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!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

As a kid, I imagined lots of different scenarios for my life... Never once did I see myself standing under the window of a house belonging to some druggie named Carbine, waiting for his yard gnome to steal his stash so I could get a cab back to a cheap motel where my friend, a neurotic, death-obsessed dwarf, was waiting for me so we could get on the road to an undefined place and a mysterious Dr. X, who would cure me of mad cow disease and stop a band of dark energy from destroying the universe.

~page 257
Going Bovine by Libba Bray

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday at The Printed Page 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.

I only got one book this week but it sounds very touching. I hope you received lots of goodies in your mailbox!

The Council of Dads
by Bruce Feiler

From LibraryThing Early Reviewers

Bestselling author Bruce Feiler was a young father when he was diagnosed with cancer. He instantly worried what his daughters' lives would be like without him. "Would they wonder who I was? Would they wonder what I thought? Would they yearn for my approval, my love, my voice?"

Three days later he came up with a stirring idea of how he might give them that voice. He would reach out to six men from all the passages in his life, and ask them to be present in the passages in his daughters' lives. And he would call this group "The Council of Dads."

"I believe my daughters will have plenty of opportunities in their lives," he wrote to these men. "They'll have loving families. They'll have each other. But they may not have me. They may not have their dad. Will you help be their dad?"

The Council of Dads is the inspiring story of what happened next. Feiler introduces the men in his Council and captures the life lesson he wants each to convey to his daughters--how to see, how to travel, how to question, how to dream. He mixes these with an intimate, highly personal chronicle of his experience battling cancer while raising young children, along with vivid portraits of his father, his two grandfathers, and various father figures in his life that explore the changing role of fathers in America.

This is the work of a master storyteller confronting the most difficult experience of his life and emerging with wisdom and hope. The Council of Dads is a touching, funny, and ultimately deeply moving book on how to live life, how the human spirit can respond to adversity, and how to deepen and cherish the friendships that enrich our lives.

My Mother’s Day

My wonderful hubby surprised me with a gorgeous necklace for Mother’s Day. He is so incredibly thoughtful and he planned and designed it himself. It has his and my birthstones at the top and our three boys birthstones below them. It is one of many things that he has done for me over the years that has truly touched my heart. He knows me so well.

I have to say this is one of my favorite holidays. Not for the gifts or recognition, just for the fact that I am blessed to be a mother. Having children was always my biggest dream and greatest honor. I have amazing sons and raising them has been the hardest yet most rewarding job ever. I can’t even describe the fierce love I have for them. I know it won’t be long before they are out of the house and on their own (they better make a great living too because they will be supporting dear old mom and dad!) and I treasure every hectic day we share together. I only hope that they will have fond memories and will always know how much I love them.

I have also been blessed to have the perfect role model in my own mother. She is everything I strive to be and sets such a good example. She works so hard but always find time to take care of everyone else. She’s fought some hard battles over the years and come out stronger and better than ever. She gave my brothers and I the best childhood possible. We had some bumps in the road as everyone does but mom taught us how to cope well and always gave us her love and support. We are an extremely close family and we have her to thank for that. Now my children are lucky enough to have her for a grandmother, possibly the only job she does even better than mothering. Possibly.

So I count my blessings this Mother’s Day and every day.  For the mother I have, for the husband who shared my dream of parenthood and for my children who gave me my greatest joy as I became a mother myself. Thank you to all of you. You are my everything.

Special Day

Scene of the Blog at Kittling Books

Every Wednesday Cathy from Kittling Books hosts a great feature called Scene of the Blog. She highlights a blogger and and this week she was kind enough to feature little old me!! I've been a bit of a scatterbrain lately and life has gotten in the way of blogging but I am so honored that Cathy invited me to participate. I know I am always fascinated to learn more about the people I meet here so this is a little window into my world. If you get the chance hop on over and check out Scene of the Blog and all of the other amazing things Cathy has to offer at Kittling Books!

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!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Finally the deed was done. He was the Teacher, the world was his students, and class was about to begin.

~page 35
Run For Your Life by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday at The Printed Page 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.

Only two books this week but that's plenty!


The Secret Speech
by Tom Rob Smith

For review from Hatchette

Soviet Union, 1956: Stalin is dead. With his passing, a violent regime is beginning to fracture - leaving behind a society where the police are the criminals, and the criminals are innocent. The catalyst comes when a secret manifesto composed by Stalin's successor Khrushchev is distributed to the entire nation. Its message: Stalin was a tyrant and a murderer. Its promise: The Soviet Union will change. Meanwhile, former state security officer Leo Demidov is facing his own turmoil. Three years ago he put his life on the line to stop a killer and as a reward for heroic service he was granted the authority to establish a homicide department in Moscow. He now strives to see justice done, while at the same time working to build a life with his wife, Raisa, and their adopted daughters.

But the dark legacy of his past career cannot be forgotten so easily. The two young girls he and Raisa adopted have yet to forgive him for his involvement in the death of their parents. They are not alone. Now that the truth is out, Leo, Raisa and their family are in grave danger from someone with a grudge against Leo. Someone transformed beyond recognition into the perfect model of vengeance.From the streets of Moscow in the throes of political upheaval, to the wintry Siberian gulags and to the center of the Hungarian uprising in Budapest, The Secret Speech is another stunning thriller from the author of Child 44.

Nightworld
by L. J. Smith

From PaperBack Swap

Vampires, werewolves, witches, shapeshifters -- they live among us without our knowledge. Night World is their secret society, a secret society with very strict rules. And falling in love breaks all the laws of the Night World.

In Secret Vampire, Poppy thought the summer would last forever. Then she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Now Poppy's only hope for survival is James, her friend and secret love. A vampire in the Night World, James can make Poppy immortal. But first they both must risk everything to go against the laws of Night World.

Fugitives from Night World, three vampire sisters leave their isolated home to live among humans in Daughters of Darkness. Their brother, Ash, is sent to bring the girls back, but he falls in love with their beautiful friend.

Two witch cousins fight over their high school crush. It's a battle between black magic and white magic in Spellbinder.