Sunday, October 31, 2010

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Happy Halloween from Alice and me and my family! Hope everyone had a fun and safe holiday!

Alice in her orange Halloween collar
Also, here are a couple of great LOL Cat Halloween pics.  Enjoy!
 




Thursday, October 28, 2010

CAT THURSDAY (HALLOWEEN)

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! Enjoy! (share your post in the Mr. Linky below)

Happy Halloween from Cat Thursday!

Pumpkin brain-eating Zombie cats! LOL is all I have to say about this one. =OD






Wednesday, October 27, 2010

BLOG TOUR, 10/26/10...CALL ME KATE: MEETING THE MOLLY MAGUIRES BY MOLLY ROE

Call Me Kate: Meeting the Molly Maguires by Molly Roe
finished reading on October 26, 2010

My thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book.  It was a relatively short read and entertaining.  Reading Call Me Kate took me back to the days of my girlhood when I read the Little House books and Anne of Green Gables.  Katie McCafferty is exactly the type of heroine in the tradition of Laura Ingalls and Anne Shirley.  A young girl with a lot of spunk and character who cares deeply about others.  The plot of the book includes an important historical event, the forcing of Irish mine workers into the draft to fight in the Civil War.  Most of these men were mine workers and the main breadwinners in their families.  To leave to fight in the war would mean devastation for their families.  The Irish who were opposed to the draft were referred to as Molly Maguires and were blamed for many bad deeds, including voter fraud, draft riots, violence at the mines and even murder.  Katie is a fictional character who finds herself in the midst of all the political strife and finds a way to stop potential bloodshed, at least temporarily.  Ms. Roe has written a wonderful story for tweens and young adults who are fans of great stories with strong heroines and important historical events. 

Side note:  This was the first ebook I read on my Sony Reader and I have to say that I really enjoyed the experience.  While I still will always be loyal to print books, I will still enjoy free reads on my Reader!

About the book:

*Mom's Choice Award Winner in young adult historical fiction category

*4 1/2-star rating at Amazon.com

Fourteen-year-old Katie McCafferty risks job, family, and eventually her very life to rescue a lifelong friend. Disguised as a draft resister, Katie infiltrates a secret Irish organization to prevent bloodshed. Tragedies challenge her strength and ingenuity, and she faces a crisis of conscience. Can Katie balance her sense of justice with the law?

Call Me Kate is suitable for readers from eleven to adult. The story is dramatic and adventuresome, yet expressive of daily life in the patches of the hard coal region during the Civil War era. This novel will appeal to readers of the Dear America series, as well as more mature readers who will enjoy the story’s rich context and drama.

"Call Me Kate is a fascinating look at the time period of the early drafts for the Civil War. It focuses on a specific area of the country and the conflict that arose among the different classes and ethnicities. I got a brief history lesson on a time period that I wasn’t very familiar with. For anyone interested in getting some history with their fiction, Call Me Kate is a good book to add to your choices." - TeensReadToo.com

" The politics of the time, the history of how hard the struggle was for many poor families, is absolutely inspirational. The writer did a wonderful job bringing us back to the past, and making us understand that bigotry – in any form – can only harm. I am always so thankful when a writer comes out with a story that teaches something more than “unrequited love with a supernatural being.” Don’t get me wrong, those are fun, too. But this is a great story that will teach something and be fun at the same time." - BookPleasures.com

Thanks to Nicole at Tribute Books for allowing me to read this book and participate in the tour.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

MAILBOX MONDAY

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page.  It is currently on monthly blog tours and is being hosted this month by Avis  at she reads and reads.

(Click titles for book descriptions from Goodreads)

In the mail:

Won:

I won Bella's (A Girl Reads a Book) $45 CSN stores giveaway...woot! Check out what I ordered:

Bookopoly

Nordicware Kitchenware Chistmas / Winter Cookie Cutter Sheet



WovenWorkz Pom Pom Fringe Throw (except it's in red...for Christmas!)
 
 
 
Bought:
 
ordered from BetterWorldBooks...bargain bin sale--5 books for $15
 
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling...finally get to read it before the movie comes out next month!
 
Mary Engelbreit's Christmas Companion
 
Christmas With Mary Engelbreit : Here Comes Santa Claus
 
Christmas: Decorations, Feasts, Gifts, Traditions (1000 Hints, Tips and Ideas) by David Baird
 
365 Ways to Prepare for Christmas by David E. Monn
 
 
 
 
 
from library sale (less than $20 for all these plus 4 VHS movies and a Christmas CD!):
 
The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice...this was the only Anne Rice book that I did not have a large edition of...I've been looking for this in hardcover for years!
 
The Wet Nurse's Tale by Erica Eisdorfer
 
Winter Haven by Athol Dickson
 
Ramses: The Battle of Kadesh - Volume III (Vol 3) by Christian Jacq
 
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
 
The Crazy School by Cornelia Read
 
Artemisia by Anna Banti
 
Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
 
A Wallflower Christmas by Lisa Kleypas
 
At Christmas the Heart Goes Home by Marjorie Holmes
 
Christmas in Harmony by Philip Gulley
 
 

Monday, October 25, 2010

IT'S MONDAY...WHAT ARE YOU READING?

This weekly feature is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.
I am so swamped with books to read, I don't know if I'm coming or going! And I'm still so behind...I have never completely caught up since my long illness over the summer.  Anyway, I am getting a lot of reading done because I'm reading so much right now so that's a plus anyway.  I'm about ten reviews behind and I need to get caught up before I start NaNoWriMo next week.  I'm going to take a cue from Martha at Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf  and only give my Goodreads rating and a short thought or two on books from my TBR list, at least until I catch up on review books.  Review books will have a full review, of course.

Finished over the past week:

Echoes from the Macabre by Daphne Du Maurier
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
The Wedding Gift by Kathleen McKenna

In Progress:

Dracula in Love by Karen Essex (I am ALMOST finished!)
Orlando by Virginia Woolf (reading for Literature by Women book club on Barnes & Noble...may not finish because I'm SO behind in the reading!)

To be read:

Call Me Kate: Meeting the Molly Maguires by Molly Roe (have to read this one tomorrow as I'm up for a blog tour on Tuesday) on my Sony Reader
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (have to have read by Tuesday night at 10:30 ET for TuesBookTalk on Twitter)
The Sixth Surrender by Hana Samek Norton (this one is for a book tour for Crazy Book Tours...have to have finished and mailed by Wednesday)

Let's walk a moment in my shoes...LOL!

Upcoming:

Review Books:
Down the Drain by Daniel Pyle (on my Sony Reader)
By Fire, By Water by Mitchell James Kaplan
Quicksilver by Joy Spraycar
Dante's Journey by JC Marano
Adam & Eve by Sena Jeter Naslund
Captivity by Deborah Noyes
The Lucifer Code by Charles Brokaw
Once Wicked, Always Dead by T. Marie Benchley
Blood and Silk by Carol McKay
The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman


Book Club Reads for November (so far):
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory (for Reading with Tequila book club on Goodreads)
Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson (for Literature by Women on Barnes & Noble)

November Must-Read:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (before movie comes out on November 19th!)

I'm not too overbooked (pardon the pun) am I?!

Wish me luck...I'm going to need it!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

NANOWRIMO AND BIRTHDAY BOOKMARK GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Yes, I'm doing NaNoWriMo again this year...but this time I'm going to finish, come hell or high water! I will be posting updates and word counts on my writing blog, The Story Inside Me.  Are you participating in NaNoWriMo?  Visit me HERE on the site and buddy up with me (user name: thetruebookaddict)! Wish me luck and good luck to all the participants!

And now, the winner of my birthday bookmark giveaway is....drumroll please....

Angelique from Vampires & Tofu

Congratulations! I am emailing you, Angelique.  Please respond within 48 hours.  Thanks!

Thanks to everyone who entered and for the kind birthday wishes! You are all the best followers in the world!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

CAT THURSDAY (HALLOWEEN)

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! Enjoy! (share your post in the Mr. Linky below)

Even our Alice can be scary.  Well, maybe not scary, but perhaps a little menacing! Awww, who am I kidding...she's adorable!  =O)






Tuesday, October 19, 2010

MAILBOX MONDAY

Mailbox Monday is a weekly event created by Marcia at The Printed Page.  It is currently on monthly blog tours and this month's host is Avis at she reads and reads.

Well, I didn't end up going to the library sale on Saturday after all.  Why?  Because they had the wrong date printed on the flyer and when I double-checked online (and called, for good measure), they said it is this Saturday.  I don't mind though...something to look forward to!

(Click book titles for book descriptions at Goodreads)

In the mail:

Won:

A Comic-Con San Diego prize pack from Amy at My Friend Amy which includes:
  • Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire
  • A Dark Horse Comics tote bag...this is going to be great for library sales
  • A The Strain Trilogy wrist/sweatband...going to use it to hold my mp4 player when I walk!
  • A Mark of the Demon band-aid purse container
  • Two buttons
  • Three temporary tattoos
  • Toy Story 3 movie mini mag
  • A Neil Patrick Harris Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along blog bookmark...awesome!

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater...from Cindy at Princess Bookie during Contest Craze

Mary Tudor:  Princess, Bastard, Queen by Anna Whitelock...from Wonders and Marvels


For review:

The Sixth Surrender by Hana Samek Norton...for a blog tour with Crazy Book Tours







None Purchased

What goodies did you get this week?

Monday, October 18, 2010

EXTREMELY LATE READ-A-THON WRAP UP POST

To wrap-up the Halloween Read-A-Thon....I managed to read one book...not too shabby considering I was extremely busy this weekend with birthday related activities. 

I read:

The Wedding Gift by Kathleen McKenna (will have review up soon)

Reece did really good.  He ended up throwing several Christmas books in the mix.  Yeah, he's a Christmas fanatic, like me!

He read:

Boris and Bella by Carolyn Crimi
Sleepy Hollow Sleepover by Ron Roy (A to Z Mysteries)...One chapter
If You Take A Mouse To The Movies by Laura Numeroff
The Little Snowflake by Steve Metzger
Mrs. Claus takes a Vacation by Linas Alsenas
The Abominable Snow Teacher by Lisa Passen

I also participated in a few mini-challenges and attended the fun Twitter party last night.  As usual, the read-a-thon was A LOT of fun! Looking forward to the next one (hoping for one...LOL)! Thanks again to Lesley at Young Adult Books Reviewed for hosting.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

HALLOWEEN READ-A-THON UPDATE AND 2 MINI-CHALLENGES

I had a really busy weekend so I didn't have much of a chance to participate in the read-a-thon.  My birthday was Friday so I was pretty busy doing birthday related stuff...you know how it is! I did finish The Wedding Gift by Kathleen McKenna.  I'm planning on trying to finish Dracula in Love by Karen Essex and Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead.  I think the read-a-thon ends at midnight, but I might keep reading...pull an all-nighter.  The kids are on Fall break so I don't have to get up early in the morning!

I'm going to do all the mini-challenges in one post.

The first mini-challenge is from Jami at YA Addict and it is to share a book that scared the crap out of us.  This is an easy one for me.

It is Hell House by Richard Matheson:

Rolf Rudolph Deutsch is going die. But when Deutsch, a wealthy magazine and newpaper publisher, starts thinking seriously about his impending death, he offers to pay a physicist and two mediums, one physical and one mental, $100,000 each to establish the facts of life after death.

Dr. Lionel Barrett, the physicist, accompanied by the mediums, travel to the Belasco House in Maine, which has been abandoned and sealed since 1949 after a decade of drug addiction, alcoholism, and debauchery. For one night, Barrett and his colleagues investigate the Belasco House and learn exactly why the townfolks refer to it as the Hell House.

I was in my late thirties when I read this, but, despite my age, I still get scared...like a little girl! This book is scary in a creepy, subtle way.  It had me jumpy and listening to the quiet for noises.  There is also a movie from the seventies...I think it's called The Legend of Hell House.  It was pretty creepy, but the book was much better, of course!

The next mini-challenge is hosted by Gaby at Oh My Books! and it is to share the costume we're wearing for Halloween or, if we're not dressing up, what we would like to wear if we were.

I've been on an Eleanor of Aquitaine kick lately so I would pick something like this (in plus size, of course)...I had to really search for one with a wimpole!


- See more at: http://www.techtrickhome.com/2013/02/show-comment-box-above-comments-on.html#sthash.TjHz2Px9.dpuf