Welcome to my greatest passion in life, BOOKS! Come on in kick off your shoes, grab a cup of tea [Java] and join me while I discuss my life and books that I read, authors I love or dislike, post reviews, ask for your opinions, just chat about stuff, and maybe swap a book or two.

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Friday, December 16, 2011

Christmas Reading


Christmas is always a great time of the year to curl up in front of the fireplace with a good book, your "snuggie" and some hot tea or cocoa. The warmth of the fire always makes the book reading more enjoyable especially with the cooler evenings. A few years ago I read "The Christmas Jar" it is an excellent book of giving and saving and the joys of Christmas cheer...if you get a chance I highly recommend it. I know I have a Christmas jar now every year...


One of my other favorite authors is of course, Debbie Macomber and this year she has out her latest and final [sad to say] Cedar Cove series book, "1225 Christmas Tree Lane" it's on my Christmas list for sure!!!


A brief take:  Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove series. 1225 Christmas Tree Lane is book 12 and the final novel in the series. You will get to know Beth Morehouse, her daughters, and her ex-husband. There are puppies that will bring back characters from previous books in the series. They adopt the puppies and the reader will learn what’s new in their lives.
You’ll have to read the book Debbie Macomber gives all of the Cedar Cove residents a fond farewell in this satisfying series finale. You will love it and feel bound to this warm neighborhood with all its characters and you might even feel the need to start all over again with the 1st one in the series, "16 Lighthouse Road"
A Cedar Cove Christmas
Here are some other good reads:

A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts

The Perfect Holiday Gift

A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts is a heartfelt book of inspirational stories, fun family traditions, yummy recipes and so much more! This book is the perfect holiday gift for that very special someone on your list, a gift they will treasure for a lifetime.
A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts: Stories to Warm Your Heart and Tips to Simplify Your Holidays

"This book took will take your breath away. Truly beautiful, unique, heartwarming. It's one of those books you'll treasure from year to year, reading and re-reading the stories within until you know them by heart. It has a hodgepodge of everything - recipes, inspirational stories, Christmas tips, poetry, projects. There are 160 pages, and it's an overflowing chest full of treasures!"

A Simple Christmas

Twelve Stories That Celebrate The True Holiday Spirit

If you're looking for a little clarity, sanity, and inspiration at this insane time of year, you're sure to enjoy A Simple Christmas. Mick Huckabee tells the stories of twelve of his own Christmas memories, some funny, some deeply moving, that will make you take a deep breath and appreciate the magic of Christmas. You will laugh and cry it is a touching book not about politics..
A Simple Christmas: Twelve Stories That Celebrate the True Holiday Spirit


The Christmas List - A Novel

A Story To Warm Your Heart

A beautiful story of the love between a husband and wife that will have you in tears of joy and sadness, and leave you feeling inspired, uplifted and grateful. Be warned - you won't be able to put it down!
The Christmas List: A Novel


Letters From Father Christmas 

A Stunningly Beautiful Book

A beautiful collection of the letters that the children of J R Tolkein received from Father Christmas over the years from 1920 to 1943. Each letter tells a wonderful story and the illustrations are absolutely spellbinding.
Letters From Father Christmas

"Tolkein wrote these letters to his own children as if they were coming from Santa Claus at the North Pole. They are sweet, funny, obviously done with great love. There are sketches to illustrate. you'll have this one around for many years and give them as Christmas presents  and continue to make rereading it a part of getting into the Christmas spirit."








Wednesday, October 26, 2011

What's A Good Fall Reading?

What do you like to read when the winds kick up and the temps begin to drop? It's time to take out your snuggies, wrap up in that big easy chair in front of the fireplace and grab your favorite fall read!

Apple Turnover Murder (Hannah Swensen Mysteries)

What is your idea of a great fall read? Nobody said that the fun has to end. because summer reading season is over. You can still read all the books you purchased over the summer.  Autumn’s an even better time to read outside. Beach reading gets a lot of promotion, but the weather’s hot and sticky, and the blazing sun doesn’t make the best reading lamp. The softer light of fall, and the cooler weather, can make an autumn afternoon on the patio with a good book a great joy. With fall, the books can get longer. In summer, we like compact, breezy reading, but in autumn, we’re more comfortable with books that don’t have to fit so easily into a beach bag. So enjoy a much longer book.


I particularly like to get into a new series. Starting one with lots of mystery and light romance... that way I look forward to curling up monthly with the next book in the series.
One of my favorite athors is Joann Fluke I love her mystery series. I am now starting the "Apple Turnover Murder? I look forward to trudging through this new one...

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Computer of the Future



Wow is this too cool or what? I love it ...thank you Chatty Crone

I just love to read but have a hard time fitting it into my busy days as I grow older with more on my plate...so I think that the MP3 is a lifesaver. I can listen to my favorite book and be on my computer or still crochet.  


When we read we lots of time "skip? over words...



ALZHEIMERS' EYE TEST
(Its absolutely amazing!)
Count every " F " in the following text:

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTI
FIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS.
(SEE BELOW)
HOW MANY ?  Answer below.

-----------------------------------


Ohhh I want to read this one...I love thrillers and this one has it all....


Saturday, August 20, 2011

Thrillers and What Role Do You Play ??????



"Only a good story has a character in the end different than it was in the beginning" I love this phrase that I borrowed froma blogging friend "Vickie" over at Victory Road Blog.... How true it is...I love reading a good book and won where the character's goals and personna actually changes in the the end tends to make it the best...


Think of a great thriller, wasn't your perception of the killer completely changed by the end of the book? Think of the greats...Stephen King... Mary Higgins Clark....Dean Koontz...James Patterson.. to name a few don't they write about the main character that turns out to be the killer in the end??? And did we guess it? Not always... One of my favorite thrillers was "Whispers" by Koontz....it is a real thriller that made me a bit afraid of the dark after I read it...and Mary Higgens Clark's "Loves Music Loves to Dance" another favorite of mine....that one really stumped me...and who cannot forget Stephen King's "Misery" Kathy Bates did a wonderful protrayal of the main insane character in that thriller...

Yes, thrillers are my thing, mainly I think, because of the "rush" I get from the heart pounding suspense and thoughts I have to put into the "who done it" guessing game. It's a complex mind that thinks up the novels of thrillers and sometimes I wonder if all of us who love them so much, just needs that type of fiction rush to make it through our daily lives.



I sit on the edge of my chair when I read my thrillers with anticipation and excitment itching to turn the pages or click I should say click the pages for most, but I can't seem to put the books down! I crave more and more and the more challenging the more I love it....hmmmm ... I wonder????? Does this put me on the same level with the killers or am I working with the detectives who solve the crimes????? Which one are you realtine to???? Scary thoughts aren't they???? Just food for thought.....................................

And of all the videos "Thriller" witht the late Michael Jackson was an all time favorite of mine!!! What role do you play in a good thriller? Care to share?????

take a thriller home and enjoy





Monday, August 1, 2011

Off On Vacation Book in Hand



WOW~~~~ it's been a little bit since I posted last...I have been hearing so much about Harry Potter's new movie but I don't want to see it till I read the book...so I am off to get it onto my IPod so I can listen to it while I am on vacation...

One of my favorite reading books are the mystery ones with cats!!! They are mysterious creatures and fasinate me with their uncanny ability to do what ever they want and be so independent cats are a true mystery themselves.....



I am also taking one of Lillian Bran's books, " The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts"

I love love the Lillian Braun's books...she writes with such a flare of realistic characters making them appear real and appealing to all her readers...sadly she died this past June of natural causes at the young age of 97. She had lived in Tryon, North Carolina, for the past 23 years. Lillian wrote 31 books over her lifetime, including two short story collections, and worked 30 years at "The Detroit Free Press."

Braun's books were popular because her characters weren't mean and the cats didn't do anything that a cat wouldn't do in real life. Readers could relate to her stories and felt like the characters were so real that they sometimes wanted to meet them. She actually wrote all her books in longhand and then typed them out herself. Now that is a task and one not heard of these days with the computer age..
The truth was that the woman who wrote about cats didn't even own any in the last years of her life. She was losing her sight, and a kitten kept getting underfoot, Bettinger said. She nearly fell three times so the kitten was sent back to the woman in Atlanta who had given the cat to Braun; the older cat had to be euthanized. The couple had about five cats over the years, all Siamese and all named Koko and Yum Yum.


I also  brought with me a few I had started and laid down since I had been so busy these past two months with other obligations and summer... also taking "The Chocolate Cat Capers" by Joann Carl...








I'd like to read "The Chocolate Puppy Puzzle" next.. what fun these two cat books will be to read...I have not read any by this author so it will be interesting to see how they differ in writing styles. :))' I know that this series takes place where she summers in Michigan...




Thursday, June 16, 2011

           I joined in on the Handmade Wednesday Hop!!
   Join in the fun!!!

Monday, June 13, 2011

What's New on teh Reading Scene?


Oh my goodness it has been quite awhile since I posted last and I do apologize. I have been swarmed with other obligations and family matters, so back to reading. I have so many books that I want to read and there are so many in my library now that I am not sure when I will have time.

So I have decided, since I joined a gym and I am now exercising daily that I will get a lot of them on audio.com, which by the way is wonderful. Have you all been there and bought audio books? Well if you have not go there and check it out. Its a great way to get your reading in with our busy lives. Especially if you have a communte daily to your jobs. :) They have a monthly fee of $14.95 with the 1st 3 months at $7.95 a month.

But there is one that is the KING of FREE audio books! What you say free? Yes FREE....its Librivox check them out it is wonderful!!! Pick Your Brain did some research on this and came up with these ideas. I love that place...

AudioBooksForFree also has a big catalog to sort through, with an emphasis on classic works, but a decent amount of mystery, sci-fi, and thriller as well. The only catch here is that you’ll have to pay for quality: the lowest quality downloads are free but anything better than 8 Kbps costs $5-8.

If you’re looking specifically for classics, FreeClassicAudioBooks is a nice little resource. Although the library isn’t huge, there are a lot of big names. They also offer the convenience of downloading in an iPod-ready format.



And who knew that on top of all that print content, ProjectGutenberg also has a huge audio section? They’ve got everything from A to Z, including a decent number of works in French, German, and other languages.

LearnOutLoud has over 500 educational titles and offers a lot of video as well.

If you don't mind older classics you can probably find them for free online all over just "Google" it. But if you want some new ones then you will have to pay a little. But there are a ton of Podcasts out there now too that are free.


Now here is another great source its called Simply Audio Books What I like about this place is that you can rent your books at a lower rate and gain credits towards purchasing books too! A subscription gives you download credits which you can redeem towards books on the site. Audio book prices can vary greatly, but with the download club, you get access to more than 6,000 for one flat subscription rate. One credit = one audio book (Note: a small number of titles, approximately 5%, will require 2 credits to download).

This a place that is sort of like NetFlex. They ship the audio books to you, there are no due dates and no late fees. You listen at your leisure and then return it back to them to get another. Plus they have two ways to use your audio books available in MP3 or M4B format.  They charge $14.95 a month too.


Well what am I reading....????? I started Beach Road by James Patterson. I love it so far.. :) lots of suspense and thrills when a triple murder starts the book off....and it moves into a legal battle of evil and innocense to be proven in the courtroom. His books never disappoint me. :)
My next book is the Nortorious Mrs Winston by Mary Macey.  This is a bit on the history side but Mackey makes it a suberb story with immagination and crsip style. :) Lots of historial detail that sparks the interest  and aset of vibrant chacters. A love story to bring tears and rememberence forever.

So read on gals and let me know which place that you get your books from, whether it is audio, e-books or just plain old paperbacks.....till the next paragraph...

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Happy Easter

Happy Easter To All!!!


Saturday, March 26, 2011

To Buy or Not Buy a Kindle??? And My 2011 Reads Wish List!!

Its 2011 and I am not off to a very good start on my reading agenda...so I thought I would list a few of my projected reads and some that I wish to read and some that I hope to read and some that I want to buy so I can read...phew.....April and Easter month of the egg....it is also my "B" day month and I have asked for a Kindle ....I do hope I get one.
I have done some research on the Kindle: 

The Amazon Kindle is a portable e-book reader. More precisely, it is a software, hardware and network platform developed by Amazon.com and uses wireless connectivity to enable users to shop for, download, browse, and read e-books, newspapers, magazines, blogs, and other digital media.
 I have also asked for an IPod to listen to some books off Audio.com. Has anyone used that?? It is a wonderful place to get those books you want to read but just don't have the time.
For its basic function, reading, after purchasing a book it should be a very pleasant and comfortable experience. It's compact, lightweight, and easy to use at a moment's notice. You should be able to take it with you anywhere. :)


There are some flaws. As many people have reported, it's extremely easy to accidentally push the "next page" bar, which runs nearly the length of the right side of the device. You may also accidentally hit the "Previous" and "Next" page bars on the left as well.
Buying books will be easy and they upload within seconds. In fact, in a stroke of marketing genius, buying books is almost too easy. To be fair, Amazon does a good job of not only presenting detailed information prior to purchase, but you can download the first chapter of most books for free. This is a great way to quickly and easily either get hooked on a book or decide it's not for you. I love that feature... :)


Amazon is smart: your Kindle will come pre-programmed with your name and and your Amazon account. In other words when it arrives you won't need to do anything like configure or "log in" to the device or the Amazon store. It will be set-up ready to go! How cool is that?  Some might also argue that its a bit of a security risk, as anyone who can lay hands on your Kindle can start spending your money??? The good news here is that your Kindle's relationship to your Amazon account can be managed via the web without the device. In other words, if you lose your Kindle, you can disassociate it from your account quickly.

Kindle offers subscriptions to major magazines and newspapers. For people who are religious readers of publications like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and others, this could be a very lucrative way of having the latest issues with you automatically and at all times
Remember, there's no monthly fee. Once you have a Kindle, you have a basic web browser that you can use for free. While at the airport, at the coffee shop, at your friends house, at the park or just about anywhere for FREE. did I mention that already? WOW!!!


A big fear is that "Experimental" means that Amazon may take it away some day. Another fear is that they'll start charging a subscription fee for access. With a v2 browser, though, it might well be worth it.

Kindle also has the ability to play music while you are reading so you can use as an MP3 too, but there are a lot of limitations so don't throw your MP3 away just yet... my consensus is A+ buy it.....



For April:  Scrambled Eggs by Doris Riskin

Jake Wanderman's life is spinning out of control. The retired, Shakespeare-loving English teacher's wife leaves him without an explanation. Then his best friend asks him to help an attractive widow whose late husband was a member of the Russian Mafia. It seems there are stolen Faberge eggs hidden in the widow's home, and various people want them. Jake suddenly finds himself dealing with the New York police, the FBI, the KGB, and assorted mobsters. This fast-moving caper takes Jake from Sag Harbor to Moscow and back again. With a colorful cast of characters and enough action to keep readers on their toes, Riskin has all the ingredients for a very entertaining series.

For May:  Black Flowers by E. F. Watkins

When a former employee of her husband's genetic engineering firm, Genesis, dies of a drug overdose on her front lawn, Allison Constantine is horrified. She can't forget the young man's final threats that "people like her" will soon "get what's coming to them."


In the days to come, Allie suspects she's being followed, and fears someone might try to kidnap her or her two small children. But who? A rival firm, hoping to extort technical secrets from her husband, David? A protest group that has accused Genesis of reckless experiments? Or a former Genesis president who supposedly killed himself two years earlier?

Probing the company's activities, Allie discovers a pattern of mysterious deaths by electrocution. She begins to fear that the greatest threat to her family may be Genesis, itself, if she dares to interfere with its terrifying secret plans for its executives, for society...and even for Allie's own children...


For June:  Twilight Eyes...by Dean Koontz

I already have this book and I want to get this one read before the summer months....it is about Carl Stanfeuss who was born with "Twilight Eyes," a color his grandmother said foretold of psychic abilities. After murdering his uncle Denton at the tender age of seventeen, Carl flees Oregon, shedding his name to become Slim MacKenzie, and join up with the Sombra Brothers Carnival. Of course, it wasn't bad that he murdered his uncle ... because his uncle was one of Them. The goblins.


From his psychic abilities, Slim can see the piggish, doggish faces of the goblins hiding underneath the façade of normal humans. They live off the pain and suffering of others, gathering with glee at fires, accidents, shootings, and disasters.

The book has an explosive culmination that is suppose to keep you on the edge of your set??? We shall see. Koontz is one of my favorite authors alongside of King... One of the scarriest books I have read was "Whispers"

Since Koontz doesn't usually write in first person, which makes this a unique novel among all the others he's done. Its also an earlier novel of his, written before he developed a 'Stephen King' plot theme line. I am told that 'Twilight Eyes' is an adventuresome novel with a unique storyline and is well written enough to keep you up all night long. It came highly recommend. so if you are reading along with me..... Enjoy, but be sure to keep the lights on!







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