 2/11/13 Jack's Widow by Eve Pollard - Completed 2/2/13 The Dead Beat by Mailyn Johnson Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik - Completed 2/17/2013 The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James -  Completed 3/8/13 Casting About by Terri Dulong Needles and Pearls by Gil McNeil - Completed 5/27/13 The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club by Gil McNeil - Completed 5/7/13 Alternates This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel  - DNF People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

A Featured Sneak Peek: Christmas Wishes by Mary Manners Love comes full circle when a child's Christmas wish arrives special delivery. When attorney Riley Harper comes home to Maple Ridge following the death of his grandfather, the last thing he expects to find is Kaylee McKenna living in his grandparents' guesthouse. Though he and Kaylee were once best friends, Riley cannot find it in his heart to forgive her for the death of his mother. His heart, full of bitterness and resentment, has room for little else. Kaylee has no time to dwell on events of the past, especially where Riley's concerned; she's too busy raising her six-year-old niece, Rosie, and working as an ER nurse. With Christmas quickly approaching, her days are spent helping with charity events and filling the wishes on Rosie's Christmas list. But when Rosie's father makes an unexpected visit, Kaylee must call on Riley's legal expertise to ensure Rosie of a safe and secure future. Wil...

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was one of those books that the patrons of the library raved about, which meant that I pushed it to the bottom of my To Be Read list. I guess I’m a bit of a book snob, but the greater the reviews the longer it takes me to read a book (for the most part). I might not have read the book, if not for it being picked for the first book of the Winter Book Club. I enjoyed the story and the characters immensely. The differing plot lines that all intertwined gave the novel a sort of soap opera feel, but it also added to the charm of the story. Seeing some of these characters at different points in their lives drives you forward to the point where the past and the present meet up. These characters are all flawed, but not one of them is flawed to the point of no redemption. Well, except for Richard Burton, he was my favorite character. Dee Moray, has landed a small role in the movie Cleopatra, unfortunately things do not go...

Public Relations For Authors Take Hold of Your Own Promotions by Babs Hightower My rating: 4 of 5 stars I received a copy of this book from the author of an honest review. Earlier this year I took a class on Contemporary Writers and Publishing.  Nearly everything we covered in that class appears in this book, albeit on a smaller scale.  It's important for authors to have an understanding of how to promote their book.  There is only so much a publishing house will do for you.  If you are a self-published author, this book is even more important for you to pick up. This book briefly covers some of the most important aspects of promoting your book and yourself as an author.  Bab's writes a step-by-step of what a publicist should do for you, but I feel that as an author you need to be able to do the same thing for yourself.  It's all about putting yourself and your book out for people to notice. View all my reviews

Ford County by John Grisham My rating: 4 of 5 stars With the buys holiday season, I thought it would be easier for my book club members to read a collection of short stories.  I'm not a big John Grisham fan, I've seen the movies based off his books, but have never read one of his books.  That being said, when this book first came out, I was interested but just never got around to reading it. Because of the bad weather on Tuesday, only one person showed up, but we still had a great conversation.  Both of us were surprised at how much we enjoyed the book (like me he wasn't a fan of Grisham).  Of the seven short stories we both enjoyed: Casino In this story we meet Bobby Carl Leach, who is one of those slimy business men. He'll do anything to make a buck, including claiming to be of Native American decent so he can open a casino.  The star of this story is Sidney, who's wife leaves him (she ends up with Bobby Carl) because he's boring.  Sidney finds a...

While I am recovering from the stress of writing a final paper, new author, Gerald Freeman, has written a guest post.  His new book "Kill Daddy" is available as a ebook on Amazon . THE POWER OF THE WRITTEN WORD VERSUS THE POWER OF THE UNSPOKEN WORD The main objective for anyone involved in the arts is to get their message across, and everything revolves around the efficacy. Artists want to communicate with people, share ideas, passions and experiences. For many of us, the inspiration is life. I have spent the last 20 years focusing on sculpture and writing, both mediums through which I hope to inspire and share my ideas about us and our role on this planet. I spent 10 years working on my technique in both areas, and a few years ago, I felt ready to put my work out there. I began with sculpture and have been very lucky. I have held some great exhibitions and my work has found a home in many parts of the world. Like writing, it is a gradual process and will take the ...

This meme is hosted by Mr. Knowitall . This is a 55 Fiction I wrote back in college as part of my creative writing class. Dallas Swat’s Day Off “What’s wrong?” She asked groggily waking from a sound sleep. “It’s work I have to go in. Sorry.” He climbs out of bed looking at his pager. “You know I understand. I feel bad for you it was your day off.” She sits up watching him get dressed. He kisses her. “Be safe.”

This challenge is being hosted at My Reader's Block .   I have a slight problem with books (as my following list shows). I can't help it when I see a free book, or a deal to get a book at a really low price.  Being a librarian I also can't help grabbing books from the book donation piles.  My goal is to at least clear about half my pile so I'm aiming for Mt. Vancouver which is reading 36 books from my TBR Piles.  Wish me luck! Here is my pile of books: In my book basket: People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel The Dead Beat by Mailyn Johnson American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld Dear Mr. Knightly by Katherine Reay Natural Born Angel by Scott Speer The Wizard, the Witch & Two Girls From Jersey by Lisa Papademetriou Knit One Pearl One by Gil McNeil Casting About by Terri Dulong Mr. Knightley's Diary by Amanda Grange Cassandra & Jane by Jill Pitkeathley Home by Julie Andrews My Name is Will by Jess W...