Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Miz B of Should Be Reading and asks you to :
1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3 . Share 2 "teaser" sentences also citing the title of the book and the author and in that way people can have great recommendations if they like the "teaser".
4. Please avoid spoilers!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(I love to take photos and am always looking for ways to get better results. I found a couple of great books at the library recently and this one was a favorite.)

Make photos of people near famous statues or well-known landmarks special. Find an unexpected point of view, long depth of field, or humorous interactions with the landmark.

Photograph friends engaged with the destination, not just staring at you. Photograph them looking at the view, inspecting the flowers, or pointing the way instead of just smiling at you.

~ page 344 (Photographing People You Do Know section)

Complete Photography from National Geographic

Happy Memorial Day

Thank you to all of the servicemen and women who have 

protected us and fought for our freedom. 

And to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, 

you and your families will never be forgotten.

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday (started at The Printed Page and now a traveling meme) is at Martha’s Bookshelf this month and is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy,toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

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 Summer is unofficially here and that makes me so happy! I love to be outside gardening and reading in my hammock. I hope you have been having a relaxing weekend with plenty of sunshine and good books coming your way!

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

For review from Macmillan (arc)

Starcrossed by Josephine Angeline

Bought from Harperteen sale (ebook)

Deep Brain Stimulation by Chou, Grube & Patil

For review from LibraryThing Early Reviewers

Review: Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis

 

Take one part magic, two parts adventure, and a dash of cross-dressing, add two unwed sisters, a bumbling father, and a stepmother with her petticoats in a twist, and you're in for an unlikely adventure through nineteenth-century England like Jane Austen never dreamed it.

Katherine Ann Stephenson has just discovered that she's inherited her mother's magical talents, and despite Stepmama's stern objections, she's determined to learn how to use them. But with her eldest sister Elissa's intended fiancé, the sinister Sir Neville, showing a dangerous interest in Kat's magical potential; her other sister, Angeline, wreaking romantic havoc with her own witchcraft; and a highwayman lurking in the forest, even Kat's reckless heroism will be tested to the upmost. If she can learn to control her new powers, will Kat be able to rescue her family and win her sisters their true love?
(Goodreads.com) 
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
Review
I haven't read a book like this in a long time. Jane Austen isn't quite my cup of tea so I wasn't sure if I would like it but I was hooked from the first page. It brought me back to my childhood with it's whimsical, magical story and adorable, colorful cover. The characters had interesting personalities rather you liked them or not. Some were extremely annoying but that provided contrast to how much I enjoyed Kat. She is the ultimate tomboy in a time where that is not tolerated. She longs for adventure and although she is usually in trouble for her unladylike behavior or disobeying the rules, she is extremely loyal to her family and very brave. Her older sisters have their own problems and are often frustrated with Kat but they know when to put family first as well. When Kat bumbles attempts at magic that is apparently inherited from her dead mother, a chain of events are put in motion and chaos ensues. What fun for the reader!

Although aimed at middle grade readers this is fun for all. Filled with action, adventure and romance, the story lagged a bit for me in the middle but picked up steam again. The ending provided a nice set up for the next book in the series. I look forward to reading more from the feisty, snarky Kat!


Renegade Magic (Kat Incorrigible #2)  4/3/12
 stephanieburgis.com





Thank you to Simon & Schuster for an ARC to review. (My apologies for the late date. I thought I had posted this already.)

Release date: 4/5/11
 Publisher: Antheneum (Simon & Schuster)
Pages: 304
Type: childrens fiction

Saturday Snapshot

 Saturday Snapshot is hosted by At Home with Books. To participate in this meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don't post random photos that you find online.
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Yep, late again but we had a busy day baby-sitting the grandson so that was my priority. He was only recently introduced to ice cream and I have made it my mission to enjoy it with him every chance I get! The boy kept us busy but we had so much fun.

Since this is Memorial Day weekend I brought out some photos from a few years ago that feature the flag on our front porch during every season. It was a fun project and I even used these in a collage for the header on this blog. I hope you are also enjoying your long weekend and have a happy holiday.

I

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Miz B of Should Be Reading and asks you to :
1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3 . Share 2 "teaser" sentences also citing the title of the book and the author and in that way people can have great recommendations if they like the "teaser".
4. Please avoid spoilers!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In seventh grade Wally took Home Ec (I think they call it something else these days, but really, it's home ec). The teacher sent home a notice that the students were to make their own beds every day for a week. I was suppose to keep track of this and sign off at the end of the week. But of course they make their own beds! I wrote on the form "What's next? Academic credit for taking out the trash?"
Oh, that came back to bite me in the ass.

~From the chapter Trash Talk (ebook)
The Home Fires Are Burning...My Feet! by Nora Barry

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday (started at The Printed Page and now a traveling meme) is at Martha’s Bookshelf this month and is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
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I'm a little late this week but I have a good excuse. I was enjoying the sunshine and playing with my baby grandson. It doesn't get much better than that! I hope your week is off to a great start as well.

Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne
For review from Macmillan

The Home Fires Are Burning...My Feet! by Nora Barry
For review from author

  

  


Already Home by Susan Mallery
Free with code from Kobo

The Goodbye Quilt by Susan Wiggs
 Free with code from Kobo

Review: Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms by Lissa Evans

 Magic, mystery &  a

very strange adventure

The exciting launch title of Sterling's middle-grade fiction list:
HORTEN'S MIRACULOUS MECHANISMS Enter a wonderful world filled with real magic, mystery … and danger.
As if being small for his age and also having S. Horten as his name isn't bad enough, now 10-year-old Stuart is forced to move far away from all his friends. But on his very first day in his new home, Stuart's swept up in an extraordinary adventure: the quest to find his great-uncle Tony--a famous magician who literally disappeared off the face of the earth--and Tony's marvelous, long-lost workshop.  Along the way, Stuart reluctantly accepts help from the annoying triplets next door… and encounters trouble from another magician who's also desperate to get hold of Tony's treasures.
A quirky, smart, charming page-turner, Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms will enchant young readers--as well as teachers, librarians, and parents. 
(Goodreads.com)
~~~~~~~~~~~
Review
This was such a fun story! Stuart is a curious, intelligent but bored young boy who is alone in a new town. Since it's summer vacation he doesn't even have school to meet new friends. With nothing to do and no one to do it with anyway, he is thrilled when a small mystery turns into an amazing adventure. The blurb on the book describes it as "Willy Wonka-like" and I agree that it has the same delicious flavor but is it's own, more sinister, tale. 

The setting is a combination of modern England and fifty years prior during the highlight of great-uncle Tony's career. The Great Hortini (Uncle Tony) was famous for his clever gadgets and illusions but he disappeared without a trace. Now Stuart seems to be chosen to piece together the clues of this family mystery. As he becomes more involved, the adventure becomes dangerous and the pages fly by. This may be a children's book but I was caught up in it from the beginning and I enjoyed every minute. This is the kind of story I craved as a child. The characters are eccentric, humorous and  interesting with the perfect mix of heroes and villains. And the whimsical black and white drawings at the beginning of every chapter add the perfect touch. The ending is very satisfying and answers several questions while nicely setting up the next book.

Delightful, creative and magical - so cliche but so true! This is just the beginning of a new series that I can't wait to continue. The sequel is coming in the fall of 2012.

Thank you to Sterling Children's Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
 facebook.com/StuartHorten 

Release date: 4/3/12
Publisher: Sterling Children's Books
Pages: 272 (hardcover)
Type: middle grade fiction

Family Illness Update

My 93 year-old grandmother is getting better and has moved from the hospital to the nursing home for rehab and physical therapy. Hopefully she won't be there long and it's right next door to the assisted living facility where she lives. One pleasant surprise is that she is sharing a room with her sister-on-law who is also getting rehab for a broken hip from January. They are enjoying each others' company and we are so grateful for that. We are the family members responsible for their care and the last couple of years have been rough but we do the best we can. Thank you all for your concern and kind words. It was a scary week and we spent a lot of time in the hospital.

To top it off, my poor mother who was already stressed to the max, had to put her only dog to sleep last Thursday. Mickey, a seven year-old golden retriever, has had a leg injury for six months. The vet told her that at some point he had developed bone cancer and it had likely spread throughout his body. She made the decision to do it now rather than when he was in agony. That was such a sad goodbye but we were lucky to have him in our lives. Run with the bunnies my furry "little brother".

Mickey (2005-2012)

Family Illness

My grandmother has been sick and in the hospital for the last week so I haven't been near the blogs. Even with all that sitting and waiting for hours and hours I've barely read a page of my book. Things seem to be improving so I plan to be back chatting with you all soon. I hope you have plenty of sunshine and flowers and may a wonderful week be coming your way!

Scholastic Summer Challenge

GET READY TO SET A NEW

SCHOLASTIC WORLD RECORD FOR SUMMER READING

The Scholastic Summer Challenge Invites Kids to Keep Reading this

Summer by Logging Reading Minutes to Win Virtual Rewards

 

New York, NY–May 1, 2012– While athletes prepare for the 2012 Summer Olympics, kids will compete in their own challenge – the Scholastic Summer Challenge - a free, interactive reading program dedicated to helping kids keep their reading skills sharp throughout the summer by reading every day.  Kids everywhere will Read for the World Record by logging the minutes they spend reading this summer and attempting to beat the current world record of 64,213,141 minutes set during summer 2011. The 20 schools whose students log the most minutes will be recognized in the 2013 Scholastic Book of World Records. The Scholastic Summer Challenge kicks-off today at www.scholastic.com/summer and runs through August 31, 2012.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Miz B of Should Be Reading and asks you to :
1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3 . Share 2 "teaser" sentences also citing the title of the book and the author and in that way people can have great recommendations if they like the "teaser".
4. Please avoid spoilers!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"You've got it wrong. I'm Aurora. Just some girl you don't want kicking you back to your hellhole." My plan to go on the offensive stemmed from my defense amounting to diddly and squat combined. 

~page 6 - ebook
Demons At Deadnight by A&E Kirk
(Debut thriller from YA blogger at Teens Read and Write )