A Book-A-Day Challenge

Update:  Two books finished for this one! Since I'm reading until January 14th instead of December 28th, I still have lots of time to finish the list! And I'm removing The Christmas Sweater from the list (for personal reasons) so I need to add 7 more books to the list!

I've decided to join this Book-a-Day challenge which is being hosted by Haleyknitz at The Life (and Lies) of an Inanimate Flying Object.  It runs during Haley's break from school, December 14-28.  My (long awaited) break from school also starts on Monday (the 14th), but I don't go back until January 14th...WOOT! The challenge involves reading a book a day during the challenge period...so 15 books.  However, since I'm a mom of two wild boys and I work, I'm going to read 15 books during my holiday break...December 14th through January 13th.  I hope that's okay Haley?! I'm not going to list everything I'm going to read right now, but I'll come back and list them later...on Sunday or Monday.  I know I will definitely be reading a lot of Christmas books!
1.Creeping Shadows-Draven, Ford, & Gardner
2.The Christmas List-Richard Paul Evans
3.An Irish Country Christmas-Patrick Taylor
4.Matchless-Gregory Maguire
5.The Lovely Bones--Lesilie Sebold
6.Winter's End-Jean-Claude Mourlevat
7. Powers-John B. Olson
8.The Silent Governess-Julie Klassen

I will add the last 7 after I decide what challenges I'm doing as of January 1st!

Anyone else taking the plunge?

Happy Reading!

Mini-reviews--The Christmas List and Matchless

Well, I finally completed two of my books for my Christmas Reading Challenge.

The Christmas List--Richard Paul Evans

I really enjoyed this book.  Evans' The Christmas Box is one of my favorite Christmas books so I knew I would probably be happy with this one...and I was.  This book has a slight twist on the Dickens A Christmas Carol story, with a man having a change of heart and seeking redemption.  If you had a chance to right wrongs of the past, who would make it on your list?  "List" makes you think about the way you should treat people, not just at Christmas, but all the time.  Of course, it had me in tears near the end because that is just how these stories are.  But it's a redemptive story and a perfect read for Christmastime.

Matchless--Gregory Maguire

I always loved Hans Christian Anderson's Little Match Girl, even though it is a very heartbreaking story...some feel it's not a good story for reading around the holidays.  They may be right, but I still think it's a good story.  Maguire has taken this traditional story and incorporated it within another story.  Now it's a story of hope and, in a way, the power of the afterlife to aid those in the real world.  It's a very short book with wonderful black and white illustrations and within its pages are the true messages of Christmas...family, hope, and love.

Happy Christmas Reading!

Christmas Reading Challenge: my picks and Mr. Linky for reviews

Update:  Two completed for the challenge and removing one from the list (The Christmas Sweater) for personal reasons!

Notice:  Mr. Linky is fixed...for now! If it disappears again, please post your review links in the comments.  Thanks!

So, I announced this challenge some time ago and while everyone else has signed up, I have been dragging my feet on which books I was going to have in my stack for the challenge.  I'm going to pick more than three books just because of the fact that there is the Thankfully Reading Challenge this weekend, another 24 hour Read-a-Thon on December 5th and the Christmas break challenge--a book a day--starting around the middle of the month.  I should be able to get some good reading done!

Here are my picks:

• The Christmas List by Richard Paul Evans
• An Irish Country Christmas by Patrick Taylor
• Matchless by Gregory Maguire
• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

I have a ton of other Christmas books in my personal library so I will probably add more, but this is my tentative list.

Here is the Mr. Linky for posting your reviews for the challenge.  You do not have to post a review if you don't want to, but I think it will make for a more festive challenge if we review and share...you know, spread the Christmas Cheer!!!





Happy Reading!

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is a weekly event hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.
The bounty in books received over the past week! (click titles for synopses)

Won:

Won from Marie at The Burton Review and received in the mail (WOW...that was fast..thanks Marie!)

Her Mother's Daughter: A Novel of Queen Mary Tudor--Julianne Lee 













In the mail:

These are books that I received from joining book clubs...Doubleday Large Print and Science Fiction Book Club.

High Society: The Life of Grace Kelly--Donald Spoto

New Moon: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion--Mark Cotta Vaz 

Gwenhwyfar: The White Spirit--Mercedes Lackey

Drood--Dan Simmons

This Witch for Hire (2 book omnibus: Dead Witch Walking & The Good, The Bad and the Undead--Kim Harrison

A Princess of Landover--Terry Brooks

The Strain--Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan
















I received this book from Paperback Swap.

Celebrating the Master's Christmas: 100 Years of Joyous Christmas Memories--May Harris Gray







So...what did you get in your mailbox the past week?

Happy Reading!

The Pillars of the Earth...movie news!

I knew that The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett was being made into a movie.  However, I just found out last night that it is going to be a television mini-series produced by an award winning production company owned by Ridley and Tony Scott.  Ridley Scott is the award winning director of Gladiator and other films.  The cast line-up is stellar! If they do it right, it's going to be awesome...I can't wait!

Starring:

Ian McShane, Donald Sutherland, Hayley Atwell, Rufus Sewell, Eddie Redmayne, Matthew Macfadyen, Alison Pill, Tony Curran, Gordon Pinsent 

Here is the movie site where you can watch videos of the making of the movie and a site visit by the author, Ken Follett, plus full cast bios, characters, etc.  The Pillars of the Earth movie site.

WOOT...bring it on!

Favorite Fictional Character--Clark Griswold

Favorite Fictional Character, a weekly event created by my friend Ryan at Wordsmithonia.

Frankly, I do not know anyone that doesn't find the National Lampoon Vacation movies hilarious...especially Christmas Vacation.  Clark Griswold is the epitome of the funny family man who wants all the traditions for his family and goes above and beyond to get them--with side-splitting results.

I have a special reason for loving Clark Griswold.  He reminds me of my dad! Yes, we had some pretty funny moments on vacations and just at home and around the holidays.  I won't go into details, but suffice it to say that my dad took family traditions and family participation very seriously...just like Clark Griswold!

Here are some memorable quotes from Christmas Vacation that are pretty close to things my dad would have said back in the day (swear words are not spelled out):

"Where do you think you're going? Nobody's leaving. Nobody's walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas. No, no. We're all in this together. This is a full-blown, four-alarm holiday emergency here. We're gonna press on, and we're gonna have the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny f***ing Kaye. And when Santa squeezes his fat white *ss down that chimney tonight, he's gonna find the jolliest bunch of ***holes this side of the nuthouse."

"We're kicking off our fun old-fashioned family Christmas by heading out into the country in the old front-wheel drive sleigh to embrace the frosty majesty of the winter landscape and select that most important of Christmas symbols."

"They Invented them (Christmas tree lots) Russ, because people forgot how to have a fun old-fashioned family Christmas & spend money on dead over-priced trees that have no special meaning."

"I didn't go berzerk. I simply solved a problem. We needed a coffin... I mean a tree. There are no lots open on Christmas eve. Lewis burned down my tree. So, I replaced it as best I could. Viola!"

"Hallelujah! Holy s***! Where's the Tylenol?"

Santa Time!

The kiddos...Gabe and Reece...visiting with Santa 2009.  Not exactly sure what Santa is doing in this one...LOL! I promise...they were well-behaved!