mskeens 75 Book Challenge 2012

I have been waiting for this to start up :) I kept wondering if I missed it. Thank goodness I didn't. I am excited about the new year and hoping to reach my goal or if I do not at least get a little closer than I did this year.

Hi Monica! Got you starred!

Sandy K

Welcome back!

Thanks Sandy & Jim. I just love this group. Everyone is so welcoming, thoughtful and pleasant. This site and this group is like no other. I check in everyday!

*waves*

#5 - *Waves back at ya!* :)

My ticker for 2012

Hi Monica, I found you. I know what you mean. I had been checking for this group to start for awhile and thought maybe I missed it or that it wasn't going to happen. Welcome Back. Look forward to seeing what you read this year. I got you starred.

#8. Thanks Monica.. I hope things are going well and the New Year brings you lots of new interesting things to read and interesting things in Real life as well. :)

Pretty ticker, Monica! Glad to see you back with us again for another year.

Hi Monica! I like your ticker!
dropping in to leave my star

Thanks Stasia and Chelle.. I wish you both the best of luck in all endevors for the new year :) Cute Star Chelle.. :)

Hi Monica! Just dropping by to wish you a Happy New Year and Star your thread.

Happy New Year, Monica!

@Mskeens- how are the Witch and Wizard books? Any good? I've got the first one, but i've been putting off reading it!

Liz, Actually I have them in my library however I have yet to read them. I love Patterson and I will get to them eventually, but at this point I have yet to dig into them. RL and other books get in the way.. LOL.. My goal is to have every book Patterson has written and read them all eventually. :)

1. Iron King by Julie Kagawa - What a fun and interesting read. You know those monster's in your closet when you were little. Well Meghan Chase's little brother now belives and so does Meghan! This was an action packed adventure into the land of Nevernever with the Fey. Meghan Chase is 1/2 Fey, 1/2 human and doesn't know it. Her mother does but she isn't so sure that her affair was real and never tells Meghan, in the attempt to lure Meghan to their realm the fey capture Meghan's 4 year old little brother Ethan and take him to their land. Meghan is very powerful and does not realize this as she doesn't know her true heritage. She also has a best friend she never knew was Fey untill things start happening around her home.

A total action packed adventure from our realm to theirs. Fun read! Thanks so much to my Secret Santa for picking this series off of my wish list.. what a great way to start of the year with a fun book :)

Of to read the Iron Daughter

#17: I have seen a lot of good reviews of Iron King. One of these days, I may actually read it.

#18: Stasia, I really enjoyed it and I am reading the next one in the series. If you do read it I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

#19: It looks as though my local library finally has a copy - I have only been seeing recommendations here on LT for 2 years or so now - and maybe I will be able to pick it up this next week if it is in.

>17 MonicaLynn:: Well... that one's only been sitting on my shelf for... a few years now. I really should just read it.

Stasia - I hope you can pick it up and get a chance to read it between your studies, it was a quick read for me.

Faith - pull it off the shelf- I loved it and I hope you like it as much as I did.

I am definitely going to need all the quick reads I can get if I am going to hit 75 this year, I think!

Stasia, don't pressure yourself, but don't drop out either. As I am sure you already know... :) You are slightly older and wiser than I ;) We love having you in our threads and around. Do what is most important to you. Regardless of reading 75 books or not. You are already off to a good start, Cripies I have never reached the 75.... I think it will be a quick read for you.

No, I will not be dropping out, just scarce on the ground, I think. I am not sure how much going to school is going to effect me. it will be interesting, to say the least.

Stasia, I am sure it will be interesting. I have thought at different times it would be interesting to go back to school. However I have never found the courage nor funding to go back. I am now 40 and worry about the learning curve. However I see you are brave enough. Maybe someday I will have to give it a try, now that my credit has improved.

Monica, if I can do it, anyone can. I hope you give it a shot.

I am going to see where this year takes me, if the one girl retires I am going to try and move back to that office, and I won't need to... If she doesn't and doesn't plan on it for a while then I am going to start looking 21 years in dispatching is getting to be enough. I am qualified for the other office position and it makes almost as much as me.

Keep me posted, will you? Either here or FB.

Stasia, I will keep you posted either way. The other lady will be qualified to retire at the end of August so we shall see later this year. Unless something else should come up before hand.

2. The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa - Meghan, Ash & Puck (Robin Goodfellow) are at it again, thier goal this time is to capture the sceptor that was stolen by the Iron Fey. Queen Mab (Winter Fey) and King Oberon (Summer Fey and also Megan Chase's father) are at war after thinking Summer Fey stole the Sceptor that is passed between the two fey for the seasons. However they are wrong. Do Meghan, Puck & Ash succed, How are Ash and Meghan going to save their romance since it is forbidden to have love between Winter and summer? A must read to find out what happens.

Of to read The Iron Queen and maybe even the .5 books in between that I just got on my Kindle. Loving this series so far. :)

3. The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa - Meghan, Ash & Puck are once again fighting the Iron Fey, with Meghan having some Iron Fey powers that she obtained from Machina she is having difficulties utilizing any of her powers as her summer Fey powers and her Iron Fey powers fight against each other. The romance grows between Ash and Meghan with quite the commitment involved however can that committment last until the end?? Meghan also finds her human father and works at a goal of getting her memory back. Grimlakin the Cat plays a wonderful roll in these books as well.. I love his typical "Cattitude" he brings so much to the book as well. Can't wait to read the next books in the series Summer's Crossing 3.5 and The Iron Knight 4. I do have them both on my kindle but I am not allowed to read my kindle at work :( So I have another book in hand to read while at work and will be reading the rest on my kindle when away from work. Good thing no place else bans them.. LOL..

I am truly enjoying this series thus far. Thank goodness for my Secret Santa picking these out for me this year... Hats off to her I am loving my gifts. :)

4. Winter's Passage By Julie Kagawa - I read this one just a little bit out of order. This is a short story between book 1 & 2 about Ash taking Meghan back to Tir Na Nog to be held by Queen Mab of the Winter Court. Ash & Megan have quite a little adventure getting back to Nevernever and through the land to Tir Na Nog and they meet the Big Bad Wolf along the way. I nice read in between the main books and just as adventurous and eventful as the main books.

I am liking these short books that I can read through quickly and get another book added to my list, if I could read all short books like this I would never have a problem reaching my goal... LOL..

The Kagawa books sound interesting. May have to look for them. I had never heard of Tir Na Nog until I read Burnt Mountain by Anne Rivers Siddons last year. Her books aren't fantasy, but that particular book had a fantastical element to it.

Why can't you read on a Kindle at work? Does it interfere with equipment or something? Seems odd that you are allowed to read regular books but not an e-reader.

Sandy K

We are not permitted to read at work because a Kindle can access the internet via WiFi, however we all have internet on each of our computers at work and the Wifi can only be accessed if you have password and we are not permitted to have the password, so I don't understand why not honestly just one of their ways to control us I guess. I told them I didn't want access to the internet I just wanted to be able to read my books, but they don't care. So I guess I must follow the rules :(

BTW if you do get your hands on the books I hope you enjoy them as much as I am. :)

Ah, bureaucracy! So silly sometimes.

If you're like me, you probably have lots of books at home waiting to be read, though! I don't have an e-reader, but I wouldn't be surprised if my hubby brings one home eventually. He's been waiting for the price to come down a bit on the Nook.

Sandy K

What type of company do you work for?

#37 I am a 911 Shift Leader for a rural county in Pennsylvania. There are days at work were you wouldn't possibly have time to read, then there are days where if you didn't take a book you would be so darn bored that you would want to nap. It all depends upon the weather, season and believe it or not the moon (I know some people don't believe that, but I do after 21 years dispatching).

#36. I do have lots of books that I have waiting on my shelf to be read and my best friend and I exchange books constanly that are not in eformat, but I hate being in the middle of a book and not being able to finish it especially when you come to a good part. LOL, but alas I make do, sometimes I have a hard time reading two different books at one time, but I have learned over the years that if I pick two completely different styles that I can do it.

Me, too--I can read multiple books at once if they are different styles.

I totally agree with you about the moon affecting behavior.

Sandy K

5. Summer's Crossing by Julie Kagawa- Just finished this on my kindle and enjoyed every second of it. Nice connecting short story to the series. Ash & Puck are at it again together. Even though they are enemies they are working together to get into the Summer Court - Arcadia to gather up a human child that Queen Titania had stolen from the Exile Queen Leannsidhe to return her, they are forced into this by a promise Prince as made to Leannside on behalf of the now Iron Queen Meghan. Nice short story adventure.

still reading Juliette Fay - Deep Down True in between especially while at work. But while at home will most likely start reading Iron Knight to finish out the series thus far.

6. The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa - I truly loved this book, Ash took quite the adventure this time around to gain a soul, so that he could be with Meghan in her Iron Realm. He wanted to be human so that he could actually live in the Iron Realm with her, knowing that if he remained Fae he would die upon attempting to live in her Realm. Ash went on this adventure with Puck, Grimlikin, The Big Bad Wolf and another whom he comes across in his travels, this other Fae that he comes across is from his past and never expected to see again, that is one of the first surprises he has on his adventure, they trave through many areas to include the river of dreams and the End of the World. He has to work his way through this adventure to get what he wants to be with Meghan. What an awesome story/adventure, very well told and holds interest throughout. A must read espcially if you have read the others. It kept me holding my breath at times and others wanting to cry as well as fight with them.

Now off to read Starters (touchstone not working0 by Lissa Price - I luckily recieved an ARC from Netgalley on this one, for my Kindle so one again I cannot read this one at work as explained above, so I am still reading Deep Down True by Juliette Fay.

The police comm centre I work in won't allow us to use eReaders or cell phones either, which doesn't make sense because they give us internet access on our desktops anyway.
Oh well, good old paper books are still allowed and I get to do a ton of reading here in the winter when it's slower.

We have internet access on our desktops as well but no Kindle application on it. :( If it was I would be syncing my Kindle up constantly so that I could continue reading on my desktop. I have plenty of paper books however it just bums me out when I am at a really good part and have to go to work. But alas I guess at least I am allowed to read at work in some format.

7. Deep Down True by Juliette Fay -Dana Stellgarten is recenlty divorced used to being a stay at home mom, trying to deal with all the trials and tribulations of finding herself after a divorce as well as being there for her children who are in elemetary and middle school. Dana is concerned about dating and how to handle this with her children, she is also now having to start work again and is concerned on how she will handle getting a "mom job" so to speak. Her ex husband tries to deal with Dana on a somewhat descent level while getting ready to be married to his girlfriend whom he left Dana for who is also pregnant and that throws quite twist into Dana's feelings. All this time her children are working on how to handle the divorce, daddy's new relationship and a cousin who is dealing with her own issues who recently moved in and a friend of hers that comes along as well who's mother is in rehab. I feel it was very well written and perfect timing for me to read something like this. I loved Morgan's (Dana's 12 year old Daughter) research paper on wolves, which I never thought I was going to get to read but finally in the end I did and such wonderful things come out of the mouths of children. Alder Dana's niece is quite the piece of work in a good way, as well as her new friend Jett which surprisingly is not such a bad kid as she first seems. Makes you stop and think about first impressions. Grady her son is quite finiky but Alder finds ways Dana cannot to get him to eat or do certain things so Alder coming along when she did is surprisingly helpful. I really enjoyed the story line and all the characters.

Not sure what I am picking up next on my list of TBR, but it will have to be paper as I can't stand going to work without a book or anywhere for that matter. LOL I am still reading Starters by Lissa Price I cannot seem to get that darn touchstone to work for this book.. Anyway off to find another from my bookshelves

8. Starters (touchstone Grrr) - by Lissa Price - Callie and her little brother Tyler along with a friend Michael, are left in this world to fend for themselves, due to a war. Their parents were killed by the spores that were released during the war. The only people left in this world are the Starters or rather younger generation in their teens and Enders the older generation or grandparents, basically those people who were vacinated against the spores. Some starters are lucky enough to have grandparents alive and well. Callie, Tyler and Michael are not so lucky as well as other children living on the street some are friendlies and some are renegades. Living in abandoned homes or buildings with no money or food is a tough life until a job opportunity comes up for Callie which is a quite a bit more than she bargained for.

Callie takes a trip to Prime Destinations where she will allow her body to be rented by a ender, where they place a chip in the donors brain and the renters brain and allow the renter to utilize the donor body for a short period of time to do the things that they used to like to do before they were to old to do them. Everyone thinks that this is just for short period but someone else has something else in mind permanacy.

Callie and her renter get a connection that no other has they can communicate and they fight for what is right. Most Enders want to just rent however some want to become owners.

This was a truly interesting and pull you in kind of story. I was always wanting to know what was going to happen next. Very well written and I am really looking forward to another book by this auther especially continuing this story. Very fun read and very imaginative.

Still reading Portrait in Death by J.D. Robb and getting ready to start The Glass Case: A short Story by Kristin Hannah

9. The Glass Case By Kristin Hannah - True to form Kristin does a great job on this short story April from a small town, gets pregnant at 17, gets married, loses her mother all within a few months. Years later still married to the same man, her mom helps her youngest boy get home after missing the kindergarten bus.

Still reading Portrait in Death not sure what else I am going to pickup yet. If my plans hold true today I am hoping to go see the movie One for the Money that is based off of the Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum series. I have heard many people say it is good.

Still plugging away at Portrait in Death not saying it is terrible just must not be in the mood for that right now. However I have picked up the poplular Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and have started to read that this morning. I seem to be flying through at what seems to be flying for me but maybe not others warp speed. So far enjoying will update with a review when complete.

10. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -Loved IT!!! I loved the writing style, to the characters to the plot and entire story. I difficulties putting it down to do real life things that needed done.

Katniss Everdeen, what a wonderful girl character so strong and so beautiful and she doesn't realize her beauty. Her love and caretaking for her family has kept her family alive while they got through the death of her father and she depression of her mother.

Now the Hunger games that The Capitol has every year has come around and her district has not won in many years. Going in she has very little hope that she will make it, however she is determined to work at it most of the time. A story of fight to the death apocolyptic games and love and adventure. Awesome...!!!

So entralled by these that I started Catching Fire as soon as I put down Hunger Games.

11. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - Loved it once again, I truly enjoyed the adventures that occured in this book. Can you imagine being picked once again to go back into the arena to fight for your life once more after your victory. I can't, this was so enticing and adventurous I had difficulties putting it down. Another great addition to the series. I am so excited to start reading the next book.

Off to start reading Mockingjay.. Hope I love it just as much. Catching fire left me hanging in the wind to find out what happens next. :)

Glad you are enjoying the Hunger Games books! I really enjoyed all three of them!

12. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins - Wow what a way to wrap up the trilogy. This book as well was so action packed and adventurous. The fight between the districts all toward the main goal of beating the capitol and killing the president. What fight to the end and to find out who Katniss finally choses and how and why. A must read to find out all of your favorite characters fates.

Off to start reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson I kept putting these books off for some reason, but they keep staying on all the book lists so therefore how can I continue to resist.

I think I am going to have to abandoned Portrait in Death I am just not getting into it right now. And after what I read today I am not to sure about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo but I am still going to give it more of a chance. However I got an ARC from Netgalley of Grave Mercy: His Fair Assassin, Book I (His Fair Assassin Trilogy) and I read a little so far this evening and I don't want to put it down.... Wish me luck.. :)

Hey Monica, looks like you've been reading quite a bit here!

I may be the only person I know that hasn't read the Hunger Games series. I just don't care for dystopian lit.

Deep Down True sounds good, though.

Sandy K

Sandy K, I understand some books just aren't everyones style. I have been trying, to actually work towards my goal this year and if I read 6.25 books per month I will make it so, if I can keep up at this pace I just might. :)

If you pick up Deep Down True I hope you enjoy it.

Monica

Okay if anyone is following, I have officially abandonded Portrait in Death and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo I will try them both again later, however at this point and time I am just not getting into either of them. Still working on Grave Mercy which I am very interested in at this point and hoping to find something else in my library at home to carry with me to work, since I cannot take my Kindle :(

Monica...good for you to abandon books that simply don't speak to you!

Sending you all good wishes on this March day in the hope that life is good.

Linda, I have a hard time abandoning books, because I spent the money on them. However, I been more able to as of late, because I feel like I am wasting my time continuing something I am not into, however I feel like I am giving them a fair chance I will try for a while.

Thank you for the wishes, things are going okay. My sister is in town for a few days and I am excited and enjoying her company when not at work.

Hope all is well with you.

Good news that you are enjoying your sister's visit!

13. Grave Mercy - Robin LaFevers- Very interesting and fun read for me. Ismae Rienne was born thinking she was unwanted by her mother because her mother was given poison to try and get rid of her in the womb. She ended up with a Turnip farmer to grow up and was given away to a terrible man to marry when she was of age, he was so afraid of her when she undressed due to the scar that was on her body from when she was born. The Woman who poisoned her mother ended up helping her to get away from her cruel husband and sent her to the Church to learn of the god Mortian (The God of Death). Due to her upbringing Ismae hated men and was glad to start her work in learning how to kill men. Ismae learns quickly in the arts of killing men who are marked by Mortian to die. Afer 3 years at the abby learning how to use her womanly woes to seduce men, fight, and poison men she goes out on her first adventure which does not go exactly as planned, then onto another. All the while the abbess has something specific in mind for Ismae.

Ismae ends up with Gavriel Duval in Brittany trying to help him save his country and his dutchess from having to marry the awful D'Albret. In her journey she finds that all men are not so evil and although what she has been taught by the church is helpful, she also learns that Mortians will is not exactly how it has been betrayed to her and she wonders if she should take her vows and return to the Abby once her assignment is over.

With many adventurous battles physical and moral, Ismae finds herself and her true love of her god and maybe just maybe the man in her life.

This book was very interesting and a fun read for me, I enjoyed the charaters and the descriptions of them made me feel like I was right in the book looking at them. Fun Fun read.

I am also reading Blood Red Road (Dustlands Trilogy) by Moira Young and am enjoying that as well. I am wishing though the next book was out as I can tell already 2/3 of the way through the book that I will be wanting more.

Not quite sure what I am going to pick out on my Kindle to read next but I know what book will be read after Blood Red Rod it will be Explosive Eighteen a wonderful friend gave to me the other day and I have been itching to read this book.. :)

Yeah I was just approved for another ARC on Netgalley Dark Lake by Louise Gaylord Looks very interesting now I guess I have something to read and review on my Kindle.. No Longer at a loss :) Even though I have over 200 other books on there LOL.. What can I say I am terribly addicted to reading and accumulating books. I guess I could have addictions that are worse.. LOL

14. Blood Red Road - Moira Young - Saba, Lugh, Emmi and their pa all live at Silver Lake, which at this point in time is pretty much dried up and has very little left to give. Lugh is a Winter born son that everyone seems to be aware of other than Saba at first. Only pa seems to realize they have been being watched the past 18 years.

On Lugh and Saba's 18th birthday they come to get Lugh, Saba is not quite sure what for, but now she has do deal with her fathers death as he was killed in the process and her feeling about her little sister and handle taking care of her while figuring out how to get Lugh back from these men who came take him. When Emmi was born their mother passed away giving birth and Saba holds this against Emmi, Lugh always tried to get Saba to see it wasn't Emmi's fault but Saba doesn't see that right now.

In Saba and Emmi's journey to get their brother back they travel long and hard and have their own little journey together within their journey to find Lugh. They travel to Crosscreek where they meet Mercy whom their pa had told them see if anything ever happened to him. Then Saba tries to leave Emmi behind to go off and get Lugh where she thinks he may be. However Emmi follows because she wants her big brother back just as much as Saba wants her twin back. They fight through the Sandsea and meet the Pinch couple in the Sandsea and make it to Hopetown.

Hopetown is where Saba earns her name the Angel of Death and then onto the Dark Tree and Freedom Fields. Let me tell you the names of these places sure are not exactly what they perceive, they have to fight for everything they want and to get where they are going.

In Hopetown they meet Jack and he is a wonder to Saba as her heartstone turns scalding hot when he is around, will there be romance.. It is a must read to see what happens in this action adventure packed story. They say it is better than the Hunger Games, but I think they are equal in their own rights. Awesome story.

I cannot wait until Fall for the next installment in this trilogy to come out!!!

Now reading Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich

15. Mile 81 by Stephen King - This kinda put me in mind of his book Christine. It starts out with Pete and his brother and their day of two brothers one old and one younger wanting to follow, but of course the older brother doesn't want him to tag along. So Pete goes off on his own and finds more than he bargains for at Mile 81 where he isn't supposed to be.

While Pete is sleeping off his drunk alot happens in the parking lot with an abandonded car and good samaritans trying to stop and help, some just don't make it out of there.

Good short story but it left me wanting a little more.

I decided to pick this out since my reading has been a little slower this month and I wanted a quick read it was fun and interesting. Easy to read and follow and holds your interest.

Still reading Explosive Eighteen and Hopefully will be starting Dark Lake soon.

So weird weekend for me, not much reading but I did have a fun but busy time. Friend of my MIL's came over to visit and we went out to dinner with her and stayed up late talking.

Sunday went to see Hunger Games in the theater and wow it was really good. I think it followed the book pretty well. I am so hoping they do continue making movies out of the next two books. Had a lot of other busy stuff to do and ended up with viritually no time to read but overall a great weekend.

So I would highly recomment seeing the movie Hunger Games especially if you read the trilogy.

16. Accused (Kindle Single) by Paul Alexander - I enjoyed this single, it was quick to get to the point yet fully explantory. The story of Thomas Harris, who i a police officer just trying to help a girl to her car ends up getting accused of murdering a guy who was harassing a bartender and came at him after walking another bartender to her vehicle. He had th potentional to lose his job his way of life and his freedom. Shows perception of others in the scenerio and the way people see things in their own version instead of what really happened. Does the justice system do its job? A must read to find out.

Real life has had its tendency to get in the way of my reading this month, hoping I can finish two more by this weekend.

checking in and waving hi

Hi back Linda
Thanks for stopping by :)

Glad to see you enjoyed Hunger Games! I am hoping to talk Nate into going next weekend. Wish me luck ;)

OH Chelle wish you the best of luck in seeing that movie. I don't think you will regret it.. Nate Take her to see this movie PLEASE... !! :) lol

17. Dark Lake: An Allie Armington Mystery by Louise Gaylord- Allie Armington goes to her childhood vacation home to find her loving Aunt Sallie murdered and her cousin who is like a sister passed out in bed not even knowing her mother is dead. However there seems to be a cover up as police start to investigate they decide it is a suicide. Allie feels differently and as a PI and an attorney she decides to investigate further on her own. She wants to prove that her Aunt did not die of suicide.

In this compound they call their vacation home, all their neighbors want to believe that there is nothing wrong and believe the police and turn a blind eye to the murder and the drug ring going on in the compound.

Allie turns to Liam who is a police officer who investigates drugs but she has her doubts about him throughout, but still seems to fall for him.

This action packed murder, mystery romance was exciting and itriguing and makes you wanting to know more about Allie and what really happened. A must read.

Still reading Explosive Eighteen and I received a couple of other books from Net Galley on my Kindle in ARC form, looking forward to reading them soon. Dancing with the Boss by Clare Gutierrez and Exiled by J.R. Wagner.

Hi mskeens, how are you doing, i happened to notice on your thread that you haven't yet read any of the witch and wizard series, they are very good, i have read the first two and Patterson is on top form with these. I will keep in touch with your thread in future, bye.

#70. I will have to look into reading these in the near future, I do love James Patterson and I thank you so much for your recommendation.

Your very welcome mskeens, if you have an author that you think i would like please recommend, happy easter and happy reading.

#72 johnsimpson, I like Harlan Coben as well, he writes similar type stories as James Patterson. You may like him. Happy Easter and Happy Reading to you as well :)

Hi mskeens, thanks for the recommendation, i think i have read one of his and will look out for others.

Hi mskeens! Glad to see you enjoyed The Hunger Games! All three of those were fantastic! I also suggest the movie! I see you read Starters too! I like that book as well! Took me awhile to get into it but I am intrigued enough to get the next one when it comes out! I love the In Death series as well! Just picked up Vengeance In Death! I read a few out of order but went back to the beginning recently! Hope you had a nice Easter! :)

Hi Liz, I did get to see the Movie as welll and I love it . I had a hard time with the In Death Series what I tried to anyway I don't have but one of the books in the series, I had borrowed the others. I will try reading the first one and then go from there sometime. Maybe it just wasn't the right time for me to read that series. Have you ever picked up a book and tried to read it and just couldn't get into, put it down then months later picked it up again and loved it? I have so maybe that is the case with this series for me right now. Kind of like the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

18. Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich - Action packed, fun as usual. Stephanie gets herself into some binds, but I think she is gaining some knowledge finally. Buggy was a cute addative this time around he kept stealing Stephanies car. And Swearing off men.. LOL Stephanie I knew she would cave.. eventually. Looking forward to another one.

Just had to share, my Newphew just graduated Marine Boot Camp from Parris Island. I thought I would share a few photos of him and my brother's family. I am such a proud Aunt right now. I can't help but show off. :)


L to R - Bailey (nephew), Mirissa(niece), Tyler(Nephew), Lacey(Sister in Law & Aaron (Brother)

Hi mskeens! I have done the same thing with a few books! The most recent being Stephanie Meyers' The Host! I put that book down twice, but when I did read it, it became one of my favorites! I just found out they are making a movie about it and a could not be happier!!

Liz_S, I tried to read the Host as well, I haven't gone back to that one yet, one day I will try it again. I am glad you enjoyed it, maybe I will have to pick it up again sooner than I thought :)

19. Tick Tock - James Patterson - As usual another great addition to the Michael Bennet Series. Very interesting twist of events, when you think you have things figured out, there is always little twist, I was genuinely proud of Michael and his actions with Emily and hoping to see what happens next time around. Loved the characters in this including the bad guys interesting on how they worked their crimes.

Off to read Timeless

Congrats to your nephew on his graduation! You must be very proud!

Hi Monica! Just trying to catch up on your thread. I didn't read all the reviews. I did skip the Hunger Game reviews because I hope to read them some time this year. I saw the movie and loved it, now I really want to read the books.

It is a shame that you can't read on your Kindle at work. I have the Kindle Fire and I will read my books every so often and if I get any time. I was able to get connected to the wifi at work but I don't use it to read.

Happy Reading!!

Monica

82 Chelle, Thanks for the Congratulations.. He is getting ready to leave again Monday for his combat training and after that he goes to California to 29 Palms for communications training. I am so Very Proud of him!!

#83 Monica, I sure hope you enjoy the Hunger Games books, I flew through them so quickly because I think I just absorbed them. I love it when you pick up a book and just get absorbed into it.. LOL..

I make sure I have a good balance of books vs Kindle books so that way I can have something to read it work, it does suck sometimes, especially when I am totally in absorbtion mode with a book on my Kindle but I will survive.. LOL..

Hope everything is going well your way..

Happy Reading Back at ya!!

Amazon Strikes my pocketbook again added 4 more books to my Kindle Library after receiving the email of 100 Books under $3.99 on Kindle.. Ugggh Sigh.. Alas, so many books so little time..

Amazon does that a lot. I hope you enjoy the books you bought. I keep hearing that the Hunger Games books are quick and easy reads. I had started them when a friend of mine let me borrow her Nook but I was at a swim meet so I had trouble concentrating. Plus that was when I was still shopping around for an e-Reader. So I was looking at all the things that it did.

I received at least the first 2 books for Christmas this year through Santa Thing so I will hopefully get to them this year.

Happy Reading!!

#87, Oh Monica, they are a must read.. They are easy reads and so enjoyable, once you start you won't want to stop reading them, at least that is the way it was with me, I had only purchased the first one, and I ran right out ad picked up the next two in the series, becuase I didn't want to wait to read them.. LOL..

Wow just received a copy of The Innocents by Francesca Segal I remember reading about it but I don't remember requesting it. Oh well another book to my collection :)

Hi mskeens! How are you? Just got back from Daytona and thought id pop by to say hello! I am reading Before I Fall by: Lauren Oliver right now. Have you read it? Hope all is well :)

*waving* at Monica

#90 - Hi Liz_S, I have never read Before I fall, but now that you mention it I checked it out and it looks interesting, so you hit me with coveted BB (Book Bullet) so I shall add it to my wishlist. LOL.. I hope your Vacation in Daytona was a good one. All is well here, have been busy the past couple of days and not much time to get on LT. Trying to take a relaxation day today so I jumped on for a bit.

#91 **Waves** back at you Stasia. Thanks for stopping by.

Hi Monica

Congratulations to your family for this major accomplishment. Thanks for posting the happy photos.

#93 Linda, Thank you for the congratulations. I love posting happy photo's. Hopefully more happy photo's to come throughout the summer. :)

Hi Monica, congratulations on your nephew's achievement you must be so proud, how's the reading going.

#95 johnsimpson, Thank you for the congrats, I am so very proud of him, he just started his combat training today. :) Reading is a little slow going as of late, real life getting in the way busy hoping things will slow down a tid bit so I can get more reading in.

20. Timeless by Gail Carriger - Once again Carriger does it with the Parasol Protectorate. I am so sad that this is the last in the series. So many things happen that could take this series further.

I love the action and adventure, they travel to Egypt in this one to find out what is happening to possibly take out all werewolves, vampires and every other supernatural creature in the world. They travel by boat, by floating, and so on. Every page makes you want to turn to the next to find out what is going to happen. Truly inovative and interesting with the old fashion styles of the times back then and the new interesting twists. Excellent.

Now still reading Dancing with the Boss actually just started it to much Real Life things getting in the way. Also, starting The Innocents by Francesca Segal

Well, I was hoping to have 24 to 25 books read at this point in the year. As usual, real life gets in the way. I barely even had a chance the past couple of days to catch up on LT let alone read more than a few pages in either book. I am hoping that things will slow down soon. I have a feeling that they will slow down in June once school is finally out and my step daughter moves in with her mom. Yes, she is moving in with her mom :( this saddens me but alas, it is what she wants and she is 16, her mother and I have pretty much made her stay with me until the end of the school year, which has been difficult because she wants to be with her mom for most of the school year and has been giving me difficulties about having to stay with me. She has recently seen the light and realized that she has it good living with me and also the fact that there is only a month or so left of school. So she has been less difficult to deal with but I have been so busy with appointments for her or school stuff that it has left me little time for me. Her moving will be a double edged sword for me, because I love her so much and she has been in my home for the last 5 years, 3 with me and her dad, and 2 with me and her grandma that it is like she is my own now. Doesn't really feel like a step daughter anymore when she used to just visit on weekends before we had custody. Sigh so I am having a rough time with this a little. But her mom is so involved and becoming more of a friend to me than she has all these years we have been raising my Step daughter that i am hoping to get to see her as much as I can. We shall see..

Hi Dear One

My heart goes out to you. What a rough few years you have had. To raise your stepchild is an incredible act of love. Please pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

I'm thinking of you and sending love

#99. Linda, Thank you. I appreciate the compliment. I have done the best I can with her. It has been a rough few years for me and for her and basically all of my family involved. In my mind there was no other choice than to keep her with me. Like I said I feel like she is my own. I don't think of it as an incredible act of love, I have had many other people make comments to me similar to yours, such as your an "Angel", You are a "wonderful person" to keep your step daughter and take care of her after your husband leaving you and her mother not being able to take her in. I have even been called a "Saint". I never ever think of myself in those terms, it was morally right in my mind to do the best I could. I just felt it was my duty when I married my husband I took on the role of step mother to my step daughter and when our children and youth services wanted her to move in with us and be removed from her mothers home at the time, I was willing to take on that responsibility because she was part of my life and my husband at the time life. Even though he gave up on all of us and moved on, I couldn't bring myself to give up on her and abandon her too. She had only turned 14 at the time. I spoke with her mother who had become more stable, but not quite stable enough to keep her in her home at the time and I said absolutely I will keep her here and continue to raise her. My step daughter was okay with that for almost 2 years and in the fall right after school started she started wanting to move in with her mom again, which her mom was a little more stable and her environment had changed. However she was in the middle of the school year. So, we as the adults decided it was best to make her wait until the end of the school year and her mother would be more stable monitarily (which she still isnt' so much) however my step daughter is so insistant. Which makes me feel unwanted, but that is not the case I don't think, she just wants to be with a biological parent (is what she says). It is just hard for me. However her mother and I have a much better relationship than we did before and we are working together. So I am hoping that she will at least still want to be a part of my life.

I have been so busy, hardly any reading done this weekend. I pressure washed my home, decks, sheds and so on. Had company over, my step daughters mother and her two boys. My step daughter was at Disney the past few days with chorus and my Ex husband brought his dog over for me to take care of on a"Temporary" basis. Which we shall see if it is truly temporary, so I took some pics of my Fur kids to share with you all.

Here is Angel, she is a black lab/golden retriever mix and she will be 8 years old in November. She is tuckered out today.. :)



This is My evil cat Radio, he is 9 years old as of last month.



And finally Chloe the news addition to my fur kids.. supposedly on a "Temporary" basis, she is my ex husbands dog, he has to move to a place where he cannot have pets and he is supposedly looking for a place he can afford and that will be allowed to have pets.

love the photos of the fur kids! and love you too!

Hi mskeens, love the photos of the fur kids, we've just got the one a cat called Leo who will be 10 in August.

#102.. Thanks Linda.. Hugs to you and love you too..!!!

#103.. johnsimpson Thank you, awe Leo is a cool name, I bet he feels like a BIG kitty with a name like LEO.. :) when I hear that name I think of a Lion..

Cute fur kids! The cat doesn't look too evil ;)

#105. Thanks Chelle.. He is not liking the New "Temporary" addition to well, he swats her if she walks by him and hissess very viciously.. LOL.. So far he hasn't bitten her yet..

Hi mskeens!! Haven't been able to get on here in a while! Crazy busy!! Just popping by to say hi and see how your reading goes. Looks like you've been a busy bee too! Have a great weekend!

Hi msKeens, how are you, Leo sends his love (or at least he miaowed when i told him you thought his name was cute ha ha. Keep up the reading you are doing a bit better than me, i need to read more than buy more.

107 Liz_S, I know what you mean about busy, I have been extremely busy. I have barely had time to read I think I read a few pages before bed in the last week. Sigh.. :( However I have gotten alot accomplished around the house.

108. Johnsimpson, I am okay have been busy, awee on Leo sending his love. :) Send my love back to him.. My reading is slacking now that yard work and planting time is here and I have an upcoming camp out at my house for Memorial day weekend. Hoping to get back to it soon. I am going to work on posting some pics of my work accomplishments.. in case anyone is interested. Once this is all over I am hoping to get back to reading more.. I can't wait.. :) I hope your reading picks up for you too.

Hello everyone, so I have been very busy and have not been able to get much reading in. In the last week in between work I have been working on my yard. :) Here are some pics to show off what I have been doing.

I have been planting flowers, creating a new flower bed, which is not yet planted, planted my vegatable garden, water sealed both my front and back decks, cleaned up and restained my picnic table and my parents picnic table, as well as cleaned and repainted both of my out door sheds. The one pick of the shed is partially finished but I was able to finish it yesterday after noon and I was so tired I just didn't get out there to take another pic of it..









There are a few more flower boxes I have planted too.. Still more work to do outside, but dwindling down to once it is all done just maintenance of weeds and watering and harvesting and so on.. Then more time to read.. :)

Hi msKeens, you look as if you are going to be very busy over the next couple of weeks and i need to get on with a bit of planting too. Leo says hi but he's a bit under the weather at the moment, next doors vicious younger black cat ambushed him and their was lots of Leo's fur all about, doesn't look badly hurt unlike last time but being attacked in your own midding is not on. Leo is 10 in August and Guinness the thug next door stalks him poor lad, even stares at him through the french doors waiting for him to come out. Never mind, he sits on my lap while i stroke him and read and he's happy with that. Bye for now happy gardening and reading.

111. Hi johnshipson, Yes, I am going to be busy, once school is out over here and my step daughter moves out and I get memorial day over with things should slow down some, by then hopefully all of my planting will be done and the yard will be just upkeep.. :) Awe, give Leo extra hugs from me, poor guy, some Kitties are just darn right mean fighting him even on his own property.. Mean little Guinnes.. I guess even our furkids have bullies huh.. It is good he has a daddy like you to care for him.. :) Hope that your gardening and reading go well for you..

Hi all, OH my I have been so busy, no books read this month. I sure am hoping to get back to that next month. Our Memorial Day weekend was a success, many family and friends visited and or camped out at my house. It was like a good sized girls slumber party inside my house and what a hoot laughing and carrying on. Very little time for reading and or getting on LT.. Finally getting caught up with other house work and work work that I could get on here and post a little. So that was the good news that everything went well there.

Sad news, We have to get rid of a couple of furkids :( which makes us sad but on the same token it will make things easier. My mother in law is just getting overwhelmed with allergies, with 2 dogs and a cat in the house. So alas, we are working on finding a home for little miss Chloe who is such a love bug cuttie pie however she wasn't really my dog to begin with. Also, working on a place for the evil spawn kitty, which is going to be difficult for his evil ways, if not he will have to go to the shelter and I hope and pray that they can find him a home. We are Keeping Angel, I told mom I just couldn't part with her. Then over the weekend she got an injury to her ear, which ended up being a hematoma which I had to have drained but that didn't work it just filled up again so she had to have surgery on Tuesday morning. Poor old girls is walking around with cone on her head, and her head all banadaged for the next 10-14 days and a handfull of pills to take each day. and $394 later.. Owie.. Nope not getting rid of my baby. But she will be better soon. Also, being down to one animal may make it easier to find a pet sitter if we need to, to go away. Sigh..

Update on furkids, Evil Spawn Kitty aka Radio left for his new home on Thursday, May 31, to a very nice lady and her husband who have 2 dogs and 2 other kitties. Their home seemed very suitable for him. I can even visit him if I want to they don't live far away :) If for some reason he doesn't fit in, my friend will take him over who has 7 kitties already. So we shall see how that pans out. Chloe my little cuddle bug moved into her new home with 20 other doggies and they are all well taken care of there. She is looking for a new home for her, however if she doesn't find a suitable home for her she will continue to keep her and all I have to do is make a call if I want her back. My ex husband wasn't too happy because he called 10 minutes after she left and said he had found her a new home. I told him she just left for a new home and he asked a few questions and then decided to hang up on me. I had given him until Tuesday to find her a home, he kept calling his mother (who lives with me) and she kept telling him he had to talk to me, which he never did until yesterday after Chloe left. I haven't heard from him since. I guess he now realizes I mean what I say and he can't push me around anymore like he used to. So the last couple of days have been an emotional roller coaster for me. I laid on my bed and just bawled for a 1/2 hour cuddling Chloe just before she left. I did a huge amount of cleaning yesterday and more to do today. Hence still no reading done. Sigh. I will get back to it.

Positive notes. Angel is doing well with her ear. We have an appointment to get her bandages changed on Wednesday. She is gaining more spunk since she is starting to feel a little better. Boy does she hate that cone around her head, but alas she will get it off of there soon. Other positive notes are I can put my pull strings down off of the curtain rod now for my blinds, and I can put plants out in windows now, as well as getting rid of extra fur kid hair off of furniture and floors and even out of the furnace vents.. Hopefully mama will be able to breath better and not have to take so many allergy pills..

Well, back to cleaning. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend..

I received my birthday present today from my parents. Even though my Birthday is a little over a month away actually more like a month and a half away. But she just couldn't wait t give it to me and I was so surprised by it. I have loved cooking for a while but I have never really listed my cookbooks on here because most of them are not real cookbooks that are published. Over the years I have made a book of my own favorite recipes or found recipes in magazines and made up a binder or more like 4 binders with different ones I have found. My mother in law brought in some and I have bought a few. But I was so excited to receive the one I received today. Now when I was little my mom bought me the entire series of Little House on the Prarie books and I still have them to this day and she sat and read each and every one of them to me a chapter or two at a time before bed until we finished the series, we also watched the series on tv as well. I have always loved that series and now and again I will watch Little House on the prarie on tv at times to this day. I never ever knew that they had this book out so imagine my surprise when I received my gift The Little House Cookbook by Barbara M. Walker. I have been looking through it and it tells parts of the stories in it when the foods were made. I am so excited and am actually going to try and cook some of the things in there. I had to share this because it meant so much to me. :)

OMG you are having a rough go eh! Sorry to hear that you had to find homes for your fur kids! I would be wreck! Hope you are doing ok with it!
How long does Angel have to wear the cone for? Poor thing! But animals sure do look hilarious with cones on!

Chelle, Yes it was rough and actually it was more rough for me to let go of Chloe who had been here only a month than it was the cat. Don't get me wrong I miss him, but I didn't cry like I did when Chloe went to her new home. I know I can visit Radio any time I want to but he won't care of I am visiting or not. Everything is on his terms, I think that is why it was easier. Chloe on the other hand was a little cuddle bug and I miss her cute litte face.

Angel has to wear that for 10 to 14 days.. Poor baby, I feel so bad for her, but she does look funny with it on and the poor thing cannot navigagte very well with it, she bangs into everything including us especially when she wants to get kisses.. LOL.. I can't wait until she gets the darn thing off and I am sure she can't either.

Well, I am finally out of my reading slump. My major projects are pretty much completed around the house and outside for the summer. Now it is just maintenance from this point on. Which makes me so happy things are done.

My step daughter is all moved out and her room is redone into a spare room / office so I am happy about the extra room for a guest or to be able to work in when I need to, instead of everything being crammed into my bedroom and now I have room for a shiney new book case in my bedroom, of which my carpenter neighbor is going to build for me :)

I am missing my step daughter but not her drama that she brought to the household and hoping that she still wants to be a part of my life from time to time. We shall see. It is also hard being down to one pet but my Angel is getting loads of love from her mommy, she finally got her cone off of her head and her ear healed very nicely. :)

21. Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah - Oh what an awesome read. What a way to come out of the business and out of a reading slump. This book had me laughing, crying and loving every character in it. What a story that could end up being a real life story had me hanging on every single word and ignoring my surroundings.. I almost hated for it to end.

Meredith Whitson - Wife, Mother, Caretaker of all. Loved her father so much she put her ideas, wants and needs to be there for him and take over the family business even though that is not what she really wanted. It almost ended her marriage.

Nina Whitson - Single sort of dating one man consitently, free spirited sister of Meredith. Journalistic photographer traveled all over the world kind of running away from her family.

Evan Whitson- Loving father of Meredith & Nina and husband to Anya. Held the family together like glue. Doted on his daughters and wife while taking care of his own business.

Anya Whitson - Wife of Evan / Mother of Merdith & Nina. Loved her husband so much and rarely showed any side of herself to her daughters keeping a wall around her until very late in her life.

The story of these people is a very intersting tale and brings so many things together. Evan very sick makes Anya promise to tell her fairy tales all the way through to their daughter's after he passess on. Anya fought this at first but Nina being very persisitent ends up convincing Anya to tell it anyway. Her story brings so many things to light for this family even though it has dwindled by one (Evan) and why she was the way she was and how people can change even when they are older. The pricelessness of time spent with family and getting to know one another. What an amazing tale.

A must Read 5 Stars!!!!

Hi mskeens, glad to see you back on the reading front after your recent trials and tribulations. Nice to hear that you have pretty much completed your major tasks wish i could say the same, weather and my spinal arthritis getting in the way. Hope Angel feels better without the cone on, i remember when Leo had to wear one for two weeks it felt like a month and he was really fed up.
What are you currently reading? believe it or not i am still trying to get through Fool's Fate and have made good progress on Fifty shades of grey.
Keep up the reading and give a kiss to Angel from me.

Hi johnsimpson, I am actually reading Fifty Shades of Grey and oh my is that quite the read. {Blush} LOL. So many people told me I should read these. I am not quite sure I should take this to work to read, I know only the few who have read it will know exactly what I am reading but oh my. I checked out Fool's fate that you are reading and that sounds interesting, but not quite my style from what I read of the description. Although I do see that you and I do share some books that we both enjoy.

I sure hope that you can find the weather better soon and your arthritis at ease so that you may accomplish some of your tasks soon. I understand both of those difficulties very well. I too have arthritis and a few other issues that cause me pain at times, they are not very fun or accomodating.

Oh and Angel is doing wonderful without the cone on. She healed up very nicely and it was quite comical the first time I took the cone off to allow her a bone as a treat, it was very difficult for her to eat the bone with that cone on and when I took it off she was laying down trying to figure out how to eat the bone, She sat there looking around like Oh my gosh this is a new world. She looked up and all around in every direction like she had never seen the room before. We laughed so hard it was adorable. Thankfully a few days later she was permitted to have it off permantely instead of just temporarily. She appreciates the kiss you sent and she sends one back. Now mind you she is a larger dog so about one kiss washes have of you face.. :) So smooches back from Angel.

Hugs and Kisses to Leo as well.. Angel sends him one too, as she is missing her kitty since I found him a new home. She used to give him kissess....

Good luck on finishing both books and maybe you can read the next two in the series of Fifty shades of grey. :)

Hi Monica, yes the Fifty shades of grey is coming along nicely and now my better half has finished number 3 i have them both to read when i finish no 1. I have to agree with you about it not being a book to take to work, my better half Karen found that out, it was either work or the book and work had to take precedence. The arthritis has taken its toll on me this last week but seeing the doc tomorrow about something else so will mention it to her, i may need to up my meds. On the reading front i seem to have accrued a number of books in the last two or three weeks what with Fathers day etc but i will get to them soon,ha ha. Hope everything is ok with you at the moment and with Angel, bye for now.

22. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James - An interesting back story at least on the female, they are keeping the male very secrative in this which makes you curious as to why he has mysterious and very hungry sexual needs. I am hoping to learn why he is the way he is and how this all turns out. Very Erotic and very sexually explicit...

#122 Johnsimpson, I sure hope you are feeling a little better this week. I love when you get bunches of books for gifts, I always get very happy when I receive books. :) I have way to many books on my bookshelf that I have not had a chance to read but buying more is so addicting. LOL.. Hope all is well with you and yours. Hugs to Leo.. :)

Hi mskeens, thanks for the message, i agree with your comments in>123 MonicaLynn:, looking forward to finding more about Mr Grey and what makes him tick. The new meds seem to have eased the pain but from what i've gathered we are going to have this miserable weather for the next three weeks so i'll just have to read more. Yes you are right book buying is so much more addictive, i bought 3 books on saturday from a secondhand shop and 2 on sunday from Waterstones and i might be getting a book or two on friday as it's my birthday ( i'll be 49 ). Hope you are ok and the rest of your family and give a hug to Angel.

Thinking of you today

My daughter (a non reader) is currently reading 50 Shades of Grey. She cannot put it down. hummmmmmmmmmmm

#125 johnsimpson, have you finished Fifty Shades of Grey Yet? I just started the 2nd book in the trilogy yesterday afternoon, I am hoping I have enough time to get through the entire book this week. I know exactly how the weather effects how you feel, not only does it cause pain in those who have arthritis, but it makes people in a yuckie depressed moods as well. I sure hope the weather clears up and I am so happy for you that the new meds have eased the pain for you. It is terrible when you are in pain all or most of the time. Our weather here has been very warm and humid. Ugghh.. We are definately not getting enough rain I am having to water my gardens quite a bit lately. I did harvest my first red tomato.. :) I was excited about that.. So your Birthday is July 6th Yeah... :) You are a July baby too :) My Birthday is July 17th (41). I don't have a book store really close to me there is one used store in my town, I have to get most of my books online or at the grocery store or Walmart. I tend to order books when they have specials online or on my Kindle..

BTW Angel Loves your hugs and sends big doggie kisses back to you.. :) Give Leo a pat for me I hope you have a wonderful Birthday and get loads of books for you to read. I will be wishing for them for you...

#126. Thanks Linda.. I have been thinking of you a lot lately too. I hope Lilly is doing well for you and Will. I keep thinking that one day I will get the chance to meet you. I see you have been having a lot of meet up's lately. I wish my schedule would allow me to fit into one of those. Alas one day maybe :)..

Have you read Fifty Shades yet?

Hope all is well give Lilly hugs for me.. and Hugs to you too..

Hi Monica,
Thanks for the link to your thread. You have been busy with reading, planting, cleaning and the such. Wonderful pictures of your fur kids. I hope the temporary pet adjusts well to your place. She seems to have made herself comfortable. I have my daughter's dog (temporarily too), now going on 2 years and I lover her dearly. I don't want to give her back. Plus I have 2 cats. One is evil and the other is cute but an instigator of trouble.

I haven't had time to read 50 Shades of Grey. I received 2 ER books this week and decided to start them so I don't fall behind again. I am only about 25% done with 50 Shades so maybe with this long weekend I will be able to get some reading done in between chores and stuff.

Have a great day!

Monic'a

23. Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James - I am really enjoying this trilogy. Finally finding out a little more about Mr. Grey. I usually don't mind sex scenes in books off and on and I was leery when I heard so much about this and how much sex was in it, because typically I don't like that much in a story line. But as I have been reading this it is getting better and better. I just started Fifty Shades Freed and I cannot wait to find out the ending.

#129. Hi Monica, the temporary fur kid is gone now and I miss her dearly, she was such a cute little cuddle bug and so well behaved for the most part unless we all left the house at the same time. Then I had to replace blinds, she tore the heck out of them. Lesson learned but no longer a problem. I do miss her bunches though, She and I created an instant bond she was very protective of me from day 1 and I of her. My evil cat has found a new home too due to my mother in laws allergies. We have determined he was the major problem. Especially since he has left the house and I did a thorough cleaning. My mother in laws eczema has cleared up and she is less stuffy. We just went to my parents house and spent the entire day there and her eczema spots came back (my parents have 3 cats and no dogs) therefore that was most of my mother in laws problems. However we have agreed to keep it to one dog in the house at a time. She doesn't mind well behaved dogs visiting though. Before moving in my home she never had an indoor pet really so I think she is enjoying it for the most part.

Hope your enjoying Fifty Shades as much as I have. Hope all is well in your home and with your family. Take care

Hi monica, how are you and angel. Glad to see you are on Fifty Shades bk 3, i am about a third of the way thru bk 2 as i have been making a concerted effort to finish Fool's Fate by Robin Hobb and should finish this by the end of the weekend. Yes i had a good birthday and got lots of books ( not that i need any more, although you can never have enough books) and had a nice day out in Harrogate even though it was raining cats and dogs.

Hi John, We are doing well. I have been on vacation this week, have done nothing really special besides things around home and relaxing a little, just nice to not have to go into work and being able to sleep in. Angel is very happy mommy has been home with her. :) We did go visiting my grandmother in law one day, Angel was not so happy that day because she had to stay home other than that nothing to overly exciting. My Birthday is coming up on Tuesday. I am actually enjoying the Fifty Shades trilogy more than I thought I would. I have been having to water my gardens a lot as we are not getting the raining of cats and dogs lol. I hope you enjoy the rest of the trilogy and accomplish finishing Fool's Fate. Such a true statement of you can never have enough books. :) Hope all is well with you and your's hope your arthritis is doing better and tell Leo I said hello and give him hugs for me. :)

Hi monica, hope you had a good vacation and plenty of relaxation time. I finished Fool's Fate a few hours ago and can now crack on with Fifty Shades Darker. My bedtime book is another hardback, Agatha Raisin- There goes the Bride by M.C.Beaton. I hope you have a fantastic day tomorrow on your birthday, Leo loved his hugs and said give a hug to Angel. Bye for now and enjoy tomorrow.

Happy birthday Monica, have a good one. xx

Hi Monica, hope you had a fab day on your birthday, just realised i hadn't heard from Liz_S for a while and wondered if she was still as busy as was in May when it seems we last had contact with her. Hope you are well and doing plenty of reading. Bye for now give ANgel a hug from me and Leo.xx

24. Just finished Fifty Shades Freed by E. L. James - Wow what a story. I really enjoyed this trilogy. I am wondering if she is planning on writing any more books. When I was told about this Trilogy it was not what I expected to read however they were very enjoyable with a good story behind them not just sex. However the sex parts were quite interesting.

I have some ER books to read however I am just not feeling any of them right now. I think I am going to go back to another Kristin Hannah and read On Mystic Lake next.

#134 &135 - John thank you for the Birthday wish and it was an okay day nothing to exciting I worked a 12 hour shift, however we had cupcakes and birthday cake ice cream and they got me a Birthday card that was very cute. I too was noticing that we hadn't heard from Liz_S either. I hope all is well with her and it is just her being busy. I sure know what that is like. Real life gets in the way of fun time. Angel loves her hugs from both of you. She is missing her kitty since we found him a new home. My parents live next door and she has 3 kitties but only one of them likes Angel and he doesn't play with her like our kitty used to. So she appreciates the hugs from both. As you can see my reading funk has gone away for the time being and I am reading a little more I wish i could read even more of the time however, yard work, housework, and work work get in the way of that at times.

Hope all is well and your arthritis is doing a little better for you. Hugs from Angel and I and a little scratch behind Leo's ear from me.. Take care ttys.

Hi Monica, glad you enjoyed the Fifty Shades trilogy, i have just finished the second one and am looking forward to the final one. I am going to read Private London by James Patterson as it will be a quick read as he keeps the pace relentless with the short chapters. This is because we are doing the catering for my daughters engagement party on saturday which is also our 28th wedding anniversary. Also if you have a look at my profile page you will be able to see my ugly mug as i have changed the picture from my lovely granddaughter, she is still in my gallery. If you want to make a comment please be kind,lol. Hope everything is well with you and i have received a message from Liz_S, she has been busy. Leo sends his love to you all, bye for now.

Hi Monica!
Happy belated birthday!! Hope you had an awesome day

# 137 Hi John, I am a huge James Patterson fan, that is actually for a while all I used to read because I didn't have much time or money to buy books. However I get back to Patterson now and again, now I have way to many series and Authors to read. As far as your picture I think you are a handsome man and I love the T-Shirt and the fact that you are a fan :). Told Angel about your love to us and she wags her tail and waves and we send love back to you and yours. Missing my kitty right now so give Leo extra cuddles from me okay.

#138 Chelle, thank you so much for the Birthday wishes it was an okay day overall .. I had to work.. :(

Okay I had so much fun this past weekend I went to the Great Lakes Medieval Faire in OH which isn't to awful far from my home. If you would like to see their website it is here http://www.medievalfaire.com/ I loved all the shops, food, costumes and great acts they put on. This weekend was themed Pirate weekend, so they were included, I saw a guy who looked almost like Johnny Depp from Pirates of the Carribean.. I swooned of course LOL.. I also got to meet an author there who was there promoting, selling and signing copies of her books. So that I didnt' go overboard my friend bought a copy of one of her books and I bought a copy of Land of the Twilight Mist by Carol J. Weakland and my friend bought a copy of Morgen of Avalon: Dreamspell 1 we each got our copies personally signed and we shall share them to be able to read them both. It was such a fun experience at this faire and reasonably priced. For anyone who is close by and is interested in this I thought I would share in case they were unaware. They have this event ever weekend for 6 weekends in a row in July and August each year.

25. On Mystic Lake by Kristin Hannah - Analise (Annie) Colwater is in a loveless marriage but doesn't realize this until her husband Blake tells her he wants a divorce he is seeing somone else and is in love with the other woman. They had just taken their daughter to the Airport to fly to London to finish out her school year. What a devastating blow to Annie she didn't see this coming.

Over the course of a couple of months she drives up to her old hometown to spend time with her father and finds "herself" while finding a new love and what love and relationships should be about.

Then Annie finds out she is pregnant and it is her husbands, so she goes back to find out if they can work things out.

This book was good overall. I had my own visions for the ending but it left me with only an indicator of what probably happened. However it is a good story about a woman finding herself and with my recent past showed me a thing or two.

Not sure what I am picking up to read next my sister is in town so therefore I may not get to read until this weekend.

Wow Monica that first sentence of your review makes me hate Blake! I may have to look for that book after I deplete some of my stacks. I am still working on the Shades Trilogy. I think all the hype is making me expect more and I am just not getting that much out of it. It has its funny parts and I have laughed out loud (while at the gym). I am going to try and read some tonight if I don't decide to pick up Catching Fire instead. Happy Belated Birthday!! Sorry that you had to work on your b-day.

Happy Reading!!

Monica

Hi Monica, just passing by, how are you and Angel. Leo was 10 on the 2nd August and has been fighting with the thug next door, he has a minor scratch on the ear and a little one on his rear right paw but the thug also has wounds so they are about even. He has been doing a give me sympathy limp, lol.

Hi Monica, just stopping by to let you know that I have finished the first book Fifty Shades of Grey. I have mixed feelings about it. I hope all is well with you guys!!

Monica

Congratulations on making it 1/3 of the way through the challenge!

#142 - Hi John, Angel and I are doing well we had the entire house to ourselves this past weekend as my Mother in Law went visiting friends in Ohio, which was nice but odd. We haven't had the entire house to ourselves in 2 1/2 years. It was very peaceful and Angel got a haircut and bath which she despises.. But she still cuddled with me bunches and we had a nice weekend of peace and quiet and just us. Even though I had the house to myself I didn't get much reading in, because I had so many projects I wanted to get done which I did, along with catch up on some shows I wanted to watch.

Give Leo hugs from me and Angel, poor guy that darn Thug next door to you should leave him alone. I am glad the wounds were minor.

#143 - Hi Monica, Well, at least you got through them and and I know what you mean about all the hype about the Fifty Shaes Trilogy. I enjoyed them but I guess they are not for everyone. Did you finish up the Hunger Games Yet? Have you been enjoying them?

All is well here at the moment. Hope all is well with you too. :)

#144 - Stasia, thanks for the Congrats, I am glad I have made it 1/3 through. One day I will reach my goal of 75 probably not this year though.

Hi Monica, I still have to read the second and third books in the Fifty Shades Trilogy. I am trying to borrow them because I don't want to spend money on something I know I don't want to keep. I am really enjoying the Hunger Games. I am still reading book number 2. I am hoping to get in about an hour of reading tonight so maybe I will make some progress.

It is nice to have some quiet time at home. I seem to have that a lot lately so I want some activity here.

Hi Monica, hope everything is ok with you, just letting you know that i have put a new picture of my gorgeous granddaughter on my profile page, bye for now will be in touch soon.

My 29 year old daughter who has never been a reader, recently read the entire series of the Hunger Games and is now reading the Fifty Shades Trilogy....I'm very happy!

Perhaps she will now begin to read more.

#146 - Monica, I sure hope that you enjoy the 2nd and 3rd better than the first of Fifty Shades. You do find out a little more about Mr. Grey.. Enough said there. I can't wait to hear your thoughts about both series at the end of each series.. :) Hope all is well with you. I love quiet time at home, I finally got some quiet time at home, my mother in law was away for a week. She just returned home today. I loved that I had the entire house to myself however it is nice to have her back home. :)

#147 - Hi John, love the new pic of your grandaughter I think she looks just a smidge bit like her grandpa. ;) She is a cutie pie. Everything is well with me. Hope you are all well. Hugs to you and Leo..

#148 - Linda, It is such an exciting thing when a non reader actually starts reading and continues. I hope after these two triologies she will continue on to more and more reading. I am sure her mom can provide her with bunches of books to borrow. :) {{{ Hugs}}} I hope your day is filled with love and good books and less pain.

Hi Monica, glad you liked the latest picture of Hannah, she's too good looking to look a smidge like me. Everything is fine and dandy in the Simpson household at the moment and Leo is ok, he sends his love to you and Angel. Just a quick question/query, do you have a book review magazine in the states. We used to have a good quarterly one from the Waterstones chain but in a cost cutting measure they withdrew it, there is another one which is bi-monthly but mainly features chick lit and female authors, nothing wrong with these but every issue, it gets boring, anyway just wondered if you have one and if so can you let me know the title. Hope everything is ok with you and Angel, lots of love, bye for now.

Hi John, honestly I had never really heard of that kind of magazine, I live kind of a sheltered life out here in the country LOL.. So I did a little research on line which resulted in some weird results. However I did find this link and I am not sure if it is exactly what your looking for but thought you might like to give it a try. http://www.bookmarksmagazine.com/ Hope it helps. Glad to hear everything is going well in your household and so glad Leo is doing okay. You should post a picture of him so I can see him. :) Angel and I are doing well, I have been harvesting a lot of tomatoes from my little 4X8 garden along with green onions, lettuce and green bell peppers. So many that I am having to freeze stuff because we cannot eat it all.. Our county fair is this week as well which is one of the largest agricultural fairs in our State. So I am excited to go now that I am on my last day of work this week so I am up for a fun weekend. :) Sending Love to you all from Angel and I .

John, I also found this one. http://www.rtbookreviews.com/ I hope you like one of them or it helps point you in the right direction.

26. Blood Rights by Kristen Painter - Okay just finished this. It took me a bit to get into this one , not that it was bad or anything just difficult to get into the characters as they were being brought in I wasn't quite sure what was going on or who was doing what or for what they were doing the things they were doing. It all came together though finally and I very much enjoyed this book. Chrysabelle is a Comarre in other words she is a blood donor who was bred and tattoed and trained to be this from brith for the Vampire Royalty. Comarre have thier own way and their own secrets as do the Vampires. She has a Patron (Vampire royalty that ownes her blood rights) in other words she feeds him and him alone and he pays to have her blood. After 100 years of services to a Patron the Comarre can actually ask for Liberta's which they are permitted to leave their patron and move on. Suddenly she finds her Patron dead, gets scared and runs. In turn some believe she has killed her patron and are after her. What they are really after is a ring that she has and they need Comarre blood to cast the right spell to actually become higher royalty. After, moving along alone for a short bit and finding her Aunt Maris home and hoping to keep her out of harms way she runs into trouble and moves on again to Mal. Mal being a Vampire who once was royalty and is now called Anathema because they were cast out by their royalty. Mal accidentally becomes Chrysabelles new Patron through FI the ghost. They have some action packed adventures and twists and turns that keep this book moving. I am looking forward to reading the next in the series Flesh and Blood

Hi Monica, thanks for the web links for book magazines, the Rt book reviews magazine looks good and three stores in the UK stock it so i am going to get intouch with the one nearest to me to see if they will send me a copy.

How are you my dear, i'm going to try and put more photos on my profile page.Loved the review for Blood Rights, these seem to be books that my daughter Amy would like. Bye for now, john.

Hi John, I was glad to help and I hope you can get a copy of the magazine and enjoy them.

Would love to see more photos you should include your lovely wife as well. :) Thanks for the props on the review, maybe you can recommend it to your daughter. We are doing well. It has been a busy kind of week this week our local fair is this week and between work and visiting the fair and going to events not much reading time. Fair is over tomorrow and I will get some much needed rest on Sunday, then back to work for a couple of days then I am on vacation through September 9th, even though I am not going anywhere special I will be busy and have a bunch of friends and family around. It will be Labor Day here in the States and we are celebrating by having a campout at my house over the weekend next weekend and having family in through Tuesday then a Friend is coming on Wednesday to stay with us for a couple of days from out of town. So hopefully everything will be fun and interesting. :)

I hope all is well with you and yours..

Hi Monica. Hope you are having a good final weekend of the summer season!

Hi Chelle, Had a wonderful weekend! Family and friends visited and camped out in my yard all weekend long. We had a great time, good food, good conversation,good music (my baby brother plays guitar and sings) we also had family here from Virginia which was a real treat. Still trying to recover from the weekend events. Today another family friend is coming to visit from Florida just waiting on his arrival at this point. I hope your wedding went well :) (Hugs)

27. Flesh and Blood by Kristen Painter -Chrysabelle, Malkom, Doc, Creek all great and interesting characters adding Creek to the mix makes things a little more intersting this book. With him falling for Chrysabelle as Malkom has and no one wanting to admit it.

Definatley action packed and twists and turns with the little wars going on between everyone. I enjoyed this book in the series as much as the first and amd starting to read the next one.

Now reading Bad Blood . Hoping to finish this one faster and get on to more and more books..

*waving* at Monica

Hi Monica, how are you doing my dear, hugs to you and Angel from me and Leo.

#159 ***Waves*** Back at ya Stasia

#160 John, we are doing well, things have finally slowed down to a degree.. Not much gardening to do at the moment and it is getting cooler here, pretty soon it will be time to put all the outdoor items away :( This makes me sad. I dislike the snow cold to a degree.. I had someone tell me to use it as a reset for the upcoming spring, summer & fall.. Although it is not here yet, fall gets me started on what is to come.. Alas, I shall prevail through it as I do every other winter.

How are you and yours doing John? I hope well. Angel and I enjoy the long distance Hugs from you and Leo.. Angel misses her evil kitty I think to a degree but now she gets all the attention so that makes it better.. ;) Hugs to you and Leo from Angel and I and happy reading.. :)

28. Bad Blood (The House of Comarre) by Kristen Painter - Once again, really enjoyed the action packed and adventures stories of Chrysabelle, Mal, Fi, Doc, Creek and all the other Othernatural creatures. What an interesting thing allowing humans to know of their existence and the fact of an infant born Vampire with Tatiana as its foster mother. I cannot wait to find and read the next installment of this series as it grips you and pulls you right into their world.

Okay now since I do not have the 4th installment in this series in my little paws just yet I will have to move onto something else. Like an ER book I have been putting off due to being stuck in a series and not wanting to change modes..

So I am off to read The Donors by Jeffrey Wilson

29. The Donors by Jeffrey Wilson -Definitely a Horror Book, very descriptive with gory details. Well written story line with hospital being overtaken by an evil force attempting to do good by killing the Evil people who entered the hospital for treatment. The Evil force however drags in Dr's a nurse and a child patient to help them along with their killing of the Evil people. Recommended for people who are into Horror however this is not for the faint of heart.

Now off to read my other ER book in an obviously different Genre Autumn Winds by Charlotte Hubbard

30. Autumn Winds by Charlotte Hubbard - Miriam Lantz, lost her husband 2 years ago and a storm blows a large branch through her bakery window as well as a handsome slightly younger plain fellow against her building in one swoop. Everything flourishes from there but not without difficulties from their sinful Bishop Hiram Knepp. Miriam fought to get her business up and running as well as fought and paid for her sins of seeing her long lost daughter Rebecca who was assumed dead after floating down the river several years earler but found out to be alive and was raised English however she came to find her original family when her English mother passed on. This book was fun and truly enjoyable and showed some of the Old Order Amish ways and that love can come your way by the way of the wind blowing.

Well all my ER books reviewed for the moment until my newest win arrives. So off to read Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah :)

Hi Monica, loved your recent book reviews and keep them coming. Everything here is fine, just recovering from having our gorgeous Hannah for ten hours yesterday, now she is walking ( or rather running quickly on her toes like a ballerina) she is into everything. I now know why i had kids at at young age, i would be done for by now if i had just started a family at 49. Leo has for the last two occasions Hannah has been here stayed in the house and let Hannah stroke or rather grab small handsful of fur and just looked at her. I think they are sizing each other up. I seem to be doing reasonably well on the reading front now that the front garden is completed. Leo sends hugs to you and Angel and i send my love to you both, bye for now.

Hi John, So glad you enjoyed my reviews. I have been happy to be able to read more lately. Oh I know what you mean about little ones for extended periods of time. I know at 41 I do not want to have small children of my own I would never be able to keep up. My niece and nephew were over a few weekends ago and they are 13 and 16 and holy cow the energy they had I thought I was going to go bonkers at one point their silliness and energy were enough to make me want to take a nap LOL..

Awe how precious of Leo and Hannah and their sizing each other up. I love the good ways children and animal interact it is so comical. We had some little ones over during the Labor Day campout and my Angel got her fur pulled and tail pulled a couple of times however she just looks at them like really and moves on. But if an adult were to do that she would give them a growl. LOL... The animals know that the little ones are not intentionally harming them. :)

Angel sends loving hugs and sloppy kisses for you and Leo. She used to give "Her Kitty" kisses on the top of his head once in a while before I had to give him to another family. Last I know he was still doing well. I do miss him but I do not miss his evil doings, even my mother in law who was allergic to him misses him and mentions him still. I send my love to you both as well and Hannah that little cutie a Kiss on that precious little head from me too. :)

Happy reading and enjoying that garden of yours, mine is pretty much done here now that is fall. :( I am sadden a little by the season change but then again it gives me more time to read so it is a double edged sword.

Oh by the way do you have a thread on here somewhere I have tried to look so that I could visit your thread and see your reviews as well but I cannot seem to find it.

Take care
Monica

Happy Saturday Fall Morning To You!

#167 - Thank you Dearest Linda. Happy Fall Saturday morning back to you. Hoping you have a pain free day today. Much love and Hugs to you.. :)

31. Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah - Julia a highly respected Psychiatrist looses all respect over one of her patients actions. Julia's sister Ellie a small town police chief who has had her ups and downs in life with marriage and love. After school they both went their own ways keeping in contact but not close. Then there is "Wolf Girl" who comes into Ellie's small town and brings in quite a stir with towns folk, media and in need of serious psychiatric help. This young girl a little later we come to know as "Alice" brings much needed help to all. With twists and turns in this story, once again Kristin Hannah pulls together another great story. I don't want to give away to much to spoil. But I really enjoyed this story.

Next up is Distant Shores by Kristin Hannah

32. Distant Shores by Kristin Hannah - Once again Hannah delivers a very woman empowering novel. Elizabeth "Birdie" Shore has lost herself while being a great wife & mother. Birdie follows her famous, then not so famous husband around the country while he follow his dreams and she supports him. Birdie realizes that now her children are raised and her husband has once again become famous her own passion for life is missing. So she decides to do something about it. Hannah captures her characters so well it is like reading about your own life.

Off to read another Hannah book Home Again

You are on a roll with those Kristin Hannah books, Monica!

Hi Monica, how are you and Angel my dear, everybody here is well and Autumn is well and truly here. You are doing well with the reading, keep going my dear. Leo sends you both hugs and i send you both my love.

#171 - Stasia I sure am and I am on my last on that I have on hand. :( I really like the way she writes she seems to be very empowering to women. I like that.. Some days I need that.

#172 John, Angel and I are doing well. Autumn is truly here as well and it makes me sad, I don't mind Autumn itself it is winter that I dislike and I know it comes after Autumn. :( I know I am having a little more time to read and these books that I have been reading just seem to fly so fast for me when I have time to read. I doubt I will reach my goal of 75 this year but I am hoping to get close to 50 at least. Hopefully next year I can reach the goal of 75. Angel sends both you and Leo Hugs right back.. My love to you both and your wonderful family. :)

33. Dancing With the Boss by Clare Gutierrez - I enjoyed this read. It did take me a while to read however it was due to my own obligations, plus the fact of not being able to take my kindle to work with me.. Action packed crime drama, fast paced. Overall good read.

Now that I Have a new Kindle, I am sure hoping to read much more that I have downloaded to my kindle. I just wish I could take them to work with me like I can a regular book.

Still reading my Kristin Hannah too..

34. Iron's Prophecy by Julie Kagawa Another great addition to the series. Just wish it would have been a little longer. Meghan learns of her condition via the Oracle and they also find out about the future.

Still reading Home Again by Kristin Hannah but keeping that for working hours due to the fact I cannot take my Kindle to work with me :( Just Started reading Switched (Trylle Trilogy, Book 1) by Amanda Hocking

35. Switched by Amanda Hocking - Fun, action packed story about Trylle (Trolls) and how they exchange their children aka Changelings with Manks as they so call humans to get them a better education than what their community can give the children and then when their powers start to show then the send a tracker to retrieve them back to their own community. Well, Wendy is a Princess Trylle and she doesn't know it is brought home by her tracker Finn who she is falling for, to her real mother Elona the Queen of the Trylle and has to learn all of her heritage in a very short time. Wendy is not so happy with the way things are run and is not quite sure she wants to be a princess and misses home with her Manks family who she was raised with. There are some twists and turns in here with both of Wendy's families that makes this very interesting and fun. There are also some Villa out to get Wendy for their Trylle community so there is action there to. I am excited to read the next installment.

Still reading Home Again by Kristin Hannah once again keeping that for working hours. Also getting ready to start Nick: The Journey of a Lifetime by Christine Schimpf, I was actually contacted by the Author Christine through Goodreads.com and asked to read and review her book, this is her first book and see purchased through Amazon and gifted me a copy of it to review. I was very honored to be asked this especially by the Author herself. So I am putting this one at the top of my priorties for my next read and review. I also told her about Library Thing so hopefully she can expand her outreach to readers she was not aware of this site. I will be posting a review as soon as I am done and hopefully someone else will be interested in her and can check her out.

Hi Monica, hope you and Angel are well, we are all well over here and autumn has arrived. Have you had any trick or treaters, we have only had three. I see the reading is going well. Bye for now.

Hi John, Angel and I are doing well. As far as trick or treaters we had our trick or treat night in this area last Thursday, I know that is odd but that is the way my county does it for some reason. Anyway I live on a back dead end road and we rarely get any if we do it is only 2 or 3 so I don't bother buying the candy and participating, there is a village a road over from us that has a bunch of houses that the munckins can get tons of candy from. I kinda wish we would get more and then I would participate but it is almost pointless for us to participate. Yes reading is going well lately, I go through my spurts where I get a lot of reading in and others where I get very little in.

Autumn has been here for a bit and we have been dealing with rain for several days due to Hurricane Sandy, however we were lucky enough to miss the majority of the larger stuff that was supposed to occur here. So basically a little wind and rain but it has been a consistent rain and we are very soggy here LOL.

Angel and I send our love and hugs to you and Leo and your family. Bye for now.

Hi Monica! Thanks for stopping by to help celebrate my return to the 21st century. *smoochings*

36. Home Again by Kristin Hannah - Another good Hannah book. A lovely story about falling in love, teen pregnancy, hardship, raising a family, and that people can change over time.

Still reading Nick: The Journey of a Lifetime by Christine Schimpf and getting ready to start Forbidden by Jacquelyn Frank that I recently received as an ER book.

37. Nick, The Journey of a Lifetime by Christine Schimpf

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is not my typical read. However I did enjoy learning from the Author's husband's family stories how it really was in Europe during WWII.

This book highlights changing points in the lives of her husbands family, how Nick and Theresa came to marry after Theresa was supposed to go into an arranged marriage that her step father had set up. The hardships and moves that they had to make their journey through life and to keep their family together when the Partisan's attacked as well as Nicks stints in the army. Their growing family as well as keeping Nicks parents taken care of. In Europe they travel from one area to the next until finally they get a break and can come over seas to America the land of Opportunity. You can see how the family roles change over time in the decision making process of each move and each new opportunity handed to them as well as the hardships they endure. However, they are a close knit family and keep everyone together throughout.

A nice quick story about a family their hardships, opportunities, their happy times, and successes all rolled into one book. This book gives you a view from one families eyes of what happened during those times of war in Europe and how our America gave them the opportunity of a lifetime.



View all my reviews

Getting ready to start reading Torn by Amanda Hocking Still working on reading Forbidden as listed in previous msg.

Sounds like a successful read, then, Monica. I'll look out for Nick, The Journey of a Lifetime.

WOW! Nick, The Journey of a Lifetime sounds like a great book. It is now on the tbr pile.

#182 & 183 Richard & Linda, that book was actually purchased and sent to me by the Author herself she actually requested I review it on Good reads only but I am so glad that I posted this in my thread as well. You can get a Kindle Version of it on Amazon I do believe it was only $2.99. Don't know if the price has changed or not. But if you do pick it up and your a member of good reads as well maybe you can post your review there as well as that is where the Author is most active. I did mention LT to her to see if I could convince her to come over here as well. ;) She seems like a very nice and endearing lady.

Hi Monica! I'm sooooo behind on the threads lately!
Hope you are having a great weekend!

Chelle, that is okay I get behind all the time and try to play catch up. I am doing okay it is my weekend to work but so far it isn't too bad. Glad to see you still have Tempe in your midst.. ;)

drive-by hug

#187 - Smooches Back at ya. :)

*sending hugs to you and Angel*

189 - John right back at you and Leo.. Hope all is well with you and your family. :)

38. Torn by Amanda Hocking - Wendy's story continues with being rebellious and getting captured by the Vittra. In doing so she ends up finding out who her real father is and that he really isn't dead.

Wendy has many decisions to make as finding out who her father is puts a wrench in things and gives her more options than she realized were viable with the Trylle it also gives her more realization of her responsibilities as a princess and heir to the throne.

All the while she still loves Finn the Tracker but she realizes she cannot be with him as she would like and along with that there are many other twists and turns that keep this story going and interesting.

Excited for the next installment in this series.

Off to read Ascend

I've made the stuffing. I've prepped the brussels sprouts with apples. I've got the noxious bird-meat brining in my own souped-up whiskey brine mixture. Yam nastiness baking now. Must roast the sprouts, some white potatoes with garlic, oil and rosemary, and birdie. Sweet potato pie, pecan pie, southern mincemeat pie, and apple pie all done. Life is good, but my knees and feet are killin' me! Happy holiday for you and all those you love.

39. Ascend by Amanda Hocking - What a perfect way to end the Trylle Series. This last book took you on quite the emotional ride of saddness, fear, excitement and love. The author does a wonderful job of describing the characters and holding the story line beautifully. I loved it and look forward to reading more of this author.

I think I am sticking with this Author for my next read as well off to read My Blood Approves :)

Richard Dear your dinner sounds scrumptious. :) I hope your day is filled with love and laughter :) Wish I could come to your house for dinner ;) Alas, even though I am not making the entire meal myself for our Thanksgiving, I have my part all made and ready to travel shortly. I got to make the desserts Yeah I love desert.. I made 1 dutch apple pie, 1 pumpkin coconut pie, 1 pumpkin pie and 2 lovely peanut butter pies as well as I made a delicious cranberry relish.. Yippee..

Happy Thanksgiving to all !!

Hi Monica, Happy Thanksgiving my dear and give Angel a hug from me and Leo. Hope you have a lovely day and manage to get some reading done.

Hi John, Thank you for the wishes and hugs on Thanksgiving. We had a nice day, Angel and I went to my Brothers house for dinner and it was very nice. I however wasn't able to get much reading done on Thanksgiving just in the early morning I finished a book but other than that no more for the day. Hugs to you and Leo

Hi Monica, just to let you know i have put two more photos on my profile page.

Love the pics John what a nice smile you have and you look so happy there with your granddaughter and wife I am assuming that is whom is lovely by the way :)

Yes she is Monica, after all she has put up with me for 30 years.

40. My Blood Approves by Amanda Hocking - Although this was similar to some other young adult series that I am familiar with as many are. It was a good quick read overall.

Off to read Fate the 2nd in this series. Still reading my ER book Forbidden

41. Fate by Amanda Hocking - Once again enjoyed the 2nd installment of this Series. The twists and turns it took were inviting and interesting. I am excited to start reading the next book. It still reminds me a little of another series but there are definitive differences that make it its own.

Off to read the next book in the Series Flutter

Hi Monica, thanks for your message, Lee Weeks' first book was excellent and i hope her other books grip me as much. I am 60 pages into my 63rd Patterson novel with seven or eight more on the bookcase, i just can't keep up with him. Yes i think that i will reach both of my challenges especially with this patterson as i will probably have read by the weekend.

I hope you are well and me and Leo send hugs to you and Angel. It is a bit cold here at the moment but no snow near us but the weather is changing so quickly, it is minus 5 but by the weekend we could get to plus 7 and then it has to get cold again, we don't know where we are with it. Hope you are ready for xmas, i've just one more present to get for Karen and then everything is done. Bye for now my dear.

42. Flutter My Blood approves series by Amanda Hocking - I am still enjoying this series and it is moving along in a different direction that the other series I feel it was similar to in the beginning. Action packed and adventurous with some romance and intrigue.

I have already started reading Wisdom Still reading Forbidden

#201 - John - I know what you mean about keeping up with Patterson. I love his books but there are so so many books out there I want to read I go in spurts with different Authors and depending on how many of his books I have on hand along with other Authors. LOL I switch back and forth depending on my mood, but I don't think there has been a book of his yet that I have just utterly disliked. Some I like better than others but I do enjoy all of his.

Angel and I are doing well. I am pretty much ready for Christmas going shopping with my best friend today and may pick up a few things but I pretty much have my shopping done for Christmas and the majority of it wrapped. I only really need to pick up a few special cards as I always get my niece and nephews special cards for Christmas and their Birthday's are all so close to Christmas I need those as well but that is about it. I have nothing yet for Angel under the tree but she doesn't really much care about that. I am going to Petco today so maybe she will get something special. :) This is going to be an odd Christmas for me as it will be the first year ever in my 41 years I have woken up Christmas Morning in my home completely void of any humans, just me and Angel. So it will be a strange one for me. I am going to my brother's house and spending time with them and my parents however so I won't be alone all day. It is just going to be weird for me this year. Alas I will prevail and Angel is here by my side being my faithful companion :) I hope your Christmas is wonderful and spent with your family. I bet your excited to see that beautiful granddaughter of yours :)

We have been luck this winter so far only very little snow and the coldest I have seen here is 21 degrees Fahrenheit. I would honestly be happy with no snow this year it can get as cold as it wants I just don't want to have to do the snow removal. Luckily between my neighbor and my father if my driveway needs plowed they are next door to help out. But they sure don't shove for me LOL.. ;) I would rather be outside doing yard work when it is warm.

Take care hugs to you and Leo and hope you have a very Merry Christmas :)

Hi Monica, have a very merry christmas my dear, i hope you have a lovely day tomorrow and get everything that you have asked for. Lots of love from me to you and from Leo and give Angel a big hug from the both of us.

Hi John, Thank you!! I am going to my baby brothers house tomorrow and that is all I need to see my family. My Nephew came home on leave from the Marines the other day and is going to be home for Christmas so I am very excited about seeing him this holiday. Lots of love right back to you and sends big smooches to Leo and you too. I have started my 2013 thread if you would like to stop by it is here http://www.librarything.com/topic/146511

Sending light and love!

Merry Christmas! I hope you had a wonderful holiday. I will see you in the New Year!!

Thanks Linda and Monica.. I hope both of you had a wonderful Holiday and I am looking forward to seeing both of you in the New Year :) Much love to both of you.

Hi Monica, thanks for the message on The Virgin Thread, my 75ers fun title.

43. Wisdom by Amanda Hocking - Another great addition to this series. Turned out much differently than I expected it to turn out. Very enjoyable and well written.

44. Letters to Elise By Amanda Hocking - A nice little novella telling of Peters turning and his life prior to Alice an Milo coming in to their lives.

Still trying to decide what to pick up next had a busy day today.

I hope you can rest this evening.

Thank you Linda, I can rest and I have all day tomorrow to rest.. Then back to the ole grind of working.. Sigh.. I hope all is well with you :)

Hi Monica, thanks for the congrats message, i really shouldn't have let it get to the last day of the year. Leo sends his love to you and Angel but the poor lad is recuperating, i spotted that he was limping yesterday afternoon, so when Karen came home we managed to get him in the house and then get him from under the xmas tree to have a look at him. It's his rear right leg on the joint where the wound is but it doesn't look like a bite so we don't know wether he has had a bump or been kicked or whatever but we cleaned the wound and then gave him a bit of tuna. He started to clean the wound himself and this morning he went out to do his toilet matters and then came back in and he didn't seem to limp as badly but we are looking after him poor lad.
Have a great new year my dear and i look forward to our chats again in 2013. bye for now have a lovely evening.

HI John, Your very welcome. Awe about poor Leo, I am glad he is not limping as badly now. I sure hope he heals well. Give him some extra love from me. :) I am looking forward to our chats next year as well. I am working today and tomorrow therefore no partying for me tonight I will be sound asleep when the ball drops in Times Square this evening and everywhere else, as 4 am comes way to early to stay up late to watch and party.

Well, since Christmas has come and gone I must share my splurging to those of you who may appreciate it. I received Amazon Gift Cards and Money for Christmas so alas besides one thing I really needed I went ahead and got what of course I really wanted Books.. !!! Whoo Hoo..

Here is my Haul:

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Kill Alex Cross by James Patterson
Private London by James Patterson
Cross Fire by James Patterson
11th Hour by James Patterson
NYPD Red by James Patterson
Zoo by James Patterson
I, Michael Bennett by James Patterson
Merry Christmas, Alex Cross by James Patterson

Can you tell I enjoy a little James Patterson :) I wanted to catch up on some of his books I did not have while I had money to burn and I figure Christmas time is the perfect time.. :)

We both love Mr P, i have read nine of his books this year, that's a good selection there Monica.

Yes we do, I have read all of his earlier works as well in the past. I just hate to pay full price for a book.. how stingy of me huh.. Oh well, I didn't have to pay full hardcover price for a single one of those books up there. So I keep a running wishlist of his books and pick them up when I can.

Oh and I came home to find that I got an Advance Readers Edition book that I signed up for from Harper Collins called Dark Tide by Elizabeth Haynes. So I have plenty to read for a while :)

45. My Last Review for the year as I finished it last night Forbidden by Jacquelyn Frank Docia Waverly suddenly gets pushed off a bridge to her death or so they all thought. Docia was chosen by an ether soul to be a body walker. Docia's brother Jackson is all she has left so she chooses to take the chance and become a body walker not knowing what it really is. Being a body walker keeps her body and her soul alive but she has to share her body with another soul that blends with hers.

Ancient Original Templars and Royals coming back from the dead into human body's having their own great war and waiting for the rest of their counterparts to come back from the ether so that they can continue their great loves and great wars among themselves, however they treat their body walkers with great care. As Docia soon finds out with Ram / Vincent he is willing to protect her at any cost and they have feelings that neither of them imagined would happen.

What a great new twist on supernatural..

Now off to start Courting Cate another ER book I received to start the new year off right.